It doesn’t matter whether you’re 25 or 55.

If you speak and people listen politely but not seriously, it hurts.

Too young to be trusted.

Too old to be creative.

The message lands the same way.

You are not seen. You are not heard. You are not valued.

Ageism cuts in both directions and it leaves a quiet bruise that people carry long after the moment passes.

How does this happen in Public Relations, a profession built on understanding people?

It does. And ageism is a major component of the profession.

That’s why a Cultural Reset is needed.

Listen For

4:50 What does a "cultural reset" in PR mean when addressing ageism?

7:30 How does ageism quietly impact training and promotion in PR agencies?

9:54 Do certain sectors of PR treat older professionals more fairly than others?

15:55 Will AI help or hurt age diversity in PR careers?

17:25 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Guest Cindy Lang

Guest: Jenny Manchester

Centre for Ageing Better Website | LinkedIn

Jenny’s Report An age-old problem: What can we do to tackle ageism in PR?

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A headline-grabbing raid, a revolution-in-the-making, and a “beige” prime minister walk into the attention economy… who wins the story?

Farzana and Doug unpack three global flashpoints through a PR and narrative-control lens: the shock capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and the split-screen battle between “law enforcement” framing versus “illegal act of war” backlash; Iran’s surging unrest as the rial collapses alongside a fractured top-level message (empathy from President Pezeshkian, crackdown language from Ayatollah Khamenei, and a mobilizing call from exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi); and the UK’s debate over Keir Starmer’s “beige” leadership, whether voters truly want competent quiet or charismatic spectacle in a 24/7 scroll-and-click media world.

Listen For

00:37 How did the Maduro raid become a communications battle overnight?
01:33 Why did calling Maduro a “narco-terrorist” change the debate?
04:57 Does winning the domestic narrative matter if the world disagrees?
07:56 How is Iran’s leadership sending mixed signals during unrest?
13:05 Is quiet leadership still viable in today’s attention economy?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

Folgate Advisors

Curzon Public Relations Website

Stories and Strategies Website

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This is a special audio time-jump episode. It’s an immersive journey ten years into the future to explore how public relations has managed three of the biggest challenges: the rapid rise of AI, the disappearing entry-level job, and the ongoing gender gap in leadership.

Doug and Farzana volunteer for a guided “time crossing” to see how the next generation of PR leaders navigated a decade of disruption. What they find isn’t just smarter tech, it’s smarter systems, layered cities, holographic hosts, and workplaces where AI and humans collaborate with clarity and conscience.

This isn’t an episode about how will we fix it, it’s about how they already did… and what we can start implementing right now.

Welcome to 2036

Listen For

5:01 How has technology reshaped the world of PR?

6:56 What does it feel like to communicate in a city designed to respond?

9:57 How does personalized media target people in real time?

10:36 What are holographic briefs and how do they change communication?

16:31 Are women finally stepping into more leadership roles?

17:44 How did society move beyond the culture war over being ‘woke’?

12:59 What’s changed most in how we communicate at work?

14:55 What does it take to guide AI with real nuance?

18:18 How is emotional labor being measured, and addressed, in the future?

19:02 What are the future rules of ethical communication with AI?

Doug

Substack | Website | LinkedIn

Farzana

Substack | Website | LinkedIn

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What happens when protests shake a regime built on control, not consent?

We look at Iran’s largest wave of unrest since 2022. Fueled by economic collapse and skyrocketing inflation, the protests are no longer just about hardship, they’ve become openly anti-government, spreading even into rural areas. We break down Iran’s unprecedented tone shift in crisis comms, explore the influential role of the Iranian diaspora, and consider how narratives are being shaped despite media restrictions.

And we pivot to examine Donald Trump’s striking effort to brand U.S. institutions with his name, followed by a look into 2026 with helpful resources for PR pros preparing for global risks.

Listen For

:47 What’s really fueling Iran’s latest wave of protests?
4:28 How does Iran’s diaspora influence global perception?
5:39 Can Trump gain political advantage from Iran’s instability?
6:14 Why is Trump rebranding national institutions with his name?
12:46 What tools can help PR pros prepare for global risks in 2026?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

Folgate Advisors

Curzon Public Relations Website

Stories and Strategies Website

Request a transcript of this livestream

Support the show

Public relations shapes what people believe, how communities respond, and which ideas earn trust. It influences elections, corporate crises, government decisions, reputations, and public sentiment.

