The Leading in a Crisis Podcast

Tom Mueller
  • 5.0 (6)
  • MANAGEMENT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Interviews, stories and lessons learned from experienced crisis leaders. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.  Being an effective leader in a corporate or public crisis situation requires knowledge, tenacity, and influencing skills. Unfortunately, most of us don't get much training or real experience dealing with crisis situations. On this podcast, we will talk with people who have lived through major crisis events and we will tap their experience and stories from the front lines of crisis management. Your host, Tom Mueller, is a veteran crisis manager and trainer with more than 30 years in the corporate communications and crisis fields. Tom currently works as an executive coach and crisis trainer with WPNT Communications, and as a contract public information officer and trainer through his personal company, Tom Mueller Communications LLC. Your co-host, Marc Mullen, has over 20 years of experience as a communication strategist. He provides subject matter expertise in a number of communication specializations, including crisis communication plan development, response and recovery communications, emergency notifications and communications, organizational reviews, and after-action reports. He blogs at Blog | Marc Mullen Our goal is to help you  grow your knowledge and awareness so you can be better prepared to lead should a major crisis threaten your organization.Music credit: Special thanks to Nick Longoria from  Austin, Texas for creating the theme music for the podcast. #crisis #crisismanagement #crisiscomms #crisiscommunications #BusinessContinuity #LeadingThroughCrisis  #CrisisResponse

  1. 4D AGO

    EP79 The Great Kitkat Heist - using memes in a crisis, with Natalee Gibson

    Send us Fan Mail Twelve tons of Kit Kat bars get stolen, and suddenly the internet is doing what it does best: turning a real-world incident into a meme factory. We dig into why that kind of viral corporate humor can be a smart PR play in the right context, and why it can also become reputation roulette when the facts change. I’m joined by Natalie Gibson, founder and CEO of Songue PR, to talk about where the “fun” ends, how to think about risk, and what crisis communication looks like when everyone online is a commentator. From the Kit Kat tracker to brand pile-ons, we look at how social media narratives form in minutes and how quickly a light story can turn serious. We also talk about a bigger concern: memes can desensitize audiences, especially when the same formats get used around geopolitics and violent events. That shift matters for crisis management, because tone is no longer just a creative choice, it’s part of how people process harm, responsibility, and trust. We then jump into the burger wars and the surprising power of one CEO bite on camera. Natalie shares how to define leadership persona, how to coach executives for viral moments, and when a follow-up response helps versus when it makes things worse. Finally, we get practical about social listening and media monitoring across platforms, why no single tool is enough, and how rumor control and misinformation response have become central to modern crisis communications.  Reach Natalee Gibson at Songuepr.com  We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    34 min
  2. EP78 Crisis Comms at NASA, part 4: Crisis Exercises, the media landscape and deepfakes

    APR 28

    EP78 Crisis Comms at NASA, part 4: Crisis Exercises, the media landscape and deepfakes

    Send us Fan Mail A deepfake can hit your audience before your first internal briefing ends and the most “engaging” version of events is often the least true. That’s the reality we dig into with James Hartsfield, former director of communications at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, as we unpack what it takes to lead crisis communications in a changing media environment. We start with the foundation: practice. James explains why crisis exercises work best when communicators learn the system itself, not just the talking points, and why leadership has to show up side by side in simulations. He shares a memorable onboarding story that captures the standard at NASA: if you want to communicate under pressure, you need enough technical understanding to earn respect, stay coherent, and translate complexity into simple, accurate language. From there we get into what audiences actually respond to. People care about people, and crisis communication has to acknowledge human impact first, then clearly explain what happened and what you’re doing next. James also offers a hard-earned lens on post-crisis reviews: hindsight is a powerful teacher, but it’s a terrible yardstick for judging decisions made in real time. Then we take on the modern media landscape: fewer specialist reporters, less incentive for objectivity, and more profit in picking sides. Add social platforms, AI misinformation, and deepfake videos, and the job becomes equal parts truth-telling and distribution strategy. We close with the leadership side of readiness: how to hire communications staff, what traits matter most, and how NASA scales up communications teams during a major crisis by pulling trained people from across the agency. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with someone who owns crisis response at your organization, and leave a review with the one insight you’re taking into your next drill. We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    27 min
  3. EP77 Crisis Comms at NASA, part 3: The Columbia response and investigation

