No Ordinary Monday

Chris Baron
  • 5.0 (19)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

The No Ordinary Monday podcast brings you the most incredible tales from people's working lives. Each week, we meet someone whose work is anything but ordinary - they may be clearing landmines, blowing up movie sets, or exploring uncharted caves.  We dive into the how, the why, and a life-defining moment they’ve experienced on the job. Whether it’s spine-tingling, hilarious, or just plain jaw-dropping, their stories will challenge what you thought a “career” could be—and maybe even change the way you think about your own.

  1. Surviving an Erupting Volcano (Expedition Leader)

    5D AGO

    Surviving an Erupting Volcano (Expedition Leader)

    A brother’s warning over the radio. An 80‑metre abseil into darkness. A cone splits, lava surges, and the exact spot rigged with rope is swallowed in seconds. That’s the moment Aldo Kane, former Royal Marines sniper, expedition leader, and on-screen explorer, decided not to commit to the drop inside Nyiragongo's crater, a call that almost certainly saved his life. We unpack that decision and everything wrapped around it: risk, responsibility, and the identity you carry long after the expedition ends. We trace Aldo’s path from elite military training to leading film crews into hostile environments and appearing on camera for Apple TV, Nat Geo, the BBC and more. He explains what a safety lead really does when cameras narrow attention and the world around you turns volatile: build systems, translate danger into choices, and create productive friction so the best idea wins. We dig into decision‑making under pressure, how to act on intuition while you wait for facts, why a bias to action restores control, and when to abandon the first plan without ego. From lava lakes and hurricane‑like thermal winds to CO2 sinks and crumbling calderas, the volcano story anchors wider lessons. The jungle breaks more crews than the cold, deadfall kills more than snakes, and the most dangerous missions may involve people, not landscapes: narcos, illegal wildlife trade, money and ego. We talk about the crash after the shoot, coming home as a parent, and building circuit breakers to protect your life off camera. As the TV industry shifts, Aldo shares how he’s pivoted his expedition mindset into coaching CEOs and leadership teams, proving that courage, discipline, unselfishness and cheerfulness in adversity are performance tools far beyond the field. If this story moved you, tap follow or subscribe, rate the show, and share it with someone who thrives under pressure. Leave a short review with your biggest takeaway.  Links:  WEBSITE: https://www.aldokane.com/ BOOK: Lessons from the Edge - https://www.aldokane.com/books TV SHOWS: https://www.aldokane.com/media Socials:  https://www.instagram.com/aldokane/ https://www.facebook.com/aldo.kane https://www.linkedin.com/in/aldo-kane-32526a136/ Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    1h 9m
  2. What Facing Death Taught Me About Living (Death Doula)

    JAN 26

    What Facing Death Taught Me About Living (Death Doula)

    A fear of death can quietly shape an entire life. For Danni Petkovic, that fear was physical and relentless — years of death anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and a nervous system locked into survival mode at the mere idea of mortality. Everything changed when her brother was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. What followed was an intimate education in dying: navigating prognosis, care, logistics, legacy, and love in real time. That experience didn’t just ease Danni’s fear — it led her to her calling as a death doula and death literacy educator, supporting individuals and families through end-of-life care with clarity, calm, and humanity. In this episode of No Ordinary Monday, we go behind the euphemisms that surround death and dying. Danni explains how clear language can reduce fear, why death was once handled at home within communities, and what’s been lost by medicalising and outsourcing our end-of-life rituals. We talk openly about voluntary assisted dying in Australia, the practical realities most people avoid — advance care directives, wills, passwords, pets, photos, and personal belongings — and how thoughtful planning can make grief gentler.  Danni also shares what it means to sit with someone as they die, to care for the body afterwards, and to help families create rituals that reflect culture, belief, and truth rather than shame. It’s a confronting conversation, but also a hopeful one: planning while well is an act of love, children often cope better with honesty than adults, and talking about death won’t kill you — avoiding it won’t make you immortal. If this resonated, follow and share the show, leave a quick review, and tell someone you love one wish you’ve decided today. Links:  https://liminalbeing.com.au/ http://dyingtoknow.au/ Socials:  https://www.instagram.com/dannipetkovic/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/liminalbeing https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannipetkovic/?originalSubdomain=au Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    55 min
  3. A Bush Pilot’s Worst Flight Over Papua

