Society

Millennial Pastor David van der Meulen: A Modern Beacon in the City

Marjolein de Jong11 September 2023
David van der Meulen isn’t a typical pastor. He doesn't align with one church and mostly connects with millennials that don’t identify with religion.

Economist Bas Jacobs: 'People keep asking me whether another financial crisis is imminent’

Redactie VU Magazine15 May 2023
Economist Bas Jacobs keeps tumbling from one economic crisis into the next. „Ideally, our economies should be more resilient to major shocks."

VU lecturer Petra Verdonk: ‘Criticising your own organisation is frowned upon’

Marjolein de Jong15 May 2023
Senior lecturer Petra Verdonk is proud to call herself a climate activist and is now also fighting the climate crisis during office hours.

‘Sports are like a magnifying glass for social issues’

Marjolein de Jong15 May 2023
There is rampant discrimination in sports, yet we believe it to be justified, argues Marjan Olfers, professor of Sports and Law at VU Amsterdam.

‘The West will have to run just to keep up with countries like China’

Marjolein de Jong12 May 2023
Philosopher and political scientist Haroon Sheikh explores the intersection between new technologies such as AI and changing global relations.

'Maths helps us understand the world'

Marjolein de Jong12 May 2023
Is it really impossible to predict the future? Not as impossible as it used to be, says Mathematics professor Sandjai Bhulai.

‘Newcomers need contact with Dutch people’

Marjolein de Jong5 April 2023
VU alumnus, Sylvia de Groot-Heupner, tries to match newcomers with volunteers so that they can learn Dutch.

‘Love helps humankind survive’

Marjolein de Jong10 February 2023
From an evolutionary point of view, there is a lot left to be said about love, according to Professor of Evolutionary Psychology Mark van Vugt.

Like father, like son: ‘I tried to keep him away from political science’

Marjolein de Jong10 February 2023
A double interview with former Member of Parliament Joël Voordewind and his son Manuel. Both men studied political science at VU Amsterdam.

Professor Piek Vossen: ‘ChatGPT is a waste of time’’

Marjolein de Jong22 December 2022
According to Professor of Computational Lexicology Piek Vossen, the euphoric reactions to AI writing chatbot ChatGPT are entirely misplaced.