A tiny part failed, a race unravelled, and a dominant team learned a lesson that reshaped its season. We sit down with engineer and technical leader Ruaraidh McDonald-Walker to trace the arc from childhood curiosity to Mercedes’ hybrid breakthrough, then step into the heat of the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix where creeping temperatures and unseen constraints forced brutal clarity. What failed wasn’t the obvious component; it was an overlooked piece in the electronics. The fix demanded humility, predictive tools, and a culture strong enough to ignore blame and choose action.

We unpack how Ruaraidh pivoted early to electrification, why nobody knew what a racing-grade electric motor should look like, and how Mercedes fused chassis and power unit thinking to create a single, coherent system. Ruaraidh takes us trackside to describe the reality behind the garage screens, the cadence of remote factory operations running on Australia time, and the difference between dyno confidence and race-day chaos. The Canada story becomes a leadership case study: avoid decision stasis, derate early when the data hints at a slow-burn failure, and keep an open mind when physics contradicts assumptions. From there, we zoom out to thermodynamics, energy efficiency, and why electrification isn’t fashion but physics.

For future engineers, Ruaraidh shares practical advice: build things, question sources, volunteer at circuits, and treat creativity as a core engineering skill. Music, Lego, and pinball machines become tools for recovery in a high-pressure world; recovery, in turn, sustains performance. Along the way, you’ll hear how a blame-free culture enabled bold ideas like unconventional turbo layouts and how predictive models turned panic into process after Montreal.

If you enjoyed the story, follow or subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. Share the episode with a friend, and leave a quick five-star review to help more listeners find the show. Your support helps us bring you more candid conversations with people who build at the limit.

Ruaraidh’s Socials:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruaraidh-mcdonald-walker-1608a64/
https://www.instagram.com/f1ruaraidh/?hl=en

Formula Student Website - https://www.imeche.org/events/formula-student

Formula One 2014 Canadian Grand Prix Highlightsx - https://youtu.be/839YKsTnMns?si=IlB3pLBFWuUzvKZW

Dollar Academy Pipe Band - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc1gVYzFKB0

Send us a text

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 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

Send us a text

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 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

Send us a text

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