The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Prince Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released hours later, but this investigation is far from over. Today I'm breaking down what actually happened, what it means legally, and what a decade of crisis avoidance looks like when it finally runs out of road.
In this episode:
What "released under investigation" means in the U.K. system and why it's not good news for Andrew
The two separate police investigation tracks, including a 2010 Windsor allegation being assessed with U.S. law enforcement
Why King Charles's response to this crisis is the exact opposite of what Queen Elizabeth would have done
The Wexner, Pritzker, Botstein, and Wasserman cases — and the crisis patterns connecting all of them
Five transferable frameworks for recognizing these patterns in real time
What you'll understand after listening: How to identify the moment an institution stops protecting someone and starts protecting itself. Why specific denials are more dangerous than broad ones. And what the Continued Association Problem means for anyone navigating proximity to a scandal.
This isn't celebrity gossip. It's a real-time case study in what happens when avoidance becomes a crisis strategy and why it always eventually fails.
Want More Behind the Breakdown?
Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.

Follow Molly on Substack
Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Molly's Live Events Calendar.
Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting.


Follow & Connect with Molly:
https://www.youtube.com/mollymcpherson
https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson
https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/
...

Thirteen days into a missing persons case that has captivated national media, the story isn't the search anymore—it's the searchers. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has turned a crisis investigation into a reputational implosion, and former ABC News correspondent Clayton Sandell walks me through exactly how it happened.
Guest: Clayton Sandell covered high-profile missing persons and mass casualty events for ABC News, including the Aurora theater shooting and numerous FBI-led investigations. He knows what institutional competence looks like during a crisis—and what we're watching in Arizona isn't it.
In this episode:
The press conference mistake that telegraphed weakness to every reporter in the room
Why showing up at a basketball game wasn't a harmless decompression—it was a strategic failure that signaled misplaced priorities
How the sheriff's defensive one-on-one interviews with outlets like People Magazine actively undermined the investigation's credibility
The moment the FBI stopped coordinating and started competing with local law enforcement over evidence
Why armchair internet detectives are producing better investigative questions than official press releases
What you'll understand after listening: How to spot when crisis response shifts from serving the mission to protecting the messenger. Why defensive quotes ("I had to decompress") reveal someone who's lost control of their narrative. The difference between information vacuums that build suspense versus those that breed conspiracy theories and erode institutional trust.
This isn't celebrity gossip. It's a case study in how law enforcement creates secondary crises by prioritizing self-protection over transparency.
Want More Behind the Breakdown?
Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.

Follow Molly on Substack
Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Molly's Live Events Calendar.
Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting.


Follow & Connect with Molly:
https://www.youtube.com/mollymcpherson
https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson
https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/
...

When law enforcement calls a press conference, they're supposed to provide clarity and control the narrative. Last week's Pima County Sheriff's press conference about missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie—mother of Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie—did the opposite.
I brought on Emmy-winning former network correspondent Clayton Sandell to break down what went wrong. He spoke with me during a live chat on Substack on February 6, 2026. Clayton spent 25+ years covering major breaking news for ABC and Scripps, and now trains leaders on crisis communication. If anyone knows what a press conference should look like, it's him. 
We dissect:
Why Sheriff Nanos appeared defensive and disorganized from the start
The critical mistakes: "Your guess is as good as mine" and "mistakes will be made"
How the FBI agent's composure highlighted the sheriff's struggles
Ashley Banfield's controversial reporting on a "person of interest"
Whether the $50,000 reward press conference was even necessary
Why the family's ransom video echoes Silence of the Lambs
How NBC is managing tragedy during Olympic coverage
This isn't a true-crime episode; it's crisis communication. However, the discussion does shed light on how an investigation can lose its way. When a press conference becomes part of the crisis instead of the solution, every misstep gets magnified. This case study shows exactly how that happens in real time.
What you'll learn: How to spot when officials are scrambling versus strategically withholding information, the difference between media training for one-on-ones versus press conferences, why "focusing on process" signals a lack of substantive leads, and what reporters are really looking for when they're in that room.
Guest: Clayton Sandell, Emmy Award-winning former ABC News and Scripps correspondent, crisis communication trainer
Watch the press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzPe6wG3GY0
Want More Behind the Breakdown?
Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.

Follow Molly on Substack
Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Molly's Live Events Calendar.
Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting.


Follow & Connect with Molly:
https://www.youtube.com/mollymcpherson
https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson
https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/
...

Breaking down Peter Attia’s public PR response after his name appears more than 1,700 times in recently released Epstein-related documents. The documents include emails and calendar references tying Attia to Jeffrey Epstein over multiple years. While the files do not allege Attia participated in Epstein’s criminal sexual conduct, the relationship and tone of the correspondence raise serious questions about judgment, proximity to power, and credibility.
Attia, a high-profile longevity figure with a paid membership and major online influence, posted a statement on X that he says was originally written to his staff and shared with patients. Molly walks through the statement nearly line by line to show why a response that leans on legal framing and denial language can fail to meet the public’s real concern, which is moral discernment and ethical boundaries.
In this episode
Who Peter Attia is and why his credibility is core to his brand
What it means to be referenced 1,700 times in the Epstein files
The reputational problem of sustained contact after Epstein’s 2008 conviction
Why using one internal letter for public consumption can backfire
The danger of treating a values crisis like a facts-only crisis
How denials and courtroom-style phrasing can read as calculated
Why intent and explanation rarely repair trust on their own
The spillover effect occurs when the public starts scrutinizing everything else
The bottom line lesson for anyone building a reputation online
Want More Behind the Breakdown?
Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.

Follow Molly on Substack
Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Molly's Live Events Calendar.
Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting.


Follow & Connect with Molly:
https://www.youtube.com/mollymcpherson
https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson
https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/
...

Most leaders hide behind surprise when disaster strikes. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara did the opposite.
In a January 2025 interview with The New York Times' Michael Barbaro, O'Hara said the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent was "predictable and entirely preventable"—and that he'd said so publicly the day before it happened. Days after I recorded this episode, federal agents killed Alex Pretti, a VA nurse, in another operation that has drawn national outcry.
This episode isn't about policing. It's about what leadership looks like when:
The crisis you predicted happens anyway
Your people are exhausted and under-resourced
You're caught between powerful institutions and community grief
One bad moment could erase years of progress
O'Hara doesn't perform. He doesn't spin. He names fear, admits fragility, and refuses to let federal agencies off the hook for dangerous tactics—even when it would be easier to stay quiet.
If you lead anything—a team, a company, a movement—this interview will show you what accountability sounds like when the performance stops and the real work begins.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW: The Daily, January 13, 2025: "Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara" with Michael Barbaro
KEY MOMENTS:
Why saying "this was predictable" is the hardest—and most important—leadership move
The F-bomb that built trust instead of breaking it
How O'Hara critiques ICE without collapsing into blame
What it means to hold both empathy and accountability at the same time
Why "turn the heat down" isn't neutrality—it's survival
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses police violence, federal enforcement operations, and community trauma.
Recorded January 2025. Updated following the killing of Alex Pretti on January 25, 2025.
Want More Behind the Breakdown?
Follow The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson on Substack for early access to podcast episodes, private member chats, weekly live sessions, and monthly workshops that go deeper than the mic. It is the inside hub for communicators who want real strategy, clear judgment, and a little side-eye where it counts.

Follow Molly on Substack
Subscribe to Molly's Weekly Newsletter
Subscribe to Molly's Live Events Calendar.
Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting.


Follow & Connect with Molly:
https://www.youtube.com/mollymcpherson
https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson
https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/
...