Behind The Shield

Latest Episodes:

Trevor Millar (The Healing Power of Ibogaine, Traumatic Brain Injury and Addiction) - Episode 1149 Oct 14, 2025

Show notes

Trevor Millar is a social-entrepreneur with over a decade of experience providing ibogaine therapy and is the co-founder of Ambio. We discuss his own healing journey with psychedelics, the healing power of Ibogaine, addiction, traumatic brain injury, success stories from Navy SEALs, the formation of VETS, how the 343 fund is helping first responders, the feilure of drug prohibition and so much more.

Trevor is responsible for various aspects of Ambio’s operations and communications. He previously served as a board member and co-founder of the Canadian Psychedelic Association and from 2018 to 2021 was on the board of directors for the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) Canada, where he acted as Chair of the Board for over two years.

Trevor was featured in the award-winning documentary about using magic mushrooms and Iboga to treat addiction, anxiety and depression called DOSED, which was released in 2019.

Joe Malone (Marine Raiders, Weapons Training and Forging Servant Leaders) - Episode 1148 Oct 12, 2025

Show notes

Joe Malone's journey to becoming a renowned leader in safety and resilience is as inspiring as it is transformative. His early years were marked by challenges, including a period of childhood drug use, which tested his resolve and direction. However, rather than allowing those struggles to define him, Joe chose to rewrite his story.

Fueled by an unwavering determination to turn his life around, Joe found purpose and discipline in the Marine Corps. Thirteen years of service, much of it under the elite Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC Raiders), became a proving ground for his resilience. He emerged from these experiences not only as a decorated veteran but as a testament to the power of transformation.

Today, Joe uses his life’s journey—both the struggles and the triumphs—to inspire others. At the helm of JM Training, he channels his hard-earned wisdom into equipping individuals and communities with the tools they need to stay safe and thrive. His story is a powerful reminder that no matter where you start, with courage and commitment, you can achieve greatness.

Jennifer Hunt Murty (The Power of Journalism, Exposing Abuse and the First Responder Leadership Crisis) - Episode 1147 Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

Jennifer Hunt Murty is the founder and publisher of the Ocala Gazette, an independently owned newspaper recognized as the area’s leading source of investigative reporting. We discuss her career in the legal field, what drove her into journalism, exposing failures in local first responder agencies, recidivism, the mental health crisis and so much more.

Jennifer launched the Gazette in 2020 to provide trustworthy, in-depth local journalism at a time when misinformation was on the rise and credible community news was in short supply. Murty came to journalism as a second career, guided by the belief—echoing Justice Hugo Black—that “the press was to serve the governed, not the governors.” That principle shapes her work daily.

Like many small newspaper owners, she juggles multiple roles—but reporting remains her greatest passion. In just five years, she has built a reputation for dogged persistence in overcoming public records exemptions and reporting roadblocks to uncover stories that hold the powerful to account.

The Gazette's Reports on the Deaths in Marion County's Jail:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=802963525588067&rdid=V5YEfyFQ3hNr7zdH

https://www.facebook.com/ocalagazette/videos/1417700989526937/?rdid=XN01wNdSvqiK4hBv#

Charly Crawford (Cowboy Community, Equine Therapy and Housing Wounded Veterans) - Episode 1146 Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

Charly Crawford is a ten time NFR team roper, trainer and the founder of the Liberty and Loyalty Foundation. We discuss his childhood around horsemen, the world of team roping, catharsis through equine therapy, identity, the importance of purpose, fundraising for veterans and first responders and much more.

Born and raised in Canby, Oregon, Charly Crawford grew up with his dad who was a bareback rider and the self-proclaimed biggest team roping fan on earth. Charly’s father, Chuck always had good horses and was one of the reasons the crossfire rule was implemented. Growing up in the Northwest, the summers were always fun because guys like Mike Beers, Allan Back, Jake Barnes, Clay Cooper, and Leo Camarillo would come rope at their house.

Due to the average rainfall being so significant, they could only rope about 4 months of the year outdoors. Chuck had a roping club where there were weekly practices and monthly jackpots. Charly always got to rope with guys that gave him no choice but to rope the best he could. He made the amateur finals before he made the high school finals. He and his dad would jackpot together, and Charly even did his first roping school at the age of 12.

