DutchNews Podcast
Podcast by DutchNews
Fri, April 25, 2025
The TikTok Terrorism Tango Edition - Week 17 - 2025
The passing of Pope Francis managed to put the king's birthday birthday celebrations and Pieter Omtzigt's dramatic departure from politics in the shade this week. The coalition leaders emerged from a marathon negotiation session with a spring budget deal designed to please everyone except the taxpayers. Intelligence services accuse Iran of planning a botched assassination, Russia of sabotaging European elections and China of industrial espionage. And Belgian goalkeeper is the toast of Deventer as the Eagles swoop to a famous cup final victory.
Fri, April 25, 2025
week 17
week 17 by DutchNews
Thu, April 10, 2025
The Crossing Zebras and Hoarding Coots Edition - Week 15 - 2025
An Easter egg scramble begins in The Hague as ministers try to grab a morsel of the €8 billion available in his spring budget statement. The Binnenhof's history as a medieval palace turns out to be even longer and richer than we suspected. Academics at Dutch universities face extra screening to prevent them stealing scientific knowledge, while students are warned about a rise in rent scams. Dutch badminton players fear for the future of the sport after its funding is slashed. And a coot's nest that became a treasure trove of Amsterdam trash is being moved to a museum in The Hague.
Thu, April 03, 2025
The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum Ministry Edition - Week 14 - 2025
Once again Marjolein Faber confounds critics and partners alike with her bottomless talent for turning a storm in a teacup into a political maelstrom. Dick Schoof insists his cabinet is united behind his decision to clean up the mess caused by Faber's refusal to honour five volunteers for working with refugees. Elsewhere, a majority of MPs back a ban on street fireworks while prisons minister Ingrid Coenradie steers through her controversial early release scheme. The UK extends its electronic travel permit scheme to EU citizens. And we explain why the long-awaited legal cannabis growing scheme is at risk of being stubbed out before it can be rolled out.
Fri, March 28, 2025
The No Tupperware For Old Wolves Edition - Week 13 - 2025
This week it was the turn of the immigration service and the justice inspectorate to take Marjolein Faber to task over her unravelling immigration plans. Amsterdam is shocked as five people are stabbed in an apparently random attack near Dam Square. Travellers to the United States are warned about Donald Trump's backward shift on LBGT rights. PSV have to quarantine their new Spanish striker after the player is diagnosed with tuberculosis. And wolves, badgers and house cats are all blamed for wrecking the Netherlands' natural order.
Fri, March 21, 2025
The Urk Kids Get Stoned In The Biblical Sense Edition - Week 12 - 2025
Dick Schoof heads to Brussels for a defence spending summit with orders to pull the emergency brake on the Eurobonds train. Back in The Hague, the PVV holds its own prisons minister hostage over her plans to solve the overcrowding problem in jails. And the education minister wants to attract foreign talent to universities that are cutting down on international students and English-language classes. Intelligence agencies are pushing the boundaries by gathering information in secret for law enforcement agencies, watchdogs warn. The construction sector warns that housebuilding plans are being hamstrung by the nitrogen crisis. The skating season ends with a Dutch gold rush in Norway and Max Verstappen makes a splash as he starts his bid for a fifth Formula One world title in Melbourne.
Fri, March 14, 2025
The Back to Frugality Edition - Week 11 - 2025
The latest crisis to engulf Dick Schoof's cabinet sees three coalition parties vote against the prime minister on Europe's rearmament plan to support Ukraine. GroenLinks-PvdA speed up plans for a merger, almost as if they expect an early election. JA21 MP Joost Eerdmans, a PVV councillor and Groningen's former mayor all get into difficulty in their cars. The government wants to tighten up regulations on vaping while Amsterdam steps up restrictions on Airbnb. And while Dutch athletes sweep the board at the European Indoor Championships, one speed skater shoots himself in the foot ahead of the season finale.
