The Penta Podcast Channel

Since 2020, there has been a shift in the political dynamics between the U.S., EU, and China. Between increasing tensions over regional security posturing, and upcoming policy in the U.S. and EU dictating outbound investments and ethical sourcing guidelines, the West's relationship with China is becoming increasingly complex. In the U.S., there have been calls for a full decoupling from China, whi...

Today on What's at Stake, Bryan DeAngelis, partner at Penta based in Washington, D.C., is joined by fellow D.C.-based partner Andrea Christianson and Brussels-based partner Chris Mehigan.  The trio examine the current state of AI regulation in the U.S. and the EU. The AI regulatory framework is complex and evolving, and the group discusses the implications of recent developments, including th...

This week on the Macrocast, Ylan, Brendan, and John dive into the  current global macroeconomic growth, exploring the latest trends in markets and consumer behavior among the world's major economies. The team also breaks down the latest economic sentiment index from Penta and Civic Science. What does the improving outlook mean for banks and homeowners? Should we expect the Fed to respond with...

On today's episode of What's at Stake, Mike Berland, Senior Partner at Penta, sits down with Jonathan Adashek, IBM's Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications and Chief Communications Officer. The duo discusses the role stakeholder engagement has had in Jonathan's career, including how his past work on political campaigns impacted his ability to cater to different groups of stakeholders...

On today's Macrocast, hosts Ylan, John, and Brendan are joined by Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, to break down the debt ceiling deal and its implications for fiscal and monetary policy going forward. Plus, the group dives into this month's surprisingly strong jobs report. Does the Fed have one more hike in it, or will it finally let up?&nbs...

This week on What's at Stake, host Elliott Owensby is joined by Penta experts Andy Whitehouse and Jill Craig to dive into the complicated mergers and acquisitions landscape companies are facing today. With a focus on the crucial role of communications and public affairs, they explore the complexities of completing transactions in today's uncertain macroeconomic environment while effectively managi...

In this week's episode of the Macrocast, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan tackle the looming issue of the approaching debt ceiling X-date, discussing the Treasury's decision to delay note auctions and the ripple effects the situation has had on the market. What can we expect from the Fed in the back half of this year? Does the White House have an ace up its sleeve in negotiations? And what...

In this installment of What's at Stake, we are going to our archives and re-visiting an episode perfect for recent graduates hoping to land a job in D.C. Penta President Matt McDonald spoke with Tom Manatos, Head of Federal Affairs at Block and the mind behind Tom Manatos Jobs, and Mo Elleithee, Executive Director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service. The trio break...

Today's Macrocast is a special one! First, Ylan interviews Raphael Bostic, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, with whom she spoke earlier this week at the 2023 Federal Reserve Financial Markets Conference. The pair discuss how the Fed makes predictions and decisions to tackle economic crises. Bostic explains that the Fed has amended the way they survey the private sector, in...

On this week's episode of What's at Stake, Stratton Kirton hosts Penta Partners Andrea Christianson and Rory O’Donnell, who have both done extensive work on agriculture, food, and trade. With supply chain shocks, Russia's war in Ukraine, and climate change, there is a renewed spotlight on global food production and supply chains. In the U.S., Congress is writing a multi-year farm bill that will he...

This week on the Macrocast, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan sit down with Jeanna Smialek, Federal Reserve and Economics reporter for the New York Times and author of the book "Limitless: The Federal Reserve Takes on a New Crisis." The group explores the challenges the Fed tackled  during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has been navigating the political and economic aftermath since. A...

On the latest episode of "What's at Stake," Bryan DeAngelis hosts Penta Partner Lauren Wolfson and Managing Director Melissa Manson. With the Biden administration set to officially terminate the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, the group reflects on the changes to the way we work that have occurred since the pandemic began over three years ago, and explores the challenges and opportunit...

On today's Macrocast, Ylan and Brendan host Wendy Edelberg, director of the Hamilton Project and a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. They break down this morning's latest jobs day numbers, which signal an optimistic outlook for the labor market, even as the economy shows signs of cooling. On the flip side, the group warns of the impact of inflation expectations on wag...

