The Grand Challengers Podcast
A show about inspiring individuals who are tackling today’s global challenges in out-of-the-box ways and are here to share stories about their own personal journey towards making our world a better place.
Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach
Latest Episode
| Episode #41 – Don Weatherbee “Catalyzing” change beyond the mine – scaling up metals regeneration to enable the future circular economy April 1st, 2025 (going live 00:00 CEST) |  |
Episodes & Shownotes
Click on the episode that you would like to listen to or know more about below. New episodes every 2 weeks!
 | Episode 001 – Engineers never say never and never say always – a new take on flood models with João Paulo Leitão – January 3rd, 2023 |
 | Episode 002 – Cohabitation and close encounters with myths in urban design with Scott Lloyd – January 17th, 2023 |
 | Episode 003 – A game of planning, a set of maps and a match of nature-based solutions with Martijn Kuller – January 31st, 2023 |
 | Episode 004 – Good vibrations – a sensorial journey into urban soundscapes and acoustic design with Sofia Boarino – February 14th, 2023 |
 | Episode 005 – Like wastewater for chocolate, control, serendipity and digital twins with Peter A. Vanrolleghem – February 28th, 2023 |
 | Episode 006 – Citymaking in times of crises, from yoghurt shops to plans of resistance with Arya Arabshahi – March 14th, 2023 |
 | Episode 007 – There are no silver bullets for the toilet, city or life’s journey – just keep rowing with Abishek Sankara Narayan – March 28th, 2023 |
 | Episode 008 – Don’t forget the social – experiments in urban water and energy transitions with Megan A. Farrelly – April 11th, 2023 |
 | Episode 009 – From first flush and manholes to pendulums of stormwater, engineering and life with Ana Deletic – April 25th, 2023 |
 | Episode 010 – Backyard balsamic vinegar, a pizza oven and technological progress in agriculture with Daniele la Cecilia – May 9th, 2023 |
 | Episode 011 – A limnologist, filmmaker, foodie, water diplomat and passionate teacher walk into a kitchen… with Anas Ghadouani – May 23rd, 2023 |
 | Episode 012 – “Pondering” conversations around banana bread and boats from across the fence with Liah Coggins – June 6th, 2023 (show notes being updated…) |
 | Episode 013 – Going vertical in a green horizontal world and promoting urban water and nature co-design with Veljko Prodanovic – June 20th, 2023 |
 | Episode 014 – Lights, Camera, GPS and Action around biodiversity enhancement in human-dominated landscapes with Janine Bolliger – July 4th, 2023 |
 | Episode 015 – “Restrictions and constraints breed innovation” – sewers and nature-based solutions in Colombia with Juan Pablo Rodríguez Sánchez – July 18th, 2023 |
 | Episode 016 – A ‘hot’ topic for ‘cooler’ cities – high performance architecture to combat urban overheating with Mattheos Santamouris – August 1st, 2023 |
 | Episode 017 – What to do with a hole in the ground – re-mining for critical minerals, rehabilitation and repurposing with Mohan Yellishetty – August 29th, 2023 |
 | Episode 018 – From tropical forests to the city – reconciliation ecology between human infrastructure and nature conservation with Fritz Kleinschroth – September 12th, 2023 |
 | Episode 019 – Diving deep into the underground, ‘forensics’ on river water quality to uncover environmental past and future? with Anna Lintern – October 17th, 2023 |
 | Episode 020 – Stormwater control measures, healthy waterways, battleships and karate at the riverside camp with Belinda Hatt – November 28th, 2023 |
 | Episode 021 – The paradox of nature – process and parts and its implications for green infrastructure with Danielle Dagenais – January 9th, 2024 |
 | Episode 022 – “God-like technologies in medieval institutions”, discussing paradigm shifts for greener, water-resilient cities with Françoise Bichai – January 23rd, 2024 |
 | Episode 023 – To give ‘space’ – from a library to collaborative urban transformation and rethinking the architect’s role with Markus Vogl – February 6th, 2024 |
 | Episode 024 – The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of green infrastructure, opening a ‘can of worms’ and gaining control of watersheds with Jon Hathaway – February 20th, 2024 |
 | Episode 025 – Your garden, the ‘field of dreams’ for tackling the twin crises of climate change and artificial intelligence with Shubber Ali – March 5th, 2024 |
 | Episode 026 – The Good, the Bad, and the Socio-Political – can science really support policymaking? with Manuel Fischer – March 19th, 2024 |
 | Episode 027 – A personal journey, from Africa to Switzerland – insights on education, nature-based solutions and women scientists with Darcy Molnar – April 9th, 2024 |
 | Episode 028 – A social psychology toolkit for changing transport planning, built environment and future mobility with Alexa Delbosc – April 30th, 2024 |
 | Episode 029 – Grassroots movements, policy instruments and timing for transforming water, biodiversity and underground management with Katrin Pakizer – May 28th, 2024 |
 | Episode 030 – From tropical Singapore to Europe – the “ABC Waters” of sponge cities and climate adaptive design with Tobias Baur – June 4th, 2024 |
 | Episode 031 – Reflections, from a canoe chute and litter traps to Day Zero and South Africa’s Sustainable Drainage with Neil Armitage – August 13th, 2024 |
 | Episode 032 – Partnering with nature in Spain’s journey to Sustainable Drainage and Climate Adaptation with Luis Angel Sañudo Fontaneda – September 17th, 2024 |
 | Episode 033 – America’s evolving stormwater management, our innate connection to water and walking your “Camino” with Bill Hunt – October 1st, 2024 |
 | Episode 034 – A world of plastics from macro and micro to nano – should zero plastics be the long-term goal? with Denise Mitrano – October 29th, 2024 |
 | Episode 035 – The answers are beyond the “clouds” – the water-energy link for climate adaptation in a world of data ubiquity with Yannick Back – November 12th, 2024 |
 | Episode 036 – Tables Turned: Part 1 – Guests ask me questions on the podcast origin story, life choices and more A special episode of the podcast – December 10th, 2024 |
 | Episode 037 – “Safeguarding the ordinary” – achieving traffic safety planning and management in a data-rich, AI-powered world with Brett Ferrin – January 14th, 2025 |
 | Episode 038 – The human side of planning and flood risk in London – the challenge of embedding history into policy with Patricia Cuervo Uría – January 28th, 2025 |
 | Episode 039 – Spinoza, science, spirituality – confronting ‘displacements’ in planning urban nature, climate and heat with Lucas Gobatti – February 11th, 2025 |
 | Episode 040 – Studying the extremes – “when it rains, it floods”, and “just add water” when “the heat is on” with João P. Leitão – March 11th, 2025 |
 | Episode 041 – “Catalyzing” change beyond the mine – scaling up metals regeneration to enable the future circular economy with Don Weatherbee – April 1st, 2025 (going live 00:00 CEST) |
The Grand Challengers Podcast – Mini-Series
 | The NotebookLM Mini-Series (2025) A mini-series dedicated to better understanding the impact that rapid advancements in Generative Artificial Intelligence is having on science, research and academia. On this series, previous guests from the show join me in experimenting with Google’s NotebookLM. |