Sat, March 08, 2025
The Who's Ringing Dick's Doorbell Edition - Week 10 - 2025new
There's no such thing as an unqualified success in Dick Schoof's coalition of the unwilling. The prime minister steers a €3.5bn aid package to Ukraine through parliament, but faces accusations of a stitch-up from Geert Wilders. Marjolein Faber's asylum plans are finally signed off in cabinet but are likely to meet stiff resistance in the Senate. Police investigate whether a devastating fire that destroyed some of the few historic buildings in Arnhem that survived the war was started deliberately. PSV suffer a historic drubbing in the Champions League in a bad werk for Dutch clubs, with the noble exception of AZ Alkmaar. And Utrecht's best known underwater doorbell goes online again for the breeding season. Fish doorbell: www.visdeurbel.nl
Fri, February 28, 2025
The Cray Me A River Edition - Week 9 - 2025
An €8 billion windfall turns out to be a poisoned chalice for the cabinet as the coalition parties start scrambling for a piece of the pie. The four parties can't agree on how to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is also the subject of Marjolein Faber's latest faux pas. More freelancers are going out of business and more couples are working part-time as changes to the tax system take effect. Schiedam is in shock as a 13-year-old boy is charged with stabbing another teenager to death. Go Ahead Eagles celebrate a historic win in the cup. And Dutch scientists fight back against a crayfish invasion by making the country even flatter.
Fri, February 21, 2025
The Sober As A Ugandan Bunker Edition - Week 8 - 2024
The mission to realise the "strictest asylum policy ever" takes another twist as housing minister Mona Keijzer bans local councils from giving refugees priority housing while Marjolein Faber gives them a €30,000 incentive to do exactly that. Women's rights, higher education and Unicef are no longer relevant to the Dutch national interest, Reinette Klever declares as she slashes development aid funding. A cabinet crisis on Ukraine is averted when Geert Wilders waters down his opposition to sending more military aid. Two Dutch clubs claim big Italian scalps in the Champions League. And to the chagrin of the king, long queues are expected when 18 works by Rembrandt go on show as part of Amsterdam's 750th birthday celebrations.
Fri, February 14, 2025
The Manure Hits The Windmill Edition - Week 6 - 2025
The BBB is the latest coalition party to be plunged into crisis as an MP quits and the local party in its Overijssel heartland splits over "irreconcilable differences". The three face mask millionaires are told to pay back their ill-gotten gains in a judgment that is scathing of the health ministry's carefree attitude to spending public money. Brussels condemns the Dutch government's failure to tackle nitrogen pollution yet again, this time in the water supply. Marjolein Faber finally finds time to visit Ter Apel just as latest figures show asylum applications are coming down. And is the traditional Dutch dinner of meat, vegetables and potatoes being pushed to the back burner by spicy foreign dishes?
Fri, February 14, 2025
The Lock Up The Wolves Edition - Week 7 - 2025
As Karl Marx once observed, history repeats itself: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce, the third as Marjolein Faber's asylum policy. The cabinet is on the brink of collapse for the umpteenth time as Geert Wilders blames NSC for his favourite minister's failure to cut any ice with the Council of State. Gelderland province also hits a legal wall in its efforts to fire paintball pellets at wolves. The United Nations special rapporteur on Gaza is cancelled by self-proclaimed advocates of free speech for saying the wrong things about Israel. A new scheme allowing descendants of slavery to let go of their colonial family names without consulting a psychologist. And Feyenoord overcome the loss of their manager and their top goalscorer to notch up another famous win the Champions League.
Fri, January 31, 2025
The Hunebed Heist Way Edition - Week 5 - 2025
Another week, another round of infighting and backtracking in the coalition, this time over an eye-watering 0.4% increase in the rate of VAT. The Drents Museum is the reluctant star of an international heist drama stretching from Bucharest to Heerhugowaard. Calls for a fireworks ban grow louder following another rise in injuries and attacks on emergency service workers at New Year. Feyenoord fans are banned from Lille and spared the humiliation of watching their team go down 6-1. And we probe the mystery of the missing wolves.
