How advanced are robots? Why do we communicate differently with them than with humans? And why are cats, in the end, perhaps the better companions than robots?

In today’s episode, Antonia talks with Lynn de Rijk about how we communicate with beings that aren’t human, or, differently put: how we communicate with cats and robots. And why that is sometimes anything but straight-forward. Lynn talks about her research at the cat café in Nijmegen and Amazon robots that have already ceased to exist before they even hit the consumer market.

Lynn de Rijk is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Arts and part of the Centre for Language Studies. They investigate how humans attribute meaning to non-verbal conduct – especially between humans and non-humans.

Would you like to learn more about communication between humans, cats, robots and others? Then follow Lynn’s suggestion and have a look at the books Ways of Being by James Bridle and Animal Languages by Eva Meijer.

Edit: Jara Majerus

Cover: Antonia Leise

Why has the European far-right become increasingly popular? How do they use religion to shape their anti-immigration discourses? And what role does TikTok play in all of this?

In today’s episode, Jara investigates what is behind the anti-immigration discourse of the European far right. Together with her guest, Kirsten Smeets, she will explore how opponents are created, why religion still plays a role in secular societies, and what makes the far right seem like an emergency break.

Kirsten completed her PhD at Radboud University in the Department of Philosophy, Ethics, and Political Philosophy, and is now a lecturer at Utrecht University in the field of religious studies. In her research, she examines religious contra-identities in the anti-immigration discourse of the European far right.

Do you want to know more about this topic? Follow Kirsten’s tips and read “The Far Right Today” by Cas Mudde or listen to the podcast episode “Why I left Christianity and the Far Right” with Joram Van Klaveren.

Edit: Jara Majerus

Cover: Antonia Leise

What is behind a black hole? What do they look like? And how on Earth do you take a picture of one?

In today’s episode, Jara faces one of her childhood fears, namely being sucked into the darkest mystery of the universe – the black hole. How likely is Earth to disappear behind the universe’s final curtain? What would that mean? And what actually is this dreaded black hole, to begin with? Luckily, her guest Heino Falcke has the answers.

Heino is a Professor of Astroparticle Physics and Radio Astronomy at the Institute for Mathematics, Astronomy, and Particle Physics (IMAPP) of the Faculty of Science. Together with his team, Heino was the first one to take a picture of a black hole.

If you want to learn more about black holes, follow Heino’s tip and read his book “Light in the Darkness: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us”.

Edit: Jara Majerus

Cover: Antonia Leise