Your Episodes

Send us a text Episode 136: From Crisis to Connection with Brad Shepard What happens when the crisis isn’t on the call sheet, but inside you? In this episode of After the Tones Drop, I sit down with retired Oklahoma Highway Patrol Captain Brad Shepherd for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had about what it really takes to survive the weight of this work. Brad shares his journey through decades of law enforcement, building peer support teams, and eventually facing a personal reckonin...

Send us a text Episode 135: After the Tones Drop with Michael Slocum of Frontline Freedom In this inspiring episode, Cinnamon welcomes Michael Slocum—active Lieutenant with the Painesville Police Department and a leader at Frontline Freedom: Adventure Therapy. Michael shares how his passion for the outdoors and adventure has become a powerful tool for relaxation, resilience, and healing for himself and fellow first responders. Discover how Michael’s journey through law enforcement led him to ...

Send us a text In this deeply personal episode, host Cinnamon is joined by her friend and colleague, Lieutenant Kenny Schroeder, to explore the profound impact of losing someone to suicide within the first responder community. Together, they share their intertwined stories of grief, vulnerability, and the emotional aftermath of Cinnamon losing a client and friend. Cinnamon opens up about the self-doubt, guilt, and questions that haunted her after her client’s death, while Kenny offers the per...

Send us a text What if the very traits that helped you survive your childhood, your career, and your trauma are now the same traits keeping you lonely, exhausted, or shut down? In Episode 133, I sit down with Jimmy Portner and Dr. Nate Tomcik — founders of Radically Open Connections — for a powerful conversation about RO-DBT, the therapy model designed specifically for people who are too controlled. The perfectionists. The high achievers. The rule-followers. The leaders. The “I’m fine” respon...

Send us a text This week I sit down with Chicago Police Officer Carrie Matthews for one of the most honest and needed conversations we have ever had on this show. Carrie talks about living on both sides of suicide. She is a cop, and she is the daughter of an officer who died by suicide. Her story is raw, human, and filled with the kind of truth that too many first responders are carrying in silence. Together, we talk about the load you carry that no one sees, the pressure to stay strong, and ...

Send us a text In this powerful episode, Cinnamon sits down with David Dachinger, a retired fire lieutenant, Grammy-nominated music producer, cancer survivor, and mental wellness advocate to explore the intersection of trauma, healing, and transformation in the first responder world. From a stage-IV cancer diagnosis that changed his life’s direction to his groundbreaking work with Responder Resilience, Igniting the Shift Within, and the nonprofit 22Zero, David’s story is a masterclass in post...

Send us a text Episode 130: Out of the Warzone and Into the Water — Gage Hall on Stoke Therapy, Joy, and Healing in Motion What happens when the battlefield follows you home? In this powerful conversation, Cinnamon sits down with Gage Hall—Army veteran, firefighter, EMT, and founder of Stoke Therapy—to explore what real healing looks like when traditional therapy isn’t enough. After years of combat service and the invisible wounds that came with it, Gage discovered that healing doesn’t ...

Send us a text Podcast Episode Description - Episode 129Episode 129: Rick Markley on CRACKYL Magazine, Wellness, and Why Every Firefighter Should Register for the NIOSH Cancer Registry Rick Markley doesn't just talk about firefighter wellness—he's building the infrastructure to support it. As Executive Editor at CRACKYL Magazine and a volunteer firefighter himself, Rick brings a unique perspective on what it really takes to thrive in the fire service. In this episode, we're cutting through th...

Send us a text Episode 128: From Burnout to Breakthrough — How Kory Pearn Built CRACKYL Magazine and a New Model for Firefighter Wellness When passion becomes overdrive, the crash can be devastating. In this episode, Cinnamon sits down with firefighter, captain, and CRACKYL magazine founder Kory Pearn, who shares his story of burnout, recovery, and rebuilding from the inside out. Kory opens up about the moment his body forced him to stop, how he redefined strength through boundaries, and why ...

Send us a text In this powerful episode of After the Tones Drop, Cinnamon sits down with retired NYPD detective Tom Smith. Tom is a man who’s lived through the kind of calls most of us only read about. From growing up as the son of an NYPD cop to spending 30 years in service and leading on the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, Tom’s story is a masterclass in resilience, leadership, and the next chapter after the badge. Together, they talk about breaking the stigma around mental health in polici...

Send us a text Let’s not pretend. Leading is hard! Especially when you’re carrying your own scars. In this episode, I sit down with Matt Davis, a law enforcement leader and former crisis negotiator who’s walked through the fire and lived to talk about it. We get honest about mental health in law enforcement. The kind that sneaks up on you, fills your bucket drop by drop, until you’re drowning and nobody else can see it. Matt doesn’t sugarcoat his story. He talks about asking for help before h...

Send us a text Healing isn’t some mysterious thing that happens “out there”; it’s built into who you are. In this solo episode, I talk about what I call The Stitcher: the part I play and how our body is always working to repair, reset, and bring us back to balance. From my first set of stitches as a kid to the way our nervous system cries, sighs, and sleeps to restore itself, I share how healing shows up in everyday life—and why sometimes we need a little help bringing the edges together. The...

