Best Rob Muir Podcasts (2025)

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S2 Ep9: Dame Ruth Cairnie: Becoming the First Female Chair in Babcock’s 130-Year History, Women in Leadership, and the Power of Clear Communication 39:57

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2M ago39:57

39:57

As the first ever female chair of Babcock International Group, Dame Ruth is an inspiration to many. She talks Jackie through her impressive career which started with studying black holes and then took her through various businesses over nearly 40 years. But what skills does it take to chair a board and lead a major international business through a …

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S2 Ep8: Melissa Johns - Auditions, Adversity & Advocacy: Melissa Johns on Making It in Media 35:48

3M ago35:48

35:48

Melissa is a familiar face from the likes of Coronation Street, Grantchester and the much talked-about Adolescence. Recorded the morning after she presented the City College Plymouth student awards, Mellissa discusses the skills and strategy used to overcome negative attitudes in the industry about her disability, and how she’s now helping young as…

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S2 Ep7: Beth Mead MBE: Lessons from a Lioness – From Women's Euros Triumph to Teamwork and Tenacity 28:16

4M ago28:16

28:16

Beth’s journey started with her playing football as the only girl in a boys’ team to winning the Golden Boot at the Euros. We find out the skills required to become one of the most famous and successful sportswomen in the country. Essential listening as the Women’s Euros get underway in Switzerland. Supported by Babcock, and brought to you by City …

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S2 Ep6: Judge Rob Rinder: Law, Media and the Power of Telling the Truth 58:38

4M ago58:38

58:38

Rob Rinder sprang to fame on our TV screens as “Judge Rinder”. Since then, he has gone on to present numerous TV shows and has fronted many documentary series covering law, travel and art history. Jackie met up with Rob during his panto run in Plymouth and found out the skills required to become a barrister, how he continues to inspire young people…

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S2 Ep5: Unlocking the Power of Digital Education: Robin Ghurbhurun on AI, Tech & Transformation 43:36

5M ago43:36

43:36

Robin is the UK Executive Lead for Jisc’s further education and skills policy. Jackie discovers how Robin’s journey took him from working in shops to managing a band, before a career in teaching came calling. So, what skills are behind being at the forefront of digital innovation in education? How will using tech such as AI and blockchain transform…

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S2 Ep4: How to Keep Running When You Want to Quit: David Wetherill on His Marathon World Record Attempt at the 2025 TCS London Marathon 43:18

6M ago43:18

43:18

Recorded in the week leading up to the 2025 TCS London Marathon, Dave is setting out to break a record! Dave has already been a triple Paralympian and is an inspirational athlete. But this will be his biggest challenge yet, breaking the record for completing the London Marathon on crutches. Jackie explores Dave’s story and finds out the skills invo…

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S2 Ep3: The Hull Boy on Running the Length of the UK and Facing His Mental Health Head-On 41:58

7M ago41:58

41:58

Marcus is also known on social media as “The Hull Boy”, where you’ll find him undertaking a wide variety of running challenges. In this episode, Jackie explores what skills are involved in raising money for charity, managing a huge social media presence and keeping mental and physical health in check, just as Marcus is about to take on his biggest …

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S2 Ep2: How to Stay Mentally Strong Under Pressure - Mark Foster’s Lessons from Elite Swimming 43:27

8M ago43:27

43:27

The morning after being guest speaker at the Apprenticeship Awards, former Olympic swimmer and six-times world champion, Mark Foster sat down with Jackie to explore his journey from being the fastest 11-year-old in the world to competing on the world stage. The skills he acquired, the people he surrounded himself with and the lessons he’s learned h…

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S2 Ep1: Empowering Women - Menopause, Health & Breaking Stigmas with Kate Muir - an International Women's Day Podcast 50:23

8M ago50:23

50:23

Celebrating International Women's Day with an essential conversation! In this episode of Skilfully Speaking, we’re shining a light on women’s health with journalist and author Kate Muir. Kate is a passionate advocate for women, breaking stigmas around menopause and empowering others with knowledge. Join us as we explore the skills behind Kate’s imp…