On May 6, King Charles will have his formal coronation in London, nearly eight months after he ascended to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The coronation has been highly anticipated by royal watchers around the world, though not without criticism from some.  On today's episode, Bryan DeAngelis hosts Louise Stewart, a Penta Strategy partner based in London, to...

This week on the Macrocast, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan sit down with John Dick, CEO and Founder of Civic Science, to dive into the latest economic sentiment index from Penta and Civic Science. The group also explores what the new GDP and PCE figures mean for consumers and the broader economic outlook. Recession fears are rising, but will the Fed tap the breaks or carry out another rat...

This week on What's at Stake, Bryan DeAngelis hosts Penta Partner Meghan Pennington and Managing Director Ylan Mui to dissect the looming battle over the U.S. debt ceiling. With an uncertain "X date" approaching, and President Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the "five families" of the Republican caucus at odds, the stakes are getting higher every day. The group navigates the murky waters...

The topic: the debt ceiling. On this edition of the Macrocast, our host Ylan Mui is joined by John Fagan and Brendan Walsh of Markets Policy Partners, as well as Zach Moller, Director of Third Way's Economic Program. The group delves into the looming debt ceiling, analyzing the political landscape, and predicting how the markets will react. From a hard-to-pin-down X date–the day on which the feder...

Generative AI is here and here to stay. Opportunities abound for adopters—but businesses need to consider the ways in which they are vulnerable to AI-driven risks, including risks to their brands. On today's episode of What's at Stake, Bryan DeAngelis, Andrea Christianson, Oliver Edelmann, and Blake McGill break down Penta's new framework to help companies assess the brand risks of AI. After descr...

This week on the Macrocast, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan dive into the latest from the Federal Reserve and this week's IMF-World Bank spring meetings, exploring whether the FOMC's predictions and current macroeconomic indicators point to signs of a recession. The group also discusses Speaker Kevin McCarthy's upcoming speech laying out the U.S.'s debt limit plan, as well as their thought...

Today on What's at Stake, Bryan DeAngelis, partner at Penta based in Washington, D.C., is in London to interview two of the leaders of Penta's international financial services work, partners David Cook and Victoria Walsh. David and Victoria share how their experiences helping government institutions and businesses in Europe communicate around the biggest financial services developments in recent h...

On today's Macrocast, Ylan Mui, Brendan Walsh, and John Fagan discuss this morning's "Goldilocks" March jobs report and the not-too-hot, not-too-cool labor market. Later, the group explores the impact of OPEC's production cuts on gas prices, which are rising just in time for spring break season, and examines the potential risks associated with de-dollarization. Finally, this week's episode wouldn'...

In this edition of What's at Stake, Andrea Christianson hosts Emily Duncan, senior vice president of federal affairs at American Electric Power (AEP), for a conversation on how AEP is taking on the complex challenges and opportunities facing the energy industry today. Emily's career has spanned a range of key areas within the industry. Though she began her career in energy law; over the past 15 ye...

The takeaway: the news is affecting consumer behavior, as indicated by major drops in confidence in the job market and in the overall U.S. economy. On today's Macrocast, Ylan, John, and Brendan host John Dick from Civic Science discuss the latest economic sentiment index, which shows that layoffs and banking crises in the headlines could be driving pessimism and lower spending among consumers. Lat...

On March 10, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed after what many are calling a bank run, triggering the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Since then, regulators and policymakers have searched for answers, mid-sized banks across the country have struggled to assuage fears over their stability, and Swiss investment firm Credit Suisse has been taken over by UBS as the SVB fallout has rippl...

On today's Macrocast, our new host Ylan Mui, managing director at Penta, sits down with John Fagan and Brendan Walsh of Markets Policy Partners to break down the Fed's latest 25 basis point rate hike. The trio points out that it was unique that Chairman Powell spoke so candidly about the Fed's uncertainty on how to adjust rates moving forward. Ylan, John, and Brendan discuss the state of the U.S....