Fri, January 24, 2025
The Gourmet Flamingos and Wolves in Blankets Edition - Week 4 - 2025
A hazy cloud hangs over the cabinet after it loses another court case against its nitrogen reduction policy. Marjolein Faber's latest wheeze to send asylum seekers home is a one-way trip to Damascus, with compensation for going via Brussels. Shoplifters are getting away with theft and it's down to privacy laws, says a debt collection firm that was implicated in dodgy dealings with the police. More migration woes as muskrats and wolves are invade our borders and sheds. And Brian Priske oversees a Danish pasting for Bayern, but is it enough to save his job at Feyenoord?
Thu, January 16, 2025
The Blueberry Monday Edition - Week 3 - 2024
Some people call it the most depressing day of the year: to others it's known as the return of parliament. Geert Wilders' coalition crisis roulette wheel lands on the spring budget cuts as he yet again vows not to budge an inch. The lawyer for drugs baron Ridouan Taghi is accused of abusing her privilege to run messages for her client in a case that has rocked the legal profession. Venezuela banishes Dutch diplomats in revenge for giving refuge to the opposition leader. The chair of the Elfstedentocht steering committee steps down after waiting for 20 years for Friesland to freeze over. And there's news of a nine-goal thriller in the KNVB Beker and double Dutch delight in the draughts world championship.
Fri, January 10, 2025
The Brabant Is Full of Used Needles Edition - Week 2 - 2025
In keeping with tradition, 2025 kicked off with an explosive row about whether to ban fireworks. Pharmacists go on strike for more pay while they warn about a shortage of supplies. The wartime archives of suspected Nazi collaborators are opened up and immediately stir up a hornet's nest. Blades are sharpened in the world of figure skating as the leading Dutch pair are taken to court for not spending enough time in Eindhoven. And we announce the winner of the coveted 2024 Ophef of the Year award. Documentary on the collaborators archive: https://npo.nl/start/serie/nos-nationaal-oorlogsarchief-open/seizoen-25/nos-nationaal-oorlogsarchief-open
Wed, January 01, 2025
Ophef of the Year 2024 - Bonus Episode
It's time once again for our annual round-up of the minor incidents that got everybody hot under the collar for five minutes on social media at some point this year. And what a bumper harvest it's been. Caroline van der Plas performed a hardboiled cunning stunt in front of Geert Wilders, a man called Willie fell foul of the regulations on phallic garden ornaments and Nicky Minaj was jailed for trying to take drugs out of the Netherlands. We'll also remind you of how Brussels tried to cancel a Dutch delicacy and why a group of pensioners revolted over a bingo booze ban. And don't forget to vote for your favourite so you can win a deluxe Dutch News mug and a coveted Zeesluis IJmuiden coaster. Vote here: https://forms.gle/42uSXMTDP9knBAFJ7
Mon, December 30, 2024
Ophef of the Year 2024 Bonus Episode
It's time once again for our annual round-up of the minor incidents that got everybody hot under the collar for five minutes on social media at some point this year. And what a bumper harvest it's been. Caroline van der Plas performed a hardboiled cunning stunt in front of Geert Wilders, a man called Willie fell foul of the regulations on phallic garden ornaments and Nicky Minaj was jailed for trying to take drugs out of the Netherlands. We'll also remind you of how Brussels tried to cancel a Dutch delicacy and why a group of pensioners revolted over a bingo booze ban. And don't forget to vote for your favourite so you can win a deluxe Dutch News mug and a coveted Zeesluis IJmuiden coaster. Vote here: https://forms.gle/42uSXMTDP9knBAFJ7
Fri, December 20, 2024
The Bright Lights and Bad Coffee Edition - Week 51 - 2024
Asylum minister Marjolein Faber produces her rapid-response emergency plan to deal with the urgent refugee crisis, a mere six months after taking office. Police believe the explosion in The Hague that cost the lives of six people may have been the work of an enraged ex-boyfriend. Farmers' party minister Jean Rummenie outlines his strategy on problem wolves and how to deal with them. An auction house is widely rebuked for selling a skull that may have been stolen from an African tribe. And the sporting week is dominated by darts, draughts and some Quick Boys.