It took winning for Charly to take roping seriously and once he was accustomed to winning, he never looked back. “I paid my fees for the Dummy Ropings by picking up beer cans around the arena” Before moving to Arizona to attend college at Central Arizona in Casa Grande, Charly took home a state championship and made the National High School Rodeo finals three times.

Charly qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 10 times in the heading and accrued over $1.4M in ProRodeo earnings. He now resides in Stephenville, TX with his wife Jackie and their three children. His passion for team roping and the western world is unwavering as he continues to train horses, instruct over 40 roping clinics yearly across the United States and abroad, hosts his own podcast, and pours his heart and soul into the Loyalty and Liberty Foundation.

https://libertyandloyaltyfoundation.com/

David Rhodes II (Innovations at FDIC, the Firefighter Workweek and Organisational Betrayal) - Episode 1145 Oct 05, 2025

Show notes

David is a 39-year fire service veteran retired from the Atlanta, Georgia Fire Department. He currently works for Clarion Events as the Vice President of Education for Clarion Fire Rescue Brands, editor in chief for FireEngineering magazine and the educational director for the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC).

In this second coversation, we discuss the importance of real world leadership, some innovations coming to FDIC, the impact of orgaizational betrayal, the firefighter workweek, PFAS, special operations training and much more.

He is a Chief Elder for the Georgia Smoke Diver Program, a served on the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) Executive Advisory Board, was the Hands-on-Training Coordinator for the FDIC conference, and author for Fire Engineering Magazine, and Fire Apparatus and Equipment Magazine, authored the Hump Day SOS column for Fire Rescue, served as an adjunct instructor for the Georgia Fire Academy, and is an Advisory Board Member Emeritus for Underwriters Laboratory Firefighter Safety Research Institute and current Board Member of the Firefighter Air Coalition.

He served as an Incident Commander for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency – Type III All Hazards Incident Management Team was a Task Force Leader for the Georgia Search and Rescue Team.

Russell Foster II (Circadian Medicine, Stroke Rehabilitation and Moral Courage) - Episode 1144 Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

Russell Foster is Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi) and Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford. He is also a Fellow at Brasenose College.

Russell’s research spans the neurosciences but his research is focused upon two questions: (i) How is environmental light detected and processed by vertebrate photoreceptors for the regulation of circadian rhythms? One of his key findings was the discovery of another class of photoreceptor within the vertebrate eye based upon a small number of photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGCs). These pRGCs not only regulate circadian rhythms, but also sleep & arousal states, heart-rate and pupil constriction; (ii) How are circadian rhythms generated and what happens when these systems break-down in disease and under abnormal environmental conditions?

Russell Chairs the Royal Society Public Engagement Committee, The Cheltenham Science Festival and is a Trustee of the Science Museum Group. He contributes to radio, television and writes newspaper articles. He has co-written three popular science books, and is working on his fourth.

Alexey Molchanov and Sonya McVay (Using Freediving for Performance, Overcoming Grief and Training Firefighters) - Episode 1143 Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Alexey Molchanov is a world champion free diver, holding records in numerous disciplines. Sonya McVay is the founder of The Six and a previous guest. They have combined forces to bring the incredible physical and mental training principles of freediving to the fire service.

Alexey Molchanov has loved freediving since he was five, exploring the sea and discovering the magic of holding his breath underwater. Since 2004, he has set 40 World Records—10 of them in 2023 alone—and won more than 20 gold medals, mastering not just depth but the art of breath control. His current records include 136m in monofin, 126m in bifins, and 156m in variable weight, all on a single breath. For Alexey, breathwork has always been at the heart of his training—expanding lung capacity, mastering stress, and finding calm in every dive.

Beyond the ocean, Alexey is the CEO & Founder of Molchanovs, a global freediving and breathwork community spanning 40+ countries, with over 2,000 instructors and 100,000 members. As a Global Breathwork Coach, he leads more than 100,000 active participants through programs designed to enhance performance, resilience, and wellness. His expertise has also made him a sought-after Keynote Speaker, delivering sessions for leading corporations in business and media—such as Everest and Picturestart—on resilience, stress mastery, leadership, and peak performance.

Alexey’s story and philosophy have reached global audiences through appearances in Paramount’s Freediver (2024), Netflix’s Religion of Sports (2018), and features in the New York Times, GQ, and other international lifestyle and performance media. Redefining what it means to be human at the edge of performance, Alexey brings his philosophy of mastery, resilience, and calm not only to freediving but to everyday wellness, sport, and style.