    APR 22

    EP77 Crisis Comms at NASA, part 3: The Columbia response and investigation

    Send us Fan Mail A shuttle breaks apart on re-entry, the world demands answers, and the people closest to the story have to decide what transparency actually looks like when an investigation is just getting started. We pick back up with James Hartsfield, former director of communications for NASA’s Johnson Space Center, to talk through what happened after Columbia’s first, intense week of press briefings and why it was essential for the Columbia Accident Investigation Board to take the communications lead. That handoff isn’t just process, it’s credibility, and it’s a reminder that you can’t invent trust in the middle of a crisis. We also get into the messier modern reality: crisis communications with partners. International cooperation on the ISS set the stage for commercial spaceflight, where companies have proprietary constraints but NASA still owes the public clear, honest answers when astronauts are involved. Using the Boeing Starliner situation as a lens, we break down how “stranded crew” became a headline, why that framing can be misleading, and how leaders can correct the record without fanning the flames. If you care about crisis leadership, reputation management, and clear communication under pressure, this conversation delivers hard-earned lessons you can use anywhere. Subscribe, share this with someone who leads in high-stakes moments, and leave a review so more people can find the show.  #NASA #spaceflight #spacex #crisiscomms #emergencymanagement We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    24 min
  4. EP76 Crisis comms at NASA, part 2: Challenger vs. Columbia crisis responses

    APR 18

    EP76 Crisis comms at NASA, part 2: Challenger vs. Columbia crisis responses

    Send us Fan Mail Columbia didn’t arrive when it was supposed to, and the whole world felt the silence. We sit down again with James Hartsfield, recently retired as director of communications at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, to walk through the most difficult minutes and hours after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and what crisis leadership looks like when every word carries consequence. He also looked back at the space shuttle Challenger response, and shares his thoughts on how differently the two incidents were handled by NASA leaders.  We talk about confirming the loss of the crew, and why that announcement belongs to the White House. From there, James breaks down the fundamentals of crisis communication that keep an agency functioning: stay focused on the job, protect public safety, and move fast with transparency. He explains how first statements shape trust, why credibility can shatter in a day, and how Columbia differed from Challenger when leaders chose to follow the crisis communications plan instead of clamming up. You’ll also hear the real mechanics behind daily press briefings: tracking press coverage, rumors, and speculation, coordinating updates from debris recovery and the investigation, and preparing leaders who are technical experts but still need to sound human. James shares why empathy matters, and why the best “talking points” are really “thought provokers” that help leaders speak truthfully without sounding scripted. If you care about crisis management, emergency communications, public affairs, and high-stakes leadership under pressure, this conversation is a practical playbook. Subscribe, share this with a teammate, and leave a review. You can reach James Hartsfield at hartshfield@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    20 min
  5. EP75 When things go wrong in space - crisis comms at NASA, part 1

    APR 14

    EP75 When things go wrong in space - crisis comms at NASA, part 1

    Send us Fan Mail The most frightening part of a space flight crisis is how fast it rewrites reality. One minute the plan is a routine landing and a little live education for viewers. The next, you’re choosing words that millions will remember forever. We sit down with James Hartsfield, a veteran NASA communications leader from Johnson Space Center, to talk about what it really means to be the voice of Mission Control during space flights. With Artemis II fresh in everyone’s mind, James explains how NASA crisis communications is built on preparation: simulation after simulation, deep technical study of spacecraft systems, and a relentless focus on being confident without ever getting comfortable. If you care about crisis management, media relations, and risk communication under extreme time pressure, this story delivers hard-earned lessons you can apply anywhere. Then we go to the space shuttle Columbia incident. James was on the PAO desk during the Columbia re-entry in 2003, and he walks us through the moment-by-moment shift from “nominal” operations to missing data, confusing signals, and the moment Mission Control understood that the shuttle had been lost. We also unpack why NASA’s contingency plan centers on a single trusted voice, how real-time messaging protects investigation integrity, and why public safety communication becomes the priority when debris and hazardous materials are involved. Subscribe for part two, share this with a leader who has to communicate under pressure, and leave a review so more people can find the show.  James Hartsfield can be reached via email at hartshfield@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    32 min

  6. APR 10

    From the archive: Bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in England - lessons learned from the police response