Fri, December 13, 2024
The Did We Order This Government On Temu Edition - Week 50 - 2024
The Hague was in shock this week after six people died in a huge blast that police believe was an attack on a bridal wear shop. A "monster alliance" wrings concessions from the coalition parties on the education budget, but universities say the cuts will still damage the sector. Enhanced border checks come into force but experts say they will make little difference, while the Council of State pours cold water on Marjolein Faber's asylum crackdown. Max Verstappen is ordered to mentor young drivers in Rwanda as penance for swearing at a press conference. Scientists raise the alarm about disappearing seals in the Waddensee. And Dick Schoof edges out SIfan Hassan but loses out to a Chinese web shop in the Google search league table.
Sat, December 07, 2024
The Badger Distinction Edition - Week 49 - 2024
The government is running out of time to make its education budget add up as opposition parties form a "monster alliance" against its spending cuts. Sandra Palmen, who blew open the childcare benefits scandal, is put in charge of compensating the thousands of victims. Two Dutch members of a gang who smuggled cocaine in crates of onions are given eye-watering jail sentences in the UK. Drivers are warned they could lose their insurance cover if they use their phones behind the wheel. And the debate about wolves takes another sharp turn.
Thu, November 28, 2024
The Gnome Sweet Gnome Edition - Week 48 - 2024
You don't need a degree in rocket science to work out that the government's higher education cuts are in deep trouble after opposition parties form a united front in the Senate against the €2 billion package. More budget headaches in Brussels as the EU raps the Netherlands over the knuckles for busting the deficit limit that it was instrumental in setting up. Integration lessons for refugees are so time-consuming that they damage their efforts to find work and participate in society, a new report finds. Dutch football clubs have a sensational week in the Champions League, while the tennis team fall agonisingly short of glory. And newly discovered letters from Albert Einstein provide evidence for the theory that Groningen is the most stubborn place in the universe.
Fri, November 22, 2024
The Make Dutch Cheese Grate Again Edition - Week 47 - 2024
NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt returns to The Hague to survey the tattered remains of his Nieuw Sociaal Contract party. Two MPs follow junior finance minister Nora Achahbar through the exit, complaining of a lack of basic decency in government. Another NSC minister, Caspar Veldkamp, had an awkward day in parliament as he explained the consequences of the ICC's arrest warrant against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Environmental campaigners take Schiphol to court over its nitrogen compound emissions. And Botic van de Zandschulp is the unlikely name on everyone's lips as he brings down the curtain on Rafael Nadal's illustrious tennis career.
Fri, November 15, 2024
The No Product Placement In This Podcast Edition - Week 46 - 2024
Amsterdam has been hardly out of the headlines this week, after trouble before, during and after a football match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, with politicians at home and abroad pouring oil on troubled waters. Oil giant Shell, meanwhile, won the return match in its ongoing legal battle with environmental campaign group Milieudefensie. Health insurers publish their premiums for next year with few surprises and, surprise surprise in Gelderland, there have been a lot more attacks by wolves this year. And with the international distance skating championships starting, we explain the wonderful world of the team pursuit, the allround and why Jetta Leerdam wears black.
Fri, November 08, 2024
The Folkert Gets On His Bike Edition - Week 45 - 2025
The minister for tax affairs becomes the first casualty of Dick Schoof's cabinet as Geert Wilders settles a score with NSC over the asylum law. A police report reveals how criminals have infiltrated the healthcare system with fake qualifications and bogus agencies. Parents are blocked from checking their children's homework online, while the axe hangs over household goods chain Blokker. And Abdi Nageeye retakes Manhattan for the Dutch by winning the New York Marathon.
