Shows
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastPayar Pasha: Packing Your Own Parachute. Perfusionist, Sky Diver, Wingsuit Pilot and BASE Jumper.Payar Pasha is both a Perfusionist at UW Health in Wisconsin where he is a vital member of the cardiovascular surgical team, and also an expert skydiver, wingsuit pilot and BASE Jumper, with over 1100 jumps.In today's episode, we explore the human factors that allow him to excel in both of these high stakes, high consequence and high stress environments. He will break down his approach to dealing with risk, stress, fears and skill development, and give us all a glimpse of the pure joy he gets from piloting the skies above us.2025-08-071h 56
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastHudson Brown: Policing the Streets of Memphis. From Fact to Fiction.Hudson Brown is the author of Landing Gear Down (publ. Newman Springs 2020), a gripping thriller that follows Graham Stone, a young detective in the Memphis Police Department’s Violent Crimes Task Force.Before turning to writing, Hudson served as a police officer himself with the Memphis police department until after 7 years of service he suffered a career ending injury. His firsthand experience as a police officer lends authenticity and depth to the high-stakes investigations and emotional challenges portrayed in his work.In an industry where 99% of all submitted manuscripts are rejected for publication, Hudson secured a...2025-07-171h 19
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastJonathan Viscosi: Professional Soccer Player, Sports & Performance Psychology. When you "MuSt win"!Jonathan Viscosi is a Canadian professional soccer player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Valour FC in the Canadian Premier League.He began his career with Ottawa South United before playing college soccer at the University of Rio Grande and later the University at Buffalo. Since then Jon has played for numerous clubs from the UK to Sweden, Finland and the USA.Jonathan earned a Master’s degree in Emotional Psychology from Mid Sweden University as he begins his career in Sports and Performance Psychology. He is deeply involved in studying the mental asp...2025-06-232h 11
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr. Richard Harris: 2018 Thai Cave RescueDr. Richard Harris is an Australian anesthetist, aeromedical specialist, and expert cave diver with over 35 years experience.In 2018, Dr. Richard "Harry" Harris was getting ready to embark on a diving holiday, when he was urgently requested by the Thai government to assist in the rescue mission of 12 Thai schoolchildren and their soccer coach, who were trapped deep within the Tham Luang caves by sudden monsoon rain and flooding.Dr. Harry's role was pivotal - he helped devise a sedation strategy to ensure the safe extraction of the boys and their coach, in one of the...2025-05-291h 48
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastJosh Sweeney: Rtd. Marine Corps Scout Sniper & 2-Time ParalympianJosh Sweeney enlisted in the military after high school, joining the United States Marine Corps. After earning the esteemed title of Marine Corps Scout Sniper, he was deployed with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines to Nowzad, Afghanistan, where he sustained life-altering injuries from an IED on October 28, 2009. Undeterred by this setback, Josh discovered a new passion for Paralympic sports, quickly rising to prominence as a member of the USA Sled Hockey Team. In 2014, he played a pivotal role in securing the gold medal for Team USA, scoring the game-winning goal. Since then, Josh has continued to represent his country...2025-04-082h 04
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr. Ron Roessler: "The Pitt" to The Colosseum: Emergency Physician, Latin Coach, Business Owner & AuthorDr. Ron Roessler is both a board certified emergency medicine physician and CEO and Founder of “Elite Latin Coaching”. After graduating from Princeton University he embarked on his medical career, and has now over 20 years experience working in a busy urban emergency department. His roots though lay in the study of The Classics and teaching, and in his spare time he has been instrumental in developing the Latin curriculum at his local high school for it to become one of the top 5 programs in the country. In 2018, his Wisconsin Certamen team won a National Championship. He launched his c...2025-03-171h 19
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastPaula Reid: Adventure Psychologist - Going Knowingly into the Unknown "Adventure Psychology helps people and organizations survive, cope and thrive during change, challenge and uncertainty." https://www.paulareid.com/Paula Reid is the world's first Adventure Psychologist. She has skied to the South Pole, sailed around the world, "the wrong way", canoed up the Mekong River in a dugout canoe, and cycled across the breadth of Europe. And that's just scratching the surface of her over 120 awe-inspiring adventures. Paula has learned to develop the mindset to thrive and perform in the toughest of conditions. She draws on her extreme endurance experience, b...2025-02-241h 37