Send us a text What if PTSD wasn’t a life sentence? In part two of my conversation with Dr. Eugene Lipov, we go deeper into what he calls PTSI—Post-Traumatic Stress Injury and the breakthrough treatment that’s changing lives around the world: the Stellate Ganglion Block, better known as the “God Shot.” Dr. Lipov doesn’t just share the science. He brings real stories from first responders, military families, and trauma survivors who’ve found hope when nothing else worked. We talk honestly abou...

Send us a text What if the thing we’ve been calling a “disorder” is actually an injury that can heal? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Eugene Lipov, the board-certified anesthesiologist who pioneered the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB)—better known by veterans and first responders as the God Shot. We talk about the benefits, the evidence, and why it’s changing the way Trauma is treated. Dr. Lipov takes us from his early discoveries in pain management to clinical breakthroughs in PTSD,...

Send us a text Episode 122 What happens when one deputy’s search for resources turns into a nationwide lifeline for first responders? In this episode, Cinnamon sits down with Shawn Thomas, retired King County Sheriff’s deputy and founder of First Responder Conferences, to talk about what happens when someone decides that silence around mental health is no longer an option. What started as a single event to meet a local need has grown into a movement—conferences across the country where first ...

Send us a text Episode 121: The Dudes Abide: First Responder Brotherhood, Resilience, and the Fight for Mental Health What happens when two firefighters decide that health, wellness, and a little bit of humor can change the fire service for good? You get Nick Magoteaux and Jim Burneka Jr.—co-founders of the Firefighter Health & Wellness Conference and guests on this week’s episode. Nick and Jim aren’t just talking theory. Between lived experience, advocacy, and more than a few battle scar...

Send us a text Episode 120 With Scott L. Booth What if the very thing you were taught to hide as a leader is the key to unlocking stronger teams and deeper trust? In this episode, Cinnamon sits down with Scott L. Booth, Deputy Chief of Health and Safety and Peer Support Coordinator at Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One, to explore why vulnerability is not weakness—it’s a leadership superpower. With over 35 years in the fire service, Scott shares his personal journey: from a childhood marked by tra...

Send us a text Episode 119: Adam Boyd – Rethinking Situational Awareness We’re trained to protect others—sometimes so well that we forget to protect ourselves. In this conversation with Adam Boyd of Soleful Training, we talk about what it really takes to create resilient first responders—physically, mentally, and at home. Adam’s redefining “situational awareness” to include the one place we tend to ignore: our own lives. If you’ve been running on empty, putting your badge, y...

Send us a text Faith doesn’t always survive the job. For a lot of first responders, it’s not that you don’t want to believe anymore—it’s that after what you’ve seen, you can’t reconcile the idea of a loving higher power with the chaos, pain, and loss you’ve witnessed. In this solocast, I’m talking about what happens when the faith you were handed—Sunday school, stained glass, perfect attendance—stops working. And how sometimes, the only way forward is to build your own version from scr...

Send us a text Episode 117 — Vickie Speed: When Cancer Comes for One of Our Own Let’s stop pretending cancer is a retirement problem. It’s not. It’s a right-now problem—and it’s gutting the law enforcement community while too many departments still think a “pink patch” is enough. In this raw, deeply human episode, Cinnamon sits down with Vickie Speed, widow of Detective Mitch Speed and founder of Blue Cancer Connect—the first national organization built to support officers and families ...

Send us a text Episode 116 – “Tones Dropped. So Did He.” The fall—and rise—of Matty Fiorenza We Don’t Need Awareness. We Need a Damn Roadmap. with Matty Fiorenza Let’s stop pretending awareness is the goal. First responders don’t need another campaign... they need real help, real tools, and a system that doesn’t collapse the minute someone says, “I’m not okay.” In this raw and honest conversation, Cinnamon sits down with retired Anaheim firefighter/paramedic Matty Fiorenza—founder of the Fir...

Send us a text What happens when a first responder doesn’t just hit rock bottom—but takes responsibility for the impact of the fall? In this powerful and deeply honest episode, Cinnamon sits down with John Kelly, a retired deputy, author, and coach who has turned his personal reckoning into a mission to help others avoid the same crash. Together, they explore what accountability really looks like after the damage is done—and what it means to choose healing before you burn everything down. Joh...

Send us a text If You’re Not First, You’re Last (And No, This Isn’t About NASCAR) We’ve all heard the line “If you’re not first, you’re last.” It was meant to be a joke in a ridiculous movie, but what if there’s real truth buried inside the absurdity? In this solo episode, Cinnamon unpacks what it means to quietly slide into last place in your own life—not because someone pushed you there, but because of a dozen tiny, well-intentioned “yeses.” From over-functioning to people-pleasing, Cinnamo...

Send us a text Episode 113 – Cindy “Ci” Rodriguez: Unpacking the Armor: Childhood Trauma, Leadership, and Life After Law Enforcement How a Retired Lieutenant Turned Trauma Into Peer Advocacy and Personal Power What happens when a career in law enforcement collides with a lifetime of unprocessed trauma? In this episode of After the Tones Drop, retired Las Vegas Police Lieutenant Cindy “Ci” Rodriguez gets honest about the cost of carrying pain you never named—and the power of finally facing it....