Fri, November 01, 2024
The Dance to the Gallemiezen Edition - Week 44 - 2024
A frustrating week for asylum minister Marjolein Faber as all her hypothetical hard work on the government's emergency refugee law goes up in smoke. Geert Wilders rediscovers his appetite for bananas and democratic processes while Dick Schoof struggles to convince even himself that the "strictest asylum rules" ever will actually work. Meanwhile in overcrowded Ter Apel, the accommodation agency faces even bigger fines for packing refugees in like sardines. Analysts also criticise the government's efforts to meet climate change targets and build affordable housing. And in sport, Ajax get back to winning ways just as their former coach Erik ten Hag is told to pack his bags at Manchester United.
Fri, October 18, 2024
The Brussels Banana Drama Edition - Week 42 - 2024
Geert Wilders insists he doesn't have a banana for a backbone, but his flexibility may have saved Dick Schoof's bacon for now ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting to finalise the government's asylum policy. Marjolein Faber's talent for confecting word salads throws the coalition parties into a state of confusion, while Reinette Klever cleverly rebrands the Rwanda refugee scheme by substituting a neighbouring country with a similar name. Universities warn that plans to limit foreign students and English courses will damage their international status. And in sport, Ronald Koeman laments the tactical superiority of the Germans and the Dutch bullet train steamrollers the competition at the track cycling championships in Denmark.
Fri, October 11, 2024
The Banksy of Ter Apel Edition - Week 41 - 2024
The signs are looking bad for Dick Schoof's cabinet as it hits the 100-day mark, and not just the ones that Marjolein Faber wants to hang in refugee centres. Geert Wilders goes on the offensive against Amsterdam's mayor Femke Halsema for her handling of a pro-Palestinian demonstration on October 7. Dutch universities do their bit for the government's plan to deter foreign students by plunging down the international league table. A mechanic sparks panic in a museum when he clears out a lift shaft. And the world of football mourns Johan Neeskens, whose penalty kick in the 1974 World Cup final was one of the iconic moments of Dutch sport.
Fri, October 04, 2024
The In Between Gavels Edition - Week 40 - 2024
An unnamed "foreign power" hacked into the Dutch police database this week, with cybersecurity experts pointing the finger squarely at Russia. Mark Rutte declared his love for Brussels as he started work as the new boss of Nato with a pledge to bring Ukraine into the alliance. The first fine is handed down for street harassment since it was criminalised, although it's still less costly than firing up a wood burner on a still day in Amersfoort. And Feyenoord win in the Champions League thanks to two own goals, one more than Marjolein Faber managed on a fact-finding trip to Denmark.
Fri, September 27, 2024
The We Love To Visit Your Wonderful Windmills Edition - Week 39 - 2024
What started out as an asylum crisis became a fast-track route to disaster this week as Geert Wilders hinted he could torpedo the coalition if his plans are thwarted. Meanwhile in the North Sea, Russian marine research vessels turn out to be engaged in the kind of fishing expedition that involves mini submarines, radar and armed guards. Three wolf cubs are killed in a road collision as the debate rages about the animals' protected status. And Max Verstappen is tight-lipped about his prospects as the Formula One season enters its final closing stages.
Fri, September 20, 2024
The High As A Parachutist In Brabant Edition - Week 38 - 2024
The horse-drawn carriages rattled through the streets of The Hague as usual, but in other ways it was a new-look Prinsjesdag. Finance minister Eelco Heinen warned that the days of "free money" were over as he delivered a stripped-down budget designed to balance the books. The budget debate revolved around Geert Wilders's favourite hobby-horse, immigration. Frans Timmermans and Dick Schoof clashed over blacked-out documents, Esther Ouwehand served up some spiced watermelon, while demolition specialist Wilders tried his hand at bridge-building. Elsewhere, Amsterdam is bubbling with new ideas to clean up its waterways while Germany steps up border controls with typically understated efficiency. A Dutch author makes it onto the Booker Prize shortlist for the first time. And PSV and Feyenoord suffered Champions League misery.
