A cheetah on a Hollywood set with Angelina Jolie. A Jack Russell with terrible timing. And a moment in a rural hospital that rerouted two lives toward a mission bigger than fame or adrenaline. We sit down with Namibian conservationist Marlice Van Vuren to unpack how a preventable loss led to N/a’an ku sê, a holistic model that protects wildlife while strengthening the communities who live alongside it.

Marlice grew up on a sanctuary with the San, speaking their language before Afrikaans or English. That early bond shaped how she reads animal behaviour and why indigenous knowledge sits at the centre of her work. She takes us into the quiet heroics of raising cheetahs and leopards from days old, the reality of anti‑poaching in vast open landscapes, and the tools her team deploys—canines, horses, drones, and gyros—to deter and disrupt. The stories are visceral: 2 a.m. feeds, near‑misses in the field, the heartbreak of arriving too late, and the stubborn hope that gets you back out before dawn.

We also trace the long road from weekend medicine boxes to a free clinic that now sees thousands of San patients each year. Marlice doesn’t gloss over the hardest parts: addiction, landlessness, and the grind of generational change. She shares how donors took a chance, how transparency built trust, and how a lodge created jobs that reinforced conservation goals. Her message is disarmingly simple—start small, act locally, and let action compound. Purpose isn’t found in slogans; it’s built in the bush, in clinics, and in everyday choices that make room for others.

If you care about cheetah conservation, anti‑poaching strategy, indigenous language preservation, or sustainable travel in Namibia, this conversation offers a clear, working blueprint. Listen, share with a friend who loves wildlife, and if you can, visit or support N/a’an ku sê. Subscribe for more stories that turn purpose into practice, and leave a review so we can bring more voices like Marlice’s to your feed.

LINKS:

https://www.naankuse.com/

https://web.facebook.com/naankuse/?_rdc=1&_rdr#

https://www.instagram.com/naankuse_foundation/

DONATE:

https://www.naankuse.com/donate

SUPPORT THE RANGERS:

https://naankusefoundation.salsalabs.org/wildliferangerchallenge/index.html?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnL0BTBEs0ZVAoUYwwLgIFmI21P54C3yCikpRK3NyNYgvx-_L3SE4wLCJPBbc_aem_tp2fHeyNBrtge7bB9yrfwA

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WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61

A ghost hitching a ride in the backseat shouldn’t make sense—until you hear how a veteran parapsychologist pulled the story apart and tried to verify it. We sit down with Loyd Auerbach, one of the most respected names in parapsychology, to explore why some experiences defy easy dismissal and how a single case nudged him toward the idea that consciousness may persist after death.

We start by setting the record straight on what parapsychology actually studies: controlled ESP experiments, mind-matter effects, and careful field investigations of hauntings. Loyd explains the standards behind double-blind and even triple-blind designs, where sceptical scientists have praised the methodology even when they doubt the conclusions. Then we dive into the Livermore case: a Victorian house, a family who kept quiet, and an 11-year-old who could speak with a woman named Lois. From deathbed memories to impossible personal details overheard during a car ride she allegedly “joined,” the account gets stranger—and more testable—when an elderly cousin confirms intimate family stories.

Along the way, we unpack working models that challenge the reality TV shows. Apparitions aren’t optical; people perceive them through non-sensory channels, which explains why cameras usually fail. Residual hauntings may be “recorded history” we pick up with ESP, while poltergeist effects often track to living people. We also touch the bigger questions: what is consciousness made of, can it remain coherent without a brain, and why fear and folklore still shape public perception more than evidence does. Loyd offers clear, calm advice for anyone experiencing activity, plus practical routes to study the field through the Rhine Center and the Forever Family Foundation.

If this conversation sparks your curiosity—or your courage—follow the links in our show notes, join our new Facebook community, and share your thoughts. Subscribe, rate five stars, and leave a short review to help us bring more rigorous, open-minded conversations to your feed. What do you think consciousness really is?

