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FIR Interviews
by FIR Interviews
Interviews with business leaders and innovators of interest to communicators
Episodes
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AI, trust and the answer economy – Pete Blackshaw on the future of brand credibility
Your brand is no longer defined solely by what you say about yourself. Increasingly, it is defined by the answers AI gives when someone asks about you. That simple but profound shift lies at the heart of The Answer Economy, the forthcoming book by Pete Blackshaw, entrepreneur, founder of...
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AI risk, trust, and preparedness in a polycrisis era
In this FIR Interview, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz speak with crisis and risk communication specialist Philippe Borremans about his new Crisis Communication 2026 Trend Report, based on a survey of senior crisis and communication leaders. The conversation explores how crisis communication is...
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AI and the Writing Profession with Josh Bernoff
Josh Bernoff has just completed the largest survey yet of writers and AI – nearly 1,500 respondents across journalism, communication, publishing, and fiction. We interviewed Josh for this podcast in early December 2025. What emerges from both the data and our conversation is not a single, simple...
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FIR Interview: Generative Engine Optimisation with Stephanie Grober
GEO – generative engine optimisation – is suddenly everywhere. Is it the new SEO, a passing fad, or simply good communication practice in disguise? In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson talk with Stephanie Grober, Marketing & PR Director at Horowitz Agency in New York, about why…
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FIR Interview: Monsignor Paul Tighe on AI, Ethics, and the Role of Humanity
“Artificial intelligence will not save us. But it might help us understand who we are.” – Monsignor Paul Tighe In one of our most thought-provoking FIR Interviews to date, we speak with Monsignor Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Section of Culture of the Dicastery for Culture and Education at The...
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Richard Bagnall on the Barcelona Principles 4.0
How do we prove the real value of communication in an age of fragmented media, AI-driven analysis, and relentless demand for results? In this episode of FIR Interviews, we talk with Richard Bagnall, chair of AMEC, the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication,...
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Craig Silverman on Fighting Digital Deception with Indicator
In this episode of FIR Interviews, we welcome back a long-time friend of the podcast, award-winning journalist and media researcher Craig Silverman, for his third appearance – this time to talk about his new venture, Indicator. Craig is best known for his work on media accuracy, verification, and...
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Eric Schwartzman on Bot Farms and Digital Deception
In this FIR Interview, Neville and Shel talk with author, investigative journalist, and New York SEO, Eric Schwartzman, about his Fast Company article, "Bot farms invade social media to hijack popular sentiment." A consultant who specialises in SEO for financial services companies, Eric explains...
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Zora Artis on Bridging AI and Human Connection in Internal Communication
Zora Artis is a leading voice in strategic internal communication with a passion for how IC can lead the integration of AI into the workplace in ways that reinforce, rather than replace, human connection. In this FIR Interview, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz speak with Zora about how artificial...
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Sam Michelson on How AI Search is Changing Reputation Management
AI-powered search is fundamentally changing how reputations are built, managed, and perceived online. In this FIR Interview, we’re joined by Sam Michelson, founder and CEO of digital reputation management company Five Blocks, to discuss how companies and executives must rethink their approach to...
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Steve Rubel on AI, Media Analytics, and the Future of PR
For nearly 20 years, Steve Rubel was a key figure at the global public relations and marketing consultancy firm Edelman, shaping its approach to media strategy and digital communication. A pioneer in blogging and digital PR from the early 2000s, Steve has long been at the forefront of emerging...
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Silvia Cambie on AI’s Overlooked Role in Communication
How AI is transforming communication beyond content creation to curation AI, including predictive analytics and sentiment analysis, is at the heart of this FIR Interview with Silvia Cambie, an independent communicator with deep expertise in journalism, internal communication, and AI-driven change...
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Exploring AI’s Future in PR with Martin Waxman
In this FIR Interview, recorded on 19 December 2024, Shel and Neville chat with Martin Waxman about the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on public relations. From relational AI and synthetic personas to crisis management and ethics, the discussion highlights opportunities and...