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr. Andrew Petrosoniak: Bringing Coaches to the BedsideDr Andrew Petrosoniak is an emergency physician and trauma team leader at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada. He is also the Medical Director of the Unity Health Toronto Simulation Program.In 2020 Andrew co-founded Advanced Performance HealthCare Design - a company focused on using simulation, behavioural psychology and clinical expertise to enhance high performance teams in healthcare.https://advancedperformance.ca/Dr Petrosoniak is the principal investigator of the TRUST study (Trauma Resuscitation Using in Situ simulation for Team Training) that includes a partnership with human factors experts to evaluate systems and...2025-02-031h 22
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastAdam Spink: Heathrow Airport Air Traffic Controller: The Human Factors of ATC and Flight BA38Adam Spink works as an air traffic controller at Heathrow, the busiest 2-runway airport in the world, where he is also an instructor, supervisor, watch training officer and an examiner. He also works in ATC operations, developing new procedures and equipment. Adam represents NATS (National Air Traffic Services) and the UK on the global stage on subjects including low visibility operations, ground radar and GPS navigation systems.Adam teaches CRM (crew resource management), and sits on the UK Human Factors incident reporting program.In 2008, Adam played a crucial role in the British Airways flight 38...2025-01-131h 36
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The Podcast2024 Recap and a Happy New Year!We are so grateful to the 18 extraordinary guests who have helped create our first year of this podcast. We sit down and reflect on a few of the human factors lessons learnt from these incredible people this year, and look forward to more in 2025.2024 Episodes:Introducing Ordinary To Extraordinary - The PodcastNeil LaughtonSupt. Adam GallopProf. Mark WilsonKev SuttonDr. Jason BrooksDr. Claire Park, MBEJames GeeringDr. Dale CarrisonNeil JeffersMartin Withers, DFCCapt. Hutch StilgenbauerDr. Aman HusseinMitchell DalyLiz McConaghyAlan Stein Jr.Capt. Sam SoderbergMandy HicksonDr. Mike AbernethyInstagram: @ordinary2xtraordinary...2024-12-2918 min
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr. Michael Abernethy: Helicopter Doctor: From the Skies to the ICU and BackMike Abernethy, MD, DRTM, first joined Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health as a Med Flight physician and ED attending in 1992. He has been full-time EM faculty, a Clinical Professor, and has served as Chief Flight Physician since 2008. With over 30 years continuous experience and thousands of patient transports, Dr. Abernethy is one of the World’s most experienced helicopter flight physicians.In 2023, Mike was suddenly faced with his own emergent medical condition, and underwent cardiac bypass surgery. He made an amazingly fast recovery, and was back in the skies working ju...2024-12-161h 17
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastMandy Hickson: First Female Frontline Tornado GR4 Pilot , Human Factors Coach and Keynote Speaker"Mandy Hickson has over 30 years experience within aviation. She joined the RAF in 1994, and was the first woman to fly the Tornado GR4 on the front line, where she operated in hostile environments, including patrolling the "No Fly" zone over Iraq. Since leaving the RAF, she retrained as a facilitator and coach in human factors where she draws on her experience of calculated risk-taking, decision-making under pressure and the critical role of the human in the system, to transfer vivd lessons from the cockpit to management and leadership contexts.Mandy is now a highly demanded keynote speaker...2024-11-251h 39
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastCapt. Sam Soderberg: Human Factors from the Cockpit of the World's Most Advanced Fighter Aircraft.Captain Sam Soderberg is an F-35 pilot with the Wisconsin Air National Guard 115th Fighter Wing. This 5th Generation fast jet is the World's most technological advanced fighter, and requires elite level performance skills to be selected to operate it.In this episode we sit down and talk to Sam about his journey from flying in a Cessna as a kindergarten kid, to joining the Air National Guard and working his way to the iconic F-16, and then onto the F-35. As a pilot of this incredible jet, he shares his thoughts on operating in complex, high...2024-11-061h 26
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastAlan Stein, Jr. : High Performance Lessons from the Best of the Best.Alan Stein, Jr. is an experienced keynote speaker and author. At his core, he’s a performance coach with a passion for helping business leaders change behaviors. He spent 15+ years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet (including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Kobe Bryant). Through his customized programs, he transfers his unique expertise to maximize both individual and organizational performance. Alan is a dynamic storyteller who delivers practical, actionable lessons that can be implemented immediately. He teaches proven principles on how to utilize the same approaches in business that elite athletes use to pe...2024-10-161h 10
