After The Tones Drop
Embark on a journey that goes beyond sirens and flashing lights After The Tones Drop Podcast provides a safe haven to explore, demystify, and destigmatize mental health and wellness for first responders. Join Cinnamon and her guests as they pull back the curtain, sharing powerful stories and expert insights that resonate with the heartbeat of those who run towards danger when others step back. It's more than just a podcast; it's a lifeline for the ones who dedicate their lives to saving others. In each episode, stories get unraveled and struggles behind the badges are shared, showcasing the human side of heroism. Discover the strength in vulnerability and the power in sharing. It's more than a conversation; it's a revolution—a revolution in mental health care for our first responders. So, tune in for candid conversations, practical strategies, and a sprinkle of humor—because healing begins with understanding, and understanding starts here. Let's break down the barriers, one episode at a time. Because after the tones drop, the real conversation begins, and we're here to make sure it's heard loud and clear.
Episodes
This episode is not a highlight reel. It’s a reckoning.
I sit down with retired firefighter and transformational speaker Rick Cheatham and his wife Kelly for a raw, two-hour conversation about addiction, loss, paralysis, forgiveness, and what it actually means to commit when walking away would be easier.
Rick shares the long road from sexual addiction and self-destruction to purpose and service. Kelly shares what it costs ...
In this episode, Cinnamon sits down with former Louisville Metro Police Sergeant John Mattingly to talk about what really happened the night of March 13, 2020, and what it cost him to survive it.
John was shot in the femoral artery while serving a warrant that was part of a larger drug trafficking investigation. He nearly bled out on the hallway floor. But the physical wound wasn’t the hardest part.
What followed was somet...
In this episode of After the Tones Drop, Cinnamon sits down with AK Dozanti, former deputy sheriff, victim advocate, wellness coach, and author of The Responder Reset: 99 Real-Time Tactics for Frontline Regulation.
This conversation is for the people who do not have the luxury of slowing down when stress hits. The ones who need something that works in the moment, not after a weekend retreat or a six week program. AK break...
Episode 143: Healing Language That Hurts
Some of the most damaging things we say about healing are said with the best intentions.
In this short solocast, Cinnamon takes a hard look at the phrases we casually throw around when someone is hurting. Let it go. Move on. Put it behind you. You should be over this by now.
She explains why this kind of language doesn’t heal. It shames. It implies erasure. And it quietly tells peopl...
Episode 142: Frontline Strong Together – When Support Actually Shows Up
In this episode, I sit down with Mike Mattern and Scott Taylor from Frontline Strong Together, a Michigan-based mental health program built by first responders for first responders.
Here’s why this matters.
It’s free.
It’s state-funded.
And it works.
Mike and Scott are retired first responders who didn’t find this work through theory or p...
In this episode, I’m joined by Justin Atherton for a conversation every first responder and leader needs to hear.
Justin spent twenty years in law enforcement as a SWAT breacher, detective, and training lieutenant. But it was a nine-week internal affairs investigation and the identity crisis that followed that nearly broke him. That season forced him to confront a truth many of us avoid: I am not the job. The job is not m...
Episode 140: It Takes 15 Years to Get 15 Years – Cinnamon’s Sobriety Anniversary Solocast
Fifteen years ago, my life split into a before and an after.
In this deeply personal solocast, I’m marking 15 years of sobriety and reflecting on what time alone does not teach you, and what staying and doing the work slowly, humbly, and honestly does. This episode isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a conversation about what really changes ...
Episode 139 | Doug White on Accountability, Leadership, and the Cost of Avoidance
In this episode of After the Tones Drop, I sit down with Doug White for a conversation that isn’t comfortable, polished, or performative and that’s exactly why it matters.
We talk about accountability in a culture that often rewards avoidance. About leadership that looks strong on the outside but collapses when it’s not rooted in moral courag...
January tells us to reinvent ourselves.
Your body tells a different story.
In this New Year’s solocast, Cinnamon pushes back on the pressure to start strong, fix everything, and become someone new just because the calendar flipped. January was never meant to be a season of blooming. It’s a season of rooting, resting, and rebuilding under the surface.
This episode is for anyone who feels behind before the year even star...
Christmas Eve is supposed to feel magical. For a lot of first responders, it just feels flat.
In this solocast, I’m talking about the numbness that so many of you experience during the holidays and why it doesn’t mean you’re broken, ungrateful, or doing something wrong.
You’ll hear practical, doable tools you can use right now, including:
• How to use micro presence to gently reconnect without forcing feelings
•...
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 s...
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 h...
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...
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 achiever...
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 ...
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...
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 t...
Episode 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,...
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...
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...
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