Loyd's Official Website - https://loydauerbach.com/

Rhine Research Centre - https://www.rhineonline.org/

Forever Family Foundation - https://foreverfamilyfoundation.org/

Loyd's Socials:
https://www.youtube.com/loydauerbach

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLPjIZOnE1DrPEPPYkendQ

https://web.facebook.com/loyd.auerbach.author/?_rdc=1&_rdr#

https://x.com/profparanormal

https://www.instagram.com/profparanormal/?hl=en

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WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61

A single whistle in the dark ocean shouldn’t decide a life, yet that’s exactly how Heidi found her way home. After ditching her aircraft in the Pacific and riding 12‑foot swells under a full moon, she watched search flares sketch the sky while a ship hovered just out of reach—until a launch zeroed in on the smallest, most human signal she had left. The twist? Her rescuers were Soviet sailors who couldn’t speak to the American aircraft overhead, turning a high‑stakes night into a quiet act of Cold War compassion.

We walk through the rescue minute by minute—why timing a single rocket flare mattered, how radios failed across political lines, and how a Russian refrigeration crew treated a stranger with brisk kindness while coordinating a handover to a US vessel. From there, Heidi opens the hangar doors on a life in the airlines: the calculated calm of a 747 bird strike at JFK, fuel dumping and single‑engine procedures, and the redundancies that keep modern aviation remarkably safe. She explains what passengers actually feel versus what the cockpit manages, and why a firm crosswind landing can be the right kind of rough.

For aspiring pilots, Heidi’s core lesson is blunt and lifesaving: know your limitations and honour them. Weather, get‑home pressure, and small compromises can snowball; asking for help early is strength, not failure. For anxious flyers, she offers simple comforts—sit forward, talk to the crew, and remember these aircraft are built to fly safely even when something goes wrong. We close with her new book, Ditching the Sky, her speaking work, and the film project taking shape, all anchored by a story that blends survival, skill, and grace across borders.

If this story moved you, follow and subscribe, leave a quick five‑star review, and share it with someone who loves true survival, aviation, or both. Your support helps us bring more extraordinary voices to your ears.

Heidi’s Book "Ditching the Sky" - https://www.amazon.com/Ditching-Sky-memoir-triumph-against/dp/B0DM73M8CL

"Ditching the Sky" on Audible (narrated by Heidi) - https://www.audible.com/pd/Ditching-the-Sky-Audiobook/B0DPXXKZRB?srsltid=AfmBOopT7XrmdYwbr5HzOxP-7f_DYeW2nANyDaiafPUS_KD89X8mTD9s

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-porch-09783a89

Speaker Profile - https://www.aviationspeakers.com/heidi-porch

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WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61

A single engine, an endless Pacific, and a decision no pilot wants to make. That’s where Heidi Porch found herself eleven hours into a ferry flight to Hawaii when the oil pressure began to fall and the nearest runway was more than a thousand miles away. Heidi has flown everything from gliders to 747s and Gulfstream jets, but nothing demanded more focus than the moment she chose to prepare for a ditching, built a plan that fit her cockpit constraints, and committed to it.

We talk through the building blocks that made her calm under pressure: learning to fly in gliders where you cannot go around, methodically breaking in brand‑new engines on high‑power ferry legs, and practising failures mid‑ocean to cut panic down to size. When the Navy P‑3 and the Coast Guard joined the picture, precise position fixes, smart use of HF radio, and prearranged signals with her wingman created a lifeline of information for family and rescuers. Then the engine quit.

What follows is a survival masterclass: escaping inverted with eyes closed against the burn, flipping a raft mid‑inflation, cutting a lanyard that threatened to shred her only shelter, and refusing to swim for a larger raft drifting the wrong way. She calculates ship speeds, accepts a night alone, and rides swells that build from gentle to threatening. Along the way, we explore the psychology of acceptance, the physics that govern low‑speed water impacts, and the small choices that keep you alive when gear fails and fatigue whispers bad ideas. It’s raw, practical, and unforgettable.

This is part one of Heidi’s story; next week we pick up as darkness falls, weather turns, and an unexpected rescuer appears. If this moved you, follow the show, share it with someone who loves aviation or true survival stories, and leave a quick five‑star review—your support helps us bring more extraordinary voices to your queue.