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastLiz McConaghy: The Highs and The Lows from the Longest Serving Female RAF Chinook CrewmanLiz McConaghy was the longest serving female crewman on the Royal Air Force Chinook Fleet spanning a 17-year career flying on the aircraft.Originally from a small town in Co. Down Northern Ireland she attended RAF Cranwell on her 19th birthday to begin her exciting career thereafter on Chinook Helicopters. She was the youngest aircrew to deploy to Iraq aged just 21 and also the only female crewman on the Chinook wing for 4 years, so her story is completely unique. Her career saw her amass 2 deployments to Iraq and 10 deployments to Helmand Afghanistan in support of Operation...2024-09-251h 50
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastMitchell Daly: Backyard Dreams to College World Series Walk-Off GloryWe all as children have dreams. Many a backyard or neighborhood field will play out a game-winning hit or goal to win World Cup glory. But few go on on to live this moment for real.Mitchell Daly is a professional baseball player, and a recent graduate from the University of Kentucky where he was a starting member of their College World Series baseball team. In Kentucky's first ever appearance in this tournament, Mitchell hit glory, with a 2-out walk-off home run in extra innings to seal victory. Incredible scenes in front of over 20,000 fans played...2024-09-041h 14
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr. Aman Hussain: Performance Coach. From the Olympics to the Emergency Dept.Dr Aman Hussain is a Performance Consultant, and Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Health at the University of Winnipeg. He travelled with a team of Sports Psychologists to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has a rich knowledge and experience with performance coaching in sports and the performing arts. He is know researching how performance coaches can help those in medicine, and other high-risk, high consequence professions. He received his PhD from the University of Queensland where his research focused the learning and performance of emergency physicians. In Episode 13, we discuss his journey into...2024-08-141h 42
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastCapt. Hutch Stilgenbauer, MD, EMT-P"What keeps you awake at night?" That was a question asked to Capt. Hutch Stilgenbauer, MD, and one that has fueled his drive and determination to forge his career pathway. Not all routes to extraordinary are straight, and Hutch shares his early experiences of failures and how he overcame them to realize his dreams. Now a paramedic, a former Air Force Tactical Air Control Party, an EM physician, pre-hospital flight doctor, and a member of the Air Force Special Operations Surgical Team, we unwrap the human factors lessons Hutch has learned on his journey, and what he is continuing to...2024-07-251h 17
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastMartin Withers DFC. Operation Black Buck 1, The Falklands WarIn 1982, during the Falklands War, Rtd. Squadron Leader Martin Withers DFC, led a daring and remarkable bombing mission across 8000 miles of the South Atlantic ocean. It was to become at the time at over 15 hours, the longest mission ever flown by any aircraft in British military aviation history. The crew were faced with electrical storms over the icy ocean waters, a complex plan for multiple refuels, and were without defensive weapons or armed escort, relying on low level stealthy flying and deception. We are honored to sit down and talk to Martin about his memories of this incredible event, and...2024-07-031h 42
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastNeil Jeffers - Marathon Des SablesOn today's episode, co-host Neil Jeffers goes to the other side of the microphone to tell us about he and his team were able to complete one of the toughest foot races on Earth: The Marathon des Sables. This is a 7 day, 250km ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert. Faced with extreme temperatures, tough terrain and endless sand, a requirement to carry all required kit and be self sustaining, they needed precise preparation and incredible mental and physical resilience. Join us as we unwrap the human factors lessons about how to prepare and deal with seemingly impossible tasks, how to...2024-06-191h 06
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr. Dale CarrisonExtraordinary life lessons from an extraordinary life. Dr. Dale Carrison has had a fascinating and varied career. After starting out in the Navy, he became a Deputy Sheriff in California, and then a Special Agent with the FBI. He then decided to completely restart his career and embarked on 10-year training process to become a board certified emergency medicine physician. He spent 27 years as an attending physician at University Medical Center, Las Vegas, becoming Chairman of the Department and then Chief of Staff of the hospital all the while an active tactical physician for...2024-06-051h 56
