CIPR Engage Podcast
Engage is a quarterly podcast from the CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) that digs into the challenges and opportunities facing PR and communications practitioners. Each series brings a range of perspectives from across the industry, offering insight and food for thought. It is produced primarily for PR practitioners, but the themes are also valuable for anyone working alongside PR and comms teams or with an interest in the profession. CIPR members can earn 5 CPD points for listening to an episode.
Episodes
Supporting Menopause at Work
In this episode of Engage, host Stuart Culley, an in-house communications practitioner in the construction sector and CIPR EDI Champion, sets out to understand what perimenopause and menopause mean for the people going through them, and for the colleagues, line managers and partners who support them.
Joining Stuart for this discussion are:
Helen Crumley, communications leader with 25 years’ exper
Crisis Communication for Boards
In this episode of Engage, host Katherine Sykes Chart.PR, FCIPR, Founder and Co-Chair of the CIPR's Crisis Communications Network, makes the case for crisis communication as a board-level priority.
The conversation centres on Crisis Communication for Boards, the Network's new handbook published in association with the Institute of Directors. Katherine is its editor-in-chief and lead author. The pa
Creating Effective PR and Communications Campaigns
In this episode of Engage, host Miriam Brown, founder of Mulberry Brown Communications, gets under the bonnet of what makes an effective communications campaign.
Miriam is joined by Sarah Key, content team lead at NHS Blood and Transplant, and Tim Ridgway, Chartered PR practitioner and strategic stakeholder engagement manager at Surrey County Council. With a focus on the public sector, they cover
Ageism in PR
In this episode of Engage, host Abha Thakor, journalist, Chartered PR Practitioner, and CIPR Fellow, examines ageism in the public relations profession and the experiences practitioners face in the workplace.
Abha is joined by Jenny Manchester, author of the 2025 CIPR-funded report "An age-old problem: What can we do to tackle ageism in PR?", and Avril Lee, CIPR Honorary Fellow, independent commun
Leadership and Impact - The Future of Strategic Communications
In this episode of Engage, host Steve Bryant, Co-Chair of the CIPR Podcast Editorial Board, interviews speakers and attendees from the CIPR's 2025 Annual Conference - Leadership and Impact.
Recorded backstage at the conference itself, the episode brings the substance of the day's mainstage sessions to listeners who couldn't be in the room, with each speaker reflecting on the insights they shared,
Causing the right kind of trouble: overcoming bias in decision-making
In this episode of Engage, host Ben Verinder, managing director of Chalkstream, explores a critical question for every PR professional: how can we help organisations make better decisions? Joined by Dr Jon White, consultant in public relations and organisational development, and Shayoni Lynn, CEO and founder of behavioural science communications consultancy, Lynn Group, the conversation examines t
Joining the Board: the opportunity for communications professionals
This conversation examines the pathways to director and non-executive director roles for PR professionals, the unique perspective communications experts bringing to board-level decision making, and practical advice for practitioners considering this career progression.
Hosted by Ann-Marie Blake FCIPR, Co-Founder of True Comms, this episode investigates key aspects of board participation including
Navigating the Misinformation Age
In this episode of Engage, Melissa Fleming (UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications) leads a thought-provoking exploration into the complex debate around misinformation with guests Dr. Leon Hawthorne (former CNN, CNBC and BBC broadcaster) and Tom Southern (Director of Special Projects at the Center for Information Resilience) offering contrasting views on its impact and scale.
From
Leadership, preparedness and managing reputation in a crisis
From missing flights to Novichok poisonings, in this episode of Engage crisis comms specialists Rod Cartwright and Sarah Thomas share their real-world experiences of navigating risk and preparing for crises with host, Charlotte West.
Exploring the most common threats and opportunities facing organisational reputation today, Sarah and Rod also discuss the role of leadership and culture in a crisi
PR in the Age of AI
The following episode summary was originally created by AI and edited by the CIPR’s podcast editorial board:
A year on from the launch of ChatGPT, host and chair of the AI in PR panel, Andrew Bruce Smith, marks the natural language processing tool’s first birthday by reflecting on the technological advancements we’ve seen in AI over the past year and its impact on the future of PR and comms teams.
Horizon – the future of PR and comms
In the fourth and final episode in the series celebrating the CIPR’s 75thanniversary, host Henry Heming interviews speakers and attendees at the Horizon conference focusing on the future of the profession.
Featuring interviews (and timestamps) with:
00:44 - Sheeraz Gulsher, co-founder at People Like Us, discusses creative campaigns and practical tips on making PR more inclusive.
07:17 - Fatima
Celebrities in the Headlines: Celebrity PR in the 1990s
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ (CIPR) Engage podcast returns with a new episode exploring the rise of spin the evolution of 1990s celebrity culture and power.
