Do you remember when we were told the world was heading inexorably towards globalisation? That technology would dissolve borders, that liberal stability was the model forevermore, and that everything was, more or less, under control?

Yeah. About that.

In this episode of The Little Questions, we're not here to solve geopolitics (there are people far better qualified doing that already). Instead, we take a grumpy, passionate look at how recent stories have been handled - or more accurately, mishandled - from a PR and communications perspective.

From accidental emails and executive ego clashes to corporate silence and spectacularly bad judgment calls, this episode is a masterclass in what not to do when things go wrong.

Joining Apella's Matt Young to mutter into the microphone is Andrew Brown.

What we cover in this episode

• Amazon's accidental email nightmare What happens when job losses are revealed by mistake and why leaning in might not always be the right communications strategy.
• Musk vs O'Leary: PR genius or performative chaos? Ireland's greatest-ever swearer meets Silicon Valley's biggest ego – grab the popcorn for a PR cage-fight masterclass
• Quelle horreur! Why banning children from first class on French high-speed trains tells us more about brand values than policy documents ever could.
• Trust, values and social fracture New research suggesting most Britons don't trust people with "different values" and what that means for brands trying to speak to everyone.
• The Spotify star who might not exist AI artists, manufactured authenticity, and what happens when the audience realises the emperor may have no clothes.
• South East Water's communications disaster Yes, the operational failure was bad. The CEO hiding made it worse. A reminder (again) that visibility, accountability and clarity matter.
• Holiday Inn's 'Waitrose moment' When a brand says "no" to homeless people and why it might be a sign that something more serious is amiss.

If you enjoy a slightly exasperated take on PR failures, corporate ego, and avoidable messes, this one's for you.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

505 years ago, on this day in 1521, a German monk named Martin Luther stood before the Holy Roman Emperor, representatives of the Pope, and the assembled powers of church and state at the Diet of Worms.

He was asked a simple question: Would he recant his writings?

Luther had already nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to a church door several years earlier. Those ideas had spread. They had caused discomfort. They had challenged authority. And now, at Worms, he was being asked to take them back.

His response, according to tradition, ended with the line: "Here I stand. I can do no other."

In this episode of The Little Questions, Apella partners Andrew Brown and Matt Young mark the anniversary by doing something mildly unwise: convening our own modern-day Diet of Worms. Not the intestinal complaint, but the moment where you're asked to look back at what you've written, said, and believed… and decide whether you still stand by it.

Over the years, it's been suggested - sometimes quietly, sometimes after a drink - that we might harbour a few heretical thoughts about the communications and PR industry. Rather than deny it, we're leaning in.

Some of these theses are provocative. Some are uncompromising. Some may be deeply inconvenient.

And like Luther before the authorities at Worms, we invite challenge, debate, and disagreement. Just don't ask us to recant. Because today, of all days, it feels right to say:

Here we stand.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA. Y

ou can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Welcome to the fourth annual Little Questions PR Heroes and Villains. This is our excuse to look back over the year that was and consider who nailed their comms and who jumped straight into the proverbial pile of steaming.

In previous years we've considered 'Shania Train', Elon Musk, Flaco the Eagle Owl, Bradford and even Ryan Gosling, well for pretty much just being Ryan Gosling! Joining Jenny Scott to peruse this years shortlist are the Grinches of the comms world, Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

This podcast was hosted by:

Jenny Scott; This episode is hosted by Jenny Scott, partner at Apella. Jenny is a former Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and former advisor to the Governor. Jenny was economics and politics correspondent for the BBC and presenter of the Daily Politics. Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA. You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

Find out more at apellaadvisors.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

In front of a live audience, Apella Advisors' Jenny Scott sits down with Nick Clegg - former Deputy Prime Minister and former President of Global Affairs at Meta - to cut through the noise surrounding Artificial Intelligence.

Fresh from his time in Silicon Valley and the release of his new book, How to Save the Internet, Nick joins Jenny to dismantle the "bonkers" valuations of the current AI bubble and the geopolitical "Grand Canyon" opening up between American innovation and European regulation. From the practical implications for corporate affairs to the societal dangers of "friendship as a service," this episode offers a candid look at whether AI is the new industrial revolution or just a very expensive search engine.

Nick also offers some practical advice and explains why corporate leaders should stop treating AI as a "thing" to be installed and start playing with the tools to understand them as a general-purpose accelerant. He also touches on his future post-politics, post-Meta ambition to solve the lack of growth capital that forces European startups to flee to California.