Sonya McVay-Straub, MP, is a certified ART (Active Release Techniques), NKT (NeuroKinetic Therapy), AiM (Anatomy in Motion), PMT (Performance Movement Taping by RockTape), KABUKI integrated Power Lifting, and ICT (Integrated Cranial Therapy) provider. She is also a certified master Pilates Instructor and a PMA (Pilates Method Alliance) and NKT credentialing author and continuing education provider. ART is a clinical soft tissue therapy system used to treat pathologies and/or movement restriction with muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves.

Alongside manual therapy, she specializes in Neuro-Gate, functional/movement assessment, sports injuries, spinal pathologies, "special-populations" and post-treatment exercise. Her practice combines multiple methods and provides incredible results.

Her clients include internationally competitive athletes (Ferrari's Racing team), professional baseball players, both pro golfers and tennis players, triathletes, cyclists, PTSD patients, competitive marathoners, UFC fighters, IronMan/ToughMudder and Spartan athletes, avid and competitive CrossFitters, Olympic lifters, business executives, chronic pain patients, senior citizens, and youth. Sonya has personally treated hundreds of First Responders and Military Personnel over the last ten years. It is her life’s mission to demand NFL quality health care to these populations.

Sam Greif (How Plano Became the First Texas Fire Department to go to the 24/72 (42 Hour) Firefighter Workweek) - Episode 1142 Sep 28, 2025

Show notes

Sam began his career as a paramedic in 1982. In 1985 he joined the Fort Worth Fire department as a firefighter where he worked his way up through the ranks to assistant chief of operations. He retired after 30 years of service. In June 2015, after an extensive nationwide search, Sam was selected as the Fire Chief for the City of Plano a position he held for more than six years.

We discuss his journey into the fire service, the increasing call volume, firefighter health, why they opposed the 48/96, how humility and communication forged a successful push for a 24/72 (42 hour) shift schedule, the potential financial savings, their four year implementation plan and so much more.

Sam has served on numerous boards and committees at the state and national levels. He is currently the Chairman of the International CAD Consortium, Chairman of the Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee for the International Association of Fire Chiefs and is a past chairman of the Medical City Plano Board of Trustees. In addition, he served eight years on the Tarrant County 911 Board of Managers. Sam is a graduate of Leadership Plano's Class 35 and is a member of the Plano Rotary Club. He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Tom Hewitt II (Elevating Communities Through Surfing, The AIDS Epidemic and Supporting Young African Surfers) - Episode 1141 Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

Tom Hewitt MBE, is founder and CEO of Surfers Not Street Children. He has worked in the field with street children in Africa for over 28 years. In 1998 he founded the Durban Street Team which went on to be renamed Surfers Not Street Children in 2012. Tom was awarded and MBE by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 2011 for his work with street children in Africa.

Tom is perhaps most well known for his successful advocacy campaign to end the forced removals of street children in Durban, South Africa. These round-ups used to take place to “clean” the streets ahead of international conferences and events. He called for compassionate responses to street children based on psychosocial care.

Tom is also well known for his model of fusing surfing with mentorship to empower street children in Durban. He assisted the national Department of Social Development in South Africa with its development of new policies around working with street children there. Tom has visited and often assisted street children projects in many different parts fo the world.

https://www.surfnotstreets.org/

Dr Ben Sessa II (The Psychedelic Renaissance, MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy and Healing The Mental Health Crisis) - Episode 1140 Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

Dr Ben Sessa is a psychiatrist, author and one of the world’s leading researchers into the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs in a clinical or therapeutic setting. In this second conversation, we discuss the success of MDMA assisted psychotherapy, the psychedelic renaissance, British knife crime, the fiscal benefits of preventative healthcare and so much more.

As a medical doctor, Dr Sessa provides psychiatric consultation through Bristol-based Mandala Therapy Limited, while his research focuses on psychopharmacology research with psychedelic medicines and MDMA therapy for mental disorders.

Dr Sessa is also a co-founder and chair of the influential Breaking Convention conference, held annually in London. He has published widely in medical and academic journals, presents regularly on multimedia platforms, facilitates workshops and is a published author of fiction. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol and Imperial College London.

His books include The Psychedelic Renaissance, Advances in Psychedelic Medicine, Psychedelic Drug Treatments and his latest book, The Psychedelic Renaissance.

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