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As part of the 77th lustrum of Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ and the UMC Utrecht, the floating platform AKWAGLOT rised on the Catharijnsingel in the summer of 2021. The platform is a place for meeting and dialogue, and what better way to do this than with a podcast with scientists, students, residents and organizations in the city of Utrecht? With verve, hosts Marij Swinkels, Simone Arnolds, Vincent Tijseling and Mik Collet entered into conversations with scientists from various disciplines and 'accidental' passers-by.

Listen to all episodes on , or on the AKWAGLOT website (in Dutch)

In recent months, a wide range of topics have been discussed, from plastic soup to the function of humour in our society. Below an overview of the topics that have been discussed:

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  In this first pilot episode, hosts Marij Swinkels and Simone Arnold talked to dr. Maud Radstake and passers-by at AKWAGLOT, among others, about public engagement. How can connections be made between society and the university? About how scientists can retrieve problems from practice and then transfer knowledge in the right way.

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  In this episode, hosts Marij Swinkels and Vincent Tijseling discovered how the chemical decomposition of CO2 is one of the best methods to reduce our society's carbon footprint. Dr. Ward van der Stam, from Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ faculty of science explained how he develops processes to combat climate change, how we can generate and store sustainable energy, and engaged in a conversation with passers-by.

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  In this GLOTcast episode, two scientists sat down at AKWAGLOT: oceanographer prof. Eric van Sebille and assistant professor medical humanities . Passers-by came by who by chance already know a lot about the 'plastic soup', but still had questions about this for prof. Eric van Sebille. Another passer-by asked Dr. Megan Milota what patients will notice in the future of narrative health care.

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  Scientists dr. Margot Peeters en Susanna Bloem talked about their research on adolescent development and addiction, on social inequality and on the link between time perception and mental health. Passers-by Jelle and Peter joined.

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  In this episode, hosts Marij Swinkels and Mik Collet had two scientists as guests. Dr. Madelijn Strick researches humour and the impact of public engagement. Dr. Martine Veldhuizen is a cultural and literary historian and looks at the historical lines in literature and the spoken word. Passer-by Maria asked dr. Madelijn Strick how she can apply humour in her profession as a pharmacist. Local resident Robbert and dr. Martine Veldhuizen talked about what freedom and expression mean, for yourself and for others.