Just Checking In

Hosts Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss host U.K-based Bloomberg Opinion columnist Parmy Olson in an eye-opening discussion of her new book, "Supremacy AI: ChatGPT and the Race that Will Change the World." Parmy explains the history of the intense rivalry between Sam Altman of OpenAI and Demis Hassabis of DeepMind—two of the earliest AI innovators—as they compete to shape the future of artificial i...

Becky Buckman hosts David Krane, CEO and Managing Partner of the venture capital firm GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, for a discussion about the importance of thoughtful communications in the launch of any new tech company. Despite the tectonic changes in the media landscape, great comms still neesd to come directly from the founder, in his or her authentic voice, according to David. He sho...

Keyana Corliss and Becky Buckman welcome veteran technology-comms executive and founder of communications coaching practice poseycorp, Lisa Poulson, to the show. Lisa shares stories and insight from decades of work in the comms industry, weighing in on issues like getting nerdy engineers to stay on message; how much interview prep is too much prep; and how the current AI boom, PR-wise, is similar...

Keyana Corliss and Becky Buckman welcome Stanford University School of Business lecturer, communications expert, and author Matt Abrahams to Just Checking In. Host of the podcast ‘Think Fast, Talk Smart’, Matt Abrahams just released his new book, “Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot” .  In the business world, communication doesn’t just happen in p...

Keyana Corliss and Becky Buckman host Mixing Board member and Axios journalist Eleanor Hawkins in today’s episode for a conversation on getting the comms perspective in news reporting. Eleanor worked as the senior director of corporate communications for PBS in Washington prior to arriving at Axios, and previously worked in politics as a press secretary. Eleanor, who authors the weekly Axios Commu...

Keyana Corliss and Becky Buckman welcome Mosheh Oinounou, an Emmy, Murrow, and Webby award-winning producer who led teams at Fox News, Bloomberg, CNBC, and CBS before launching Mo News , a groundbreaking new online news service. Mosheh launched Mo News as a way to keep family and friends informed about the pandemic on Instagram, and it quickly exploded into a pioneering go-to site for nonpartisan...

Keyana Corliss and Becky Buckman welcome guest Alex Konrad, Senior Editor at Forbes, to Just Checking In. The group opens the conversation with a discussion of IPOs, AI and the state of the tech markets before Alex shares the work that went into writing his recent story on Garry Tan and Y Combinator. It begs asking what stories “pop” in an online market and how journalists grab the attention of re...

Join technology comms pros Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss as they cut to the heart of today’s tech-news cycle and the general craziness that is high-tech, corporate-communications right now. With a short, not-too-serious take on the industry—with plenty of humor and irony thrown in—they’ll bring you the best in the biz, across comms and media together, for one-of-a-kind insights and perspectives...

Episode show notes: Welcome to another episode of Just Checking In! Today our guest is Judy Shaw, the person in charge of corporate communications connected to listings and media relations at the New York Stock Exchange. She is also the host of "What's the Fund?" and one of our personal favorites, "NYSE Floor Talk," where she has conducted interviews with some of the most well-known CEOs, celebrit...

Episode show notes: Welcome to another episode of Just Checking In! Today our guest is Jennie Blumenthal, bestselling author of Corporate Rehab, a book focused on a topic that is likely very relevant to many of our listeners: burnout and the “hustle culture” that is so pervasive in our industry today.  Jennie spent many years as a top executive working with Fortune 500 companies, traveling fr...

Welcome to another episode of Just Checking In. Today our guest is Joe Williams, a tech writer, formerly of Bloomberg, Business Insider, and, most recently, Protocol. But with Protocol’s shutdown, Joe had time for us at JCI and offered us an interesting perspective on the state of the media today, including insights about how he likes to cover complicated, B2B technology stories. . This expert in...

Today it’s time to check in with tech-focused TV news–specifically, the senior field producer for CNBC in San Francisco, Laura Batchelor. In today’s episode, you’ll hear all about Laura’s career, including how she got to San Francisco and first became a television producer. Also, Laura shares what it was like to broadcast news during quarantine, how comms pros should think about pitching stor...

Episode show notes: Given the current market volatility, all tech companies are, in some sense, in unchartered waters–and comms departments are no exception. To get a better understanding of the current landscape, we’ve invited comms pro Sean Garrett, the founder of Mixing Board and the first communications hire at Twitter, to share his perspective. In this episode, you’ll hear about the genesis o...

Episode show notes: Welcome to another episode of Just Checking In. Today our guest is noted tech journalist and author Brad Stone. As senior executive editor for global technology at Bloomberg News and author of books including The Everything Store and Amazon Unbound, Brad has followed Amazon’s and Jeff Bezos’s personal evolution. In this episode, you’ll hear about the profound changes Amazon and...

Join technology comms pros Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss as they cut to the heart of today’s tech-news cycle and the general craziness that is high-tech, corporate-communications right now. With a short, not-too-serious take on the industry—with plenty of humor and irony thrown in—they’ll bring you the best in the biz, across comms and media together, for one-of-a-kind insights and perspectives...

The first season of Just Checking In concludes with a can't miss interview focused on one of the biggest technology and comms stories of the year–Peloton. Jessica Kleiman, Peloton’s SVP of global communications, talks about her career arc, the challenges and opportunities she’s faced over the last year and the company’s much-heralded response to a Peloton-related storyline in the recent “Sex and t...

Unicorns and dragons? A criminal trial? Eluding death? It sounds like we might be talking about Game Of Thrones in this episode, but actually we’re discussing a recent event that shook Silicon Valley to its core. Rachel Lerman was one of the people on the front lines covering the landmark Theranos/Elizabeth Holmes trial over the past few months. Rachel is a tech reporter at the Washington Post and...

Just about every communications professional has dealt with a PR crisis–and when they happen in today’s fast-past media world, the response needs to be faster and more well thought-out than ever. In this episode of Just Checking In, crisis-comms expert Amanda Duckworth, now an SVP focused on corporate reputation at Outcast Communications, talks about the “perfect storm” that has developed in the t...

Despite what many may think, the field of public relations isn’t always straightforward.. Rather it’s an art that demands strategic thinking, a deep sense of empathy, and good relationships built over time. And when it comes to PR in the tech industry, things get even more complicated–and some professionals today, anxious to secure coverage in an increasingly crowded and competitive market, are ma...

Corporate communications are often the most human side of a company. For groundbreaking organizations, building a communications team means enhancing new narratives aligned to a common goal. In this episode, Gina Sheibley, CCO at Qualtrics joins the conversation to talk about growing and leading a comms team, her experience working with agencies, and what it means to lay the groundwork for a corpo...

What happens when a real-estate company is valued like a technology company–and is led by a larger-than-life CEO who has aspirations to be the “president of the world”? That’s the story of WeWork, a rise and fall–and rise again–story that’s even turning into an Apple TV series starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. In this episode of Just Checking In, we’re speaking with Eliot Brown, the WSJ journ...

Welcome to the very first episode of Just Checking In! There's no better way to start this journey than by sharing this space with a Twitter personality. Alex Willhelm, AKA @alex is a Journalist and Senior Editor for TechCrunch, and an official source of information for the current state of the tech industry. In this episode we cover everything about the cloud services shift that the pandemic has...

Join technology comms pros Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss as they cut to the heart of today’s tech-news cycle and the general craziness that is high-tech, corporate-communications right now. With a short, not-too-serious take on the industry—with plenty of humor and irony thrown in—they’ll bring you the best in the biz, across comms and media together, for one-of-a-kind insights and perspectives...