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Trends, AI and Authenticity in Internal Comms with Monique Zytnik
In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson speak with Monique Zytnik, a business communicator and author of Internal Communications in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Monique delves into the transformative impact of AI on internal comms, highlighting the need for experiential,...
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FIR Interview: Ezri Carlebach on Speculative Fiction in Business
In this FIR Interview, consultant, writer, and science fiction enthusiast Ezri Carlebach offers a unique perspective on how speculative fiction can be a valuable tool in business leadership, innovation, and ethical decision-making in planning for the future. He discusses how sci-fi fosters...
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FIR Interview: Pete Pachal on AI, Social Media, Journalism and Brand Engagement
AI can greatly enhance media production and social media engagement, but it should be used to complement, not replace, human creativity and connection. And, as AI becomes more integrated into media and social platforms, it’s crucial to establish ethical guidelines and robust systems to prevent…
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FIR Interview: William Beutler on PR and Wikipedia
Google searches link to Wikipedia more than any other website. It is the largest and most-read reference work in history. It is consistently ranked as one of the 10 most popular websites in the world, and as of 2024 is the fifth most visited website on the net. Wikipedia is also one of the…
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FIR Interviews: ChatGPT Speaks for Itself About Its PR Capabilities
Volumes have been written in the last year about how to apply ChatGPT and other generative AI tools to the practice of public relations and organizational communication. In this midweek episode, we let ChatGPT speak for itself about how it can enhance communicators’ work — and whether…
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FIR Interview: Radina Russell on Edelman’s “Future of Corporate Communications” Study
The latest research report out of communication agency Edelman is rich with takeaways. The 2023 Corporate Communications Study follows a 2021 edition that explored the implications of the pandemic on the role of organizational communication. The report revealed that Chief Communication Officers...
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FIR Interview: Bob Dilenschneider on Power and Influence
Robert L. Dilenschneider has learned a lot about power and influence during his storied career. The former president and CEO of global PR firm Hill & Knowlton has led his own agency, The Dilenschneider Group, since 1991. The author of several books, Bob is about to launch his latest work, "The...
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FIR Interview: Allan Schoenberg on His New Job, Twitter, AI, and More
Allan Schoenberg has spent much of his career as a communication leader in the financial services space, including a stint as Sr. VP and Global Head of Communications and Social Media for NASDAQ. Allan, former co-host of the FIR Podcast Network's "FIR B2B," recently pivoted to become Chief...
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FIR Interview: Jeremiah Owyang on the Artificial Intelligence Marketplace
Jeremiah Owyang has a habit. Whenever a new digital technology emerges that seems to be poised to disrupt business and society, Jeremiah dives in, talking to everyone he can, attending conferences, meetings, and talks, and undertaking a deep dive into every research resource available. In his...
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FIR Interview: PRophet Founder and CEO Aaron Kwittken
While journalists are sick of spray-and-pray pitches and press releases, they are equally heartened to see pitches that are tailored to their interests. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained prominence since the November 2022 public release of ChatGPT, more public relations practitioners may...
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FIR Interview: Three Whiskey's Ben Myall on Anticipating Resistance
Three Whiskey conducted extensive research into online anti-vaccination sentiment, identifying distinct groups, all of whom are critical of vaccination campaigns. Based on this research, the agency posted recommendations for public health institutions to consider when introducing vaccination...
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FIR Interview: When Narrative Strategies Fail
Anyone working in communications has learned that storytelling is a vital element of influence. (An old Indian proverb proclaims, "Tell me a fact and I will learn, tell me the truth and I will believe, but tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.") There is a wealth of literature and...
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FIR Interview: Faisal Saeed Al Mutar and Bringing Books Back to the University of Mosul
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is the founder and CEO of Ideas Beyond Borders, a non-profit organization based in New York. We recently connected on Twitter and Faisal was telling me about a project to rebuild the library of the University of Mosul in Iraq that had been destroyed by the Islamic State or...