    JAN 19

    A Bush Pilot’s Worst Flight Over Papua

    Bush Flying in Indonesia: From IT Desk to Remote Mountain Airstrips A tidy flat, a good salary, a steady routine — and a growing knot of anxiety. That was Matt Dearden’s life before he walked away from IT and flew halfway across the world to become a bush pilot in Indonesia. In this episode of No Ordinary Monday, Matt takes us inside the reality of remote aviation, flying for Susi Air across one of the most challenging aviation environments on Earth. What followed was a crash course in flying beyond the textbook: single-engine turbine aircraft, dirt airstrips carved into mountain slopes, jungle valleys that shift from clear skies to dense cloud in minutes, and communities where aviation is the difference between isolation and survival. Flying the Pilatus Porter on the Frontier We explore the aircraft that makes this work possible — the Pilatus PC-6 Porter — a rugged STOL plane designed for short, steep, and unpredictable runways. Matt explains how “pioneering routes” connect remote villages across Indonesia’s 17,000 islands, why cargo can range from medical supplies to fuel drums to live pigs, and how pilots manage risk when terrain, weather, and human decision-making collide. He’s candid about aviation accidents — how they rarely have a single cause, but form chains of small decisions — and the mindset required to keep flying with humility, discipline, and focus in high-risk environments. Alone in Cloud, Low on Options Then the story tightens. Mid-afternoon, alone in cloud, flying on oxygen with fuel drums banging behind him, Matt is hit with sudden nausea. The horizon spins. There’s no autopilot. No outside visual reference. Just instruments, terrain warnings, and willpower. Enjoyed this episode? Follow No Ordinary Monday, share this episode with a friend, and leave a quick five-star rating or short review. Your support helps keep the show independent, ad-free, and focused on extraordinary real-world stories — every Monday. Episode Links:  Matt's Website - https://mattdearden.co.uk/ Matt's Book - https://www.amazon.com/Flying-Shangri-really-Worst-Place-ebook/dp/B0DHWCHSNK Socials:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdearden https://www.instagram.com/indopilot/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/IndoPilot/ For More Info Visit:  https://www.noordinarymonday.com/ep023-matt-dearden-bush-pilot Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    1h 4m
  4. Trapped in a Flooded Hospital in South Sudan (MSF Doctor)

    JAN 12

    Trapped in a Flooded Hospital in South Sudan (MSF Doctor)

    A backpack floats in brown water. The ward is a tent. The air is forty degrees. And still, patients keep coming. We open the year with Dr Lakshmi Jain of Médecins Sans Frontières, who takes us from NHS corridors to a flooded field hospital in South Sudan, where logistics, infection control and compassion collide in the harshest conditions. With planes grounded and supplies tight, she shows how medicine adapts when the plan dissolves, and how a team holds the line when a hospital turns into a lake. We trace Lakshmi’s journey into humanitarian medicine: the early pull of travel and justice, the discipline of mastering HIV and TB in the UK, and a humbling first mission in Kenya amid strikes and neglected TB wards. She shares the nuts and bolts of fieldwork—running out of supplies, living in tents, waking at dawn, mentoring local clinicians—and the mindset shift from textbook certainty to on-the-ground pragmatism. The story of a child with a snakebite, waiting seven days for a runway to dry, becomes a lesson in making the most of a hard ceiling of care without losing heart. Lakshmi also brings us to Bihar, India, where advanced HIV intersects with visceral leishmaniasis and devastating stigma. Here, science meets dignity: undetectable equals untransmissible becomes a lifeline, carried by mental health teams and quiet conversations at the bedside. We talk about hope, family, and what people everywhere want—safety, health and a future—along with clear advice for aspiring humanitarians across roles: doctors, nurses, logisticians, epidemiologists and communicators. If this story moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick five-star rating or review. Your support keeps the feed ad-free and helps us bring more voices from the front lines of healthcare to your ears. Links: https://www.msf.org/ https://www.instagram.com/reels/DHlZjZCCAQk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakshmi-jain-3a5b32366/ https://scienceportal.msf.org/api/assets/7846/download/14086 For more information visit Lakshmi's episode page here - https://www.noordinarymonday.com/ep021-lakshmi-jain-msf-doctor Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    55 min
  5. CIA Counter-Terrorism Analyst: The 3 Most Dangerous Places in the World to Backpack (and How to Get In)…with Brent Giannotta (BACKPACKING & BLISTERS PODCAST)

