02:18 Stephen’s overall impression of 2021 from a comms perspective (hint: it’s exhausting).

04:06 Jesse and Stephen discuss juicy UK drama around a leaked Christmas party.

05:38 “So it’s a completely bizarre situation at the moment. Politics in the UK is incredibly bizarre.”

06:24 Delightful internet meme video of the UK situation.

08:14 Why it is so difficult for Covid-19 measure to be consistently and clearly communicated by government officials and spokespeople.

09:54 “it's a fast changing situation. I think that that's the issue at the heart of it. We may have a public health issue where we're being guided by scientists, but then the communication is through a political lens.”

11:04 The Facebook Files and the whistleblower scandal

12:31 “Facebook has got to the stage now where it's too big to fail, and it's grown up in a regulatory environment where the law hasn't been able to keep pace with the platform.”

13:31 Facebook doesn’t allow for data or research which is a huge problem.

13:57 Facebook is attempting a rebrand.

14:11 “You can polish a turd but it’s still going to be a turd.”

17:58 How CEOs like Mark Zuckerburg and Elon Musk shape the public perception of a company.

19:03 Is it a good PR move to have the CEO be so public and communicative? Depends on the CEO.

19:25 Corporate communications is changing as everyone is now effectively in PR, for better or worse.

20:11 Lush cosmetics goes off social media in protest (again).

21:04 “If you're building your profile on rented land, someone else's media property, you've got to be concerned about that.”

22:02 “The challenge of organizations going dark on social is you need an awful lot of them to make an impact.”

23:33 Stephen Waddington’s newsletter as a way to connect directly with his audience without relying on social media networks.

23:50 “And that's absolutely the critical, I mean, you know, I I'd use social media and I'd recommend anyone uses social media to amplify. But own your own data and own your own media.”

24:10 Elon Musk Twitter shenanigans. He’s done a lot of great things, but he’s also ego-driven which informs his communications.

28:48 Elon Musk vs. the UN World Food Programme.

30:47 Contrasting the major tech industry leaders and their approach to communications strategy.

32:25 Burger King’s International Women’s Day blunder.

33:55 “Even if you excuse it as humor in poor taste, if there had been diversity around the table when they were talking about that as an idea, it wouldn't have ever seen the light of day.”

36:41 The Alec Baldwin situation.

37:59 “The issue is leaders, individuals, organizations, when they face a crisis, they've got to stand up and put themselves publicly front-and-center and hold themselves accountable.”

42:42 Stephen’s big recommendations for the year: This Week in Google podcast and the book Post Corona by Scott Galloway.

47:35 Stephen shares about Socially Mobile, the not-for-profit school he started with his wife to support diversity and inclusion in Public Relations.