Jared Buchanan shares his personal journey through grief, mental health advocacy, and ultra running, all inspired by his father's suicide. Discover insights on recognizing signs, the importance of connection, and how resilience and humor can aid healing.

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In this episode of Guns and Mental Health, Mike and Jake sit down with the Allegiance Project Foundation to discuss a different approach to school safety.

The conversation explores how Allegiance Project Foundation hires and trains veterans for school security, helps schools build a security mindset, and supports veterans as they transition out of military service and into a renewed sense of purpose.

From threat assessment and school safety culture to veteran mental health, identity, brotherhood, and the hard realities of transition, this episode digs into what it means to protect children while also caring for the people doing the protecting.

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In this deeply human episode of the WTTA Guns and Mental Health Podcast, Michael Sodini sits down with Nelba Márquez-Greene, mother of Ana Grace, who was murdered in the Sandy Hook shooting.

This conversation is not about politics or taking sides. It is about listening. Nelba shares her story as a mother, wife, clinician, educator, and survivor of unimaginable loss. Together, she and Michael discuss grief, community, storytelling, faith, mental health, responsible conversations around firearms, and the importance of seeing one another as human before anything else.

It is a powerful reminder that real progress begins when people are willing to sit together, listen honestly, and refuse to let tragedy become just another talking point.

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Michael Sodini recaps his experience last fall at Rutgers University, where he was invited to close out a summit hosted by the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center.

In this conversation, Michael and Kevin break down what happened when Walk the Talk America brought a firearms industry perspective into a room full of researchers, social workers, and advocacy groups. They discuss the disconnect between policy conversations and the realities of gun ownership, the momentum behind WTTA’s ROOTS Project and Kids to Kings, and why practical solutions, trusted messengers, and better collaboration matter more than ever.

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Firearm storage is not just about what you buy, it’s about what you know. In this episode, Mike and Nicky Zabetian from Kinisium join Mike to break down Kini Safe Alert, a small, discreet motion/tamper notification device that texts (or app-notifies) you when something you care about is moved, opened, or accessed.

They talk through the real stories that inspired the product, why “my kids know better” is not a plan, and how Kini can add a passive layer of awareness to safes, drawers, cases, ammo storage, and more. You’ll also hear how they built the product through COVID-era supply chain chaos, why they designed it to avoid subscriptions, how the settings work (sensitivity, quiet modes, multi-person alerts), and how this kind of tool can complement suicide prevention and responsible ownership without tracking you or your location.

Plus: what it’s like breaking into the firearms market with a safety product, what they’re bringing to SHOT Show, and the question we ask every guest, how do you tend to your mental health?

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In this conversation, Seth Hendricks shares his transformative journey from a decade-long career in law enforcement to becoming a financial advisor. He discusses the impact of mental health on police officers, the importance of self-reflection, and the challenges of balancing personal and professional life. The conversation delves into the unconscious behaviors shaped by trauma, the financial considerations unique to police work, and the significance of communication in relationships, especially when dealing with the stresses of the job. In this conversation,

Seth Hendricks shares his journey from law enforcement to financial planning, emphasizing the importance of serving others and the challenges of consent in helping professions. He discusses the emotional drivers behind feedback and reviews, the complexities of gun ownership, and the need for open dialogue in divisive topics. The conversation also touches on the importance of addressing mental health and personal well-being, particularly in underserved communities.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Symposium and Seth's Background
02:57 Seth's Journey from Law Enforcement to Financial Planning
05:53 The Impact of Mental Health in Law Enforcement
08:48 Understanding the Five-Year Drop-Off in Police Careers
11:56 The Role of Ego and Self-Reflection in Career Choices
14:46 Financial Considerations for Police Officers
18:01 The Unconscious Impact of Trauma on Spending Habits
21:05 Balancing Personal Life and Professional Trauma
23:58 The Importance of Communication in Relationships
27:09 Navigating Parenthood and Career Stress
29:53 The Gap Between Law Enforcement and Financial Planning
39:05 The Simplicity of Law Enforcement
42:49 Transitioning from Law Enforcement to Financial Planning
43:48 The Concept of Consent in Helping Professions
46:57 The Challenge of Change and Acceptance
50:50 The Emotional Drivers Behind Reviews and Feedback
52:08 Finding Common Ground in Divisive Topics
55:15 Navigating Difficult Conversations
01:01:59 The Complexity of Gun Ownership and Responsibility
01:04:33 The Importance of Open Dialogue
01:11:18 Serving the Underserved in Financial Services
01:14:02 Mental Health and Personal Well-being

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Red flag laws, also known as ERPOs, get talked about in the gun world like one sweeping “boogeyman”, but the reality is messier and state-specific.

In this episode, Michael Sodini and Kevin Berry sit down with Dr. Chris Knoepke (University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative) to break down how Colorado’s ERPO process actually works, who can file, what due process looks like, and what the data is showing so far.

They dig into what gun owners often worry about most, including false accusations, service and enforcement realities for law enforcement, and why many clinicians are hesitant to touch ERPOs at all. The conversation also explores practical improvements if these laws aren’t going away, such as better training for clinicians, stronger “time and space” options, and connecting people in crisis to real support rather than luck, see you in a year.”

As always, we close with the question we ask every guest: How do you tend to your mental health?

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For the first time on the WTTA podcast, we’re joined by a researcher, and not just any researcher.

Michael Sodini and Kevin Berry sit down with Kerri Raissian, Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of Public Health’s Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative. Kerri shares her path from growing up on a cattle farm in Texas, to working in a district attorney’s office and running one of the largest domestic violence shelters in the country, to becoming a researcher focused on what actually reduces injury, trauma, and death.

This conversation goes straight to the real tension points, without the usual talking past each other:

• The difference between reducing firearm deaths vs reducing overall deaths and why substitution matters
• What gun owners worry about with ERPOs, and what it would take for policies to be trusted and usable
• Why secure storage keeps showing up as a high-impact solution, including the reality of firearm theft from vehicles
• How research funding changed after 2020 and why more universities are building firearm research initiatives now
• Why storytelling and lived experience still matter even in data-driven policy work

It’s candid, nuanced, and exactly what it looks like when the research community and firearm community sit at the same table and actually try to build answers together.

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