    12/29/2025

    CIA Counter-Terrorism Analyst: The 3 Most Dangerous Places in the World to Backpack (and How to Get In)…with Brent Giannotta (BACKPACKING & BLISTERS PODCAST)

    What are the 3 most dangerous countries to visit for a backpacking trip? And how can you get in? Former CIA Counter-Terrorism Analyst Brent Giannotta joins the show to share his expertise. Carl and Ben also pepper him with every CIA movie reference and conspiracy theory they can muster. Please follow Brent and subscribe to his Substack! Some of the Topics Covered: -Most Dangerous Places to Backpack -Life or Death Backpacking Situations -CIA Conspiracy Theories Enlightened Equipment: Check out the best Ultralight Quilts on the market! GET BONUS SEGMENTS & EPISODES ON PATREON: There are over 50 BONUS episodes of B&B that you can get by supporting us on Patreon. It's safe and secure and it helps us put out more content. To react publicly or privately to any of our episodes post/message on… Facebook Instagram: @BackpackingAndBlistersPodcast Email: backpackingblisters@gmail.com Please check out our website: backpackingandblisters.com Our Favorite Gear Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt Outdoor Vitals Summit Down Sleeping Bag Gregory Paragon/Maven Backpack (Full Comfort) Nemo Tensor Sleeping Pad Therm-a-Rest Neo Loft (for ultra comfort) Jetboil Flash (for larger groups) MSR Pocket Rocket 2 (for solo or smaller groups) Katadyn BeFree Black Diamond Spot Garmin InReach Mini 2 Garmin Instinct 3 Solar Watch Big Agnes Copper Spur Nemo Hornet   Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    50 min
  6. Drilling Into Antarctica's Frozen Past (Polar Scientist)

    12/22/2025

    Drilling Into Antarctica's Frozen Past (Polar Scientist)

    A storm hits ten hours after the helicopter drop, tents bow under the wind, and the generators choke on spindrift—yet the drill keeps turning. That’s the edge-of-the-map reality behind a rare ship‑to‑helicopter ice core mission to West Antarctica, where we joined glaciologist Dr Peter Neff to chase air bubbles that hold the clearest record of our past atmosphere. We dig into why tiny pockets of ancient air are such powerful climate evidence, how methane and CO2 stayed largely steady for thousands of years before spiking with industrialisation, and why that rate of change matters for heat, oceans, and sea level. Peter breaks down Antarctica’s “three buckets” of science, the stakes at Thwaites Glacier, and what coastal cores can reveal about storms, snowfall, and tipping‑point dynamics that satellites alone can’t capture. From improvising a hand‑controlled generator throttle to coordinating 15 sling loads back to a Korean icebreaker, this is science as endurance, logistics and teamwork. Beyond the tent walls, we talk about trust: why posting raw field clips on TikTok and Instagram connects new audiences to public‑funded research, and how open communication strengthens policy conversations. We explore what new high‑resolution methane records add to climate models, why the biggest uncertainty is human choice, and how leadership across government and business can turn risk into opportunity. For students and career‑changers, Peter offers practical advice on joining the polar workforce and building skills that matter in the field and the lab. Subscribe for more unfiltered stories from extreme jobs, share this episode with someone who loves science and adventure, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What part of the mission surprised you most? Research:  https://swac.umn.edu/people/peter-neff https://peterneff.weebly.com/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=f--szIYAAAAJ&hl=en Socials:  https://www.tiktok.com/@icy_pete https://www.instagram.com/icy_pete https://www.youtube.com/@icy_pete linkedin.com/in/dr-peter-neff-6a4b7429 Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    1h 1m
  7. The Psychology Of Dark Tourism

