What happens when a scientific expedition in the Red Sea is suddenly boarded by an unidentified, armed group?

In this episode, adventurer, photographer and documentary producer Ulrika Larsson shares her experience working on a marine science expedition near the Yemeni coast. She relives the moment the encounter escalated into a tense, hours-long ordeal, with passports confiscated and crew members taken away for questioning.

Ulrika has built a career that spans outdoor guiding, adventure leadership, documentary production, and underwater photography — and more recently, firefighting in Sweden.

We explore what drives that kind of career path, what it’s really like working in remote and high-risk environments, and why staying calm under pressure is often the most important skill you can have.

We then dive into her Red Sea expedition in 2023, documenting coral reef research near Djibouti and the Seven Brothers Islands.

With regional tensions rising, the situation quickly escalated when an unidentified group boarded the vessel.

Ulrika shares what happened in real time — the uncertainty, the decisions she had to make under pressure, and what it taught her about risk, responsibility, and working in unpredictable environments.

The same trip also led to a breakthrough moment in her photography — with one of her images later selected for a major ocean photography competition and displayed in Piccadilly Circus.

If you’re interested in documentary filmmaking, underwater photography, scientific expeditions, or careers in extreme environments, this episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at what the work is really like.

Links: 

https://www.lwimages.com/

Socials:

https://www.instagram.com/lwimages_studio/

https://www.instagram.com/greenulrika/

Credits: 

Produced, Hosted and Edited by - Chris Baron

Images and Video Clips - Ulrika Larsson & Lukasz Larsson Warzecha

Intro Music - Music_Unlimited

Outro Music - VibeHorn

Topics covered:

Underwater photography, documentary filmmaking, Red Sea expedition, Djibouti, Yemen coast, armed boarding at sea, conflict zones, high-risk environments, interrogation, passports confiscated, firefighting.

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

Bomb disposal expert and former British Army engineer Ben Remfrey joins No Ordinary Monday to share what it is really like working in landmine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal in war zones around the world. 

During the first Gulf War, Ben was deployed to Kuwait to deal with the deadly aftermath of the conflict. Oil fields burned for months, unexploded munitions littered the ground, and anti personnel landmines were scattered across the desert. In one moment he still remembers vividly, Ben looked down and realised an anti personnel mine was sitting directly in his own footprint. 

Today Ben runs an IMAS compliant explosive ordnance disposal training school in Kosovo, training the next generation of humanitarian deminers. In this conversation he explains how modern mine action and bomb disposal work behind the scenes, from equipment and safety standards to the discipline required to survive around explosives. 

We also discuss the challenge of clearing landmines while war is still ongoing, and why Ukraine now faces one of the most complex mine clearance operations in modern history. Ben also shares the story of the “Great Eight”, the first group of Ukrainian women he helped train in humanitarian demining. If you are interested in bomb disposal, explosive ordnance disposal, humanitarian demining, and landmine clearance, this episode offers a rare look inside one of the most dangerous professions in the world.

Links: 

https://www.pcm-erw.com/about-mk/

https://www.instagram.com/matkosovo_eod_erw_training/

https://www.youtube.com/@pcmerw8387

Credits: 

Produced, hosted and edited by Chris Baron 

Images and Videos: 

MAT Kosovo, Neil Gibson, U.S Army, National Science Foundation, U.S. Navy, EdJF, Jonas Jordan, NASA

Topics covered:

Bomb disposal, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), landmine clearance, humanitarian demining, war zones, Ukraine mine clearance, Gulf War, unexploded ordnance, mine action.

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

What is burlesque really? And what does it take to build a career as a professional performer?

In this episode of No Ordinary Monday, Chris sits down with legendary burlesque performer Angie Pontani to explore the craft, history, and discipline behind one of the most misunderstood art forms in entertainment. Angie explains how a burlesque routine comes together, from music and costume design to timing, comedy, and audience energy, and why burlesque is about far more than what people assume.

She also shares unforgettable moments from her career, including appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, founding the New York Burlesque Festival, and navigating difficult situations where she had to stand her ground and protect her boundaries as a performer.

This episode is a fascinating look behind the curtain of modern burlesque, and the confidence, professionalism, and creative control that define the art form.

More Info: 

https://www.angiepontani.com/

https://showingoffpod.com/

Follow Angie: 

https://www.instagram.com/angiepontani/

https://www.youtube.com/@ShowingOffPod

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

https://www.tiktok.com/@angie.pontani

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

What does a 4% chance of death really mean?