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S1 Ep12: Best of Part 2 - What It Really Takes: Entrepreneurs, Olympians and Industry Leaders on Resilience, Mental Health and Authentic Success 52:20

11M ago52:20

52:20

In this special compilation we focus on the importance of being authentic, mental health, resilience and building a business. The guests featured are cosmetics legend, Liz Earle, entrepreneur, Ben Towers, Olympics legend, Dame Kelly Holmes, Theatre Royal Plymouth CEO, James Mackenzie-Blackman, former MP, Robert Halfon, TV presenter turned life coac…

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S1 Ep11: Jackie Grubb - From Blue Peter Dreams to College CEO: Jackie Grubb on Education, Leadership and Lessons from City College Plymouth 45:29

1y ago45:29

45:29

Yes, you read that title correctly! This episode is the grand finale of Season 1 of Skilfully Speaking, so the tables are turned, and Jackie Grubb is the guest and is being interviewed by Paul Philpott. Paul finds out about Jackie’s skills journey – from childhood ambitions to be a Blue Peter presenter and a make-up artist, to becoming a teacher. W…

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S1 Ep10: David Lockwood - Building Skills for a Global Workforce: Babcock International CEO David Lockwood on Talent, Leadership and Staying Competitive 38:50

1y ago38:50

38:50

The team at Skilfully Speaking and City College Plymouth has a great relationship with Babcock International Group. So, it’s great that Babcock’s CEO, David Lockwood has been chatting to Jackie about what it’s like running a global organisation, the essential skills that Babcock looks for in new recruits, the importance of having the right aspirati…

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S1 Ep9: Best of Part 1 - From Classroom to Cutting Edge: Insights from Olympians, Entrepreneurs and Educators on Tech, Learning and Career Success 31:11

1y ago31:11

31:11

In this special compilation we focus on the importance of education, career choices and technology. The guests featured are former MP, Robert Halfon, Theatre Royal Plymouth CEO, James Mackenzie-Blackman, TV presenter turned life coach, Anna Williamson, Olympics legend, Dame Kelly Holmes, entrepreneur, Ben Towers and AI educator, Dan Fitzgerald. Bro…

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S1 Ep8: James Mackenzie-Blackman - More Than a Stage: Theatre Royal Plymouth CEO James Mackenzie-Blackman on Theatre, Skills and Community Impact 35:31

1y ago35:31

35:31

James is the CEO of Theatre Royal Plymouth. He was born in Plymouth and has worked all over the world developing skills, encouraging young people, raising millions of pounds for charity and teaming up with the likes of Sir Matthew Bourne to stage ground-breaking productions that have taught young people new skills that have changed their lives. Jac…

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S1 Ep7: Dan Fitzpatrick, The AI Educator on Learning, Adapting and Thriving in the AI Age 45:54

1+ y ago45:54

45:54

Dan is known as “The AI Educator” and has written extensively about AI, as well as having travelled the world educating everyone from students to businesses about AI. Jackie asks him all about what AI is and what it can do now, as well as how AI can help us with education in the future and what skills are required to work with it. Supported by Babc…

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S1 Ep6: Ben Towers - From Teenage CEO to Purpose-Driven Entrepreneur: Ben Towers on Business Growth, Pressure and Leading at 25 38:21

1+ y ago38:21

38:21

Ben’s story is extraordinary and unique. He started running businesses at the age of 11, is the founder of the employee engagement platform, Happl and has been described by Sir Richard Branson as “one of the UK’s most exciting entrepreneurs” and at the time of recording this episode, Ben is only 25 years old. So, how did he develop such impressive …

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S1 Ep5: Liz Earle MBE - From Start-Up to Self-Care: Liz Earle on Building a Beauty Brand, Business Growth and Living Well 43:43

