The Flashpoint Podcast

He’s been inside burning buildings and inside the cancer ward. He’s worn the helmet, the badge, and now he’s leading the charge to support the people who hold the line.

Retired fire lieutenant David Dachinger joins Erin to talk about what happens after the call: the grief, the gaps in leadership, and the lack of culturally competent care for first responders. But this isn’t just a recap of burnout and cancer survival this episode not only offers compassion but also an extremly useful tool.

David breaks down why mental health r...

Breathe, Perception, and Choosing Gratitude

This week’s check-in starts with something simple but vital: remembering to breathe. After a heavy week full of fear, anger, and sadness, Erin reminds us that when our nervous systems are in overdrive, even basic breathing can bring us back to center.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Ever caught yourself saying, “This is the WORST thing that could’ve happened”?

Yeah, same here.

But what if it wasn’t?

What if the very thing you’re cursing today is setting you up for something you don’t even see yet?

In this episode, Erin tackles the deeply wired human tendency to label everything as good or bad and shows you how to reframe that story in real time. Using a powerful fable, mindset tools, and a little science on post-traumatic growth, she reminds us that meaning isn’t found...

Boundaries, Connection, and Choosing Your Perspective

The seasons are shifting, and sometimes so is our energy. In this week’s Mental Firepower Monday check-in, Erin shares how she’s been feeling drained and what she’s learning about listening to her body, honoring her limits, and protecting her energy.

This episode dives into:

Some lives sound like a movie, but real transformation never fits into a highlight reel. In this raw and powerful conversation, former Australian detective turned American firewife, coach, and podcast host Erin "Jane" Nugent sits down with Erin Maccabee to talk about grief, identity, love, and the kind of post-traumatic growth that doesn’t get glamorized on Instagram.

From losing her father to suicide as a toddler, to walking away from a thriving law enforcement career, to moving across the world for love after a chance bar encounter in Berlin, Erin shares the journey of re...

It wasn’t the call. It wasn’t the trauma.
It was a dropped plate in a restaurant, and suddenly, your whole system went on red alert.

Sound familiar?

In today’s Mental Firepower Monday, Erin digs into the real-life impact of chronic stress, adrenaline overload, and neuroplasticity on the first responder brain. If you’ve ever felt overstimulated in a “normal” environment or wondered why your body reacts like the world’s on fire even when it’s not, this one’s for you.

She also offers a remi...

Irritable. On edge. Shut down.
One minute you’re ready to react, the next you’re unreachable.
You might be wondering: “What the hell is wrong with me?”

The answer: nothing.

In this episode, Erin breaks down why so many first responders and their partners get stuck in emotional overdrive, even when the threat is gone.

You’ll learn why your nervous system treats a slammed door like an ambush and how to retrain your brain to respond, not react.

She introduces the Survival Reframe Protocol, a tool to in...

In this short Mental Firepower Monday check-in, Erin reflects on recovery, adrenaline, and emotional reactivity through the lens of both daily life and her recent visit to the Columbus Air Show.

We begin with a pause for self-awareness:
 How did you show up this weekend
 Did you decompress or stay stuck in survival autopilot
 Are you practicing gratitude or just pushing through

Then Erin brings the focus to first responder mental health, relationship transparency, and the adrenaline addiction that comes with high-intensity careers. Inspired by last week’s guest Doug White, she highl...

He was the leader everyone looked up to. A top-performing commander. A protector. A provider.

But when the badge came off, Doug White was falling apart in silence and nearly lost his marriage in the process.

In this raw and honest conversation, Doug shares how his 30+ years in military and law enforcement service took a slow, steady toll on his relationship. From emotional withdrawal to a pivotal moment in a school parking lot that nearly cost him everything, this is the story of one man’s reckoning and the woman who refused to give up on...

Resentment has a sneaky way of building walls between us and the people we love most. Left unchecked, it eats away at connection, fuels scorekeeping, and convinces us we have to protect ourselves at all costs.

In this Mental Firepower Monday, Erin breaks down a simple but powerful tool called “Show Your Hand.” It is designed to create a neutral space where you and your partner (or anyone in your life) can put resentments on the table before they gain power.

You’ll hear:

You’re tired, pissed, and over it, and that doesn’t mean love is gone.
It means resentment has moved in.

In this episode, Erin breaks down one of the most common and dangerous threats to first responder relationships: the slow buildup of unspoken frustrations that silently stack until your connection flatlines.

She calls out the patterns both first responders and their partners fall into keeping score, making assumptions, carrying invisible weight and shows you how to break the cycle before it breaks you.

This isn’t abou...

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. From confronting old identities to dismantling stale protocols, Rich is leading from the scar, not the script.

You’ll hear:

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...butting heads, powering through, and feeling like roommates instead of lovers.

Erin breaks down how ma...