Beyond the Bubble Podcast

#52: Science of the Smile; Beauty and Function; Age, Esthetics, Sleep; Orthodontics

62 views · 1d ago · 1:11:13

Guest: Prof. Maria Orellana

Andras speaks with Prof. Maria Orellana, an Argentinian orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics professor based in Brussels, about her path from a dental family in northern Argentina to studies in the US, a PhD researching the molecular biology of tooth movement using a rat model, and orthodontic specialization in Canada.

Topics: Instant Connection · Meet the Orthodontist · Beauty Meets Function · Roots in Argentina · People Person Dentistry · Exchange Year in Kansas

#51: Being a Socialist MEP; Working-Class Issues; Integration vs Assimilation; Rise of AfD

1.1K views · 1w ago · 45:56

German Socialist MEP Sabrina, 27 and the European Parliament’s second-youngest member, describes coming from a worker’s family in northeastern Germany shaped by post-unification unemployment and poverty, which drove her early activism, joining the SPD youth wing at 14 and helping migrants during the 2015 refugee arrivals.

Topics: Meet Sabrina · From Worker Roots · Youth Activism · Making EU Real · East West Divide · AfD And Migration

#50: The EU Bubble; Getting a Career; Work-Life Balance; Overcoming Temporariness; Becoming a Local

26K views · 2w ago · 57:38

Guest: Dutch EU

In this episode of Beyond the Bubble, Andras speaks with Dutch EU civil servant Jeroen Reijnen about his book Big In Brussels: The Art of Working and Living in the EU Bubble, which blends career guidance with a personal and human look at life around the EU institutions.

Topics: Welcome and Guest Intro · Jeroen’s Brussels Journey · Why He Wrote the Book · Inside the Book Structure · Imposter Syndrome and Persistence · Career Lessons From Interviews

#49: Israel and Palestine in the Classroom; Fighting Extremism; Molenbeek; Critical Thinking

15K views · 3w ago · 1:04:05

Andras interviews Mohamad, a Lebanon-born Palestinian who moved to Belgium in 2000 and works with students on dialogue, extremism prevention and also serves in the Belgian army reserve, and Eric, a Brussels teacher and former school director raised in Molenbeek who studied religious sciences and researched radicalization among local youth.

Topics: Meet the Guests · Mohammed's Journey · Eric's Roots and Research · Radicalization vs Extremism · Spotting Red Flags · Mohammed's Classroom Approach

#48: Memory & Forgetting; How We Remember; Inception; Neuro-Inspired AI; Consciousness

5.8K views · 4w ago · 1:05:27

Guest: Tomás Ryan

In this episode, Andras speaks with Tomás Ryan, neuroscience researcher about what neuroscience is as an integrative field and how he moved from genetics into studying memory. They discuss cognition, thought, and consciousness, why brain-as-computer analogies can mislead, and what we actually know about how information is stored in neural circuits.

Topics: What Neuroscience Means · From Genetics to Memory · Life as a Scientist · Defining Cognition · Brain vs Computer Analogies · Where Memory Lives

#47: China's Innovation Playbook; Bottom-Up Tech; Directed Autonomy; Going Global

15K views · 1mo ago · 1:08:08

In this conversation, sinologist and keynote speaker Pascal Coppens discusses his book China’s Next Miracle and argues that most Western coverage focuses too much on top-down politics while missing bottom-up forces shaping China’s innovation.

Topics: Welcome and New Book · Becoming a Sinologist · Explaining China to Business · Bias and Media Narratives · The Real Estate Bubble Explained · From Cement to Tech: Technology as a Social Upgrade