1+ y ago43:43

43:43

As co-founder of the Liz Earle Beauty Company in 1995, Liz knows all about the skills required to succeed. She’s also been busy as a TV presenter, writer and over the years has even launched a magazine and a range of jewellery. Liz has all the knowledge and experience to give advice on the skills we all need to learn, to earn and to live a happier,…

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S1 Ep4: Robert Halfon - Shaping the Future of Skills: Minister Robert Halfon on Education Reform, Student Struggles and Supporting Learners 29:05

1+ y ago29:05

29:05

Robert Halfon is Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education. He discusses his important and challenging role in shaping the education and skills landscape in the country – areas he’s been passionate about even before he entered the House of Commons. He also shares his personal education and skills stories, including his health challe…

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S1 Ep3: Anna Williamson - From TV to Mental Health Advocate: Anna Williamson on Anxiety, Counselling and Breaking the Stigma 44:07

1+ y ago44:07

44:07

From CITV to This Morning, Anna is not only a familiar face on our TV screens, she’s also a counsellor, mental health campaigner, one half of the LuAnna podcast and the author of the best-selling book, Breaking Mad. Jackie discovers the connections between developing skills and taking care of mental health, as well as Anna’s work with The Prince’s …

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S1 Ep2: Dame Kelly Holmes Part 2 - Dame Kelly Holmes: Confidence, Courage and Coming Out - A Journey of Self-Acceptance 35:48

1+ y ago35:48

35:48

Part 2 of a 2 part launch special with Dame Kelly Holmes. In this two-part special to kick off the podcast series, Jackie chats to double-Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes about her life inside and outside athletics and the skills that took her on this extraordinary journey: from meeting an inspirational PE teacher at school, through joining…

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S1 Ep1: Dame Kelly Holmes Part 1 - How Dame Kelly Holmes Built Resilience: From Armed Forces to Olympic Gold 32:45

1+ y ago32:45

32:45

Part 1 of a 2 part launch special with Dame Kelly Holmes. In this two-part special to kick off the podcast series, Jackie chats to double-Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes about her life inside and outside athletics and the skills that took her on this extraordinary journey: from meeting an inspirational PE teacher at school, through joining…

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Skilfully Speaking - The Promo 1:05

2y ago1:05

1:05

Acquiring new skills and seizing opportunities can unlock a whole new world. In Skilfully Speaking, well-known successful people from a wide range of backgrounds pass on the secrets to their success. Talking to skills expert and leading educationalist Jackie Grubb, they share experiences and advice aimed at inspiring others to embrace new skills an…

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Autonomy (Part 2 of 2) 25:52

5+ y ago25:52

25:52

The Plangineers engage experts Sven Beiker and Gary Hsueh to explore the world of autonomous vehicles. Dr. Sven Beiker is Managing Director of Silicon Valley Mobility Gary Hsueh is Director of Mobility Programs at Prospect Silicon Valley In part 2 of this 2-part interview, Michelle and Rob continue their conversation with Sven and Gary to discuss s…

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Autonomy (Part 1 of 2) 28:05

5+ y ago28:05

28:05

The Plangineers engage experts Sven Beiker and Gary Hsueh to explore the world of autonomous vehicles. Dr. Sven Beiker is Managing Director of Silicon Valley Mobility Gary Hsueh is Director of Mobility Programs at Prospect Silicon Valley In part 1 of this 2-part interview, Michelle and Rob engage with Sven and Gary who break down the basics of "Aut…

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Indy Johar talks Future Cities Canada 23:14

6y ago23:14

23:14

Indy Johar, Visionary, is co-founder of Project 00, Dark Matter Labs, as well as multiple social ventures in England. While doing all of this, he also works with large global multinationals and institutions to support their transition to a positive Systems Economy. In this discussion, Indy explains the necessity of the "boring" revolution to equip …

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Olivia Labonte talks Future Cities Canada 18:09

