Stories and Strategies with Curzon Public Relations
Welcome to Stories and Strategies, the world’s most listened to Public Relations podcast according to Podchaser, Goodpods, and data from Rephonic on public relations, communications, and marketing.
Hosted by award-winning PR professionals Doug Downs in Canada and Farzana Baduel in the UK, this weekly podcast offers you bold ideas, sharp insights, and honest conversations about the future of public relations, strategic communications, and marketing.
Every Tuesday, we release a new 20-minute episode packed with practical takeaways for PR professionals, communication strategists, and marketing leaders around the world. Whether it’s earned media, brand storytelling, digital communications, or navigating AI and behavioral science, we go beyond the surface and ask the questions that matter.
Stories and Strategies doesn’t do puff pieces or profiles, we dive into the real issues facing the global PR, marketing and comms industry with guests who are actively shaping it. Our episodes are trusted by listeners in over 100 countries.
Follow now and join a worldwide community of public relations, marketing, and communications professionals driving the industry forward — one story at a time, every Tuesday.
Episodes
198 episodes
When the Media Quote isn’t Human: Fake Quotes – Real Damage
What if the expert quote you just read in a news article wasn’t written by a human — but by AI? That’s already happening. A PR tool called Synapse is selling agencies the ability to fire off automated expert pitches to ...
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Season 4
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Episode 188
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25:15
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HARO Reloaded: How to Pitch Like It’s 2025
In today’s media landscape, journalists are drowning in pitches while PR professionals scramble for attention—often missing the mark entirely. But what if the problem isn’t the story, but the way it’s being told—and the tools we’re using to tel...
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Season 4
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Episode 187
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26:15
Selling our Value – Not our Time
What if everything you’ve been taught about pricing your work—tracking time, logging hours, justifying effort—was wrong? What if the real value of what you do isn't how long it takes, but what impact it has? In a w...
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Season 4
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Episode 186
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24:31
Authenticity Isn’t a Buzzword, It’s a Business Model
What if the smartest pitch you ever sent didn’t sound smart at all—but sounded real? In a world where inboxes are flooded with AI-polished messages, Lauren Passell makes a strong case for going the other way: writing like a...
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Season 4
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Episode 185
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29:38
Name, Blame, and Damage Control
Your reputation is your most valuable asset — but also the most fragile. In today’s world, a single tweet, leaked email, or bad headline can trigger a crisis faster than you can hit "refresh." But reputation isn’t just about avoidin...
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Season 4
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Episode 184
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27:40
Media Literacy in the Age of Misinformation
Is your media diet making you smarter? Or just more stubborn? In this episode, we sit down with senior communicator and former journalist Mark Burey to explore how the collapse of shared truth is reshaping public relations. From the...
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Season 4
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Episode 183
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27:58
Public Relations: Independent Function or Marketing Tool?
Are public relations and marketing two distinct disciplines—or is PR simply one piece of the broader marketing puzzle? It’s a question that stirs up strong opinions in boardrooms, agencies, and comms teams alike. Some argue PR is st...
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Season 4
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Episode 182
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28:42
The Missing Channel in Your PR Strategy
Most PR strategies still focus on the big three: social, legacy media, and search. But while everyone’s watching the headlines, the real conversations—the ones shaping trust, behavior, and brand reputation—are happening in people’s ears. Podcas...
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Season 4
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Episode 181
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29:28
Zambia’s Public Relations Revolution
What does public relations look like in a country where radio is still growing, social media still exploding, and communication reaches from rural villages to global platforms? In this episode, we take a closer look at Zambia — a n...
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Season 4
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Episode 180
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23:46
Employee Engagement Inside PR: What the Research Reveals
Employee engagement is evolving — and the old assumptions no longer hold. Today, workers want more than a paycheck. They want growth, flexibility, and to feel like their voices matter. In this episode, we unpack surprising new research on what ...
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Season 4
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Episode 179
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26:28
British Voices, American Ears: A Shift in News Consumption
More Americans are turning down the volume on domestic news — and turning up British voices instead. From BBC to The Guardian, outlets across the Atlantic are reshaping how U.S. audiences see their own country. Why is this happening...
