Podcast - 
Verheyen’s Window on the Infinite

Thomas Crombez is a lecturer, author, and publisher. In addition to his postdoctoral research at the University of Antwerp, he teaches art philosophy and the history of graphic design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Sint Lucas Antwerp.

He is the founder of Letterwerk, a publishing house and design studio in Borgerhout.

Edel Maex is a psychiatrist, Zen teacher, and a leading figure in introducing Mindfulness Training in the Low Countries. He has been running a Zen group in Antwerp for many years.

His bestseller Mindfulness. In de maalstroom van je leven (2006) sold 125,000 copies. In his latest book Het kan anders. Naar een ommekeer in ons denken en doen (2022), he shares his personal story and presents his perspective on the major challenges of our time.

Dirk Sturtewagen is coordinator and director at Waerbeke. He connects “silence as a condition for quality of life” with developments across various societal sectors and disciplines. Dirk serves as initiator and mentor for several projects focused on experiences of silence and calm in Flanders and the Netherlands.

Marlies de Munck is a philosopher, lecturer, and author. She specializes in cultural, art, and music philosophy, as well as music aesthetics. Her research explores topics such as the role of silence in music and the symbolism behind art. She teaches at the University of Antwerp and the KASK Conservatory in Ghent.

Her best-known book is Waarom Chopin de regen niet wilde horen, en andere vragen uit de filosofie van de muziek (2017). In 2020, Marlies co-published the longread Nabijheid: Kunst en onderwijs na Covid-19 with cultural sociologist Pascal Gielen. She regularly writes columns for De Standaard and Knack.

Virginie Platteau is a cultural journalist focusing on art, poetry, and literature. She regularly writes for Poëziekrant, De Lage Landen, Rekto:Verso, and De Standaard. She also teaches.

Virginie’s long-standing fascination with the power of silence culminated in the publication of Hoe luidt de stilte? (2022). The book explores noise pollution and overstimulation, the need for—and simultaneous fear of—calm, the impact of (lack of) silence on the learning process, and the role of silence in creativity. In 2021–2022, she was co-curator of the Mechelen city festival Zinderende Stilte. As a silence guide and food forest pioneer, she aims to restore the value of natural calm, space, and silence.