6+ y ago18:09

18:09

Olivia Labonte, Executive Director of Young Diplomats of Canada, talks about grassroots youth engagement. Olivia, an economist with a passion for global youth advocacy and sustainable cities, distills ideas from the Canada at 100,000,000 panel. She shares insights from her work as Executive Director of Young Diplomats of Canada, a national non-prof…

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Derek Ballantyne talks Future Cities Canada 17:34

6+ y ago17:34

17:34

Derek brings his extensive experience in the development and management of housing to answer our questions on the topic. We talk about the merits of piloting policy in real-life versus the pitfalls of policy from the boardroom, and discuss takeaways from the Future Cities Canada Summit 'Housing for All' panel.…

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Fang-Jui Chang talks Future Cities Canada 14:20

6+ y ago14:20

14:20

Fang shares insights from her experiences leading workshops and meetings that aim to tackle diverse social issues. The aim of her work is to deal with cross-government issues and enhance a better organisational culture from inside to outside of the government.By Muneef Ahmad, Michelle Berquist and Rob Muir

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Claire Hicks talks Future Cities Canada 13:21

6+ y ago13:21

13:21

Claire Hicks, Program Manager for Future Ready at WSP Canada, shares successes in sustainability. Future Ready is WSPs global innovation program, encouraging staff and clients to see the future more clearly and design for it today. Claire strives to support teams to deliver resilient, sustainable and people-centred project solutions that are prepar…

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Leah Lawrence talks Future Cities Canada 16:19

6+ y ago16:19

16:19

Leah Lawrence is a lifelong advocate for engineering, entrepreneurship and the environment. The President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) shares behind-the-scenes insights on technology and how 'change management' can be about 'change expectation.' Check her out in 'The Future of Business' panel discussion at the Future …

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Geoff Cape talks Future Cities Canada 13:46

7y ago13:46

13:46

Geoff Cape, is the founder and CEO of Evergreen. Since being founded in 1991, Evergreen has evolved into a national organization focused on integrating people, natural and built worlds, turning spaces into great places. On-site at the inaugural Future Cities Canada Summit, Geoff talks about how lessons learned at the Evergreen Brick Works site can …

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Desmond Cole talks Future Cities Canada 22:24

7y ago22:24

22:24

Desmond Cole, award-winning journalist, activist and author, speaks to the Plangineers on the heels of his opening keynote at the Future Cities Canada Summit, held November 7-9, 2018 at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. Click here to see his intriguing presentation. He points to segregation within the City of Toronto and encourages city builders to…

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Future Cities Canada Summit 13:50

7y ago13:50

13:50

Jo Flatt, Senior Lead of Policy & Partnerships at Evergreen speaks to us about the Future Cities Canada Summit. Future Cities Canada is a new national collaborative that aims to accelerate urban innovation to transform cities for the benefit of us all. The Summit takes place from November 7-9, 2018 at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto.…

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Bloom Where You're Planted 18:50

7y ago18:50

18:50

Alex Lenarduzzi, Water Resources Engineer at Conservation Halton shares her thoughts on the role of the natural environment and how it co-exists with the urban environment. We talk about: Differences and similarities between practice in the public and private sector The lingering impacts of extreme weather and the human stories around such events A…

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From the Archives: Good or Good Enough? 23:06

7y ago23:06

23:06

In our second episode ever, “Good, or good enough?” Michelle and Rob discuss how paradigms were broken for the revolutionary Deep Lake Water Cooling system. Our ancestors first form of “district energy,” sharing fire in a cave Vancouver’s Olympic village district energy system Sustainable development at the Regent Park Revitalization Discussing Enw…

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The Onion of Discontent 16:29

7y ago16:29

16:29

The Plangineers talk about the illusions and realities of public consultation. Rob explains the methods by which we gather and consider various points of consideration when undertaking city-building initiatives. Dialogue revolves around engaging early and often. Michelle shares the pizza analogy of consultation. We talk about change management and …

