Month: March 2021

Power Struggle: Big Tech and Antitrust Reform

March 29, 2021 Tim Business, Crisis Communications, Episodes, History, Life & Style, Politics, Politics, Society 00:38:24 Comments Off on Power Struggle: Big Tech and Antitrust Reform

Antitrust expert Bill Baer joins Tim to talk about the growing interest in antitrust and efforts to rein in Big Tech. Bill is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, and has a unique view of all of this. He was Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and before that he had served as Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. In this episode, Bill explains how antitrust reform, particularly for Big Tech, has already begun to take shape.

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How Free is Speech on the American College Campus?

March 22, 2021 Tim Episodes, Life & Style, Media, Politics, Society 00:47:45 Comments Off on How Free is Speech on the American College Campus?

Princeton professor and author Keith Whittington joins Tim to talk about the current state of free speech, or not-so-free-speech on the American college campus. Keith has a long resume of accomplishments, including the authoring of the award-winning book, “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech.” But in this episode, we talk about Keith’s role in the formation of a new and already growing organization that champions freedom of speech called the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA).

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Ricky Cobb: Twitter’s Hilarious Super 70s Sports

March 15, 2021 Tim Branding, Entertainment, Episodes, Life & Style, Marketing, Media, People, Society, Sports 00:46:05 Comments Off on Ricky Cobb: Twitter’s Hilarious Super 70s Sports

The man behind one of the hottest comedy Twitter accounts, Ricky Cobb, joins Tim to talk about his creation called Super 70s Sports. It’s a Twitter account about sports and pop culture from the ‘70s through the ‘80s, which has built a huge following, including many celebrities. Super 70s Sports is a tongue-in-cheek and irreverent tribute to one of the craziest eras in sports and pop culture history.

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Don’t Tell Alice Roosevelt Longworth What to Do

March 8, 2021 Tim Episodes, History, Life & Style, People, Politics, Politics, Society 00:45:18 Comments Off on Don’t Tell Alice Roosevelt Longworth What to Do

Biographer Carol Felsenthal joins Tim to tell the story of one of the most talked about members of a first family in 100 years. Alice Roosevelt Longworth was Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter who was well ahead of her time for her wildness, her outspokenness and her ability to make headlines. And long after Teddy died, Alice continued as force of nature for anyone who was anyone in Washington, D.C. throughout the 20th Century until her death at 96 years old in 1980.

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Encore Presentation: The Story Behind the Family Road Trip

March 3, 2021 Tim Entertainment, Episodes, History, Life & Style, Society 00:36:39 Comments Off on Encore Presentation: The Story Behind the Family Road Trip

This Encore Presentation features advertising veteran and author Richard Ratay (from Episode 21). He joined us in 2018 to talk about how America’s new roadways brought the country and families closer together. The conversation ranges from homespun stories of family on the road, to how pop culture was influenced by America’s growing super highway infrastructure, as they talk about Rich’s book, “Don’t Make Me Pull Over: An informal history of the family road trip.” We release Encore Presentations to revisit special moments for listeners who may have limited access to our earlier episodes on their podcast channels.

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Ron Coleman: Free Speech on Trial

March 1, 2021 Tim Business, Crisis Communications, Episodes, History, Life & Style, Marketing, Media, Politics, Politics, Public Relations, Society 00:44:15 Comments Off on Ron Coleman: Free Speech on Trial

Attorney Ron Coleman joins Tim to talk about his U.S. Supreme Court victory for an Asian-American rock band called The Slants over the issue of free speech. Ron details a case that is now a landmark Supreme Court victory for freedom of speech.

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O’Brien Communications’ Shaping Opinion Podcast is an award-winning podcast about people, events and things that have shaped the way we think. It sits at the corner of culture, history and communication.

We publish new episodes on Mondays. Each episode features a conversation between Tim O’Brien and a guest.

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Tim O’Brien is a Pittsburgh-based communications veteran with experience in complex matters that have ranged from marketing and C-suite issues, to crisis and issues management. He’s the producer and host of Shaping Opinion, where he talks to guests on a wide range of topics at the intersection of communications, history and culture. He’s available to provide media interview coaching,  consulting and speaking, and of course, he is always interested in your thoughts for the podcast. Just get in touch.