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Season 4
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Episode 178
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26:00
GROW Your Way Out of PR Workplace Stress
Feeling stuck or stressed at work? You might just need to GROW your way out. Executive coach Sarah Waddington shares the power and practicality of the GROW model — Goal, Reality, Options, Way forward — in transforming workplace per...
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Season 4
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Episode 177
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24:52
Crisis Insurance: The New Safety Net for Reputations
Reputation is often treated like an invisible asset—vital but fragile. And while we insure everything from homes to art collections, very few think to protect their name. In this episode, we speak to PR pioneer Mark Borkowski about ...
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Season 4
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Episode 176
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28:55
Culture Add – NOT Culture Fit
What makes a workplace culture truly thrive—especially in the pressure-cooker world of creative agencies? Can you REALLY be tough on the work but kind to your people without compromise?Jo Carr, co-founder of Hope and Glory an...
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Season 4
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Episode 175
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27:16
Why Modern Communication is Making Us LESS Connected | Suhel Seth
In an age where opinions form faster than facts and headlines spark outrage before understanding, how do brands, leaders, and storytellers stay credible? Is your opinion truly yours? Or just an echo of your tribe?In this epis...
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Season 4
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Episode 174
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31:42
Cancelled. Convicted. Came Back: Andy Coulson’s Story
What happens when the man behind the headlines becomes the headline? Former tabloid editor and Downing Street comms chief Andy Coulson opens up about his very public fall from grace — from resignations and scandal to serving time i...
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Season 4
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Episode 173
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31:09
Who Do You Trust? Rethinking Media in a Fractured World
The media landscape is changing – and fast. In this episode, Tina McCorkindale, President and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations, breaks down the shift away from traditional news and the rise of emerging media. Drawing on ins...
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Season 4
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Episode 172
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25:19
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Talked Over and Ignored: PR Occupational Hazards for Women
The public relations industry has long been recognized as a female-dominated field, with women making up approximately two-thirds of the workforce. However, when it comes to leadership, women remain significantly underrepresented, comprising ju...
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Season 4
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Episode 171
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25:52
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Welcome CoHost Farzana Baduel - Season Four Trailer
Curzon Public Relations CEO, Farzana Baduel, joins the world’s most-listened-to PR podcast, as Guest Resident Co-Host!Alongside host
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Season 4
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1:21
The Science of How to Talk Like Ted
Ideas shape the world, but only when they’re communicated effectively. Some individuals have a remarkable ability to present their ideas in a way that captivates, influences, and inspires. A well-crafted and powerfully delivered idea doesn’t ju...
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Season 3
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Episode 170
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29:03
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The Words We Need: Communicating with Someone in Times of Grief and Tragedy
This episode is in honour of Podcasthon and in support of the
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Season 3
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Episode 169
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32:51
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Case Study: Rethinking Community Engagement in the Global Southeast
What if the key to development isn’t learning more—but unlearning first? In this episode, we explore how rural communities in underdeveloped nations can shape their own futures by moving beyond Western-imposed models of engagement.&...
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Season 3
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Episode 168
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31:02
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How AI is Learning to Understand Human Emotions (Polyvagel Theory)
In a world where technology is increasingly intertwined with human emotions, a new frontier is emerging—artificial intelligence that can understand how we feel. Imagine an AI system that doesn’t just analyze data but senses our emotional state ...
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Season 3
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Episode 167
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27:30
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FLASHBACK SUNDAY - PRSA’s Strategy to Out-Communicate Misinformation
This episode originally published in May 2024.At the end of 2023, PRSA assembled a group of 25 senior communicators from a wide range of industries, in-house and firms, for an additional meeting, with several follow-up meetings with subj...
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Season 3
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25:27
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How to Build a Personal Brand That Opens Doors
Personal branding isn’t just for influencers or CEOs—it’s for anyone who wants to stand out, build trust, and create new opportunities. Whether you’re an employee, entrepreneur, or freelancer, the way you present yourself can open d...
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Season 3
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Episode 166
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26:16
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