Hosted by Mark Phillimore, a Senior Lecturer on the Master programme in Public Relations at the University of Greenwich, this is the third instalment in the Engage series dedicated to celebrating the CIPR’s 75th anniversary.
Winning the War For Talent
To what extent is there a War For Talent in PR and Communications? How can companies attract, develop and retain key people? What steps should employers take to ensure their onboarding processes are truly inclusive and encourage greater diversity?
In this episode of Engage, host John Clegg, Internal Communications and Engagement Manager at HR Wallingford, considers these questions and explores the
What’s the value of brand?
How important is understanding the rise of brands for building successful campaigns and engaging with audiences effectively?
In this episode of Engage, host Rebecca Jabbar media trainer and founder of Brand Champion Bootcamp, delves into the evolution of brands, examining how successful brands have built their reputations, grow their customer bases, and use employer brand to attract and retain e
Reflections on tech, diversity and entering the profession
In conjunction with the CIPR’s 75th anniversary celebrations, this episode of Engage explores how the PR and communications industry has evolved in recent years and the challenges practitioners and teams are still grappling with.
From social inclusion to diversity, and the impact of technology on the outcomes and skills needed to work in the sector, panellists reflect on their own experiences and
Communicating your ESG strategy with credibility
Doing business responsibly is a growing priority for many organisations, particularly as they are increasingly being held to account by their stakeholders.
In this episode, host and Head of Responsible Business at Irwin Mitchell, Kate Fergusson asks our panel of ESG experts how PR and communications professionals can best support their clients and companies in their ambition to clarify and communi
Influencing the future
Recorded live at the CIPR’s annual 2022 conference, this special episode of Engage hosted by Debbie West and Sara-Anne Mills-Bricknell from the CIPR’s Podcast Editorial Board, explores the key trends shaping the future of the industry.
From how technology is changing the shape of public relations, the future mediascape, and the increasing importance of purpose, culture and employee relationships,
Cleaning up toxic information: The fight against climate change disinformation
2022 has been a record-breaking year for weather-related events. China recorded its highest temperatures and driest summer in 60 years. A third of Pakistan is currently underwater due to severe flooding and temperatures in the UK reached 40 degrees Celsius.
Hosted by Shayoni Lynn, CEO and founder of Lynn, this latest episode of Engage, explores the differences between mis and disinformation, parti
The current state of public affairs
Research has found that public trust in Government and in elected politicians is at an all-time low in England right now. With a number of scandals over the past few years in politics, it is more crucial than ever that public affairs professionals show that they are being ethical and transparent and are working to support the UK’s democratic policy-making process.
Hosted by Max Sugarman, CIPR Pub
Accessible Communications
One billion people, or 15% of the world's population, experience some form of disability with the World Health Organisation estimating that two billion people will need at least one assistive communication, memory, or hearing aid in the next 10 years.
In this episode, host Zach Cutler, CEO of Propel, and guests explore the role PR and comms practitioners can play in helping businesses and organi
Strategic communicators
The entire world has been changed by the Coronavirus pandemic and as communicators, we've seen boards come forward and ask for interventions and advice in ways that have never happened before.
Whilst there’s been a lot of work undertaken both by the Chartered Institute Public Relations and by other professional bodies to ensure that communications is seen as a strategic management discipline; no
Inspiring social purpose
Social purpose is continuing to capture the attention of the C-suite and boardrooms but what exactly is it and what role can PR and comms teams play in supporting their clients and organisations to be more purposeful?
In this episode, host Andy Green FCIPR and guests Shannon Walker founder of Social Disruption, Matt Appleby director at Grow Social Capital and Ben Caspersz founder and managing dire
Hybrid Working
The pandemic has provided an opportunity to explore how we can work differently. The post-COVID world is a very different landscape for a lot of businesses, with many proposing to adopt a hybrid working model, as opposed to go back to the office full time.
Guests Sofia Cann, Martin Flegg and Kate Shaw share their views and experience with our host, Jenni Field. They explore the opportunities and b
Building resilience
2021 may not have got off with the start we’d all hoped for, making navigating the ongoing COVID-19 crisis even more challenging for self-employed practitioners and teams.
For this quarter’s episode, guests Amanda Coleman, Rebecca Mander and Sharon Flaherty will be sharing their first-hand experiences with host Dan Jones to provide practical tips and takeaways for building resilience and accessi
Doing diversity differently
Diversity is about far more than just ticking boxes and as the recently published CIPR State of the Profession report shows, there is still much more for the sector to do to better reflect the society that it communicates with.
This debate will highlight the findings from the report, why the PR industry is still struggling to attract diverse talent and what organisations should consider when shapi
