FIR Interviews

About FIR Interviews

Interviews with business leaders and innovators of interest to communicators

Publisher

FIR Interviews

Category

news · news · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Mar 2015

Latest episode

13 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

16 of 80 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   13 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   AI, trust and the answer economy – Pete Blackshaw on the future of brand credibility

   In this FIR Interview, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz interview Pete Blackshaw, entrepreneur and founder of BrandRank.ai, about how AI is reshaping brand credibility and the importance of trust in the answer economy.

2. 

   29 Jan 2026

   AI risk, trust, and preparedness in a polycrisis era

   In this FIR Interview, Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz speak with crisis and risk communication specialist Philippe Borremans about his new Crisis Communication 2026 Trend Report, based on a survey of senior crisis and communication leaders. The conversation explores how crisis communication is evolving in an era defined by polycrisis, declining trust, and accelerating AI-driven risk – and why many organisations remain dangerously underprepared despite growing awareness of these threats. Drawing on real-world examples, including recent AI-amplified reputation crises, Philippe outlines where organisations are falling short and what communicators can do now to close the gap between awareness and action. Continue Reading → (https://www.firpodcastnetwork.com/ai-risk-trust-and-preparedness-in-a-polycrisis-era/) The post AI risk, trust, and preparedness in a polycrisis era (https://www.firpodcastnetwork.com/ai-risk-trust-and-preparedness-in-a-polycrisis-era/) appeared first on FIR Podcast Network (https://www.firpodcastnetwork.com).

3. 

   10 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT

   AI and the Writing Profession with Josh Bernoff

   Josh Bernoff discusses his survey on AI's impact on writers, revealing a divide between users who see it as a productivity tool and non-users who fear its ethical and professional implications in this interview.

Inside a recent episode

AI, trust and the answer economy – Pete Blackshaw on the future of brand credibility

Published 13 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And so I do think, yeah, the marketers that really have superior products can back their claims, but they're also going to have to think about all these other areas that are going to creep into the algorithmic judgment. Like I do think you talked about human in a loop and you had a lot of CEOs, you know, Mark Pritchard was talking about that at con. I mean, everyone's going to be talking that. But these algorithms will kind of know whether you've completely sold everybody out to AI or whether you've kind of kept the blend. And I think some purchase behavior is gonna be based on that. I mean, I can see frustrated teenagers that are like already skeptical about AI creating shopping tools that say, I'm only gonna buy from companies that don't go too far on AI. […]

Who has been a guest on FIR Interviews

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Pete Blackshaw
• Josh Bernoff
• Stephanie Grober
• Monsignor Paul Tighe
• Richard Bagnall

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

20,248

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

70

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

50

Contact FIR Interviews

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about FIR Interviews