What Just Happened? A Polpeo Podcast

Can two employees destroy trust in a global brand overnight? What makes people behave so recklessly at work, and what can organisations do to prevent an internal problem becoming a full-blown reputational crisis? When employees go rogue, the consequences can be devastating, but the warning signs may have been there long before the crisis hits. In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton revisit the infamous 2009 Domino’s Pizza crisis, when two employees filmed themselves contaminating food and uploaded the footage to YouTube. They’re joined by Emma Ewing, founder of Big Fish Training, to explore what the incident reveals about leadership, organisational culture and crisis preparedness. The videos went viral, sales plummeted and hundreds of people lost their jobs. But beyond the immediate reputational damage, what was happening inside the organisation that allowed two employees to become so disconnected from their colleagues, customers and employer? We explore the vital role managers play in employee engagement, why psychological safety can act as an early warning system for potential crises, and how a culture of blame can prevent communications teams from acting decisively when things go wrong. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

What happens when one of the most anticipated entertainment launches in the world is compromised by a major leak? How should a brand respond when confidential content starts circulating online, misinformation makes it harder to distinguish fact from fiction, and those responsible attempt to profit from the chaos? And can staying relatively quiet actually be the smartest crisis communication strategy? In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton examine the leak surrounding the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto release, exploring not only what happened, but also the wider implications for brands dealing with cyber breaches and confidential information. When clips showing apparent new features in GTA6 began appearing online, shared by an individual or group calling themselves CyberLeak, Take-Two Interactive responded with copyright takedowns and legal action aimed at uncovering those responsible. Genuine leaked footage became mixed with potentially AI-generated material, creating further uncertainty over what was authentic and what could legally be removed. Kate and Tamara discuss why the restrained response may have worked in its favour, how gaming companies approach communications differently from many other industries, and why public anger appears to have focused on the leakers rather than the company itself. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

When conventional protest appears powerless, what makes people turn to direct action against organisations? How should leaders respond when anger becomes disruption, criminal damage or violence? And could anxiety about artificial intelligence create the next flashpoint for public protest? In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton are joined by crisis communications expert Rod Cartwright to examine why direct action is rising up risk registers and what organisations can do about it. The discussion traces direct action from the Luddites, suffragettes and civil rights movement to Occupy, Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and Palestine Action. It explores how moral mandates and ‘in-group leniency’ shape perceptions of acceptable protest, and why companies can become targets through financing, investments or supply chains even when they are not directly involved in a contentious industry. The conversation offers practical, timely guidance for organisations facing boycotts or disruptive protests: understand the wider risk environment, stress-test security and communications plans, protect employees, respond firmly to illegality, and show empathy for the concerns driving the action. It also considers whether organisations should speak out on divisive issues – and why any position must be grounded in business, strategy and brand reality. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

What happens when a company challenges damaging media coverage in court? Can legal action restore commercial confidence, or does it simply revive the allegations and expose them to a much wider audience? And in an age when AI systems continually resurface past controversies, can a brand ever truly move on from a reputational crisis? In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton examine Evri’s reported £1.2 million legal action against the BBC following a Panorama documentary broadcast in December 2025. The programme raised concerns about delivery standards, customer dissatisfaction and working conditions, while Evri’s owners argue that the coverage caused serious financial damage. We explore whether the case could draw renewed attention to claims that many people may previously have missed, and consider how the dispute could influence the information surfaced by search engines and generative AI, which can preserve associations between brands and controversies long after public attention has moved elsewhere. We also discuss the potential tension between legal, commercial and communications priorities and whether the outcome could influence Evri’s ability to win major retail contracts. The key question is whether securing a legal victory will outweigh the long-term reputational cost of bringing the original allegations back into public view. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

What happens when a brand makes a bold Pride statement and refuses to retreat when criticism follows? Can humour create genuine connection with LGBTQ+ audiences, or does it risk reducing a diverse community to a stereotype? And when opposition becomes loud and hostile, should organisations apologise, stand firm or reconsider how they demonstrate their values? In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton examine the reaction to HelloFresh’s cheeky Pride Month social media post and explore what the controversy reveals about corporate inclusion, brand values and crisis preparedness. Along with Structural DEI consultant Ashley Alleyne, they discuss why the post attracted disproportionate international attention, why much of the outrage misunderstood the joke, and how HelloFresh responded without apologising or abandoning its position. The conversation also considers why inclusion cannot simply be added to a campaign at the final stage. Instead, it must influence how organisations collect data, brief teams, approve ideas, choose partners and prepare for potential backlash. The episode also explores cultural differences, employee divisions and harm reduction, asking organisations to focus not merely on what their campaigns say, but on what their actions materially achieve. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

