Pandemic recovery is something that has been on all our minds for a while now, especially for brands. As the vaccine rollout continues to progress, we’re seeing a brighter light at the end of the tunnel and a slight return to normalcy. This week, Michele Anderson, our U.S. head of brand, talks with Callie Schweitzer, senior editor of marketing at LinkedIn News about the changing role of the CMO, brand authenticity, and the sectors that are doing well right now.

The pandemic has put the future of cities at risk – those who could afford it left cities en masse, creating an economic depression for those left behind. And as more companies allow remote work and many shun “vertical living,” what comes next for America’s cities? This week, Andrea Hagelgans, our Managing Director of NY Corporate & Public Affairs, hosts Mayor Steve Fulop of Jersey City to talk about the impact the pandemic and bottoming trust in government have had on cities.

Racial and economic equity remains at the forefront of so many aspects of our lives, from the COVID-19 vaccine and the media, to brands and corporations. This week, Lisa and Jackeline unpack some of these topics and talk about what business is doing, and what needs to be done to ensure they are actually creating equity and not just talking about it.

New Trust data from our Tech cut of the Trust Barometer reveals that trust in technology has reached an all-time low in 17 of the 22 countries we track. Some estimate that the COVID-19 pandemic has condensed 10 years of digital transformation into a single year. While technology has helped people and businesses manage through these historic times, the acceleration of AI and machine learning create social challenges for business to navigate. This week we welcome Amy Webb, futurist, author, founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute and Professor of Strategic Foresight at NYU. Amy speaks with Edelman’s Tech lead for the East Coast, Anna Sekaran, about responsible technology and the synthetic decade.

Disinformation was one of the most prominent themes we discovered in this year’s Trust Barometer report. The historic erosion of trust with the general public and some of society’s most important institutions has created a credibility vacuum – that vacuum is rapidly being filled by a variety of individuals and organizations claiming to offer more reliable information, from social media influencers to start-up news sites to fringe platforms. Our guest this week is Jennifer Kavanagh, Director and Senior Political Scientist at RAND and leader of the organization's Truth Decay Initiative, hosted by Patrick Hillman, an EVP in Edelman’s Crisis & Risk practice. They discuss what disinformation looks like, the associated risk factors, and what the roles are for the public and private sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rewritten the social contract between businesses and employees. Businesses have a new mandate to lead and must do so by responding to shifting employee priorities. In this pandemic, what people have lost most is time, so one of the single most important actions any employer can take for their overburdened workforces is to honor, value and protect their employees’ time. This week, Felicia Joy, Founder and Group Head of Edelman’s Applied Behavioral Science practice, and Elena Grotto, Executive Vice President of Edelman’s Chicago Business Transformation team speak with Ashley Whillans, Harvard Business School professor and author of Time Smart. Felicia, Elena and Ashley discuss how we can build a trusted workplace by being more “time smart” in our personal and professional lives.

Over the past year, there have been greater expectations on CEOs when it comes to taking the lead on societal issues, communicating effectively, and largely filling the void people feel when it comes to the government. What do people expect from CEOs, and as a result, what role does the CEO have today? This week, Edelman’s CEO, Richard Edelman, speaks with Felix Salmon, Chief Financial Correspondent at Axios about good CEOs, information bankruptcy, return to work, and the “no go zone” of where CEOs should be.

The COVID-19 vaccine is top of mind for everyone right now – some people are jumping at the chance to receive it, and others are more hesitant. What can institutions do to instill greater confidence in those who are hesitant to receive the vaccine? And broadly, why is this so important? This week, Edelman’s U.S. Health Chair, Courtney Gray Haupt, speaks with Laura Helmuth, Editor-in-Chief of Scientific American about vaccine confidence, misinformation, and the roles of business, government, and the media.

Following the 2020 election cycle, we found dramatic differences in where Trust shows up across the aisle. That’s reflective of a broader trend we’ve seen throughout the past four years: Hyper partisanship, or the notion that the far right and the far left are growing further apart. This week, Edelman’s U.S. COO, Lisa Osborne Ross speaks with Kevin Madden, former political strategist for the Republican party and current EVP of Advocacy at Arnold Ventures, about the “shot clock” mentality of news, the “quarantine effect” of how we process information, and his thoughts on presidential campaigns, then and now.

Our 2021 Trust Barometer report shows that trust in government and media are at an all-time low. With the recent riots and storming of the Capitol, a presidential impeachment, and a Biden/Harris administration, there’s a lot to be said about the role trust plays in political messaging – and what we hope to see in the next 100 days. This week, Edelman’s U.S. COO, Lisa Osborne Ross, speaks with Democratic strategist Tara McGowan about what government and media need to do to rebuild trust and avoid disinformation.