First Responder Wellness Podcast with Conrad Weaver
Conrad Weaver
176 episodes
1 week ago
The First Responder Wellness Podcast with host Conrad Weaver dives deep into the mental health, resilience, and leadership challenges faced by first responders. Through engaging conversations with police, fire, EMS, dispatch, and wellness experts, this show delivers actionable leadership solutions and real-world strategies to help first responder leaders build healthier, more resilient teams.
Each episode highlights stories of courage, lessons in leadership, and tools for personal and organizational wellness. Whether you’re a chief, frontline responder, or wellness advocate, this podcast equips you with the insights and inspiration to lead well, live healthier, and strengthen the culture of your agency.
Popular guests include: Dr. Arash Javanbakht, Chief Neil Gang (Ret.), Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Dr. Stephanie Conn, Dr. Eugene Lipov, Dr. Marvin Wayne, Chief David Rhodes, Dr. Heather Twedell, James Geering, Dr. Brooke Bartlett, and Dr. Rita Brock.
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The First Responder Wellness Podcast with host Conrad Weaver dives deep into the mental health, resilience, and leadership challenges faced by first responders. Through engaging conversations with police, fire, EMS, dispatch, and wellness experts, this show delivers actionable leadership solutions and real-world strategies to help first responder leaders build healthier, more resilient teams.
Each episode highlights stories of courage, lessons in leadership, and tools for personal and organizational wellness. Whether you’re a chief, frontline responder, or wellness advocate, this podcast equips you with the insights and inspiration to lead well, live healthier, and strengthen the culture of your agency.
Popular guests include: Dr. Arash Javanbakht, Chief Neil Gang (Ret.), Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Dr. Stephanie Conn, Dr. Eugene Lipov, Dr. Marvin Wayne, Chief David Rhodes, Dr. Heather Twedell, James Geering, Dr. Brooke Bartlett, and Dr. Rita Brock.
This special year-end episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast counts down the Top 10 Most Downloaded Episodes of the Year—the conversations that resonated most with first responders, leaders, and their families.
In this special Christmas Eve episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, we pause to honor and thank the brave men and women who continue to serve their communities during the holiday season. Whether you’re on shift or home with loved ones, this heartfelt message is dedicated to you.
Host Conrad Weaver reflects on the sacrifices first responders make—especially during times when most are gathered with family. This short but meaningful episode is a reminder that your service is seen, your wellness matters, and you are deeply appreciated.
From Porn Addiction to Purpose - Rich Cheatham’s Journey Through Shame and Redemption.
In this powerful episode, retired fire captain Rick Cheatham opens up about a hidden crisis in the fire service—addiction, shame, and the mental health struggles no one talks about. Rick shares his personal battle with pornography addiction, rooted in childhood pain and magnified by the trauma of the job.
In this episode, we step inside a world most people never see—and many first responders rarely talk about. Syndi Treece opens up about her years working inside correctional institutions, a place where control is an illusion, trauma is constant, and silence can be deadly. Through her raw and deeply human storytelling, she reveals what it’s like to carry the weight of other people’s pain while refusing to acknowledge her own.
In this episode, Conrad speaks with retired Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant and former OPP Association President Rob Jamieson, who played a pivotal role in launching a groundbreaking mental-health program for police officers and civilian members in Ontario—the Encompas Mental Health Wellness Program.
Rob shares his 30-year policing journey, his time leading the OPP Association during one of the most challenging periods in its history, and the events that pushed him to create a holistic, concierge-style mental-health system that continues to save lives today.
In this heartfelt Thanksgiving edition of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, host Conrad Weaver pauses to express deep gratitude to the first responder community and the listeners who support the mission of wellness, healing, and connection.
In this episode, Conrad sits down with Marie Matteson, a longtime EMS volunteer turned stress specialist, who has dedicated her work to “helping the helpers.” Marie shares how her experience as an EMT, combined with her background in applied health studies and medical massage, led her to develop the One Minute Stress Release technique—something that has helped medics, officers, dispatchers, and even herself through overwhelming situations.
Director Andy Wilson, Ohio’s Director of Public Safety, joins Conrad Weaver to talk frankly about the human cost of public safety work and what leaders must do to protect the people who protect us. Andy explains how chronic and acute stress shorten careers and lives, why proactive — not just reactive — wellness matters, and how simple, practical programs (fitness, nutrition, hands-on skills, mindset, and relationships) reduce sick time, complaints, and burnout. He also shares concrete training ideas, how to build cultural buy-in from the top and the shift level, and what leaders can do today to start changing their agencies.