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We're All Settlers 26:14

7+ y ago26:14

26:14

Sheila Boudreau, Senior Landscape Architect at Toronto & Region Conservation Authority, shares stories of teaching, engaging and opening up opportunities for indigenous youth. Sheila speaks to us about: How her experiences have been interwoven to shape what and how she teaches Taking care of the forest in a free-range upbringing Why she has embarke…

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Inspired 23:00

7+ y ago23:00

23:00

The Plangineers, Michelle & Rob, share how their professional fuel often comes from outside their professional lives. We talked about: Voracious reading Understanding people How Ray Dalio's "Idea meritocracy" resonated with Rob Thinking Fast & Slow, in Rob’s case about Floods and Flow Finding the strength to put down a book Michelle’s reflection ab…

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Rules of Engagement 28:47

7+ y ago28:47

28:47

Helen Noehammer, Director of Transportation & Infrastructure Planning at the City of Mississauga shares her take on pink-handled tools and how soft skills help alongside the hard skills in the engineer’s toolbox. Helen talks to us about... How "a little bit of everything" adds up to a lot What happens when "life happens" Changes in the representati…

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The People's (Food) Court 29:59

7+ y ago29:59

29:59

Lesley Pavan, Director of Design and Development at the City of Mississauga shares her insights into the lifestyle choices on offer in the rapidly urbanizing city where she both works and lives. Lesley speaks to us about... Her path from humble roots on the farm, to geographer and through a municipal journey to her role as Director. Mississauga's e…

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Power to the Sheeple 23:39

8y ago23:39

23:39

The Plangineers talk about ingrained falsehoods and the challenge of living up to our professional duty Factual review of engineering data is found here relating to the fact that storm intensities have not increased Rob shared data and engaged specific outlets to expose falsehoods. In this article from Canadian Underwriter, editors consulted Enviro…

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Like Millenials 24:44

8y ago24:44

24:44

A “Millenial” is defined as someone born between 1981 - 1997. Our Millenial Planner, Michelle, and Gen X-er Engineer Rob, share their perspectives on the topic of the “Millenial experience,” and challenge the current narrative. Age-ism is a recurring and troubling theme as is the reality of how it may be ever-present, but simply being dealt with di…

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The Day After Tomorrow? 20:33

8+ y ago20:33

20:33

The Plangineers talk about how the input of technical experts can help round out storytelling to add the "why" to the "who cares?" (Sorry for the confusion in the intro...this is actually episode #5, you're right.) Reporting on the GO Train flooding of 2013 may have exaggerated the frequency of this occurrence Check out Rob's CityFloodMap blog post…

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Dancing About Infrastructure 24:03

8+ y ago24:03

24:03

Episode #4: Dancing About Infrastructure Michelle and Rob reflect on the artistry that reveals our invisible services and why these reminders are an important part of our urban existence Talking about music, is like dancing about architecture. But we’ll try dancing about infrastructure anyway Older underground sewers are brick works of art like the…

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A Woman's Place is in the... 24:25

8+ y ago24:25

24:25

At the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in Ontario, we ask is there a "woman's place" in the Plangineering space? Ontario became the fifth province in Canada to grant women the right to vote on April 12, 1917. This came following more than half a century of activism. Discussing how the controversial dialogue between Jane Jacobs and Robert Mose…

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Good or Good Enough 23:06

8+ y ago23:06

23:06

Episode #2: Good, or good enough? Michelle and Rob, our Plangineers, discuss how paradigms were broken for the revolutionary Deep Lake Water Cooling system. Our ancestors first form of “district energy,” sharing fire in a cave Vancouver’s Olympic village district energy system Sustainable development at the Regent Park Revitalization Discussing Enw…

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Plangineers 20:17

8+ y ago20:17

20:17

In the debut podcast, Michelle and Rob talk about what inspired them to urban planning and engineering and why the bridge between their practices is shorter than we think. This month, we talked about: Urban dictionary reference to Plangineer The three pillars of planning: Public Health, Legislation & Architecture Rob's toothpick bridge Discussing h…