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FIR Interview: Eric Schwartzman on His New Book, “The Digital Pivot”
Eric Schwartzman, an early contributor to the "For Immediate Release" podcast, has written a new book, "The Digital Pivot," and discussed it with Shel and Neville. In the book, Eric explains what successful digital marketers do differently. Continue Reading → The post FIR Interview: Eric...
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FIR Interview: "An Effort to Understand" Author David Murray
David Murray's new book, "An Effort to Understand," is a collection of essays drawn from many years of posts to his blog, Writing Boots. Addressing the challenges of communicating with one another in a polarized society, the book is structured first to define communication, then move from the...
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FIR Interview: CiviliNation's Andrea Weckerle and Jolie O'Dell
Andrea Weckerle first appeared in an FIR Interview a decade ago after she had founded CiviliNation, a non-profit that is "taking a stand against online harassment, character assassination, misinformation, and violence." That's a tall order given the state of civil discourse these days. In this…
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FIR Interview: Phil Gomes on the NFT Craze
You can't visit a news site or check your feeds right now without seeing articles about NFTs -- non-fungible tokens -- and how they have captured imaginations. Taco Bell, the National Basketball Association, the Kings of Leon, Jack Dorsey, and artists like the one who sold a JPG for $69 million…
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FIR Interview: Mayo Clinic's Dr. Sandhya Pruthi and Jay Maxwell on Creating a Smart Audio First Aid Skill
In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz talks with Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, the Mayo Clinic's chief medical editor and associate medical director for Content Management and Delivery, and Jay Maxwell, senior director of Health Information, about the development of the Clinic's new First Aid skill for the...
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FIR Interview: Nicole Scheffler, Host of the Diva Tech Talk Podcast
According to its website, Diva Tech Talk "is a specialized communication channel highlighting women doing wonderful things in the technology arena by creating podcasts from interviews with successful female individuals in the field and covering various technology events. It was created to inform...
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FIR Interview: Phil Gomes on Blockchain and the Marketing Value of Digital Permanence
In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz talks with Edelman's Phil Gomes, senior vice president of U.S. B2B Digital, about his new blockchain white paper, published by the American Association of Advertising Agencies. that makes the case for marketers and communicators to add blockchain technology…
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FIR Interview: Jen McClure on the State of Employee Advocacy
In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz talks with Jen McClure about JEM Consulting's "State of Employee Advocacy" survey, including the connection between employee advocacy and social selling, whether employees who participate in an employee advocacy should have their involvement reflected in…
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FIR Interview: Judith Platz and John Ragsdale on TSIA's B2B Social Engagement Rating
In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz spoke with Judith Platz and John Ragsdale, research vice presidents at the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) about the motivation for developing the"TSIA B2B Social Engagement Rating," the thinking behind low- and high-engagement activities…
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FIR Interviews: Jen McClure on Digital and Social Media Risk
The risks posed by the common use of digital and social media include several that social media and marketing teams typically don't consider. In early July, JEM Consulting & Advisory Services released the results of a new study, 2017 State of Digital & Social Media Risk. In addition to not having...
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FIR Interviews: David Meerman Scott on Sonic Branding
What can be better than combining two of your passions to launch a new business? That's exactly what David Meerman Scott did when he opened the doors of Signature Tones, which he describes as a "sonic branding studio" that he started with his partner, musician Juanito Pascual. The agency, which...
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FIR Interview: The Challenges of Standardizing Employee Communication Measurement
FIR host Shel Holtz moderated a discussion featuring Sean Williams, who coordinated an effort by the Institute for Public Relations to establish standards for employee communication measurement, and three other communication measurement thought leaders: Katie Paine, Angela Sinickas, and Ryan...
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For Immediate Release Interview: Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer on PR Analytics
In this third FIR Interview, Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer discusses insights he has gained from four years of assessing PR efforts, including a "potential customer number." He discusses the dramatic changes PR has experienced in the last four years and the increased demand on practitioners to deliver...