Fri, September 13, 2024
The Circle Party Visible From Space Edition - Week 37 - 2024
It's been a rollercoaster year for NSC, but after realising that most rollercoaster rides end back down at the bottom, leader Pieter Omtzigt decides to take a break. As budget day draws near, BBB leader Caroline van der Plas threatening to quit after her own party's agriculture minister unveils plans to buy out farmers. In the most unsurprising news of the year so far, we tell you how much more you'll be paying for health insurance from January. Amsterdam has a whip-round for the world's biggest Dutch birthday party, while Groningen's plans to celebrate the end of gas drilling are undermined by bureaucracy. And the new owners of Scheveningen Pier explain how they aim to make it the pearl of the North Sea once more.
Fri, September 06, 2024
The Baby Boom War Room Edition - Week 36 - 2024
Cabinet ministers returned from their summer break this week and got stuck into late-night budget talks. Pieter Omtzigt was accused of sabotaging his own plans to make government more accountable by setting up a "war room" with NSC's two senior ministers to renegotiate the budget. Omtzigt also voiced concern about the declining Dutch and European birth rates, in a speech that was definitely not dog-whistling to far-right Great Replacement theories but kept mentioning the number of babies in Africa. The right-wing cabinet cuts funding for "bed and board" accommodation for failed refugees and tells provincial governments to scrap their nitrogen reduction plans. And Ajax captain Steven Bergwijn is told his international career is over after accepting a €27 million carrot to play in Saudi Arabia.
Fri, July 12, 2024
The Dick and Denzel Are Coming Home Edition - Week 28 - 2024
New prime minister Dick Schoof stepped up onto the world stage this week, calling in on Ursula von der Leyen before heading to the Nato summit in Washington. His meeting with fellow debutant Keir Starmer was overshadowed by Oranje's last-minute defeat to England in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 and a penalty decision that made Ronald Koeman see red. A local politician in Rotterdam has his house set on fire while another in Friesland is forced to move out of the area. And Schiphol airport is bracing itself for another summer of chaos and delays caused by a shortage of security staff.
Fri, July 05, 2024
The Gamekeepers Turned Egg Poachers Edition - Week 27 - 2024
Dick Schoof's honeymoon period turns out to be even shorter than Joost Klein's Eurovision campaign as the new coalition's first debate descends into chaos and infighting. Mark Rutte headed off on his bike to Nato after getting to say his favourite word on television one last time. The impending change of government also caused anxiety at Keti Koti about the future of the proposed slavery museum. The Covid lockdowns turn out to have inspired a new enthusiasm for recreational walking. And at Euro 2024, the under-fire Dutch team step up a gear and now face Turkey in Berlin in the quarter-finals.
Fri, June 28, 2024
The Rutte Gets A Great Replacement Edition - Week 26 - 2024
Several opposition parties stayed away from this week's ministerial hearings, fearing it would become a political circus. It turned out to be a game of reverse charades in which Marjolein Faber and the other PVV candidates expended a huge amount of words in saying nothing. Mark Rutte headed off to his future workplace of Brussels for one last European leaders' summit before he takes the helm at Nato. A homeless man went viral after handing in a wallet containing €2000. Hugo de Jonge steered through a major rent control law in his last act as housing minister. And the Dutch football team will be hoping to stay away from home a bit longer after receiving a tongue-lashing from the media following their dramatic defeat to Austria.
Thu, June 20, 2024
The Expats Have Snatched All Our Herring Edition - Week 25 - 2024
Exhausted and bedraggled after six months of bruising negotiations, the four parties in the new coalition this week hauled themselves over the start line. While the VVD filled the cabinet with heavyweight international statesmen and NSC appointed senior judges and diplomats, the PVV posted fans of Nazi "Umvolkung" theories. The breakthrough came just in time for Mark Rutte to take over the top job at Nato, having slipped a few sweeteners into Viktor Orbán's coffee. Nearly half of international residents in the Netherlands have experienced or witnessed discrimination, a survey for Dutch News shows. Oranje kick off their campaign with a thunderous strike of Wout Weghorst's boot, but the cricketers are out of the T20 World Cup following a Sri Lankan thrashing. And the flags are out in Scheveningen for the new herring season.