In Part Two of this conversation, volcanologist Nico Fournier takes us inside the risk calculations behind the Whakaari / White Island eruption recovery operation in New Zealand. When scientists estimated a 4-6% probability that someone could die during a three-hour mission on the island, the question shifted from “Is it safe?” to something far harder: Is this risk acceptable?

We break down how that number was built using expert elicitation, why uncertainty is inherent in volcanic systems, and how scientists communicate risk to police, emergency services, and government officials in real time. Nico explains the difference between individual risk and societal risk in volcano tourism, how legal inquiries reshaped responsibilities after the 2019 eruption, and why emotional decision-making plays a bigger role than most people realise.

The discussion expands globally — from Stromboli and Etna to Lake Taupō and supervolcano risk — exploring how volcanologists forecast eruptions, where prediction succeeds, and where it fails. Nico shares experiences from Montserrat, moments of near real-time forecasting, and a powerful lesson from decades in the field: never judge a decision purely by its outcome.

If you’re interested in volcano science, disaster risk management, emergency response, or how high-stakes decisions are made under uncertainty, this episode goes deep.


🔎 Topics Covered:
 • Whakaari White Island eruption recovery
 • Volcano risk assessment & probability
 • Volcanology and eruption forecasting
 • Expert elicitation explained
 • Volcano tourism safety
 • Supervolcano risk (Lake Taupō)
 • Montserrat eruptions
 • Risk tolerance vs risk calculation
 • Disaster decision-making under uncertainty


🌋 Learn More About Nico:

GNS Science Profile:
https://www.gns.cri.nz/about-us/staff-search/nico-fournier/

International Association of Volcanology (IAVCEI):
https://www.iavceivolcano.org/

Donate to support global volcano research and collaboration:
https://www.iavceivolcano.org/donation-form/

⸻

📲 Follow:

Nico on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicofournier
Nico on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nico-fournier-0130704/

IAVCEI Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iavcei/
IAVCEI LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/iavcei-int-assoc-of-volcanology-chemistry-of-the-earth-s-interior/posts/?feedView=all

⸻

🎙 Support No Ordinary Monday

NOM is 100% independent.

☕ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/noordinarymonday
⭐ Leave a five-star rating
📝 Write a short review
📤 Share this episode with someone interested in volcanoes, science, or decision-making

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

A phone call at 2:11 p.m. shattered a quiet Monday: Whakaari had erupted with tourists on the crater floor. From that moment, we step into a week where science, instinct, and grief collided—and where a volcanologist had to help decide whether recovery teams could return to an active volcano while families waited for news.

We sit down with Nico Fournier, the volcanologist who became the connective tissue between seismology, gas readings, deformation data, drones, and the authorities tasked with acting fast. Nico explains why small, explosive eruptions can be catastrophic at close range, how New Zealand’s volcanic alert levels guide decisions, and why the team opted to communicate conservatively when webcams went blind under ash. He also shares the most human part of the job: meeting families, opening his laptop, and translating rising underground activity into clear reasons to pause, even as the urge to bring loved ones home grew stronger.

Across two recovery operations, we follow the logistics and the stakes: Navy ships, inflatables, police specialists on breathing apparatus, fire‑service drones mapping the ground, and helicopter lifts coordinated minute by minute. Nico watched the crater from offshore with optics and infrared while a senior seismologist monitored real‑time signals—told to call the instant his gut flipped. It’s a rare window into how expert intuition, built on decades of pattern recognition, becomes a safety threshold when models can’t give hard lines.

We also reckon with what followed: reconstructing the fate of the missing through seismic signatures of overnight mudflows, and the vital role of local iwi who led blessings and supported survivors and families. The result is a candid look at decision‑making under uncertainty, risk mitigation on active volcanoes, and the ethics of when to go and when to stand down.

Stay tuned for Part Two of Nico's story. 

Links: 

https://www.gns.cri.nz/about-us/staff-search/nico-fournier/

https://www.iavceivolcano.org/

DONATE TO IAVCEI: 

https://www.iavceivolcano.org/donation-form/

Social Media: 

https://www.instagram.com/nicofournier

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nico-fournier-0130704/

https://www.instagram.com/iavcei/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/iavcei-int-assoc-of-volcanology-chemistry-of-the-earth-s-interior/posts/?feedView=all

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

This is a bonus clip from this week’s episode with magician Sean Borland.

During our conversation, I asked Sean whether he’d be willing to demonstrate one of his mind-reading illusions live on the show. What followed was a classic “book test” — eight books to choose from, hundreds of pages, complete freedom of choice… and a single word.

I chose a book.

Then a page.

Then a word.

Sean tried to guess it.

