The Sway Effect

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Apr 2026

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About the show

'The Sway Effect', a podcast series featuring the innovators, disruptors, movers and makers that are shaping the Marketing & Communications Industry. The Sway Effect knows how to create trends, shape opinions and drive behavior. We will explore what’s now and what’s next in marketing and communications, and The Sway Effect's sweet spot -- connecting brands with industry experts, media and influentials the world over. We're not the usual cast of characters you'll find on Madison Avenue. We're authors, creators, warriors, neuroscientists, influencers, and all sorts of movers and shakers.

Listen to episodes

51 recent

April 30, 2026Episode 5023 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 50 with Isaac Sacolick, Tech Influencer and Writer, CIO.com and InfoWorld

For our latest episode, our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, is live at Appian World 2026 and sat down with Isaac Sacolick, tech influencer and regular contributor to CIO.com and InfoWorld and the President of StarCIO. For their chat, Jen and Isaac discussed the major takeaways from Appian's research with Harvard Business Review, what Isaac learned from this year's conference and how Serious AI will help enterprises move beyond AI hype into real-world results in the year ahead.

March 31, 2026Episode 4920 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 49 with Valerie Chapman, Founder and CEO, Ruth AI

For our latest episode, we are continuing our conversations from SXSW. Our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, caught up with Valerie Chapman, Founder and CEO of Ruth AI, the AI-powered career platform built to help close the $1.6 trillion gender wage gap. For their chat, Jen and Valerie talk about the Fortune op-ed that led to their connection, what Ruth AI is on a mission to do when it comes to gender parity as well as how women can create their own personal brand and continue to own their narrative on social media, at the decision table and in life.

March 19, 2026Episode 4817 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 48 with Astead Herndon, Host, Editorial Director, Vox Media

For our latest episode, we are live at SXSW and our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, caught up with Vox Media's Astead Herndon who is an editorial director and frequent host of outlet's Today, Explained podcast. Tied to SXSW 2026, Astead shares what he is hearing and seeing on the ground at the conference, how he and the team choose the topics to cover on the podcast and what communication professionals should focus on in 2026.

January 27, 2026Episode 4727 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 47 with Pete Pachal, Founder, The Media Copilot

For our first episode of 2026, our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, chats with Pete Pachal, Founder of The Media Copilot, a platform, podcast and newsletter all about how AI is changing the media. Off the back of CES, Pete shared his biggest takeaways and what's next for AI across the marketing, communications and media industries. Jen and Pete also discussed how newsrooms are managing AI today and other predictions for the year ahead.

November 25, 2025Episode 4622 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 46 with Jill Manoff, Editor in Chief, Glossy/Modern Retail + Marie Albiges, Managing Editor, Total Retail

In this episode, our Founder and President Jennifer Risi chats with two of the industry's top editors - Jill Manoff, EIC at Glossy and Modern Retail and Marie Albiges, Managing Editor at Total Retail - ahead of the busy holiday shopping season to understand what to expect this Black Friday and Cyber Monday including the standout trends, as well as the forces shaping the retail industry today and we head into 2026.

August 21, 2025Episode 4526 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 45 with Alex Knapp, Senior Editor, Forbes

In this episode, our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, chats with Forbes' Alex Knapp, who is a senior editor covering healthcare and science, to discuss the state of healthcare in the U.S. with a focus on how AI has become a major player across every field in medicine as well as how the industry has shifted over the last year, and what he expects to see in the future.

July 28, 2025Episode 4433 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 44 with Arun Sudhaman, Founding Editor, Earned First

In this episode, our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, chats with Earned First's Founding Editor Arun Sudhaman, to discuss the continued importance of earned media, the controversial topic – #DEI – as well as all the continued changes across our industry as we see more holding groups merge and major players step down.

June 23, 2025Episode 4324 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 43 with Frank Starling, VP and Chief DEI Officer, Cannes Lions

In this episode, our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, sits down with Cannes Lions' VP and Chief DEI Officer Frank Starling, live at Cannes to chat about how we - as an industry and as leaders - are going to keep diversity, equity and inclusion front and center at the festival, how Frank and the wider team are prioritizing impact as well as what’s next for DEI against the current and political environment.

April 3, 2025Episode 4221 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 42 with Julia Herbst, Work Life Senior Editor, Fast Company

In this episode, our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, sat down with Julia Herbst, Senior Editor for Fast Company's Work Life section, to discuss some observations made last month at SXSW, specifically tied to the future of work and how it's being impacted by technologies like AI and 'taboo' topics like DEI.

March 13, 2025Episode 4113 min

The Sway Effect - Episode 41 with Aimee Rinehart, Senior Product Manager, AI Strategy, The Associated Press

In this episode, our Founder and President, Jennifer Risi, sits down with The Associated Press' Aimee Rinehart live at SXSW to chat about her upcoming SXSW session that looked at how AI is transforming today’s newsroom and how reporters deliver the news today.