    Send us Fan Mail On today's episode we're revisiting the story of the terrorist bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England in 2017. A suicide bomber detonated a backpack bomb loaded with nails just after the concert ended, killing 22 concertgoers and  injuring hundreds more. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. Our guest today, Amanda Coleman, served as the lead press officer for the Greater Manchester Police during that incident.  That agency managed the initial response, which quickly escalated to a national incident with Cobra activation at 10 Downing Street. (Cobra is the UK government's highest level of government response to an incident, and includes the Prime Minister and key cabinet secretaries.) Amanda shares with us her experiences managing the communications team and facing the many unexpected challenges associated with a terrorist attack in her community. Amanda has published two books on crisis communication strategies and more routine communication strategies. You can purchase those books at Amazon here. This episode originally aired in June 2024. We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    26 min
  7. EP74 Managing social media in a crisis and building a capable team, with Lee Caraher

    MAR 29

    EP74 Managing social media in a crisis and building a capable team, with Lee Caraher

    Send us Fan Mail One rushed reply can turn a small complaint into a full-blown brand reputation crisis, and social media makes that mistake painfully easy. We sit down with Lee Caraher, president of DoubleForte PR and author of two management books, to talk about what crisis communication really demands from leaders and teams when the pressure hits. We dig into social media crisis management, including how to map likely scenarios, create response protocols, and decide your tip-over point before you jump into the comments. Lee breaks down why feeding trolls backfires, how algorithms amplify conflict, and how to keep perspective when a handful of loud voices feels like “everyone.” We also talk about monitoring and where signals can start, including Reddit and how its search tools can help you assess sentiment even without expensive social listening platforms. We get practical about crisis management skills you can build before the next incident. Lee shares the temperament she looks for in crisis communicators: deep curiosity, fast thinking, and the calm to become the person everyone turns to for direction. We also talk about how judgment is earned, why younger staff need proximity to experienced leaders, and why “never go alone” is more than a rule, it is a safeguard for speed, accuracy, and endurance. Lee is author of two management books, Millennials and Management and The Boomerang Principle. Find her books on Amazon here. Reach out to Lee via her PR firm at Double-Forte.com We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    29 min

  8. MAR 25

    EP73 Hot take on Air Canada plane crash communications, with Lee Caraher

    Send us Fan Mail A late-night plane crash is tragic on its own, but it also triggers a second crisis that unfolds at the speed of phones, headlines, and social feeds. We step through the early communications around the Air Canada Express crash at LaGuardia Airport involving a Jazz Aviation-operated flight, looking at what the public saw, what stakeholders needed, and where the response gained or lost precious time. Tom Mueller is joined by PR leader Lee Caraher, president of Double Forte PR, for a “hot take” on the first statements, the lag between brands, a CEO video, and the practical realities behind the scenes. We talk about why the first 15 to 30 minutes matter more than ever, how preapproved holding statements can prevent legal bottlenecks, and why “we’re aware and working the problem” is often the most responsible message when facts are still emerging. We also break down the CEO video response: the value of visible leadership, the importance of empathy you can hear, and the reputational risk of leaving half your audience behind when bilingual communication is expected. If you lead comms, ops, or legal, you’ll walk away with a clearer view of what “prepared” looks like when an incident is already online before your team is even fully awake. Subscribe for more real-world crisis management lessons, share this with a colleague who owns the crisis plan, and leave a review if it helped.  Reach Lee Caraher at Double-forte.com. You can find her published works on Amazon here. We'd love to hear from you.  Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.

    25 min
See All (80)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Interviews, stories and lessons learned from experienced crisis leaders. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.  Being an effective leader in a corporate or public crisis situation requires knowledge, tenacity, and influencing skills. Unfortunately, most of us don't get much training or real experience dealing with crisis situations. On this podcast, we will talk with people who have lived through major crisis events and we will tap their experience and stories from the front lines of crisis management. Your host, Tom Mueller, is a veteran crisis manager and trainer with more than 30 years in the corporate communications and crisis fields. Tom currently works as an executive coach and crisis trainer with WPNT Communications, and as a contract public information officer and trainer through his personal company, Tom Mueller Communications LLC. Your co-host, Marc Mullen, has over 20 years of experience as a communication strategist. He provides subject matter expertise in a number of communication specializations, including crisis communication plan development, response and recovery communications, emergency notifications and communications, organizational reviews, and after-action reports. He blogs at Blog | Marc Mullen Our goal is to help you  grow your knowledge and awareness so you can be better prepared to lead should a major crisis threaten your organization.Music credit: Special thanks to Nick Longoria from  Austin, Texas for creating the theme music for the podcast. #crisis #crisismanagement #crisiscomms #crisiscommunications #BusinessContinuity #LeadingThroughCrisis  #CrisisResponse

Information

  • Creator
    Tom Mueller
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    80
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Leading in a Crisis Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Leading in a Crisis Podcast