The Flashpoint Podcast

He’s not just a retired Norfolk Police Sergeant with 24 years in gangs, homicide, and the psychological meat grinder of frontline duty. He’s a walking masterclass in what happens when you stop chasing survival and start chasing impact.

Rich Creamer joins Erin for a raw, real talk about thinking traps, peer accountability, and how the new “low” isn’t sleeping in your truck. It’s catching your spiral early and making the damn call. Fr...

Ever wonder why your relationship feels magnetic some days and totally flat the next? You love each other, but the spark feels… gone.

This episode dives into the Arc of Polarity. The hidden energy dynamic that fuels attraction, intimacy, and connection. For first responder couples, the stress, hypervigilance, and command mode that the job demands often hijacks this natural flow. The result? Two partners stuck in the same energy...bu...

Today’s Mental Firepower Monday is all about giving first responder couples a tactical edge against conflict and disconnection. After last week’s powerful conversation with AK Dozanti, bestselling author of Beat the Burnout, Erin shares quick tools you can deploy right now to de-escalate arguments and reconnect with your partner under pressure.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

• Why setting context before you speak is a game changer
• H...

Burnout doesn’t always look like collapse.
Sometimes it looks like perfection. Control. Numbness. Or pushing away the person who loves you most.

In this raw and grounded conversation, Erin sits down with bestselling author and speaker AK Dozanti, whose own story of walking away from law enforcement reveals what adrenal fatigue, identity loss, and nervous system crash really look like behind closed doors. But this isn’t a war st...

Let’s get real: it’s not always the dramatic call that wrecks you, it’s the slow drip of cumulative trauma. The shift fatigue. The emotional load you bring home but never unpack.

This week’s Mental Firepower Monday is about interrupting that pattern and starting your week with clarity. Erin walks you through a simple but powerful practice to help first responders release what they’re carrying and reset the nervous system before it h...

This episode isn’t about the call that wrecked you.
It’s about the 500 that didn’t.
The slow grind. The missed birthdays. The quiet unraveling.

In this week’s Mental Firepower Monday, Erin breaks down one of the most common yet invisible stressors in public safety, cumulative trauma, and gives you a no-fluff, tactical way to offload what your nervous system has been holding.

This is your weekly reset before the next shift. ...

Welcome back to your Mental Firepower Monday check-in...because your brain deserves backup too.

This week, Erin reflects on last Thursday’s episode with retired LEO and Marine Corps vet Brian Gillespie, whose story made one thing crystal clear: getting sober was just step one. The real transformation began when he finally said the thing he swore he’d never say out loud.

This episode is your reminder that trauma recovery, post-traumat...

You can wear the badge, get the medal, serve for decades and still never speak the truth that’s been eating you alive.

In this episode, retired Marine Corps veteran and law enforcement officer Brian Gillespie joins Erin to talk about the moment everything changed. After 10 years of sobriety and a lifetime of showing up for everyone else, Brian finally said the one thing he swore he never would. That decision didn’t just save others ...

Before the shift hits the fan check in with your mental firepower.

In this kickoff Mental Firepower Monday, Erin recaps four field-tested tools pulled from last week’s episodes, built specifically for the first responder lifestyle. Whether you’re on duty, off shift, or somewhere in between, this is your moment to pause, refocus, and apply real strategies to protect your emotional resilience, relationships, and brain health.

This isn’...

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a turning point for anyone navigating first responder mental health, relationship strain, or the cost of holding it all in.

In this raw and powerful debut, Erin Maccabee opens the vault. She shares the story of losing the love of her life to suicide, and how that loss set her on a path of trauma recovery, addiction healing, and eventually, purpose. This episode lays bare the real emotional toll of the...

Let’s talk about a slow-burning crisis in responder households—connection debt.

You’d never ghost your crew in a crisis. So why ghost the person who’s holding your life together at home?

This episode breaks down the emotional drift that happens between shifts, resentment, and “I’m fine” responses. Whether you’re the one on duty or the one carrying the mental load at home, this is where emotional resilience meets real-life tools.

In th...

You’ve been trained to storm scenes and lead under pressure. But who trained you to slow down, on purpose?

This week, Erin sits down with Vance Row, a retired law enforcement officer who did the one thing most first responders are terrified to do: he got quiet. Vance shares his powerful story of reaching the end of his rope, ditching the booze, and stumbling into a yoga studio that would change everything.

Don’t r...

You’ve cleared scenes most people wouldn’t survive.
But the minute someone asks how you feel, you’re looking for the exit.

In this episode, Erin takes aim at one of the most avoided (and most powerful) forces in the first responder world: feelings.
No, this isn’t therapy. But it is your emotional fiber supplement.

You’ll hear:
Why “I’m just tired” is code for “I’m carrying 9 years of unresolved grief a...

Release Date: July 3rd, 2025
 
You’ve patched the bleeding. Made the calls. Held it together long after the scene cleared.

But this next call? It’s for you.

Welcome to The Flashpoint Podcast—a mindset and lifestyle show designed specifically for public safety professionals who are ready to stop just surviving the job and start living on purpose.

Hosted by Erin Maccabee, First Responder Integration Coach and former co-host of ...