Best First Responder Podcasts
- Apr 25, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Oct 31
Navigating the challenges of a career in public safety requires a strong focus on mental and emotional well-being. This is where specialized podcasts become an invaluable resource. We've compiled a list of the top podcasts dedicated to helping first responders, offering insights and actionable advice on mental health, trauma, and resilience.
What are some of the best mental health podcasts for first responders?
Some of the best mental health podcasts for first responders include No One Fights Alone, Enduring The Badge, Changing the Culture, The Squad Room, and Breaking the Stigma. Each of these shows offers unique perspectives and practical advice from experienced professionals in the field.
Keep reading to learn more about each of these podcasts and how they can help you build resilience, manage trauma, and connect with a community that understands the unique pressures you face every day.
Table of Contents
The Critical Need for First Responder Wellness
The Silent Toll: Mental Health Statistics for First Responders
Why Podcasts are a Game-Changer for Responder Resilience
Top Mental Health and Wellness First Responder Podcasts
No One Fights Alone Podcast
First Responder Wellness Podcast with Conrad Weaver
Enduring The Badge Podcast
The Squad Room
Changing the Culture
Breaking the Stigma: First Responders and Mental Health
Specialized First Responder Podcasts for Deeper Support
Code4Couples: Strengthening Relationships
The Corie Weathers Podcast: Focusing on Military and First Responder Families
Stories from the Road: First Responder Stories
The Hard to Kill Podcast with Dave Morrow: Cultivating a Mindset
Building Your Internal Kevlar: Actionable Wellness Strategies
Practical Steps for Stress Mitigation
The Power of Peer Support and Connection
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The Critical Need for First Responder Wellness
Every day, first responders put their lives on the line for their communities. They run toward the crisis everyone else runs away from. This constant exposure to human suffering, chaos, and high-stress scenarios creates a unique psychological burden. It is a burden that needs active, intentional management.
The Silent Toll: Mental Health Statistics for First Responders
The statistics paint a stark picture of the challenges faced by the public safety community:
Elevated Risk: An estimated 30% of first responders will develop behavioral health conditions like depression and PTSD, compared to 20% of the general population.
Suicide Risk: Firefighters and police officers are sadly more likely to die by suicide than while on duty.
Stigma Barrier: A significant percentage of emergency workers avoid seeking help due to fear of negative repercussions, such as being demoted or fired. About 57% say they do not ask for help because they think there will be negative consequences.
These facts highlight the urgent need for accessible, confidential, and culturally competent resources. This is where the right first responder podcast becomes invaluable.
Why Podcasts are a Game-Changer for Responder Resilience
Podcasts have become a preferred tool for cultivating responder resilience for several key reasons:
Confidentiality: Listening to a podcast is private. There is no paperwork, no appointment, and no record. This bypasses the fear of professional stigma that prevents many from seeking formal help.
Accessibility: You can listen during your commute, while working out, or on shift downtime. It provides a simple, low-barrier entry point to mental wellness practices and information.
Peer Connection: Hearing the genuine stories from the road shared by hosts and guests who get it creates a powerful sense of community. This shared experience combats the isolation that often accompanies trauma.
Actionable Insights: The best first responder podcasts do not just talk about problems. They offer practical, evidence-based tools for emotional regulation, stress mitigation, and long-term well-being.
Top Mental Health and Wellness First Responder Podcasts
The growing library of quality first responder podcasts means there is a show for everyone. These are the top contenders focused on mental health, resilience, and cultural change within the first response community.
No One Fights Alone Podcast
No One Fights Alone is a beacon of hope and community.
Focus Areas: Mental health resources, stories of overcoming adversity, and new tools for the first responder community.
What Makes It Great: Brad Shepherd and Austin Pederson bring their knowledge from working in the field to help people learn about the options they have when looking for help. It emphasizes the fact that seeking support is a sign of strength, directly challenging the stigma that often plagues departments.
First Responder Wellness Podcast with Conrad Weaver
The First Responder Wellness Podcast with Conrad Weaver is a powerhouse of information. Conrad Weaver, the host, dives deep into mental health, leadership, and resilience for emergency professionals and the people who lead them.
