The Crux of the Story

In our forty-third episode of The Crux, Gary and Mike interview Vivian Schiller, executive director of the Aspen Institute and former president and CEO of NPR. Vivian emphasizes using evidence-based reality to guide media literacy and shutting down false, harmful information, especially amid the ongoing "infodemic."

In our forty-second episode of The Crux, Mike and Gary welcome Jeff DeMarrais, CCO of Cognizant, one of the world's leading professional service firms. We discuss using the "moneyball" methodology of communications, recruiting talent for the future, and telling your story looking beyond the traditional PESO model.

In our forty-first episode, Gary and Mike are joined by Tony Fratto, managing partner of Hamilton Place Strategies and former deputy press secretary in the George W. Bush White House. In the wake of a historic election, we discuss the evolution of news, polling, internal communications, and the notion of Trumpism.

In our fortieth episode, Gary and Mike welcome Jacqueline Adams, co-author of A Blessing: Women of Color Teaming Up to Lead, Empower and Thrive. Jacqueline shares anecdotes from her career as an Emmy Award-winning CBS correspondent and explains the book's fresh, bold analysis of African American female leadership.

In our thirty-ninth episode, Marta Newhart, Chief Communications Officer at Westinghouse Electric Company, joins Gary and Mike. After sharing compelling experiences relating to her Mexican-American background, Marta discusses how we can build upon diversity to create inclusion, as well as how companies should best communicate nuclear energy, science, and technology in a world that often distrusts...

In our thirty-eighth episode, Gary and Mike welcome the team that created the third annual PRWeek Bellwether Survey in partnernship with Boston University. Steve Barrett, editor in chief at PRWeek, Arunima Krishna, assistant professor at Boston University, Ray Kotcher, professor of the practice at BU, and Don Wright, the Harold Burson professor of public relations and chair for the department of m...

In our thirty-seventh episode, Gary and Mike are joined by Maya Malekian, a recent Boston University graduate, and Geneve Lau, a BU senior, to discuss their virtual pro bono public relations agency, Empath Worldwide. The two professionals share how and why they globally link young talent with nonprofits and small businesses to create purpose-driven work in a COVID-19 environment.

In our thirty-sixth episode, Oscar Suris, executive managing director of C-Suite Strategy and Crisis at Zeno Group, joins Gary and Mike to discuss diversity and inclusion, the convergence of societal issues with business operations, and the evolving nature of crisis management.

In our thirty-fifth episode, Gary and Mike speak with Dr. Matthew Fox and Dr. Don Thea from the Boston University School of Public Health. We discuss the challenges researchers and PR practitioners often face in communicating science, especially amid the ongoing pandemic, as well as best practices in sharing these topics more effectively.

In our thirty-fourth episode, Gary and Mike welcome Andy Pharoah, vice president of corporate affairs and sustainability at Mars. We discuss lessons learned from the pandemic and purpose-driven communications.

In our thirty-third episode of The Crux, Catherine Hernandez-Blades, senior vice president and chief ESG and communications officer at Aflac, joins Gary and Mike to weigh in on coronavirus-related challenges, values-based communications, and diversity and inclusion.

In our thirty-second episode of The Crux, Steve Schmidt, political strategist and principal at SES Strategies, join Gary and Mike. They discuss on the current state of the Republican Party, The Lincoln Project and the upcoming election.

In our thirty-first episode of The Crux, Dean Mariette DiChristina, the dean of the College of Communication at Boston University joins us to discuss virtual learning, the future of education and the impact of the coronavirus on the Boston University community.

In our thirtieth episode of The Crux, Mike and Gary welcome Dave Samson, general manager of public affairs at Chevron Corporation and future global vice chair of corporate affairs at Edelman. They discuss public trust, internal communications and marketing.

In our twenty-ninth episode of The Crux, we welcome Charlene Wheeless, former principal vice president of global corporate affairs of Bechtel Corporation. We discuss the Arthur Page Society’s 2020 agenda, an organization's purpose and prioritizing health.

In our twenty-eighth episode, Gary and Mike welcome Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist at Weber Shandwick, to discuss trends of managing, maintaining and improving corporate reputation.

In our twenty-seventh episode, Gary and Mike interview Boston University professor and political media consultant Dr. Tobe Berkovitz. They discuss political communications strategies in the 2020 presidential primaries and look ahead to the 2020 general election.

In our twenty-sixth episode, Gary and Mike interview their good friend Mike O’Neill, chief corporate affairs officer at American Express. At the time this episode airs, Mike is set to retire in a few weeks, so they talked about his favorite memories working at AMEX and Small Business Saturday.

In our twenty-fifth episode, Gary and Mike have the special honor of interviewing their adult children, Sarah Sheffer and Will Fernandez, two Millennials who care about change and purpose in communications. Sarah is the senior communications officer at Refugees International, and Will is a WPP Fellow at Wunderman Thompson.

In our twenty-fourth episode, Gary and Mike interview Boston University alum and former chief official White House photographer Pete Souza. They talk about Pete’s two books, Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents and Obama: An Intimate Portrait, as well as how we became the White House photographer for two U.S. presidents.

In our twenty-third episode, Gary and Mike are joined by Ray Kotcher, professor of practice at Boston University, Arunima Krishna, assistant professor at Boston University, and Steve Barrett, VP, editorial director PRWeek. They discuss the 2019 PRWeek Bellwether survey done in partnership with Boston University.

In our twenty-second episode, Gary and Mike interview Associate Professor at Boston University College of Communication, Tammy Vigil. They discuss the two books she published this year, Moms in Chief: The Rhetoric of Republican Motherhood and the Spouses of Presidential Nominees, 1992-2016 and Melania and Michelle: First Ladies in a New Era.

In our twenty-first episode, Gary and Mike interview Ethan McCarty, CEO of Integral Communications Group, to discuss the importance of internal communications.

This week, Gary and Mike interview Alex Dimitrief to talk about value and purpose. Alex is the former General Electric CEO outside of the United States. Today, he is a lecturer at Harvard Law.

In our nineteenth episode, Mike and Gary interview Jackie Gingrich Cushman, the author of the new book, Our Broken America: Why Both Sides Need to Stop Ranting and Start Listening.