Thinking out loud, in public
I write to open conversations, not to close them. About the rules underneath our travel choices, about traditions worth changing, and about why the better alternative beats the ban, every time.
In print & on air
Podcast · Outrage + Optimism
The Jet Fuel Crisis: What's Next For Aviation?
On the podcast founded by Christiana Figueres, on the future of aviation: where sustainable fuels really stand, and why the answer is bigger than fuel alone.
Het Financieele Dagblad
Reizen als vorm van therapie
An FD feature on why travel is therapeutic in every phase of life, in which I share how a three-month journey through Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan reset my own relationship with travel and work.
Luchtvaartnieuws
Nederland en VK kijken naar 'duurzame luchtbrug' over de Noordzee
Coverage of the Zero Emission Flying Forum I co-organised with AeroNL at Farnborough: could the first electric flights across the North Sea connect the Netherlands and the UK?
de Volkskrant · Opinie
Angst maakt je wereld kleiner
On fear as a poor compass: it doesn't make you grow, it makes you shrink, and that goes for how we deal with change too.
de Volkskrant · Opinie
Laten we écht een nieuwe traditie voor oud en nieuw verzinnen
On why changing traditions feels like an attack on who we are, and how the end of consumer fireworks is exactly the moment to design something better in its place.
NRC · Opinie
'Vriendelijk' statiegeld
A stranded empty bottle at a station kiosk, and what it reveals about our deposit system: if you sell it, you should take it back. Small rules shape big behaviour.
On LinkedIn
Most of my thinking-in-public happens on LinkedIn: event reflections, honest takes on where sustainable aviation stands, and the occasional celebration of what works. A few recent ones:
"Sustainability in aviation is in a rough spot, and the Sustainable Aviation Futures congress showed it. We have gotten very good at discussing the complexity within, and much less good at opening it up to the world outside the room."
Read on LinkedIn →"Yesterday we brought together 60 people from the Dutch and British zero-emission flying ecosystems into one room. With the BETA flying by right on cue, it felt less like a seminar and more like the start of something bigger."
Read on LinkedIn →"Iedereen weet dat vliegen 'te goedkoop' is, maar niemand weet precies hoe goedkoop. De mobiliteitstransitie gaat ook over de spelregels eronder; wat kost iets, wie betaalt, en welke keuze we makkelijk maken."
Read on LinkedIn →Bigger ideas in the making
I'm working on longer-form writing about the future of travel: what it takes to keep connecting people within the boundaries of our planet, and which rules of the game we'd need to change. If you want to think along, or you're a publisher who got curious, write me.