The Crisis Cast – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Crisis Cast

Lissa Druss & Thom Serafin

Business

News

Frequency: 1 episode/8d. Total Eps: 100

The Crisis Cast is a conversational journey in business leadership during a crisis. Our cast of experts review crisis management scenarios and provide resources for navigating uncharted waters. Each episode is moderated by renowned crisis communicators Lissa Druss and Thom Serafin.

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Apple Podcasts

🇺🇸 USA - management
14/04/2026
#71
🇺🇸 USA - management
13/04/2026
#68

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://www.smartdatingacademy.com
21 shares
https://www.kellyrichmondpope.com
7 shares
https://www.chicagoecohouse.org/
5 shares

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien
46 shares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kurtis
3 shares
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_McCarthy
2 shares

https://www.instagram.com/hospitalmusictherapist
5 shares
https://www.instagram.com/windyalliyahx2
1 share
https://www.instagram.com/themegamega
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 63%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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Latest published episodes

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Leigh Giangreco - Stories That Need To Be Told

Season 7 · Episode 10

jeudi 9 avril 2026 • Duration 23:07

You've seen her byline reporting for the New York Times, Forbes, Crain's Chicago Business, Block Club, and many more great destinations for news. Leigh Giangreco has superpower when it comes to unraveling complex stories. In this episode, Lissa & Thom go behind the scenes with Leigh on her recent work covering the tragic murder of Loyola student Sheridan Gorman for the New York Times. Plus, you'll hear what it's like to navigate in-depth journalism in a world ruled by doom-scrolling and short attention spans.

Rod McCulloch - Why Voters Are Smarter Than You Think

Season 7 · Episode 9

jeudi 19 mars 2026 • Duration 33:07

This week's Illinois primary election underscored that "campaign cash is not a strategy." Veteran political pollster and advisor Rod McCulloch from Victory Research joins Lissa & Thom to dig through the rubble of recent voter behavior. How does one candidate outspend an opponent three-to-one, and still lose? Why do endorsements fall short? Who benefits from low voter turnout? All the answers and many more questions are inside this episode of the Crisis Cast. Plus, you'll hear predictions for the "Super Bowl" of elections: the next vote for Mayor of Chicago.

Kevin Matthews - Broken Mary's Roadie

Season 6 · Episode 48

mercredi 24 décembre 2025 • Duration 32:10

For decades, millions of Kev-Heads were charmed by the characters and sonic genius Kevin Matthews created on the radio. Today, Kev is traveling the world as a roadie for a broken statue of the Virgin Mary. In this episode of the Crisis Cast, Lissa & Thom celebrate Christmas with a behind-the-scenes conversation about the "Broken Mary" that Matthews found next to a flower shop dumpster. You'll hear why Kevin insisted the statue remains "broken" — and how his spiritual transformation is now speaking to a new audience, without a microphone.

Jarrett Payton - I Wake Up to Give Back

Season 6 · Episode 47

jeudi 18 décembre 2025 • Duration 29:36

Service to others runs deep in the Payton family DNA. There's a global reminder of that before every Super Bowl, when one NFL humanitarian is bestowed with the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. In this episode of the Crisis Cast, WGN-TV's Jarrett Payton talks about the life lessons he learned from his father, and the vision he has for his own legacy. Lissa & Thom dive into Jarrett's obsession with watching game film, Ben Johnson's much-needed honesty, and JP's predictions for a Bears' playoff run. It's not like we're hungry. It's only been 40 years since the Bears won a Super Bowl. This week's Crisis Cast hero is Chicago ECO House CEO Quillen Blackwell.

Craig Volden - The Art of Lawmaking

Season 6 · Episode 46

dimanche 14 décembre 2025 • Duration 29:37

Put on your safety belts for a conversation about grading governance. In this episode, Lissa & Thom welcome Craig Volden, Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia. This discussion dives head first into the importance of civic engagement, the implications of term limits, and the perceptions of Illinois politics. Plus, you'll hear what the data says about who are Illinois' most effective lawmakers. This week's Crisis Cast Hero: Sharon McMahon. Read her story of medical debt relief here.

FLASHBACK: Frank Main - The Long Tail of Justice

Season 6 · Episode 45

jeudi 4 décembre 2025 • Duration 30:36

Pulitzer prize-winner Frank Main has been covering criminal justice in Chicago since 1998. Readers of the Sun-Times are drawn to his work for heeding the journalism mantra "inflict the comfortable, and comfort the afflicted."

In this episode of The Crisis Cast, we travel back to a discussion with Lissa & Thom about COVID's lasting impact on crime in upper Midwest cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit. They also examine two behaviors that began surging in the early 2020s at alarming rates: car-jacking and police retirements. This conversation was originally released in February 2021.

Gratitude Is Great Medicine

Season 6 · Episode 44

mercredi 26 novembre 2025 • Duration 16:08

We're celebrating Thanksgiving week with a conversation about the power of human relations. In this episode, Lissa reflects on how the recent passing of her mom revealed her treasured and growing extended family. Thom provides some comic relief in sharing famous last words. Plus, we'll relive and rewind to the gratitude we've found in our guests' personal stories.

Bonnie Jordan - The Rock For The Most Vulnerable

Season 6 · Episode 43

jeudi 13 novembre 2025 • Duration 28:47

There's a remarkable place in Glen Ellyn known both affectionately and functionally as The Rock. Born out of Illinois law 50 years ago, to serve deafblind students — the Philip J. Rock Center and School has a brand-new home. In this episode of the Crisis Cast, The Rock's executive director Bonnie Jordan shares the compelling stories of the families and students who receive their life-changing services and education. You'll hear how the German measles epidemic of the mid-1960s drastically changed the lives of many Illinois families. Plus, Bonnie shares her path from spelling champ to passionate educator and what she believes we're missing in teaching all kids, especially those with special needs.

FLASHBACK: Nick Kass - Question Everything

Season 6 · Episode 42

jeudi 6 novembre 2025 • Duration 56:24

For more than 30 years Nick Kass was guiding intelligence at the highest levels of U.S. government -- from the Department of State to the CIA, and the White House. Nick's mantra is simple: question everything.

Based in Bucharest, this Chicago native is now Senior Fellow for European Affairs at the Center for the National Interest. Thanks to Nick's life's journey full of questions -- he's in our chat room with a lifetime full of answers for Lissa & Thom.

Nick Kass is an award-winning analyst, reporter, and intelligence expert, and policy manager. Join this fascinating ride through diplomacy, from the global warnings inside President Eisenhower's farewell address to present-day Ukraine. This episode was originally released in October 2023.

Sylvie Légère - Dialogue Without Labels

Season 6 · Episode 41

jeudi 30 octobre 2025 • Duration 29:34

Sylvie Légère, co-founder and CEO of the Policy Circle, joins our chat room to share her journey empowering women through civic engagement and policy conversations. As the Policy Circle celebrates a decade of community service around the globe, Sylvie shares insights on the importance of abandoning labels for meaningful discourse. Plus, you'll hear why disengagement is the crisis she fears most.