This episode is hosted by Jenny Scott, partner at Apella. Jenny is a former Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and former advisor to the Governor. Jenny was economics and politics correspondent for the BBC and presenter of the Daily Politics. Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Normally, we spend our days advising big organisations on how to rebuild trust, explain themselves better, and stop setting fire to their reputations. But today we've taken on a new client. A tricky one. With the sort of knotty challenge we love at Apella Towers. Legacy brand. Huge heritage. Slightly confused about what it stands for.

Name of the client: Britain.

It's a high-maintenance account, this one. Constant leadership churn, outdated assets, no clear narrative architecture, and absolutely no budget. So probably pro-bono then?

That's before you even get into the stakeholder relations — the EU, the US, the Commonwealth, the neighbours up North. It's a crowded contact sheet. Let's see what they've sent us.

Brace yourselves.

This episode is hosted by Matt Young and Andrew Brown. Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA. Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc. You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

It's topical time again. The last few weeks have seen a potential bubble emerging in the markets as tech valuations soar. This time round central bankers have jumped in to provide warnings ahead of this potential crash.

In the UK, the Treasury has continued to fly taxation kites to see how the public and markets react - something that we discussed in episode 90.

It has been impossible over the last few weeks not to see pictures of a glum looking Prince Andrew (or should he plain old Andrew) across our TV screens.

As usual our task, is to take a passionate, grumpy view of how things should have been handled from a PR and flaks perspective.

So, topics to discuss on this podcast include: - When and how should those with the big roles (CEOs, Governors, Chancellors and so on) give warnings about market instability? Does saying it create more instability?

- If AI is going to take over the world of PR and Comms, are there some things we'd really like it to do?

- As the Royals garner all the media headlines (often for the wrong reasons), how would we advise the Palace?

- And why is Birmingham Council being so reluctant to rename its airport after one of the City's heroes? US cities do it all the time.

This episode is hosted by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Are press events still a smart comms tool - or just a tired ritual some of us can't give up?

Press events used to be a pinnacle of communications activation. The moment you filled a room with hacks, told your story once, and watched the headlines roll in. Or at least that's the fantasy many executives still cling to.

The reality? Unless you're a prime minister, president, or possibly Elon Musk, the days of commanding an army of journos with a click of the fingers are gone. Most outlets barely have the staff to cover a presidential visit, let alone your widget factory in Walsall.

In this episode we'll look at what constitutes a press event - conferences, launches, visits, stunts and more. We'll explore where they still make sense, and where they increasingly don't. We'll remind ourselves what the media actually want and need in today's disaggregated, always-on world. And we'll talk about how you deal with a leader who wants that room full of media - and you know you've not got a "scoobie doo's" chance of achieving it.

We'll try not to moan and mither too much, and instead focus on a few top tips you can take back to the team.

This episode is hosted by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Is traditional business media dying? What's the best approach for handling a CEO whose bedroom antics have become newsworthy? What happens when a company tells the wrong story? And what have been some of the best placed PR stories from the last few weeks. All that and more coming up on this episode of The Little Questions.

This episode is hosted by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Is comms becoming a bit too corporate?

We still spot trouble before it hits. We still know what plays in the media, what won't land with the public, and how to read the room better than anyone else on the ExCo. But when it comes to doing something bold and out there? When it comes to cutting through, not just smoothing over? Are we going a bit soft? Swapping instinct for process. Gut feel for governance. Provocation for pre-reads. Maybe — just maybe — all the time spent hanging around with our colleagues in Risk and Legal, we're starting to become a little too risk-averse ourselves. So, are comms professionals becoming internal diplomats first and foremost — helpful, trusted, and entirely forgettable? Are we trying too hard to get along, not stand out? Corporate affairs needs edge. Courage. Creativity. Spark.

This episode is hosted by Apella Advisors partners Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

For our summer special, we've assembled a list of what we believe to be the most important things effective Corporate Affairs practitioners need to know – blending practical lessons, shared wisdom from talented colleagues, and insights that only time and experience can bring. Some of the points are practical, others are more philosophical, but whether you're at the beginning of your career or leading a global function, there's something here for everyone. We will be posting all 101 thoughts over the next five weeks of summer on our Apella Advisors LinkedIn Page. So search and follow us there, meanwhile, hear some of our favourites on this episode. This episode is hosted by Apella Advisors partners JennyScott, Andrew Brown, and Matt Young. Email us at [email protected] we'd love to hear your thoughts - which resonated with you… and what have we missed?

Andrew Brown; formerly Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Jenny Scott; Former Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. Advisor to the Governor, sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly economics and politics correspondent for the BBC and presenter of the Daily Politics. Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group corporate affairs director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA. You can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review.

Find out more at apellaadvisors.com.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.