How does a global brand make a mistake so culturally insensitive that it triggers boycotts, political condemnation, police scrutiny and store closures? In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton discuss Starbucks Korea’s ‘Tank Day’ promotion, launched on the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, when tanks were used to suppress pro-democracy demonstrations. They look at what happens when a local marketing campaign ignores historical trauma, and how far can accountability travel when a franchise relationship sits between the incident and global headquarters? The discussion covers the speed and severity of the response, including the firing of Starbucks Korea’s CEO, a reported 26% sales drop in the first week, public boycotts, government criticism and formal apologies from both Shinsegae Group and Starbucks in the US. Kate and Tamara also consider reports around AI-assisted slogan development, weak sign-off processes and the dangers of assuming that a campaign can be judged without historical context. Starbucks Korea made a decision to close around 2,000 stores for mandatory history and social sensitivity training, raising important questions about accountability, trust rebuilding and whether brand recovery requires visible sacrifice. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

What happens when employees turn a company’s own communication channels against it? How should organisations handle redundancies in an era where every meeting can be recorded, every internal message can be leaked and every disgruntled employee has a platform? In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton revisit the 2013 HMV redundancy crisis, one of the most famous social media crises of the digital age, and examine why its lessons remain just as relevant today. When employees who were being laid off live-tweeted the process from the company’s official Twitter account, what began as a shocking social media incident quickly became a landmark case study in crisis communication, internal culture and employee trust. The discussion traces HMV’s decline from high street giant to administration, before exploring how a failure to remove social media access allowed departing staff to publicly expose the redundancy process. It explores how employee activism has evolved, from rogue tweets and leaked internal communications to anonymous platforms such as Blind, Glassdoor reviews and viral TikTok videos. Leadership coach Jane Fordham joins the discussion to argue that incidents like HMV are fundamentally culture issues rather than technology failures. She explains how organisations can identify declining employee trust, rebuild damaged relationships and manage redundancies with greater transparency, planning and humanity. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

Ahead of the recent Championship playoff final, with the winners promoted to the Premier League and also set to benefit to the tune of £200 million, Southampton admitted to spying on Middlesbrough’s training sessions in an attempt to gain a competitive edge. What began as a bizarre story involving an analyst intern hiding behind a tree with a camera quickly escalated into a full-scale reputational disaster, culminating in Southampton being expelled from the playoffs by the EFL. In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton unpack the fallout that followed one of the most extraordinary and damaging football PR crises in recent memory. They discuss how the story exploded so rapidly, thanks in large part to the aggressive media strategy employed by Middlesbrough, and why Southampton’s response failed to rebuild trust. They also examine the wider consequences beyond football, including furious fans, potential lawsuits, damage to sponsorships and player earnings, and the long-term impact on the club’s reputation. The episode dives into the communications lessons behind the crisis: why apologising while simultaneously disputing punishment undermines credibility, how culture issues often start at leadership level, and the ethical concerns surrounding the use of a junior analyst in the scandal. This is a look at the consequences of trying to gain an unfair advantage when the stakes are high. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

What makes an apology believable? And what turns an apology into a crisis of its own? In this episode of What Just Happened?, Kate Hartley and Tamara Littleton revisit themes from their conversation with crisis communications expert Abby Mangold, exploring the messy, highly human territory of public apologies, CEO misconduct and organisational redemption. The discussion looks at the difference between a real apology and a non-apology, reflecting on the work of Dr Harriet Lerner and Brené Brown about why people apologise, what they are really trying to repair and why certain phrases often make things worse. A genuine apology, they argue, requires humility, accountability and meaningful action. The episode also addresses how organisations should prepare for senior leaders behaving badly ahead of time and a focus on culture, values, whistleblowing routes and clear processes. And it examines the role of the board when a crisis involves the executive team. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.

In July 2024, a faulty software update to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform caused around 8.5 million Windows devices to crash. The incident disrupted airlines, hospitals, banks, broadcasters and public services, with the UK economy alone estimated to have lost around £2 billion. In this episode of ‘What Just Happened?’, hosts Tamara Littleton and Kate Hartley are joined by managing partner at Clarity Kristin Ingraham to look at the reputational and legal fallout, including Delta Airlines’ $500 million lawsuit, CrowdStrike’s controversial $10 Uber Eats voucher gesture to vendors, and the wider debate about liability, accountability and apology. We discuss how a small flaw in an update created a major operational crisis, forcing affected machines into the “blue screen of death” and requiring many to be fixed manually. We also explore how Microsoft and CrowdStrike responded, contrasting Microsoft’s collaborative and clear messaging with CrowdStrike’s initially corporate and unemotional statement. The episode explores how crisis communication must balance legal caution with humanity, and discusses how legal, communications, IT and leadership teams must build trust before a crisis hits. We debate how much preparedness, empathy and cross-functional collaboration are essential to reputation recovery. A full transcript of today’s show is available to read here.