Pint of Science: English Night 2

Let’s face it—religion is in decline, the church is heavily under pressure, and so far, no sign of the second coming of Jesus Christ™ is in sight. Is studying Catholic theology, therefore, a waste of time? In this presentation, I want to show that thousands of years of theological thinking have brought forward ideas that are still important today—even without explicit belief in God.

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU and US – along with other Western countries – imposed a wide range of economic sanctions against Russia. The EU implemented 13 sanctions packages targeting hundreds of Russian entities, while the US targeted over 1000. This has sparked significant public and media interest in the phenomenon of economic sanctions. However, the use of sanctions is not a recent development; over 100 countries have faced sanctions in the post-Cold War era. Who imposes sanctions, and when do sanctions senders decide to use these coercive measures? Are sanctions effective? And when and how are they lifted?
I will provide some insights on these questions and draw back on specific cases, such as sanctions against Iraq, Iran, and Russia, for illustrative examples. More importantly, I will draw from my research to stress the biased use of economic sanctions by major international players, notably the EU and the US, which tend to prioritise safeguarding their own interests.

We can only master the climate crisis by changing our behavior together. Although we largely agree on the importance of this goal, our societies are increasingly divided on how to attain it. Societal discourse on how to change the status quo end up in a “who-says-what” rather than focusing on factual information. In my lab, we investigate the psychological processes driving us apart, and how we can nevertheless attain our climate-action and other societal goals.

Eating should be driven by hunger to keep energy balance. However, eating is also initiated by other factors, such as emotions and stress. Many individuals have an association of eating in response to negative emotions: in response to a breakup and related sadness one might eat a bucket full of ice cream or a chocolate bar. Thus, around ¾ of the general population consider themselves emotional eaters. However, research revolving around emotional eating is far more inconsistent, and I will present evidence for and against emotional eating. Additionally, I will show how we find out if a person is an emotional eater and how smartphone technology can help with that. Finally, I will also provide some tips on how to overcome emotional eating.