Siblings at war, power struggles, a well-earned reputation in need of protection - who doesn't love a family dynasty drama? As Eric Trump hints he could try and run for President, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at how you PR a dynasty, in both business and politics. How do you build momentum and create an inevitability about succession? And on the extended edition on BBC Sounds, why the world of PR loves an anniversary. As Keir Starmer marks a year in power, David and Simon explain why it ca...
Jul 02, 2025•26 min
Just be your best authentic self. That's supposedly what we should all be striving for. But is it good advice and in public life, is it even possible? This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at creating the illusion of authenticity and why the public can sniff out a fake a mile off. Also, on the extended edition on BBC Sounds, David and Simon celebrate the PR holy grail that is the word-of-mouth smash. And with new statues being announced for the late Queen and Sir Andy Murray, they'll loo...
Jun 25, 2025•28 min
Sure, who wouldn't want a wedding snap with Venice's Grand Canal in the background? But what if there were also dozens of banners showing your face on a rocket being blasted into space? As Jeff Bezos and his multimillionaire guests prepare to descend on Venice for his Big Day, David and Simon look at how the lavish bash is set against a backdrop of protests against mass tourism across Europe. And why AirBnB is trying to mount a fight back. Also, in the extended edition on BBC Sounds, it seems ru...
Jun 18, 2025•29 min
Arise Sir Goldenballs. With David Beckham all set to receive a knighthood, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at whether it's possible to use PR to get yourself a major honour. Whisper it quietly, but there might be things you can do to, let's say, maximise your chances. Also, in the extended edition on BBC Sounds, they look at how to spin a change of direction after a week of high-profile U-turns. And they discuss what other campaigners could learn from Jamie Oliver as he sets his sights on how...
Jun 11, 2025•30 min
What do you get if the designer of the iPhone teams up with the founder of OpenAI? Unbelievable hype, that's what. This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis examine the huge buzz created by the news that Jony Ive and Sam Altman have joined forces to create 'the coolest bit of tech the world will have ever seen'. The claims don't end there - even though we have no idea what their new product will be. So how do you PR something that doesn't yet exist? Also, on the extended version on BBC Sounds, we...
Jun 04, 2025•27 min
It's that moment when a boss, a CEO or football manager goes all Peggy Mitchell and screams: 'You're Barred'. It might work in EastEnders but is it sensible in the world of PR? In this episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at the motivations behind banning journalists. Is a ban just one big power play and does it ever achieve anything? And more importantly, are there darker arts that can be more effectively employed to freeze someone out? Also, in the extended episode on BBC Sounds, they'l...
May 28, 2025•29 min
How do you PR the future? That's the question David Yelland and Simon Lewis are wrestling with this week. As Uber says it's 'ready to go' with driverless cabs, can the British public be persuaded to jump in? How do you sell a vision? Also, in the extended edition on BBC Sounds, they look at Gary Lineker's departure from the BBC and the PR rules around staying silent or speaking out. And when is a gift not just a gift? Possibly when it's a $400m plane. David and Simon pull back the covers on the ...
May 21, 2025•31 min
Spying tends to be a fairly secretive game, for obvious reasons. So eyebrows have been quizzically raised (a bit like Roger Moore's 007) following the naming of the woman apparently favourite to become the new chief of MI6. This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis explore the murky world of leaks. Who benefits from them, why are they done and just how damaging can they be? They'll explain why leaking is far from victimless and reveal their own experiences of turning on the news and realising som...
May 14, 2025•24 min
As far as royal interviews go, it'll take some beating. This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis sift through Prince Harry's BBC interview - and discuss whether it's a PR disaster. They discuss what sort of advice Harry is being given and why, when it comes to doing a big interview, the golden rule is 'never go in hot'. Listen to the full extended version on BBC Sounds, where David and Simon also look at how Marks & Spencer responded to a cyber attack - and why saying nothing can sometimes b...
May 07, 2025•24 min
What if your profession is to blame for almost everything? This week, David Yelland is joined from Washington by PR guru Phil Elwood - who thinks the industry needs to take a long hard look at itself. Accusing PR of being like a virus, Phil says the tricks of the trade that have been used for decades to influence, mislead and cajole have been co-opted by both the media and by governments. And the results aren't pretty. Producer: Duncan Middleton Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William...
