Episode #63: A PR Master Creates a Big Ol' PR Mess, LinkedIn's New Pronouns, and Critical Race Theory

Talking Shop Podcast

We ran through more topics on Episode 63 than we have in any other previous episode! (And somehow managed to keep it under an hour...)

We kicked off the show by mentioning the major anniversaries that are clustered in early July: Canada Day falls on July 1, as does the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty. There's Independence Day in the US on July 4, of course -- and one more: the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. It might not get the same attention in western media, but it might be the most important anniversary among the group. Cam talks about why.

Ewan dives right back into the future of work this week with new questions over the value of meeting in person or via chat and video conferencing apps. Is innovation more likely to happen in person? Do we even know?

Cam touches on LinkedIn's decision to roll out new pronoun options, and also looks at Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's decision to call out a reporter in public on its website. It's a power move that we're starting to see done more often. We also get into the fall of Teneo CEO Declan Kelly and how the #MeToo movement has upped the ante on misbehaving executives.

In Check This Out, Ewan talks Tarantino (as in Quentin) while Cam carefully wades into the hottest debate happening in the US these days: critical race theory.

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Links and Show Notes

• Meetings. Why? - The New York Times
• Do Chance Meetings at the Office Boost Innovation? There's No Evidence of It. - The New York Times
• LinkedIn Adds Pronouns - Coywolf
• Teneo CEO Allegedly Carried on an Affair with Senior Executive - Page Six
• The Rise and Fall of Teneo's Declan Kelly - Wall Street Journal
• How Teneo's Master of the Dark Arts Spun Out of Control - Financial Times
• Post #MeToo, There's No Hiding Offensive Conduct - Bloomberg
• A Statement by Declan Kelly - Teneo

Check This Out

• Quentin Tarantino - WTF Podcast with Marc Maron
• Fresh Air: The Battle Over Teaching Critical Race Theory - NPR

Hosts

Ewan Christie is an employment lawyer and partner at Duntrune LLP in Toronto, Canada.

Cam MacMurchy is a corporate communications executive with a multinational technology company listed in Hong Kong and curator of the Digital Bits PR and Communications newsletter. He also contributes to Apple news website 9to5Mac and shares his thoughts on PR, media, travel, and technology on his website.