Focus Areas: Mental health, leadership, organizational culture, personal well-being.
What Makes It Great: The show features conversations with chiefs, frontline first responders, and mental health experts. It focuses on the systemic changes needed in agencies, recognizing that wellness is a leadership issue. Past topics have included 'Finding Rest: Healing the Spirit, Soul, and Body of First Responders' and 'You Can’t Delegate Wellness,' providing insights on both individual and organizational first responder psychological support.
External Link: For a deeper dive into the issues, check out the work of organizations like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which tracks the behavioral health concerns of this population. (Anchor Text: SAMHSA First Responder Behavioral Health Report)
Enduring The Badge is a show dedicated to helping first responders achieve balance and thrive.
Focus Areas: Navigating the transition from work to home, personal challenges, and thriving on and off duty.
What Makes It Great: The conversation-optimized content keeps you engaged while providing valuable insights into the daily lives and challenges faced by emergency workers. It provides practical tips for family life, fitness, and overcoming challenges outside of the first response environment. This is a critical resource for anyone seeking to master the work-life balance.
The Squad Room
The Squad Room is built on years of experience and personal lessons.
Focus Areas: Resilience, emotional intelligence, trauma resolution, leadership wins, and leadership losses.
What Makes It Great: The host shares real-life, accumulated wins and losses. There is nothing strictly theoretical here. The show is about practical strategies for building emotional strength and intelligence, which are essential components of long-term career survival in public safety. It helps responders move beyond simply surviving to actually growing from difficult experiences.
Changing the Culture
Created by Maine law enforcement officer Autumn Clifford, Changing the Culture is a podcast focused on survival both on- and off-duty for first responders and their families.
Focus Areas: Emotional and spiritual wellness, resiliency, meditation, and mental health.
What Makes It Great: Autumn uses her personal experience overcoming injury, depression, and anxiety to remind her audience that internal protection is just as important as external gear. It encourages responders to put on their "internal Kevlar."
Breaking the Stigma: First Responders and Mental Health
Jasmin Peach hosts Breaking the Stigma, a podcast dedicated to tearing down the barriers around discussing mental health in first responder organizations.
Focus Areas: Mental health advocacy, signs of trauma, and advice for those considering a first responder career.
What Makes It Great: Jasmin features a wide variety of people who share their experiences, covering the good, the bad, and the mental health side of the job. She shows everyone that speaking out is a strong move, not a weak one.
Specialized First Responder Podcasts for Deeper Support
Wellness is a broad topic, and many podcasts address specific, critical aspects of the first responder experience.
Code4Couples: Strengthening Relationships
The stress of first response work does not stay at the station; it comes home. Code4Couples is a premiere podcast focused on law enforcement relationships, but its principles apply to all first responder families podcast audiences.
Focus Areas: The impact of the job on marriage, communication, and family wellness.
Value: Host Cyndi Doyle, a psychotherapist and law enforcement spouse, provides essential education on protecting your relationship from the unique stressors of a public safety career.
Internal Link: For more resources on this specific topic, explore articles on building strong family support systems.
The Corie Weathers Podcast: Focusing on Military and First Responder Families
Corie Weathers, a licensed professional counselor, dedicates her work to the complex relationship dynamics within military and first responder families.
Focus Areas: Marriage, family well-being, and deployment or shift-work challenges.
Value: This show provides a deep dive into the unique challenges faced by the family unit, offering a voice to the spouses and children who are also enduring the badge.
Stories from the Road: First Responder Stories
Sometimes, simply hearing a compelling, honest story is the best way to connect and feel understood. Stories from the Road: First Responder Stories offers that connection.
Focus Areas: Real-life calls, personal experiences, and career lessons.
Value: It offers a raw, unfiltered look at the professional life, validating the daily experiences of listeners and offering perspective through shared experience.
The Hard to Kill Podcast with Dave Morrow: Cultivating a Mindset
This podcast is less about trauma-specific therapy and more about forging an unshakeable mindset for a high-stakes life.
Focus Areas: Performance, mental toughness, and tactical wellness.
Value: Dave Morrow focuses on helping first responders adopt a proactive, responder resilience mindset, making them harder to "kill" both physically and mentally. This includes topics like sleep, nutrition, and mental performance.