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastJames GeeringJames Geering, a former firefighter, paramedic and stuntman, is the founder and host of the Behind The Shield Podcast, whose mission is to improve the wellness of the 1st-Responder community. With over 900 guest interviews with some of the greatest minds on the planet, he brings a wealth of information and experience to promote and sustain the mental and physical health of our 1st-Responders. Wellness is the cornerstone to peak performance and to seeking the "extraordinary".Please join us to hear the lessons James brings that we can ALL benefit from as we seek to go from Ordinary...2024-05-221h 24
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr Claire Park MBEDr Claire Park MBE MBChB FRCA FFICM DipIMC DipRTM has served in The British Army for over 20 years, deployed to war zones numerous time as a member of their MERT team, and is now a reservist. She is a consultant in Pre-Hospital Care for London HEMS, and Critical Care for King’s College Hospital.Claire is the medical adviser to Specialist Firearms teams in the Metropolitan Police and sits on the National Police Clinical Panel. One of her many projects at the moment is leading nationally funded research into the improvement of patient outcomes in the...2024-05-081h 38
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastDr. Jason BrooksOver the last 24 years as a personal development coach, Jason has collaborated with outstanding performers in diverse fields—from elite athletes, musicians, physicians and tactical law enforcement officers to business leaders and entrepreneurs. Through these experiences, Jason has observed how these individuals develop unique sets of beliefs and practices that equip them to thrive in demanding performance settings, and that contribute towards them living their best life. He continues to share and expand on these ideas through his coaching practice, and also through the many talks and seminars that he conducts across North America. http...2024-04-241h 35
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastKev SuttonIn April 1982, pilot Kev Sutton and his team were on a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter mission to track submarines under the South Atlantic ocean during the Falklands War. With 40-foot waves and freezing water temperatures, they lost use of one of their engines and were forced to ditch their aircraft into the ocean. Now a London HEMS pilot, Kev shares his memories of that event, and from it the lessons that we can all take away to set us up for success when we face sudden unexpected emergencies. Make the extraordinary feel ordinary. Hosted on Acast. See acast...2024-04-101h 12
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastProfessor Mark WilsonProfessor Mark Wilson is dual qualified in neurosurgery and pre-hospital care. He is co-director of the Imperial Neurotrauma Center in London, UK, with a special interest in traumatic brain injury. He has been a HEMS doctor for London HEMS, and Kent, Surrey & Sussex HEMS, and is a co-founder of the GoodSAM app that provides next generation emergency tasking for police, ambulance EMS and fire/rescue. Mark is an international educator, and brings a wealth of experience in human factors skills. Through our discussion with Mark, he shares his insights into leadership, complex task management, use of tech, and achieving goals...2024-03-2759 min
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastSuperintendent Adam GallopSuperintendent Adam Gallop is the Area Commander for South Cambridgeshire Police in the U.K. He has worked his way up through the police force in a variety of roles including neighbourhood policing, intelligence, covert operations and the major crimes unit. He has featured on the UK TV series, "24 Hours in Police Custody."We sit down to talk to Adam about his journey into the police and then up through its ranks to where he is today. He now oversees a population of approximately half a million people, and brings valuable experience and skills in the...2024-03-131h 24
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastNeil LaughtonNeil Laughton is an entrepreneur, a motivational speaker and above all an Adventureholic. Having been a Royal Marine Commando and in UK Special Forces, he has led expeditions all over the World. Join us as we find out how he rewrote the script.Neil's new book - Adventureholic: Extraordinary Journeys on Seven Continents by Land, Sea and Air. 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-02-261h 19
Ordinary to Extraordinary - The PodcastIntroducing Ordinary To Extraordinary - The PodcastIntroducing HEMS colleagues and lifelong friends, David Hindle and Neil Jeffers, who seek to uncover the human factors from those who have rewritten the script. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-02-1512 min