Episodes

Send us a text Kate Califano, an entrepreneur, founded Seminar Stack with the support of her husband, Pennsylvania State Trooper Eric Smith, to equip first responders and civilians with essential safety and resilience skills. Eric’s dedication stems from his recovery after a near-fatal on-duty crash in 2020, during which he discovered the Adopt A Cop BJJ program. Training together, Kate and Eric saw the immense benefits of BJJ for fitness, mental resilience, and law enforcement. Motivated by BJJ...

Send us a text In 2009, Sean joined the US Marines and served in the infantry. In 2011, Sean deployed to Sangin Valley, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. In 2013, Sean decided to extend his contract of service for the opportunity to go back to Afghanistanwith his unit. This time he served in Garmsir, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. While being tasked to preform aerial and ground interdiction, Sean led his team on numerous operations. In 2014, he left the Marines and took the civil service test and w...

Send us a text Parrt 2 Conner’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience, faith, and purpose. Raised by a single mother and told to “change his name” by his struggling, addict father, Conner found his value in football. His Division 1 football career was marked by unrelenting perseverance, enduring seven season-ending injuries and an astonishing 1,646 days between his last high school game and his first collegiate appearance. Beyond the gridiron, Conner’s mission extended globally, traveli...

Send us a text Part 1 Conner’s journey is a powerful testament to resilience, faith, and purpose. Raised by a single mother and told to “change his name” by his struggling, addict father, Conner found his value in football. His Division 1 football career was marked by unrelenting perseverance, enduring seven season-ending injuries and an astonishing 1,646 days between his last high school game and his first collegiate appearance. Beyond the gridiron, Conner’s mission extended globally, travelin...

Send us a text Adam Burt (born January 15, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the second round, 39th overall, by the Hartford Whalers in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Adam played four seasons for the Ontario Hockey League's North Bay Centennials before joining the Whalers organization. He made his NHL debut for Hartford in the 1988–89 season, and he remained with the franchise through its transformation int...

Send us a text Tom began his distinguished career with the NYPD in 1990, following his graduation from the Academy. He was assigned to the 30th Precinct in West Harlem, one of the busiest precincts in the department at the time. From 1996 to 1999, Tom served in the Bronx Narcotics Unit, where he was involved in multiple large-scale narcotics operations. One of his most notable cases was a joint operation with the DEA, which led to the seizure of 125 kilos of cocaine from Venezuela—still the lar...

Send us a text Corporal Salvatore Oldrati from Mantua Township Police Department, Gloucester County, New Jersey, who has fully dedicated his life to protecting and serving the residents of his community. During the early morning hours of September 14, 2021, Mantua Township Police arrived first on the scene and were confronted with a man armed with a gun. Shortly after the shooting, an investigation was completed by the New Jersey State Police Shooting Response Team along with the Attorney Genera...

Send us a text Nick Ricciotti is a former law enforcement officer and served in the state of NJ for 6 years. After losing his job to substance abuse, he became an advocate for mental health and substance abuse awareness within the first responder community. Nick holds a masters degree in mental health and is a Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC). He is also a Behavioral Change Specialist and is certified through NASM. In addition to his full time job as a therapist, Nick works with Reps for Respo...

Send us a text As we travel along this journey to find stories of strength and resilience, it’s easy to get caught up in the sad sadness. Every once in a while, we need to bring ourselves back and show that life is beautiful and full of joy. There are no better people on the planet that exemplify the meaning of friendship then Mike DePalma, and Tom Flynn. On this episode, we gather together just to have a little bit of fun and show what makes life worth living. Find The Suffering Podcast The S...

Send us a text It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. In this opening line from the classic Charles Dickens novel a A Tale Of Two Cities, never has a quote. It’s so close to home and resonated so deeply as in the appropriate description of season four...

Send us a text David Berez is a retired Police Officer and Drug Recognition Expert, having served more than 20 years with the East Windsor Police Department and a total of 33 years in Emergency Services, including EMS and OEM. Following his retirement, Mr. Berez is now the President and Founder of Six4 Consultants, a Public Safety Consulting Firm. Mr. Berez is also the author of A Resilient Life: A Cops Journey in Pursuit of Purpose, co-author of Wounds to Wisdom, featured columnist, guest speak...

Send us a text Shane Crudele is a student athlete at North Arlington HS in lower Bergen County. He is a sophomore varsity QB1 and he also plays Safety! He also is a varsity boys volleyball player as a freshman and will entering his sophomore year in volleyball this spring. Shane maintains a high grade point average and is very academic. Shane has been playing quarterback since he was 6 and has a passion for football. He definitely aspires to play football in college. Shane has been unfortunate t...

