Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates
Courageous Leadership with Dr. Travis Yates Podcast examines what it means to be a Courageous Police Leader. Join us weekly as the concepts of Courageous Leadership are detailed along with interviews with influencers that are committed to leading with courage. You can find out more about Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates at: www.TravisYates.org
Episodes
158 episodes
Decision Tactical: The Future Is Now
If you’ve ever watched bodycam footage and thought, “Why didn’t they just…?”, you already know the hard truth: under extreme stress, the brain does not behave as it does in a classroom. Today we sit down with Remo Eyal, CEO and co-founder of
The Path To Purpose with Doug White
The job ends for everyone, and sometimes it ends fast. That’s where our conversation with Doug White starts: why police officers and first responders need to prepare for retirement and identity change from the first day in the academy, not the ...
Chaos inside NYPD with Lt. John Macara
A police officer can be cleared for a shooting in a deadly-force fight, but still face prison for trying to control a suspect without firing a gun. That’s the core contradiction we dig into with retired NYPD Lieutenant John Macara and host of N...
Wellness and Longevity with Dr. Mark Sherwood
Retiring with a pension is the plan, but what if the system quietly assumes you will not live long enough to enjoy it? I sit down with Dr. Mark Sherwood, a retired police sergeant turned functional medicine leader, to talk about the statistic t...
The Prediction of Violence with Dr. Michael Howell
We talk with Dr. Michael Howell about earning a PhD and why his dissertation targets a neglected gap in active killer research: how churches train and prepare to stop violence. We connect his findings and his off-duty Costco shooting to real-ti...
The Leadership Crisis with Chief Scott Hughes
We sit down with retired Chief Scott Hughes to talk straight about why police morale, culture, recruiting, and training are sliding at the same time and why leadership choices are the common denominator. We also dig into rising assaults on offi...
When The Blue Line Frays with Deputy Chief Arthur Myers
Your career and reputation can be taken away from you without a guilty verdict, without a complaint, and without evidence. If you find that shocking, you don't understand the state of law enforcement leadership today and you've never heard of D...
Law Enforcement Recruiting Solved with Doug Larsen
In this special episode, we talk with Doug Larsen about why police staffing shortages keep getting worse even when agencies spend big on recruitment marketing. Doug has spent the last 5 years solving law enforcement recruiting for c...
Leadership, Accreditation & Best Practices with Kevin Rhea
Accreditation in law enforcement can feel like a four-letter word, especially when you’ve only experienced it as paperwork dumped on patrol. We talk with Kevin Rhea, co-founder and executive director of the National Association for Accreditatio...
EVOC Training and Leadership with Hugh Anderson
We talk with longtime EVOC instructor and author Hugh Anderson about why emergency driving remains one of the biggest and most preventable threats to officer and public safety. We dig into what consistent leadership, real-world on-road training...
More Than The Mission with Chris Russell
We sit down with retired Air Force intelligence officer and leadership coach Chris Russell to unpack the leadership lessons behind his book More Than a Mission. We talk followership, purpose, crisis leadership, and why clear communication and r...
Introducing FOCUS: Threat Recognition For Law Enforcement
Officer assaults are at an all-time high, and it seems like no one is discussing this dangerous trend. In this podcast, Dr. Travis Yates will discuss his personal path that brought him to discovering the first system designed for law enforcemen...
Leading Large Events with Lt. John Leas
We trace the journey of John Leas from a San Diego Police Lieutenant to MLB security director and unpack the real work behind safe, seamless large-scale events. We share hard lessons on budgets, training, terrorism risks, and how to build teams...
2000 Years of Cowardice with Dr. Greg Amunsdon
Pilate has authority, facts, and options, yet he still folds when the crowd gets loud, showing that leadership failure is often a failure of courage. Travis Yates and Dr. Greg Amundson connect that pattern to modern law enforcement leadership, ...
Increasing Police Applicants with Brian Ellis
We dig into why police staffing shortages persist even when plenty of people still want to serve, and why slow, confusing hiring pipelines push good candidates out. Brian Ellis explains how agencies can raise recruit conversion by reducing fric...
The Counterfeit Sheepdogs
We examine how counterfeit sheepdogs infiltrate agencies, the media, and leadership spaces, why strong leadership and vetting matter more than charisma, and how to trust intuition without slipping into cynicism. Dr. Olivia Johnson shares practi...
Prosecuted for Doing His Job: The Deputy Anthony Gann Story
A jury cleared Deputy Anthony Gann of a manslaughter charge in two hours, but the path to that verdict is the part that America must understand and public safety needs to be warned about. I’m joined by Tiffany Yant, founder of
Hiding Behind A Suit and Robe
This is not just the story of Deputy Anthony Gann facing 20 years in prison for following his policy and training, but also about a much darker issue affecting law enforcement across the country. This episode is the opinion of Travi...
Citizens Behind The Badge with Craig Floyd
We sit down with Craig Floyd to trace his journey from building the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum to rallying public support through Citizens Behind the Badge. He lays out the data behind crime trends, officer assaults, ...
When A Sheriff Fails: The Nancy Guthrie Case
A high-profile kidnapping exposes how leadership decisions drive investigative success or failure. We unpack missteps in Pima County, the cost of sidelining experienced detectives, the silence at the podium, and the growing toll on the deputies...
Research Driven Leadership with Dr. Marshall Jones
We explore why culture beats cash, how leader–member exchange strengthens trust, and why sergeants are the keystone of retention. Dr. Marshall Jones makes the case for borrowing proven business models, fixing communication beyond email, and put...
Minneapolis On The Brink with Jesse Watts
Officers in Minneapolis describe empty rosters, mixed messages, and orders that put optics over safety. We speak with Jesse Watts of The Wounded Blue about confidential peer support, staffing collapse, and what courageous leadership should look...
A Cop's Life with Travis Yates and Randy Sutton
Lt. Randy Sutton and Dr. Travis Yates challenge the myths driving modern policing, from failed recruiting tactics to political mandates that increase officer injuries, and lay out practical, data-led ways to keep officers and communities safer....
The Doxxing of Law Enforcement with Pete James
We sit down with Pete James of OfficerPrivacy.com to break down why doxxing has escalated, how data brokers expose home addresses, and what it takes to protect families. We also announce a waiv...
Courageous Optimism with David Berez
We sit down with David Berez to unpack culture, leadership, and mental health in policing, and why science-backed tools beat checkbox trainings. He shares practical ways to build anti-fragility, define purpose beyond the badge, and lead with co...