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For Immediate Release Interview: Jacob Morgan on Creating the Employee Experience
In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz spent 30 minutes talking with "The Employee Experience Advantage" author Jacob Morgan about what it takes to deliver a great work experience to employees, some of the misconceptions about the idea, and the connection between experience and engagement, among...
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FIR Interview: Jeremiah Owyang on Corporate Innovation Programs
Jeremiah Owyang founded CrowdCompanies as a council of large businesses that stood to be disrupted by the "sharing economy," a class of businesses established based on the innovation of technology serving as the intermediary between people who have something (cars, spare rooms or apartments, free...
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For Immediate Release Interview: Aliza Sherman on Marketing in the Burgeoning Cannabis Industry
The burgeoning cannabis industry is attracting a flood of entrepreneurs in the states where it is legal. Aliza Sherman, a pioneer digital marketer, is among them. Aliza -- who founded Cybergrrl, the first woman-owned Internet company, in 1995 -- has launched a new marketing agency, Spark The...
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FIR Interview: J. Kelly Hoey on Building Your Dream Network
J. Kelly Hoey built a dream network and that network encouraged her to write a book about it. Within short order, "Build Y our Dream Network" went into a second printing, so her network evidently knew what it was talking about. In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz chats with Kelly (who was a…
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FIR INTERVIEW: Robin Hanson on Transparency, Engagement & Tough Questions using Prediciton Markets
"What people tell you may not be the most accurate estimate they could give you, and that’s where prediction markets can come in. They are a mechanism that cost modest resources and consistently give you more accurate answers to the questions you ask, especially when people have the incentive not...
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FIR INTERVIEW: PATRI FRIEDMAN ON COMPETITIVE GOVERNANCE AND SEASTEADING
A conversation for our political times. A discussion about making government work better with Patri Friedman Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of the Seasteading Institute about competitive governance in multi stack holder environments. Continue Reading → The post FIR INTERVIEW: PATRI FRIEDMAN...
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FIR Interview: Stephen Waddington on Fake News
Much has been written about how to deal with fake news, including one particularly level-headed framework for how PR should address it by Stephen Waddington, chief engagement officer at global PR agency Ketchum. In this FIR Interview, Wadds (as he's known) offers his views on fake news and…
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For Immediate Release Interview: Chris Penn & Tom Webster on polling for PR in the post-election environment
In this FIR Interview, Shel Holtz talks to two hard-core data geeks -- Edison Research Vice President Tom Webster and SHIFT Communications Vice President Christopher S. Penn -- about 2016's election polls and what communicators can learn from them, and how to ensure polls and surveys are used...
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FIR Interview: Incoming PRSA Chair Jane Dvorak on PRSA's 3-Year Strategic Plan
In mid-November, PRSA unveiled its 2017-2019 Strategic Plan, "Framework for the Future." A team of Society leaders reviewed a substantial body of research before laying out the plan with a focus on membership, professional growth, and thought leadership. In this FIR Interview, host Shel Holtz...
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For Immediate Release Interview: Simon Worsfold on Risk of Communicating Outside Work Hours
Effective December 1, some 4 million salaried U.S. workers will be subject to time-tracking and overtime pay who were exempt from those rules before. It's likely that reading company news or other internal communication on a smartphone will be considered "work" under these rules -- that is, if...
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FIR Interview: Amy Bickers on Transformation Communication
This interview is the first in a series produced during a full-day workshop on podcasting for organizational communicators. The FIR Podcast Network's Shel Holtz leads these workshops, part of which includes the recording, editing, and production of a podcast on-site. In this first session, held…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Interviews with business leaders and innovators of interest to communicators
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FIR Interviews
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does FIR Interviews have?
FIR Interviews currently has 80 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is FIR Interviews about?
Interviews with business leaders and innovators of interest to communicators
How often does FIR Interviews release new episodes?
FIR Interviews has 80 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to FIR Interviews on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts FIR Interviews?
FIR Interviews is created and hosted by FIR Interviews.
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