What makes this moment fascinating isn’t just the reveal — it’s the psychology behind it. Along the way, Sean explains how people tend to choose numbers like 67 or 167 when asked to “freely” pick one, why certain words feel more natural than others, and how subtle framing can shape decisions without us realising it. You’ll hear how association, memory, and suggestion narrow the field — without ever feeling forced.

How he got there is something you’ll have to hear (or watch) for yourself.

If you haven’t listened to the full episode yet, I’d highly recommend starting there. In it, Sean shares the story of performing for billionaires and royalty, the discipline behind mastering sleight of hand, and the seance in South Africa that he describes as “the beginning of the end.”

This bonus clip gives you a glimpse of the craft in action.

Enjoy — and let me know if you know how he does it! 

Links: 

WEBSITE - https://www.seanborland.com/

SOCIALS: 

https://www.youtube.com/c/SeanBorlandInternationalMagician

https://www.facebook.com/seanborlandmagician/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-borland-49a1aaa6/

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

Candlelight. A creaking old house on a South African nature reserve. Wind outside, silence within. We sit down with world-touring magician Sean Borland to unpack the seance that electrified a room, the billionaire who dared him to go bigger, and the exact moment he chose to walk away from a career most performers only dream of.

Sean’s path wasn’t luck alone. He left a safe job, trained ten hours a day in rural China, became ambidextrous to sharpen sleight of hand, and learned to thrive on Sydney’s streets where hecklers and chaos forged bulletproof audience control. That grind paid off at an Indonesian resort where a self-made billionaire—who’d once hired David Blaine—pushed Sean to his limits. A single, audacious card call hit perfectly and opened doors to the Hamptons, New York, and elite private events around the world.

The heart of our conversation is belief: how suggestion, selection, and silence allow spectators to build the magic inside their own minds. Sean explains why choosing the right participant matters more than any prop, how cultural and venue context change outcomes, and where performers cross the line from theatre into exploitation. In a gripping breakdown of a Victorian-style Oracle Act, he shares how a guest’s question—“Should I leave my husband?”—forced a delicate, ethical response and revealed why the thrill of wonder can’t outrun responsibility.

We also explore what comes after: translating performance psychology into ethical sales, resisting the temptation to pose as a “psychic,” and a brutally honest take on mastery. If you’re chasing a career in magic, you’ll hear both the blueprint—commitment beyond motivation, practice that embraces boredom, and real-world reps—and the caution: perfectionism isolates, and success can still feel complete before the spotlight fades.

Subscribe for more story-driven conversations, share this with a friend who loves mind games and craft, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Your support keeps No Ordinary Monday independent and ad-free.

Links: 

WEBSITE - https://www.seanborland.com/

SOCIALS: 

https://www.youtube.com/c/SeanBorlandInternationalMagician

https://www.facebook.com/seanborlandmagician/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-borland-49a1aaa6/

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

A backpack full of rushes, a late‑night detour, and a cab ride that felt like forever. That near‑disaster on a dog‑trick commercial wasn’t just a wild production tale for Ben Stein; it became a mirror for the life he was building and the future he actually wanted. We bring you inside the highs and hazards of production and advertising, from public‑access beginnings and the award‑winning Paperclips documentary to brand rules so strict they required a last‑minute Yorkie swap.

From there, Ben opens up about the deeper engine driving his choices: creativity as escape, growing up with a distant parent and a mum battling depression, and the numbing patterns that followed. He walks us through trying psychiatry and therapy, then finding coaching as a forward‑facing tool that changed behaviour, not just insight. You’ll hear how a three‑week sobriety experiment became a turning point, why he launched Purpose Up as a side project, and what pushed him to choose entrepreneurship after being laid off days after paternity leave.

We also get practical. Ben breaks down the real differences between coaching and therapy, shares honest guidance on psychedelics and safer trauma work like RIM, and lays out a clear plan for career change in a tough market: get fluent with AI, build a portable brand through a side hustle, and network like a human so you rise above the algorithmic noise. For aspiring coaches, he’s blunt about training, picking a niche, learning ethical sales, and giving yourself more runway than you think.

If you’re sitting in a “safe” job that no longer fits, this conversation offers both cautionary tales and a map. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review to help more curious listeners find No Ordinary Monday. 

Links: 

WEBSITE - https://www.purposeup.com/

BOOK - https://www.amazon.com/Purpose-Up-Break-Free-Matters/dp/B0FTW9PGNF

Socials:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benstein/

https://www.instagram.com/purpose_up/

https://www.youtube.com/purposeup

https://www.facebook.com/coachbenstein/

https://x.com/iambenstein

Send us Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

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 Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].

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 Fan Mail

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 www.noordinarymonday.com, or email us at [email protected].