Welcome to Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee — a leadership podcast built for first responders and public safety professionals who make high-stakes decisions under pressure, and carry the weight of those decisions long after the radio goes quiet.

We're asking a question many of us think about but rarely say out loud — are the kids all right? For those in law enforcement, public safety, and the military, the honest answer is often no. Not just new recruits, but tenured officers and the next generation of public safety professionals stepping into organizations shaped by constant readiness, high expectations, and cumulative stress.

In this episode, Dr. Tracie L. Keesee sits down with **Kevin MacDonald** — street cop, survivor, and co-author of *Man, You're Crazy* — for a raw, honest conversation about what the job does to people, what leaders can do differently, and why vulnerability may be the most powerful leadership tool we've been ignoring.

WHAT WE COVER:

- How leadership behavior, policy, training, and unspoken cultural norms shape officer well-being long before burnout, discipline, or attrition show up
- The generational curses in policing — and why today's officers are still paying for decisions made 30 and 40 years ago
- Why cops are trained to shut down emotions to function on the job — and what that costs them at home
- The difference between impressing people with your victories and actually connecting through vulnerability
- Why police suicide among retirees is at record rates — and the simple mantra that can save a life
- What forward-thinking leaders are doing differently to strengthen the mind the same way we strengthen the body
- The honest truth about why the kids aren't all right — and what it takes to change that

ABOUT KEVIN MacDONALD
Kevin MacDonald is a retired law enforcement officer, speaker, and co-author of Man, You're Crazy — a book that draws on his lived experience to challenge organizations to confront stigma, rethink what strength really means, and take responsibility for how the job shapes the people doing it. With 13 years of sobriety and a career defined by hard-won vulnerability, Kevin travels the country as a conversation starter for law enforcement organizations ready to do things differently.

ABOUT THE JUST BREATHE PODCAST
Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is a leadership platform for first responders and public safety professionals. Each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision — on the street, in the command staff meeting, and at home. New episodes drop every other week.

Control the breath. Control the moment