When It Hits the Fan
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When It Hits the Fan
When It Hits The Fan takes you behind the headlines and into the high-stakes world of power, influence and reputation. Each week, it unpacks the PR playbook used by some of the world's most powerful people and asks how the hidden hand of the communications industry shapes what you see, hear and beli...
Recent Episodes
154 episodes
Me Against the World
Whether you're a multimillionaire or the son of a King, sometimes it can still feel like everyone is out to get you.
And so we turn to Nigel Far...
Just Answer the Question
Public life would be an awful lot easier if you never had to answer questions from pesky journalists.
Or would it?
This week, David Yellan...
King Charles, Tax and Transparency
Declaring your tax isn't straightforward, as anyone's who ever filled out their own return will know.
King Charles probably has someone to help...
Social Media Ban: Big Tech's 'Tobacco Moment'
The public is against you, politicians are against you and the emotional argument has been well and truly lost.
Which is exactly where the likes...
Hunter Biden: Back from the Brink
When you're routinely described as a crackhead and convicted felon who uses sex workers, it's fair to say your reputation can't get much worse.
...
BP v 'Shouty' Albert
When PR becomes the story, you know you're in trouble.
And that's where BP finds itself right now - as the dust begins to settle after a tumultu...
Lower Value Humans
Ever felt like your boss doesn't quite hold you in the highest esteem?
Pity then, workers at Standard Chartered Bank. CEO Bill Winters described...
Did Swatch PR Backfire?
Not every product launch comes complete with tear gas, police dogs and angry crowds.
But those were the scenes at various cities around the worl...
Knowing When To Quit
There is an art to resigning.
Fall on your sword immediately and you might end up enhancing your reputation. Cling on for months in spite of ove...
The King's Speech
Finding the right words in a high-pressure situation is not easy - especially when the world is watching. But by common consensus, King Charles' speec...
Trouble at the FBI
There are jobs and there are jobs. And then there are jobs like being head of the FBI.
So when you're in that role and get accused of excessive...
Don't Panic!!!
These are busy days in the world of crisis comms. Keeping calm is vital - keeping the public calm is even more vital.
David Yelland and Farzana...
When Poachers Turn Gatekeepers
What happens when you cross enemy lines and join the other side?
As King Charles hires a Sky Royal correspondent for a top comms job at the Pala...
Can You Spin ChatGPT?
In the good old days, if you wanted some favourable PR for a client, you could call up a journalist and take them out for a jolly good lunch. It's not...
A Gulf in Communications
When your country's PR plan relies on the projection of safety and security, how do you keep that image alive when you're under attack?
This wee...
The Generation Game
Getting your message out is obviously a cornerstone of PR. But where you put that message is becoming even more important.
This week, David Yell...
Friends: The One About PR
When you’re in a crisis, you discover very quickly who your friends are. Or perhaps more accurately, who your friends aren’t.
This week, David Y...
Heart v Head PR
How do you fight a PR battle when everyone's already decided you're the bad guys?
That's the problem facing the water industry on the eve of a n...
Is the Office of PM Beyond PR?
Some jobs just can't be done. Circumstances, events and a changing world simply make them undoable.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis ask...
Are Andrew and Mandelson Beyond the Fan?
How close is the Palace to being sucked into the Epstein reputational black hole - again?
In this episode David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss...
Is the Beckham Brand in Jeopardy?
It started with a bombshell but the aftershocks are only just getting started.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis ask whether David and Vi...
A New Blueprint for PR
Reputations supposedly take years to build and seconds to destroy. But what if that's no longer the case?
What if the normal rules about earnin...
Is the Worm Turning on 'Fat Jabs'?
When everything's going really well, there's always a lurking fear that it can't possibly last.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at...
3. Don't Break the Fourth Wall
Call it smoke and mirrors, call it sleight of hand. The best PR is often invisible PR.
In this latest episode of our mini-series on the Golden R...
2. Don't Delay PR
Most of us are guilty of it. A problem looms or a crisis kicks off and the knee-jerk reaction is often to ignore it and hope it goes away.
Newsf...
1. Rolling the Pitch
This episode will change your life. Seriously.
It's a big claim and carries an enormous risk of over-promising.
Welcome to the latest epis...
Why Optimism is a PR Superpower
It may be the season to be jolly but there's not a lot of good cheer going around at the moment. With so much unrelentingly bleak news, how do you per...
Simon Cowell's PR: Judged!
It's panto season and panto villains don't come much bigger than Simon Cowell.
The music mogul's made a career and fortune playing the Bad Guy o...
Nuns on the Run
It's not easy winning a PR fight when you're up against three octogenarian nuns whose story has become a global smash.
This week, David Yelland...
Power, PR and the 'Epstein Class'
Imagine being able to read the private emails sent between some of the most powerful people on the planet.
This week, David Yelland and Simon L...
The Secrets of the List: Putting Yourself in the Frame for a Top Job.
When a top job becomes available, there very soon follows a list of potential 'runners and riders'. But how do you get your name on it? And how do you...
Is the BBC 'hopeless at PR'?
"They make really stupid basic mistakes and they are hopeless at PR."
If you're a podcast about PR, then that quote - made about the BBC this we...
Two Weeks that Shook the Palace
It was barely a fortnight - but in that time everything seemed to change.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at the dramatic way Buck...
The Strictly Bombshell
As PR moves go, it would surely have earned a '10 from Len'.
But what about the BBC's own communications team, who were seemingly as surprised a...
The Prince Andrew Crisis
No more Duke of York, no more Order of the Garter. But he is still Prince Andrew. And he is still the King's brother.
This week, David Yelland a...
What Victoria Beckham's revelation reveals about PR
Victoria Beckham is no stranger to headlines. And now she's revealed that intense media scrutiny led to her developing an eating disorder. Cue more he...
Michelle Mone: Her PR Rise and Fall
This week, David and Simon look at Michelle Mone's meteoric rise and spectacular fall - and examine the PR decisions that have come back to haunt her....
Prince Harry and the Men in Grey Suits
It was all going so well. Just a couple of weeks ago, it looked like a genuine reconciliation was on the cards between Prince Harry and his father, th...
Why the Macrons are willing to bare all
We are living in troubling times when Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, feel they have to go to court to prove she is a woman. The couple's lawy...
Prince Harry's PR Comeback
It was only a few months ago that Prince Harry was being roundly criticised pretty much everywhere. An ill-judged and hot-headed BBC interview where h...