Send us a text Corporal Detective Steven Byrne, shield 271, of the City of Chester (PA) Police Department has endured a 22+ year career in law enforcement. Cpl. Byrne comes from Ridley Park, a small borough within Delco, Delaware County PA, south of Philadelphia, where his father, Thomas J Byrne Sr retired as the Police Chief in 2012, and two brothers serve as professional firefighter and police officer for their community. Cpl. Byrne is an author, entrepreneur, business owner, philanthropist, m...

Send us a text Ana Pais is a dedicated and compassionate mental health professional who specializes in supporting first responders and their families. She earned her Master’s in Forensic Psychology in 2010 and went on to obtain a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2014. As a Board Certified Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified First Responder Counselor, she is deeply committed to addressing the unique challenges faced by individuals in high-stress occupations. Certified ...

Send us a text Ketamine is emerging as one of the new break through medical treatments for a variety of ailment from Depression and Anxiety to Post Traumatic Stress. On this episode we feature two board certified doctors who administer these treatment and are here to bear witness to the benefits. Dr. Joseph Affortunato: Joseph Affortunato, DO, is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician who co-founded KetaRevive. Dr. Affortunato is devoted to providing exceptional care to all his patients...

Send us a text Dave Fischer and Jeff Golden are committed to developing the minds of parents alienated from their children which happens all too often when divorce is the end result. Both men are members of FACE (Fathers' and Children's Equality). A membership organization that educates parents as to their parental rights and custody rights. FACE is not a legal team and does not act as a court representative but rather shows how to effectively represent themselves in family court. By showing sho...

Send us a text Anthony is an individual driven by passion and discipline. His relationship with God comes first and foremost to everything. His wife is second future children would be third and then country. He’s a product of a single parent home however, father was involved attended sports games has always been there for him and currently is still a huge impact for him. His relationship with his mother is very strong as well. His addiction to substances started at an early age years old and he ...

Send us a text Matthew Patunas is a 53 years old retired corrections officer roaming the halls of Rahway State Prison. Matt grew up in the small town of Moonachie located in Bergen county NJ. Growing up in a middle-class family Matt’s father Gene was a union ironworker that owned his own company, while his mother Ann was a stay at home mom. Family was always present having his grandparents live upstairs Matt met my wife Christina on the same street that we grew up on in Moonachie. With the prosp...

Send us a text MR. WALTER HENRY NOLTING, Mr. Nolting has a military career serving both the United States Army & Merchant Marines. He enlisted in 1942 he was only 17 years old. Walter was Honorably Discharged in 1946. Listed below are more details. Stationed: Fort Devons, MA & Utah, France Wars & Military operations & Deployments: WWII Utah France Military Awards & Decorations: American Service Metal, Good Conduct Medal & World War II Victory Medal. Military Career & Accomplishments: Served 33 m...

Send us a text Part 2 John Collins is a Navy SEAL veteran. He was born and raised in Sykesville MD. The oldest of 3. Growing up, he played football, lacrosse and he was a wrestler. He graduated from Glenelg High School in 2003 and joined the Navy on October 31, 2006. He served for 12 years. He was in 6 BUD/S classes. He went through first phase 4 times and has been through 2 1/2 hell weeks. He graduated SQT March 2nd, 2012 and went to SEAL Team 7. He did 2 deployments there before he went to th...

Send us a text Part 1 John Collins is a Navy SEAL veteran. He was born and raised in Sykesville MD. The oldest of 3. Growing up, he played football, lacrosse and he was a wrestler. He graduated from Glenelg High School in 2003 and joined the Navy on October 31, 2006. He served for 12 years. He was in 6 BUD/S classes. He went through first phase 4 times and has been through 2 1/2 hell weeks. He graduated SQT March 2nd, 2012 and went to SEAL Team 7. He did 2 deployments there before he went to th...

Send us a text Stuart Chirachella and Jason Antonette join in on this amazing episode. Edward Bullock was born and raised in Jersey City New Jersey, his family quickly moved to Bayonne for a better life, but tragedy struck when his mother was Murdered by a Bayonne Police officer. After suffering this emotional trauma Ed went to Virginia to live with his dad, where he discovered alcohol. Ed came back to Jersey at the age of 16 where he started running the streets and getting into trouble. He did ...

Send us a text Kathryn Dixon is a second generation social worker who has experienced the positive impact of Social Work first hand. She was adopted as an infant by a foster care social worker and an accountant. Kathryn received her Bachelor's in social work with a minor In justice studies at the University of New Hampshire and afterwards she worked in the New York City child welfare system. Kathryn then completed her masters of social work with a concentration in social policy and administrat...

Send us a text Take a step back in time and see where it all began for The Suffering Podcast. Episode 9 was the first time that Mike and Kevin appeared together in front of the microphone. Only on audio at the time, this animated and re-cut version of the original podcast airing on February 14th, 2021 is the beginnings of a partnership that lasted until Mike could no longer out run his demons and took his life on May 9th 2024. This heartfelt episode shows glimpses of where the podcast began and...