Yet unlike medicine, law, or engineering, anyone can call themselves a PR professional. No license. No minimum standard. No consequences when things go wrong. What happens when a profession with this much power has almost no guardrails?

Some say that freedom is essential for open societies. Others say it leaves the public exposed. What happens if we build those guardrails too strong?

In this episode we walk the line of tension between protection and freedom.

Listen For

4:28 What problem is PR regulation really trying to solve?
9:47 Does regulation protect the public, or just PR pros?
12:38 Could PR regulation threaten free speech?
14:23 Is there a middle ground on PR regulation?
18:37 Can licensing and ethics training reshape PR?

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Stories and Strategies Website

Curzon Public Relations Website

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What happens when war, resilience, and optimism collide on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean?

In this special Boxing Day episode of The Week UnSpun, David Gallagher is off so Doug Downs and Farzana Baduel trade headlines for heart as Farzana shares her recent three-week journey through Sri Lanka, a country shaped by civil war, natural disasters, and powerful recovery. From her work with the Halo Trust, the world’s largest demining organization, to meeting the Prime Minister and local heroes reclaiming their land, Farzana brings vivid stories of courage and transformation.

The episode shifts gears into lighter fare with a fun, AI-generated “Board of Advisors,” exploring 2026 PR trends and cheeky questions like everyone’s favorite ice cream. It’s a soulful blend of global awareness, digital imagination, and strategic storytelling, all wrapped in warmth, wit, and curiosity.

GPT Board Members (and Good Sports):

· Anne-Marie Blake

· Catherine Arrow

· Candace Kuss

· Rod Cartwright

· Aaron Berger

Listen For

:54 Why is Sri Lanka so heavily mined?
3:42 What happens when families reclaim lost land?
4:53 How should Sri Lanka rebrand itself?
7:44 What’s Sri Lanka’s relationship with India like?
8:15 What if you could build your own AI-powered board of advisors?

10:06 What are the top PR trends for 2026?

The Week Unspun is a weekly livestream every Friday at 10am ET/3pm BT. Check it out on our YouTube Channel or via this LinkedIn channel

Folgate Advisors

Curzon Public Relations Website

Stories and Strategies Website

Request a transcript of this livestream

Support the show

This is not just one podcast.
It’s a feed with two.

First is Stories and Strategies with Curzon Public Relations.
A weekly show hosted by Doug Downs and Farzana Baduel.
Every Tuesday, we tackle the real work of public relations.
The strategy behind the stories.
The decisions behind the headlines.
No fluff. No profiles. Just the issues shaping modern communications.

Also in this feed is The Week UnSpun.
A live, weekly look at global news through a public relations lens.
Hosted by Doug Downs, Farzana Baduel, and David Gallagher of Folgate Advisors.
Streaming every Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. UK time.
With the audio released later the same day.

Two shows.
One feed.
Follow now, and stay ahead of the story.

Support the show

What do you say when there’s nothing to say?

Most workplaces think they handle grief through policy, a few days of bereavement leave, a checklist, and a quiet expectation that people will return “ready” to work. But grief doesn’t follow policy. It walks back into the office with someone long before they’re prepared, reshaping their focus, their energy, their confidence and their sense of safety.

And while HR manages the paperwork, it’s the hallway conversations, the team dynamics, the awkward silences and the well-meaning but painful clichés that shape a grieving person’s real experience.

That isn’t an HR problem. That’s a communications problem.

And yet almost no one prepares for it. Teams don’t know what to say. Leaders fear saying the wrong thing. Colleagues avoid eye contact because they’re anxious, not uncaring.

In this episode, grief expert Cindy Lang shows why communication is the most powerful support any workplace can offer, and how simple, compassionate language can make the difference between someone feeling invisible and someone feeling understood.

Listen For

4:11 Why Is Grief First a Communications Issue, Not Just HR's Job?
6:45 What Is the “Three-C Model” for Grief-Informed Communication?
8:05 How Does Grief Physically and Emotionally Impact a Person at Work?
14:51 What Small Act of Kindness Made the Biggest Impact After Loss?

19:29 Answer to Last Episode’s Question from Marc Whitt

Guest: Cindy Lang

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Rate this podcast with just one click

Follow Farzana on Substack

Follow Doug on Substack

Curzon Substack

Stories and Strategies Website

Curzon Public Relations Website

Are you a brand with a podcast that needs support? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.

Apply to be a guest on the podcast

Connect with us

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