The Other Side Of

Episode 25 marks the end of Season 1 of The Other Side of the Call. In this episode, Amelia sits down with Rebecca and Kathy Ann to revisit the moments that stayed with them most— pulling together powerful clips and themes that emerged across the season. This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a deeper look […]

Andrew McLean is a former police officer, author of Beaten Black and Blue, and mental health advocate. This conversation is not about a single traumatic call. It is about accumulation. The slow, often invisible impact of repeated exposure to trauma, and how that exposure changes the way first responders think, trust, and function over time. […]

In this episode of The Other Side of the Call, In this episode of The Other Side of the Call, we sit down with retired firefighter Rob Leathen for a direct and unfiltered conversation about what the job gives, what it takes, and what it can quietly erode over time. Rob reflects on his path […]

Where do first responders actually go for support when they’re not ready, or not willing, to sit across from a therapist? In this resource-focused episode, we sit down with Dr. Heather Hadjistavropoulos, Executive Director of PSPNet, to explore a different approach to mental health care for public safety personnel. PSPNet is a Canadian program offering […]

In part two of this National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week roundtable, the conversation shifts from what dispatch is to what it can do to the people doing it. Featuring dispatchers from police, fire, and paramedic services across Canada and the United States, this episode explores the cumulative impact of repeated exposure to crisis, the realities […]

In recognition of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, this special roundtable brings together dispatchers from police, fire, and paramedic services across Canada and the United States. With decades of combined experience, this conversation breaks down what 911 dispatch actually is, what it requires in real time, and why it’s often misunderstood. From cognitive overload and […]

First responder work does not stay at the station, the hall, the hospital, the prison, or the dispatch centre. It comes home. In Part Two of this conversation, psychotherapist and doctoral candidate Parul Shah returns to explore what happens when the pressure inside first responder families becomes too much to carry. Drawing from both clinical experience and […]

First responder work does not stay at the station, the hospital, or the dispatch center. It comes home. In this first part of a two-part conversation, trauma therapist and doctoral candidate Parul Shah joins The Other Side of the Call to talk about the often-unseen impact of first responder work on families. Parul brings more […]

What does it mean to fight fire in a place where everyone knows everyone, resources are stretched, and you may be on call any time you are in town? In Episode 17 of The Other Side of the Call, we return to Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, for Part 2 of our conversation with longtime volunteer […]

What does firefighting look like in a town where everyone is a volunteer? In Episode 16 of The Other Side of the Call, we travel to Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories to speak with longtime volunteer firefighter Jason and his wife Helen about life and emergency response in a northern community of just over 2,000 […]