Month: May 2021

Memorial Day: A Gold Star Mother’s Story

May 31, 2021 Tim Episodes, History, Life & Style, Media, People, Politics, Politics, Society 00:38:06 Comments Off on Memorial Day: A Gold Star Mother’s Story

Marlyn Shipley joins Tim for a special Memorial Day episode where she tells her own story. Marlyn is a Gold Star Mother, which means she lost one of her children in service to the U.S. military. Marlyn’s son Michael was a specialist in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne. He died on December 12, 1985 when the plane that he and 247 other fellow troops were aboard, crashed in Gander, Newfoundland. Marlyn talks about what Memorial Day means to her, about the life of a Gold Star mother, about her son Michael.

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The Story Behind the American Front Porch

May 24, 2021 Tim Branding, Episodes, History, Life & Style, People, Politics, Society 00:47:40 Comments Off on The Story Behind the American Front Porch

Author and journalist Michael Dolan joins Tim to tell the story of the American front porch. He’s the editor of American History magazine and the author of a book entitled, “The American Porch: An informal history of an informal place.” In this episode, he talks about how the front porch shaped life in America for well over 200 years. You could say that when it comes to our homes, the front porch was the original social media.

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Should We Ban Political Talk from the Workplace?

May 17, 2021 Tim Business, Crisis Communications, Episodes, Life & Style, Marketing, Media, People, Politics, Politics, Public Relations, Society 00:36:24 Comments Off on Should We Ban Political Talk from the Workplace?

Steve Paskoff joins Tim to talk about whether it’s a good idea for employers to ban discussion of politics in the workplace. Steve is CEO of an Atlanta-based firm called ELI, Inc. That’s a company that provides workplace culture training for employers. In this episode, Steve explains how to handle the touchy issue of employees talking about politics and other sensitive topics at work.

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SCOTUS: Is 9 a Good Number?

May 10, 2021 Tim Episodes, History, Life & Style, People, Politics, Politics, Society 00:35:01 Comments Off on SCOTUS: Is 9 a Good Number?

Mike Davis joins Tim to talk about the current debate over whether or not to expand the size of the U.S. Supreme Court, otherwise known as “court packing.” Mike is president of the Article 3 Project. That’s an organization that focuses on the U.S. Constitution and the judicial branch of government. Mike explains how important it is to preserve the apolitical nature of the judicial branch of government, and the U.S. Supreme Court, in particular.

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Surveillance: You’re Being Ranked

May 3, 2021 Tim Episodes, Life & Style, Marketing, Media, People, Politics, Politics, Society 00:46:28 Comments Off on Surveillance: You’re Being Ranked

Kelley Vlahos joins Tim to talk about how big tech companies are starting to use your data to grade you in ways that may surprise and shock you. The focus of our discussion is your Social Credit Score and how China may be illustrating just how alarming its applications can be. Kelley is a senior advisor at the Quincy Institute and editorial director at Responsible Statecraft. She’s written about this population monitoring tool that before now was unthinkable in America. That’s the focus of this episode.

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Tim O’Brien

Tim O’Brien, author, senior media advisor and veteran damage control expert, takes you inside the issues, the stories and to the people who reveal things you may not know, and other things some may want to keep hidden.  With over 35 years in handling high stakes and complex crisis management situations, and in his own comfortable style, Tim probes to uncover what’s real and what matters. What will shape the future. He developed the Shaping Opinion podcast to help you see how influence is at play every day. Get a fresh perspective that will help you see through the spin.