Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good:Learn what works from leading social innovators, with host Spencer Critchley.
Spencer Critchley is the host of Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good. He is an award-winning writer, producer, and communications consultant with experience in broadcasting, film, digital media, public relations, advertising, and music. He is the managing partner of Boots Road Group, an advertising, public relations and digital media firm that serves purpose-driven organizations.
As a communication consultant, Spencer has worked for both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, former Congressman Sam Farr, the U.S. Department of Labor, the University of California at Berkeley, the Monterey Jazz Festival, and many others.
As a digital media producer, his clients have included David Bowie, Moby, Santana, Britney Spears, and others while he was with Thomas Dolby’s Beatnik Inc; the Silicon Graphics-Time Warner-ATT interactive TV system; Silicon Gaming; and the multiple award-winning Choosing Success multimedia program for CCC/Viacom, described by Wired magazine as "the most inspired piece of educational software ever created." He produced Boots Road Group's Davey, W3, and Videographer Award-winning video “Rancho Cielo: Transforming Lives” for Rancho Cielo Youth Campus.
As a journalist, Spencer reported stories for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and others, winning awards for investigative reporting from Public Radio News Directors Inc. and the Associated Press. For CBC Radio, he was a correspondent and guest host for the national entertainment and popular culture show “Prime Time,” the host of the syndicated “Canada Rocks” record review, and a contributor to “The Entertainers” and other programs. He has written for the Huffington Post, O’Reilly Radar, Business Insider, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and other publications, and is the host of the Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good podcast (dastardlycleverness.com).
As a composer and music producer, Spencer was signed to a songwriting and artist development contract with Warner-Chappell Music Publishing. He created music for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation including for the Peabody Award-winning CBC Radio drama “Paris from Wilde to Morrison” and the series shows "Prime Time," "Radio Banned," and "Metro Morning." He composed the score (with collaborator Marco D’Ambrosio) and produced the music, dialog, and sound design for the Emmy-winning PBS documentary "Blink.”
Spencer is an adjunct lecturer in Journalism for the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. He has been a guest speaker for Stanford University’s documentary film program; New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; Art Center College of Design; California State University Monterey Bay; the American Constitution Society; MacWorld; Intel Developer World; the Game Developer's Conference (GDC); Interpret America; the New Teacher Center; the California Association of Public Information Officials; and the SXSW, Hot Springs, and Bermuda Film Festivals.
He has been interviewed or quoted by the Associated Press, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CNN, Fox News, i24 (Israel/US), ITV (UK), Mix Magazine, MSNBC.com, National Public Radio, Reader’s Digest, Sky News (UK), and others.
Web: spencercritchley.com | Twitter: @scritchley | Facebook: spencer.critchley.page
Dastardly Cleverness In The Service Of Good is produced by:
Nov 14, 2018
It was called the most important election of our lifetimes, but so much of the coverage has been the same old horse race stuff. Not on Dastardly Cleverness, though: in this episode we dig deep with experts who have worked with Barack Obama, John McCain and the Democratic National Committee, among others.
Kevin Lewis was one of the first people to join Barack Obama’s presidential campaign back in 2007. He went on to serve as the White House Director of African-American Media, as press secretary to Attorney Generals Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, and as Obama’s post-presidency spokesperson. Kevin is now a senior adviser at a Washington-based consulting firm, Blue Engine Message and Media.
Dan Schnur no longer belongs to any political party, but he has a background as a top Republican consultant. He was the Director of Communications for John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign, and the chief spokesperson for former California Governor Pete Wilson. He now teaches at the University of Southern California and the University of California at Berkeley, and is frequently interviewed about politics by major media outlets.
Enrique Gutierrez is the Hispanic Media Director and the Southern Region Press Secretary for the Democratic National Committee, which he joined in the summer of this year. Before that he was the Communications Director for Voto Latino, after working for the Arizona Democratic Party, including during the push in Arizona by the Hillary Clinton for President campaign.
This time on Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good, we hear from all three about the crucially important election we just had: not for the usual “Who’s up and who’s down,” but for their deeper insights about change, especially how you make it happen.
One theme that emerged that may surprise: authenticity. As Kevin Lewis says, “Candidates were being themselves, and they weren’t necessarily following the traditional playbooks.”
More at dastardlycleverness.com.