Newsletter

VUB philosopher honored as Atheist of the Year On November 15, philosopher and former VUB professor Jean Paul Van Bendegem will receive the title Atheist of the Year, a label he accepts with both a wink and a healthy dose of nuance. “I’m not a church-basher,” he says, “just someone who reflects on what it means to live without gods.” He speaks from his home in Ghent, surrounded by towering bookshelves and under the watchful eye of his elderly cat, Bonnie Prince Charlie. For V

Renowned psychiatrist Dirk De Wachter has been living with metastatic cancer for four years, but he continues to speak about hope, connection, and humanity. In a candid interview, he reflects on digital polarization, loneliness, technology, self-determination, and the finiteness of life. Polarization and digital communication According to De Wachter, social media reinforces rigidity and black-and-white thinking. They create bubbles where nuance disappears. Yet he also sees op