Apr 30, 2025•25 min
David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the global battle for hearts, minds and reputations between the US and China. Following JD Vance calling the people of China peasants, how far is China's retaliatory social media PR strategy seeking to embarrass America, or is the United States damaging its own reputation all by itself? Plus - Birmingham's rat problem, Signal chat leaks and what's been dubbed 'the biggest PR disaster in the universe' - it's Jeff Bezos's rocket launch and why all great PR cri...
Apr 23, 2025•29 min
Quick Wins from the When It Hits the Fan team is our how-to guide to being better at your own PR and navigating the world of work like a pro. In these special short episodes, David Yelland and Simon Lewis give you lots of useful tips that might just change your working life – and it’ll only take a few minutes of your time. In this episode, they share their advice on how to avoid being taken for granted at work. If you feel like you're the office dogsbody, David and Simon have some great advice f...
Apr 15, 2025•11 min
Quick Wins from the When It Hits the Fan team is our how-to guide to being better at your own PR and navigating the world of work like a pro. In these special short episodes, David Yelland and Simon Lewis give you lots of useful tips that might just change your working life – and it’ll only take a few minutes of your time. In this episode they share their advice on how bosses and HR departments should best deal with making people redundant. Managing expectations and compassion are key. And remem...
Apr 08, 2025•11 min
In this special episode David Yelland and Simon Lewis answer PR questions sent in by When It Hits the Fan listeners. First off, they are just two little words but they carry a lot of meaning... why 'no comment' can be both a good and bad thing to say - and what you might be able to say as an alternative. Also, they have some great tips for how to deal with a boss who's demanding national coverage despite having nothing newsworthy to report. There's advice for small charities on how to get your m...
Apr 01, 2025•20 min
In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis unpick the PR levers being pulled behind the Heathrow airport shutdown caused by a fire at a local power substation – which left 300,000 passengers stranded, 1,300 flights cancelled and its CEO in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Was it wise to let it be known that CEO Thomas Woldbye was asleep when the decision was made to shut the airport? Or was it a leak? In any crisis there is always a blame game - who are the winners and losers...
Mar 25, 2025•26 min
Letting the cameras go behind the scenes of a company is always a risky strategy - but did it pay off for Thames Water? David Yelland and Simon Lewis assess whether BBC2's Thames Water: Inside the Crisis is a PR victory or a PR disaster for the much maligned utility. The frontline staff emerge as heroes, but is the real story being told? Also, how bad PR can kill a business - will the Tesla brand survive being tainted by Elon Musk? And how Prince William is using Aston Villa and football as soft...
Mar 18, 2025•28 min
Across the world reputations are being set by how leaders react to Donald Trump, including those of Keir Starmer and the King. Now Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, has seen his standing transformed by his "elbow’s up" anti-Trump stance. But in the country’s upcoming election, the Canadian question will be binary – who is the best candidate to deal with Trump’s America? Plus Abrdn’s reverse ferret and the decision by the investment company to return all its missing vowels following a wid...
Mar 11, 2025•28 min
In the wake of Donald Trump's decision to pause all US aid to Ukraine, David Yelland and Simon Lewis reflect on the breakdown in the relations between presidents Trump and Zelensky. How far was his humiliation in the Oval Office press huddle orchestrated in the Trumpian echo chamber? Was deploying the stabilising effect of the King both before and after that car crash press conference the wisest use of royal PR in decades? Also - how toy giant Hasbro managed to interrupt the global crisis to ann...
Mar 04, 2025•28 min
David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss how best to navigate the 'disinformation bubble' that appears to be parked over Washington DC. Could business take a lead from the media on drawing lines in the sand? Following Peter Mandelson's apparently off-the-cuff remark that Donald Trump's speech, in which he called Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator, was "interesting", what's the best way to deal with uninvited questions from a reporter? Is silence always golden? And, how long should people who've held pos...
Feb 25, 2025•28 min
David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at the £75billion PR battle currently waging between BP - one of the UK's biggest companies - and American activist investors who say it’s too weak and too woke. Also, the world’s top banker is caught ranting about work-from-home GenZers. Is it good PR or bad PR? And will the claim from conservative influencer Ashley St Clair that Elon Musk is the father of her baby derail his White House bromance with President Donald Trump? Do such 'scandals' matter in the US...