Title: Do Plant-Based Medicines Work? with Todd Youngblood
Guest: Todd Youngblood, Co-Founder of Pneumogladius
Host: Conrad Weaver, First Responder Wellness Podcast
In this episode, Conrad Weaver sits down with Todd Youngblood, co-founder of Pneumo Gladius, a company dedicated to expanding access to plant-based medicines for mental health treatment. Todd shares the fascinating history and science behind natural psychedelic substances like psilocybin (magic mushrooms), ayahuasca, and mescaline — and how these naturally occurring compounds are showing tremendous promise in treating anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, host Conrad Weaver welcomes retired Chief Maggie (of a local law enforcement agency in Virginia) who spent 38 years in the field—26 in a large agency and 13 leading a mid‑sized one. Now in retirement she heads the Foundation for First Responder Wellness & Resiliency, focusing on ensuring first responders have the resources they need.
Friday Five with Conrad Weaver
A Short Podcast from the First Responder Wellness PodcastTM
Welcome to Friday Five with Conrad Weaver — a quick, five-minute boost to wrap up your week with inspiration, insight, and ideas. Each Friday, I’ll share things that are shaping my world:
Firefighter Jon Vargas (LAFD, Station 92) joins host Conrad Weaver to share his raw journey through burnout, traumatic injury, and recovery. After a head trauma left his nervous system in crisis, Jon faced anxiety, paranoia, and suicidal thoughts—with little support from traditional systems.
He found healing through holistic methods like acupuncture, Kambo therapy, Qigong, and yoga. Now, he’s helping others do the same—calling for more peer support, real leadership, and cultural change in first responder wellness.
Friday Five with Conrad Weaver is a short version of the First Responder Wellness Podcast. On this show I give you a quick overview of what I’m learning, reading, or thinking about this week.
Thanks for listening.
Conrad Weaver
In this episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, Conrad Weaver sits down with Dennis Carradin, a board‑certified trauma expert, counselor, former volunteer firefighter/EMT, and founder of the Trauma Survivors Foundation. Dennis shares his journey into trauma therapy, the realities first responders face, and how poorly understood the psychological weight of their work often is.
In this insightful episode of the First Responder Wellness Podcast, host Conrad Weaver welcomes Virginia Dixon, founder of The Place of Rest and creator of the REST Reconstitution Approach to Healing. Virginia shares how her integrative, data-informed, and spiritually grounded framework helps first responders address trauma and find true wholeness.
Friday Five with Conrad Weaver
A Short Podcast from the First Responder Wellness PodcastTM
Welcome to Friday Five with Conrad Weaver — a quick, five-minute boost to wrap up your week with inspiration, insight, and ideas. Each Friday, I’ll share five things that are shaping my world:
Projects I’m working on in film, podcasting, and first responder wellness
Key lessons from books I’m reading
Highlights from events and conferences I’ve attended
Personal practices that keep me healthy and grounded
And wisdom from leaders, thinkers, and first responders who are making an impact
In this episode, Conrad Weaver talks with Dr. Marvin Wayne, a trauma surgeon, Vietnam veteran, and internationally recognized EMS leader. Dr. Wayne shares his remarkable journey—from growing up in Detroit, navigating rejection on his way to medical school, and serving as a combat surgeon in Vietnam, to becoming a pioneer in emergency medicine and a global advocate for EMS advancement.
Episode 100 – Part 2: Finding Faith Healing and Purpose with Matty Fiorenza
In part two of our 100th episode celebration, Conrad Weaver reconnects with firefighter Matthew (Matty) Fiorenza, one of the central voices from the documentary PTSD9-1-1.
Matty opens up about life since the film’s release—the ups and downs of recovery, his faith journey, breakthroughs in treatment (including the powerful impact of the Stellate Ganglion Block), and his new role supporting first responders through treatment programs, speaking, and mentorship.
First Responder Wellness Podcast with Conrad Weaver
The First Responder Wellness Podcast with host Conrad Weaver dives deep into the mental health, resilience, and leadership challenges faced by first responders. Through engaging conversations with police, fire, EMS, dispatch, and wellness experts, this show delivers actionable leadership solutions and real-world strategies to help first responder leaders build healthier, more resilient teams.
Each episode highlights stories of courage, lessons in leadership, and tools for personal and organizational wellness. Whether you’re a chief, frontline responder, or wellness advocate, this podcast equips you with the insights and inspiration to lead well, live healthier, and strengthen the culture of your agency.
Popular guests include: Dr. Arash Javanbakht, Chief Neil Gang (Ret.), Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, Dr. Stephanie Conn, Dr. Eugene Lipov, Dr. Marvin Wayne, Chief David Rhodes, Dr. Heather Twedell, James Geering, Dr. Brooke Bartlett, and Dr. Rita Brock.