Episode Links:

Heidi’s Book "Ditching the Sky" - https://www.amazon.com/Ditching-Sky-memoir-triumph-against/dp/B0DM73M8CL

"Ditching the Sky" on Audible (narrated by Heidi) - https://www.audible.com/pd/Ditching-the-Sky-Audiobook/B0DPXXKZRB?srsltid=AfmBOopT7XrmdYwbr5HzOxP-7f_DYeW2nANyDaiafPUS_KD89X8mTD9s

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-porch-09783a89

Speaker Profile - https://www.aviationspeakers.com/heidi-porch

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If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a five-star rating and review, and tell a friend about the show.

WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61

A $16 million lottery ticket sits unclaimed. Hours before the deadline, an anonymous figure tries to cash in through a Belize shell company. That’s where we start—with a gamble that reveals one of the boldest insider frauds in US lottery history—and with the leader who decided to fight it in daylight rather than bury it in silence.

I sit down with Terry Rich—entrepreneur, former cable TV pioneer, zoo director, and CEO of the Iowa Lottery—to unpack the case that defined his later career. Terry explains how an insider at a vendor wrote code to narrow random outcomes once a year, why the fraud triad (need, opportunity, rationale) is the real risk model leaders should use, and how a string of small clues—including surveillance audio and a bizarre “two hot dogs” alibi—helped investigators connect jackpots across multiple states. We talk bluntly about industry pressure to keep quiet, why he refused, and how transparency actually increased public trust and sales.

Terry’s story stretches beyond the case. From helping launch MTV and HBO to reinventing a struggling zoo with irreverent ideas like “Scoop on Poop” and adult-only “Zoo Brew” nights, his career is a masterclass in creative problem-solving and operational integrity. He shares practical leadership habits—separating duties, documenting exceptions, inviting diverse voices—and the mindset that turns PR crises into credibility. We also explore the modern content landscape: why a YouTube documentary can outpace traditional channels, and how creators can leverage honest storytelling to build durable audiences.

If you’re curious about how insider fraud really works, how to structure teams to prevent it, and how courage in communication can strengthen a brand, this conversation delivers. Subscribe, leave a quick review, and share this episode with someone who geeks out on true crime, leadership, or the strange places where ethics and entrepreneurship collide. What would you have done at that last-minute claim?

Terry's website - https://terryspeaks.com/

Full Documentary: "Jackpot: America's Biggest Lotto Scam" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGsPAfQzakM

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/terich

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpeaksKeynote/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tlrrhi/

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If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a five-star rating and review, and tell a friend about the show.

WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61

DISCLAIMER: This episode contains content that may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care while listening.

The siren is silent, the room is calm, and the heart is racing anyway. That’s where our conversation with former firefighter–paramedic Christy Warren begins—inside the strange quiet before chaos and the laser focus that follows once the job lands in your lap.

Across twenty-five years in busy California systems, Christy moved from ambulance to engine to captain, making ten-second front-yard assessments and leading crews through flashover flats, freeway pile-ups, and the awkward, exhausting reality of lifts that manual-handling posters never imagined. She explains why first responders frame calls as tasks, not heroics—cut the roof, force the door, find water—because it’s the only way to think clearly when seconds matter. We go inside station life too: the dry humour that keeps people human, the constant cortisol even during a film at 9pm, and the everyday rituals that get interrupted by someone else’s worst day.

Then the story turns. Christy revisits a children’s house fire where triage collided with scarcity and, years later, the penthouse search that “broke the box” she’d been stuffing full of hard calls. She speaks bluntly about nightmares, intrusive images, rage, and the morning she planned to drive into a tree. What changed the trajectory? Admitting the truth, going off on workers’ comp, and finding a peer community at a six-day retreat where firefighters, medics, cops, and dispatchers speak the same language. EMDR began to work. Shame loosened. The nervous system found a way back to baseline.

We also dig into culture change: how “suck it up” is slowly being replaced by debriefs, peer teams, and early intervention that treats psychological injuries like line-of-duty injuries. Christy shares why she’d choose the career again without hesitation, even as she lives with a body mapped by surgeries, and how the work reshaped her view of fragility, poverty, and resilience.

Christy's Website - https://www.christyewarren.com/

Her Book, "Flashpoint" - https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Point-Firefighters-Journey-Through/dp/1647424488/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UGYTTSWXHTGE&keywords=flash+point+christy+warren&qid=1675272624&sprefix=flash+point+chri%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1

Her podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-firefighter-deconstructed/id1500483348

Other links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-warren-17a978186/

https://www.instagram.com/ffdeconstructed/?hl=en

If you were affected by the content of this episode, please click the link below, or similar links in your country.

https://988lifeline.org/

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If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a five-star rating and review, and tell a friend about the show.

WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61

What happens when the wind is so powerful it literally rips the air from your lungs? Sue Stockdale knows this terrifying reality all too well. Trapped for 36 hours in a small tent during a violent storm on the Greenland ice cap, her survival wasn't just a physical battle but a profound mental one. "I discovered depths of resilience that I didn't know I had," she recalls, in a moment that would shape the rest of her extraordinary life.

From becoming the first British woman to reach the magnetic North Pole to skiing across Greenland's vast frozen expanse, Sue has pushed herself into some of the world's most unforgiving environments. But these adventures weren't just about conquering extreme conditions—they revealed fundamental truths about human potential that Sue now brings to boardrooms and leadership teams worldwide.

Her journey began with curiosity and defiance. When she spotted an advert seeking "novice Arctic explorers" with the tagline "Are you man enough for the ultimate challenge?", something sparked inside her. Despite having neither the experience nor the £15,000 required, Sue trusted her gut feeling—a pattern established early in life after losing her mother suddenly at age fourteen, which taught her that "life could be short" and we must maximize our potential.

What makes Sue's story particularly compelling is how she translates the lessons from polar expeditions into practical wisdom for everyday life and business leadership. Whether facing a literal storm in the Arctic or a metaphorical one in the corporate world, success often depends on managing your mind rather than external circumstances. "We're finding what it means to be alive," she explains about pushing beyond comfort zones, highlighting how modern life has emphasized exploitation over exploration—both externally and within ourselves.

Ready to discover what you're truly capable of? Connect with Sue at SueStockdale.com and explore her book "Explore: A Life of Adventure" for inspiration to step into your own unknown territories, whatever form they might take.

Sue's Website - https://suestockdale.com/

Books - https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sue-Stockdale/author/B001HO5FB2?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Facebook - https://web.facebook.com/SueStockdalespeaker/?_rdc=1&_rdr#

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/suestockdale/

Access to Inspiration Podcast - https://accesstoinspiration.org/

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If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a five-star rating and review, and tell a friend about the show.

WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61

Have you ever wondered how those incredible physical special effects in movies actually work? Not the CGI, but the real explosions, practical weather, and dangerous stunts that make your jaw drop? David Rigley-Williamson pulls back the curtain on the fascinating, challenging, and sometimes absurd world of special effects artistry.

From humble beginnings as an art student with no clear career path, David found himself building elaborate special effects for major productions including the Emmy Award-Winning Star Wars Andor, where he created many effects, like the massive memorial fountain on Ghorman in season 2 – a feat that took months of precision engineering. He even scored an acting credit as an X-Wing mechanic, allowing him to appear in the Star Wars universe he helped create.

The heart of our conversation centers on David's most incredible challenge: constructing an elaborate quicksand effect for a celebrity prank show in the desert. Picture a 20-meter square, 6-meter deep tank filled with water and cork granules, a custom hydraulic platform, and safety divers waiting in pitch-black water – all operating in 50°C heat. When celebrities drove their 4x4 vehicle onto what looked like innocent sand, they'd watch in horror as it began to sink and their driver disappeared beneath the surface. The engineering challenges, dangerous conditions, and logistical nightmares David faced during this 31-day shoot without a single day off will leave you astounded at what goes into creating these seemingly simple effects.

For anyone fascinated by filmmaking, interested in unconventional career paths, or simply curious about how movie magic happens, this episode offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes with one of the wizards who makes the impossible look real. Subscribe now.

Behind the Scenes from the Artem Quicksand shoot - https://www.artem.com/projects/ramez-goes-underground

Some of the reactions of celebrities to the pranks - https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/shah-rukh-khan-almost-punched-a-prank-show-host-for-scaring-him-in-komodo-dragon-costume/story-vaFr9eZj5kY7eSF1uMMK3L.html

David's IMDB profile - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4894917/

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If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a five-star rating and review, and tell a friend about the show.

WANT TO BE A GUEST? You can submit your own career story through our website at noordinarymonday.com, email us at hello@noordinarymonday.com, or send a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/176029491486798797fb4df61