    12/15/2025

    The Psychology Of Dark Tourism

    What happens when a seasoned therapist loses his footing and chooses to walk straight into the world’s darkest rooms? We sit down with Dr Chad Scott, a psychologist, prison therapist, and author, to trace a journey from illness and anxiety to a practice he calls reflective dark tourism—visiting sites of profound suffering with reverence to learn how to live. Chad takes us through the steps into an Auschwitz gas chamber, the mirror-stillness of Hiroshima’s museum, and the bone-lined halls of the Paris Catacombs. He explains why these places aren’t morbid attractions but moral classrooms, where memento mori becomes a practical guide: remember you must die to remember to live. Along the way, he connects the dots between exposure in therapy and walking through history’s hardest truths, showing how facing what we fear can expand emotional intelligence, cultivate resilience, and shrink the grip of anxiety. We also explore the ethics of dark tourism, the criminalisation of mental illness he witnessed as a prison therapist, and the stories told at sites like Whitney Plantation and Little Bighorn. Chad shares honest advice for aspiring counsellors, the craft of leaving work at work, and how these journeys helped him through end-stage liver disease and the uncertainty of a transplant call. His message is simple and challenging: avoidance narrows your world; reckoning restores it. If this conversation resonates, tap follow, share it with someone who needs courage today, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Then tell us: which place changed the way you see life? Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/chadscottauthor/ Chad’s books:  https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chad-Scott/author/B0DDDGVCPB Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    55 min
  8. Adventures of a Modern Maestro (Orchestra Conductor)

    12/08/2025

    Adventures of a Modern Maestro (Orchestra Conductor)

    A phone call, a private jet, and a destination so secret no one would say it out loud—then a palatial compound, an accidental insult to a billionaire, forced vodka shots, a stage sinking into a swimming pool, and Andrea Bocelli arriving by helicopter. That’s only one chapter in conductor Robert Emery’s wildly unconventional career, and somehow it’s not even the most meaningful part. We start by demystifying what a conductor really does. Robert frames the role like a film director: shaping pace, colour, tension, and emotion so a hundred musicians move as one story. From Beethoven to Star Wars, he shows how interpretation turns notes on a page into something you feel in your bones. Then we trace his audacious origin story—from playing Top of the Pops by ear at seven to phoning a major orchestra as a teenager and producing a week of concerts to fund his degree. The takeaway is equal parts craft and courage: talent matters, but so do relationships, logistics, and the will to ask for the gig. The tone shifts from comic to cathartic when Robert recounts conducting in Japan after Fukushima. As a tribute began, the entire audience stood and wept—sobs echoing through the hall. Holding the music steady while hundreds grieved clarified what he believes: music isn’t just entertainment; it is medicine for the nervous system and a language for collective emotion. That belief now fuels his orchestral meditation work, blending lush strings and gentle harmonies with carefully chosen frequencies to support calm, focus, and release. Whether you love classical music or think it isn’t “for you,” Robert’s mission is to make the door wider—sometimes with a tux, sometimes with a lightsaber. Listen for a rare mix of backstage chaos, practical career advice, and a fresh case for why orchestral music still matters. If the story moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—your support helps us bring more extraordinary guests to your queue. Official Website:  https://robertemery.com/  https://orchestralmeditations.com/   The Emery Foundation  https://teds-list.com/   Robert’s Socials:  https://www.instagram.com/robertemeryofficial/  https://web.facebook.com/robertemeryofficial/?_rdc=1&_rdr# https://www.youtube.com/robertemeryofficial https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertemeryofficial More Info:  https://noordinarymonday.com/ Send us a text SUPPORT US - NOM is a 100% independent show. Help us keep the lights on by buying us a coffee (or a beer) - https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday. We're deeply grateful for any level of support. SHOW SOME LOVE - click five-stars on whatever platform you're on, and leave us a review, or 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.

    59 min
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About

The No Ordinary Monday podcast brings you the most incredible tales from people's working lives. Each week, we meet someone whose work is anything but ordinary - they may be clearing landmines, blowing up movie sets, or exploring uncharted caves.  We dive into the how, the why, and a life-defining moment they’ve experienced on the job. Whether it’s spine-tingling, hilarious, or just plain jaw-dropping, their stories will challenge what you thought a “career” could be—and maybe even change the way you think about your own.

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Baron
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 No Ordinary Monday
  • Show Website
    No Ordinary Monday