Internal Link: You can find more tactical fitness and wellness tips in our library on 'Physical Health and the First Responder.'
Building Your Internal Kevlar: Actionable Wellness Strategies
Listening to these first responder podcasts is a great start. The next step is applying the principles to your own life. Mental wellness is not passive; it requires active practice.
Practical Steps for Stress Mitigation
The hosts of the best shows often return to common, foundational strategies for managing the constant flow of stress and trauma.
Prioritize Sleep: Lack of sleep significantly degrades your emotional regulation and ability to process stress. Schedule and protect your sleep time like it is a critical task.
Establish a Decompression Routine: Create a clear, physical, and mental boundary between work and home. This could be a five-minute meditation, a short walk, or listening to non-work music on the drive home.
Mind-Body Connection: Engage in regular physical activity. Exercise, even light movement, is one of the most effective tools for reducing stress hormones and improving mood. Yoga, running, and strength training are excellent tools for this.
The Power of Peer Support and Connection
The overwhelming message across the first responder podcast community is this: no one fights alone.
Talk to Your Peers: Nobody understands the job like another person in the field. Find a trusted peer or mentor to discuss challenging calls or professional frustrations. This is the core of effective first responder psychological support.
Reach Out to Family: Do not let your spouse or children feel isolated from your work life. Communicate what you can, and use resources like Code4Couples to build a shared understanding of the job's demands. Honest communication is a powerful tool for resilience.
Frequently Ask Question:
• What is the No One Fights Alone podcast about?
The No One Fights Alone podcast focuses on mental health resources, stories of overcoming adversity, and how the community is using new tools to help first responders.
• Who created the podcast Changing the Culture?
Maine law enforcement officer Autumn Clifford created Changing the Culture to help first responders and their families survive both on- and off-duty.
• What topics does Breaking the Stigma podcast cover?
The Breaking the Stigma podcast, hosted by Jasmin Peach, covers mental health within first responder organizations, signs of trauma, and advice for those considering a career in the field.
• What is the goal of the Enduring the Badge Podcast?
The Enduring the Badge Podcast aims to help first responders navigate the transition from work to home, thrive on and off duty, and overcome personal challenges.
• Where do the lessons from The Squad Room podcast come from?
The lessons taught in The Squad Room podcast come from years of real-life experience and cover topics like resilience, emotional intelligence, trauma resolution, and leadership.
Navigating the challenges of a career in public safety is a shared journey, and at Chateau Health and Wellness Treatment Center, we're here to walk alongside you. Our team understands the unique pressures faced by first responders, and we've built a program that addresses the specific mental health needs of this community. We've dedicated ourselves to providing a safe space where you can find support and healing. If you or someone you know is struggling, we encourage you to reach out and let us be part of your support system. Please call us at (801) 877-1272; we're ready to help.
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About The Author
Austin Pederson, Executive Director of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings over eight years of experience revolutionizing mental health and substance abuse treatment through compassionate care and innovative business strategies. Inspired by his own recovery journey, Austin has developed impactful programs tailored to individuals facing trauma and stress while fostering comprehensive support systems that prioritize holistic wellness. His empathetic leadership extends to educating and assisting families, ensuring lasting recovery for clients and their loved ones.
Danny Warner, CEO of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings a wealth of experience in business operations, strategic alliances, and turnaround management, with prior leadership roles at Mediconnect Global, Klever Marketing, and WO Investing, Inc. A graduate of Brigham Young University in Economics and History, Danny has a proven track record of delivering results across diverse industries. His most transformative role, however, was as a trail walker and counselor for troubled teens at the Anasazi Foundation, where he directly impacted young lives, a personal commitment to transformation that now drives his leadership at Chateau.
Ben Pearson, LCSW - Clinical Director
With 19 years of experience, Ben Pearson specializes in adolescent and family therapy, de-escalation, and high-risk interventions. As a former Clinical Director of an intensive outpatient program, he played a key role in clinical interventions and group therapy. With 15+ years in wilderness treatment and over a decade as a clinician, Ben has helped countless individuals and families navigate mental health and recovery challenges.