Feb 18, 2025•28 min
David Yelland and Simon Lewis take you inside the woke war rooms in which some of the world’s biggest companies have been sitting these last few weeks with their PR teams, working out whether to abandon their diversity, equity and inclusion programmes following Donald Trump’s ban. With net zero and US foreign aid also coming under the umbrella of what Elon Musk calls the 'woke mind virus’, is the war on woke the great PR distraction trick of our time? Also, 'Illuminating and electrifying!' Are b...
Feb 11, 2025•28 min
How do you PR a pivot and change the mood music as a politician? David Yelland and Simon Lewis take a look at the language Rachel Reeves is deploying as she tries to go for growth and what might lie behind the timing of AstraZeneca scrapping its UK vaccine plant. Also, the split that divides the world's PR elite - the political and business world is having to decide whether to follow Donald Trump's language or resist it, kowtow or fight. How do we all talk to America now? And a PR take on the pu...
Feb 04, 2025•28 min
In a rare, open and frank discussion, David Yelland and Simon Lewis go behind the scenes of The Sun newspaper's historic apology to Prince Harry, including for 'serious intrusion' by The Sun and unlawful activity by private investigators. There's no suggestion that any Sun journalist broke the law. But as a former editor of the paper during this time, what light can David shed on practices at Rupert Murdoch's company then - the use of private investigators and oversight of this, questioning sour...
Jan 28, 2025•28 min
In the wake of Donald Trump’s inauguration, David Yelland and Simon Lewis decode what it means for how the 47th US president does business. For the tech billionaires in the court of King Donald, as in the days of yore, proximity to power is key. The court can be a risky place if your king is capricious, so stay close, give him what he wants and prove your loyalty – and hope you can still look yourself in the mirror. Also, what TikTok, crypto and the PR tactic of “flooding the zone” reveal about ...
Jan 21, 2025•28 min
As the LA wildfires continue to burn, David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the challenge looming for US insurers that find themselves on the frontline of climate change communications - because it looks likely it's not the world's politicians who are going to explain to people the consequences of our warming planet, it's the insurance companies. Also, a fan-hitting Hollywood feud that has PR at the centre of it. What does the lawsuit between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reveal about t...
Jan 14, 2025•29 min
Quick Wins is our how-to guide to personal PR from the When It Hits the Fan team. David Yelland and Simon Lewis share their expert advice on how to navigate the working world like a pro. In these special short episodes, you'll lots of useful tips that might just change your working life – and it’ll only take a few minutes. In this episode David and Simon answer a listener's question on how to leave a job when you've only just started. They explain how to tactfully u-turn and quit before anyone n...
Jan 07, 2025•8 min
Quick Wins is a series of short episodes from the When It Hits the Fan team to help you navigate your own personal PR. In this episode, David and Simon answer a listener's question on how to use storytelling when presenting to your boss. They run us through their dos and don'ts when it comes to telling stories and presenting like a pro. Producer: Ella Blaxill Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
Dec 31, 2024•8 min
Quick Wins is our how-to guide to personal PR from the When It Hits the Fan team. David Yelland and Simon Lewis share their expert advice on how to navigate the working world like a pro. In these special short episodes, you'll lots of useful tips that might just change your working life – and it’ll only take a few minutes. In this episode they discuss how to recover from embarrassment at work. Mastering the art of the apology is key and remember, it may feel like the end of the world but no one'...
Dec 24, 2024•9 min
David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the use of 'royal sources' in Prince Andrew's China crises and reflect on the big ideas that have shaped our world in 2024. What are the common themes that might help us understand and navigate our increasingly uncertain world a bit better? They discuss how the Royal Family is the canary in the PR mine when it comes to dealing with the coming era of algorithms that work to channel negativity and disinformation, as well as the consequences of social media alg...
Dec 17, 2024•28 min
Quick Wins from the When It Hits the Fan team is our how-to guide to being better at your own PR and navigating the world of work like a pro. In these special short episodes, David Yelland and Simon Lewis give you lots of useful tips that might just change your working life – and it’ll only take a few minutes of your time. In this episode: how to survive the office party. Should the "hub and spoke" or the SAS-style approach be your strategy for the night? David and Simon share their work wisdom ...
Dec 13, 2024•7 min
