Welcome to Reputation Nation, the podcast that pulls back the curtain on corporate crises and reputation management. Join our hosts, a savvy corporate lawyer and a seasoned crisis management expert, as they dissect the headlines, scandals, regulatory actions, and cultural headwinds shaping today’s business landscape.
Host Anne Marie and Stacy interview former FTC Chief Trial Counsel Susan Musser about navigating the complex regulatory landscape for major media mergers.
29 Apr 2026
Fraud, Feeds, & Trademark Fights
Hosts Anne Marie and Stacy explore a 30 Under 30 fraud case, the addictive design of social media platforms, AI's impact on legal research, and the escalating trademark battles among public figures.
13 Feb 2026
Power Plays, Pink Slips, & Public Receipts
Hosts Anne Marie and Stacy dissect Costco's chicken lawsuit, Apple's platform fight, layoff credibility crises, and celebrity text leaks, offering lessons on managing public perception.
29 Dec 2025
Headlines, Hallucinations, & AI in the Hot Seat
Hosts Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher interview industry experts on navigating AI risk and reputation amidst growing public scrutiny and legal challenges.
19 Dec 2025
Courtrooms, Crises, & AI in Question
Co-hosts Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher interview industry experts on navigating AI lawsuits as reputation crises, offering insights for managing stakeholder communication and fear.
18 Dec 2025
Class Actions, Copyright, and Corporate AI
Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher discuss AI's escalating legal and reputational risks, exploring class actions and copyright lawsuits to guide companies in proactive AI risk management.
17 Nov 2025
9. Fast Four: Brand Backlash, Bot Wars, & Heists in the Headlines
Hosts Anne Marie and Stacy discuss brand backlash, bot wars, and headline-grabbing events, offering insights into crisis preparedness and reputation management.
Hosts Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher interview guests about the Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni case, revealing communication and legal strategies for high-stakes public scrutiny.
30 Oct 2025
7. Lively v. Baldoni: Subpoenas, Stakeholders, & Legal Strategy
Host Anne Marie Malecha and guest Stacy Bratcher dissect the Lively v. Baldoni case, exploring subpoenas, stakeholder influence, and legal strategy to offer insights for navigating high-stakes disputes.
23 Oct 2025
6. Lively v. Baldoni: Lawsuits, Leaks, and Receipts with Defamation Expert Joe Meadows
Defamation expert Joe Meadows joins hosts Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher to dissect the Lively v. Baldoni case, revealing how lawsuits, leaks, and evidence shape public perception and reputational risk.
16 Oct 2025
5. Lively v. Baldoni: Media Strategy, Missteps, & Reputational Fallout
Reputation Nation hosts Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher examine high stakes litigation through the Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni case, exploring the critical relationship between legal strategy and crisis communications when every filing makes headlines and every statement goes viral. They break down why "no comment" is never neutral, crisis management as a containment discipline and the use of litigation websites as strategic first-strike tools to frame narratives. The episode covers the pressure to speak versus the benefits of staying quiet, publicity for different stakeholder types and practical advice on vetting crisis firms.
10 Oct 2025
4. Fast Four: The Reality, Ethics, and Risks of AI
Reputation Nation hosts Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher examine how AI is reshaping crisis, regulatory, and reputation landscapes, spotlighting Penske Media’s antitrust lawsuit alleging Google’s AI Overviews siphon traffic from outlets like Rolling Stone and threaten digital media economics. They break down a federal ruling that lets Particle Health’s antitrust claims proceed against Epic Systems, a pivotal test of alleged EMR market power and data-access gatekeeping with industry-wide implications for health data competition. The episode also unpacks Shein’s AI-generated model controversy as a cautionary tale on vendor oversight and human-in-the-loop approvals, then turns to the Workday hiring-bias case, where a rare collective action highlights algorithmic discrimination risks for employers at massive scale. Actionable takeaways: pressure-test AI vendor practices, add human review to AI workflows, and prepare legal-comms strategies now for antitrust and bias scrutiny in the AI gold rush era.
2 Oct 2025
3. Trust on Trial: Governance, Board Resignations, and Crisis Comms Lessons from 23andMe
In this episode of Reputation Nation, Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher dive into how 23andMe’s breach escalated into a governance and trust crisis, including mass board resignations, founder dynamics, and a communications response that blamed users and arrived late on key safeguards like multifactor authentication (MFA). The hosts explain why a $30M class action is small next to the brand’s reputational debt, how boards should manage fiduciary duties under pressure, and what “do no harm” looks like in the first 24 hours of a crisis. The conversation closes with a practical Fast Four on accountability, legal realities in bankruptcy, product-data alignment, and the long road to rebuilding trust.
2 Oct 2025
2. 23andMe Data Breach: Legal, Privacy, and Reputational Fallout with Alya Sulaiman
In this episode, the conversation delves into the legal and crisis management challenges faced by 23andMe following a significant data breach. The discussion highlights the importance of trust, governance, and effective communication strategies in managing crises, particularly in sectors dealing with sensitive personal data. The Reputation Nation hosts, Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher, bring in data privacy attorney Alya Sulaiman to analyze the implications of the breach, the company's response, and the lessons learned for future crisis management.
2 Oct 2025
1. Data Rights, Oversight & Founder Control in 23andMe
This episode dissects how 23andMe’s data breach spiraled into a governance and trust crisis: board resignations, founder buyback optics amid bankruptcy, and a public response that blamed users. Hosts Anne Marie Malecha and Stacy Bratcher detail why entity-based health privacy expectations collided with a consumer retail DNA product, how directors’ fiduciary duties and D&O coverage factor into risk, and why the first 24 hours require empathy, precision, and audience segmentation. The Fast Four closes with clear, memorable guardrails for leaders handling high-sensitivity data.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
12 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
11 ratings
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