154 - Stop Waiting until they Break - Matt Newlands
What if we trained first responders for the mental and emotional demands of the job with the same intentionality we use to train them for firearms, tactics, investigations, or emergency response?
That’s the question at the center of this conversation with Matt Newlands, a former South Australia Police officer and co-founder of Frontline Mental Health.
Oct 7
47 min
What happens when you’re performing well at work—but you’re not actually doing well?
Rachael Stark knows that tension firsthand.
Rachael is a captain in the Army National Guard, a reserve police officer, works in policy and accreditation for a police department, and previously served as a forensic death investigator. On paper, she was successful, productive, and helping people. But underneath it all, work had slowly become her identity.
Sep 30
33 min
Episode 152 - POPPA: Peer Support at the NYPD
Police officers are trained to respond when everyone else is having the worst day of their lives. But where does the officer go when the person struggling is the one behind the badge?
In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, Conrad Weaver talks with Thomas Hovagim and Louis Lopez from POPPA—Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance, a peer-based nonprofit organization serving NYPD officers and retirees.
Sep 23
43 min
141 Days: Zero Contact — When the System Fails You
What happens when you’ve given decades of your life to law enforcement—and suddenly the system you trusted goes silent?
Deputy Chief Rusty Myers spent 31 years in law enforcement, serving as a patrol officer, supervisor, training commander, internal affairs investigator, and leader. He understood accountability. He understood investigations. In fact, he believed strongly that Internal Affairs should protect both the integrity of the profession and the officers who serve within it.
Sep 16
57 min
Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, we remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the first responders who ran toward danger, and the countless people whose lives were forever changed.
But what happened after the tragedy?
In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, Conrad Weaver sits down with filmmaker Michael Gier, creator of The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph, to explore stories from September 11 that many Americans have never heard.
Sep 9
32 min
Leadership and wellness are not separate conversations.
In this special edition of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, Conrad Weaver shares highlights from the first four episodes of the brand-new First Responder Leadership Podcast—featuring conversations with Chris Cowan, Jason Yerkovich, Kristen Ziman, and Max Gomez.
Sep 2
23 min
A New Chapter: Leadership, Wellness & What’s Next - Conrad Weaver
Something new is coming — and it’s been in the works for quite some time.
In this special edition of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, host Conrad Weaver steps away from the normal interview format to share two major announcements about the future of First Responder Wellness Solutions — and why leadership has become such an important part of the mission.
Aug 26
13 min
What does a technology company best known for TASER energy weapons and body cameras have to do with first responder mental health and wellness? More than you might expect.
In this special edition of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, host Conrad Weaver sits down with Bella Giannini, Head of Marketing at Axon Enterprise and one of the founding voices behind Axon Aid—the company’s philanthropic initiative providing wellness resources and support to first responders and public safety agencies.
Aug 21
32 min
147 - The Loneliness Epidemic Is Killing First Responders - with Dr. Jody Carrington
In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, Conrad Weaver sits down with Dr. Jody Carrington — psychologist, bestselling author, and former civilian member of Canada’s national police force, the RCMP — for an important conversation about first responder mental health, PTSD, burnout, loneliness, trauma, and the power of human connection.
Aug 19
51 min
What does it really take to go from a stolen car, a drug addiction, and a revolving-door relationship with jail — to 14 years of sobriety and a career saving other people’s lives?
In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, host Conrad Weaver sits down with Casey Burley, a recovery advocate and Narcan trainer who has been in recovery since September 14, 2011. Casey’s story is not a tidy redemption arc. It is raw, honest, and deeply relevant to every first responder who has ever wondered whether the people they keep encountering on their worst calls are capable of change.
Aug 12
45 min
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