Lead Balloon - Marketing, Public Relations and Strategic Communications Stories

Compelling tales from the world of public relations, marketing and branding, told by the well-meaning communications professionals who lived them.

Lead Balloon is like Freakonomics for communicators and media consumers.

It's a show where we tell stories from communications industry leaders, brands that everyone knows and loves (or hates), and spectacular PR disasters.

With immersive storytelling and a wry sense of humor, host Dusty Weis (nominated for "Best Indie Podcast Host" at the 2026 Podcast Academy awards) revisits epic PR disasters, intense communications scenarios, professional inflection points and notable campaigns we all remember, and usually finds a reason to chuckle.

Because sometimes, there are important lessons to be learned from someone else's worst day.

And sometimes, it's just more convenient than group therapy.

Lead Balloon is an award-winning program, named by Adweek as "Marketing Podcast of the Year," nominated for a W