Fri, June 14, 2024
The Mossad, Máxima and Mickey Mouse Edition - Week 24 - 2024
After months of slow progress, the formation of the next government hits warp speed as the new asylum minister resigns before he can be appointed. An early setback for the cabinet's immigration policy as the European Court of Justice says two Iraqi refugees who adopt Dutch values have the right to stay. Six men involved in the murder of the journalist Peter R de Vries are jailed for up to 28 years. The Princess Maxima cancer hospital fields brickbats from the scientific community after sponsoring a paper that links vaccines to Covid deaths. And striker Joshua Zirkzee runs away from Disney World to join Ronald Koeman's footballing circus at Euro 2024.
Fri, June 07, 2024
The Red Pencils and Black Markers Edition - Week 23 - 2024
The European election campaign didn't quite catch fire, but things warmed up in the final days with the PVV and GroenLinks-PvdA running neck-and-neck in the polls. We ask what the outcome means for the new coalition, the pro-European opposition parties and the trivial business of the future of the EU. The coalition talks go from gridlock to quagmire as the parties reportedly row over the distribution of cabinet posts. A Dutch tourist with a marker pen earns himself a heavy fine and the wrath of the Italian nation by scrawling on a historic ruin. Campsites are evacuated as river levels surge following the floods in Germany. Lieke Martens calls time on her illustrious international career and the Dutch men's cricketers start their T20 World Cup campaign with a win.
Fri, May 31, 2024
The Pulling A Dick Out Of A Hat Edition - Week 22 - 2024
The six-month quest for a new prime minister ended this week when former spy chief Dick Schoof accepted his own Mission Impossible: keeping the new right-wing cabinet afloat. Good news for his predecessor, Mark Rutte, who can now concentrate on collecting the last stamps he needs to become boss of Nato. We look ahead to next week's European elections, which have been beset by allegations of Russian influence and Danish disenfranchisement. Women have become more independent in the last 50 years, but teenagers are still feeling the after-effects of the pandemic. And a Dutch Lego superfan is told to take his custom-made train sets apart or pay the price.
Fri, May 24, 2024
The Revolving Torentje Door Edition - Week 21 - 2024
Polish podcaster Patryk Kulpok joins us this week to chew over the progress of the incoming government and the coalition deal. Which opposition leader did Geert Wilders reprimand for sniping from the sidelines? Why did Pieter Omtzigt end up arguing with Rob Jetten about the price of Ilse de Lange concert tickets? And will we have a new prime minister before our neighbours across the North Sea? In other news, the VVD face being homeless after the European elections after getting into bed with the PVV. Dutch women are celebrating in judo and football, while Ajax's men get a new Italian boss. And universities will be able to turn away foreign students and lecturers under a plan masterminded by distinguished Princeton academic turned education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf.
Fri, May 17, 2024
The False Frikandel Paintball Edition - Week 20 - 2024
It was a week when a small European country finally got tough on foreigners who stir up trouble and harass its citizens. But most of the Netherlands was horrified by the expulsion of Joost Klein from the Eurovision Song Contest and rang out church bells in solidarity. Meanwhile in The Hague, a coalition of right-wing parties finally produced a programme for government, promising stringent new rules on asylum, fewer international students and a return to 130 km/h speed limits. Climate experts urge the country to prepare for droughts and flooding, just as the government abandons its green energy commitments. Pro-Palestinian protesters continue to occupy university buildings across the Netherlands. And Ajax appoint a 35-year-old Italian to lead them back to the promised land of the Champions League.
Fri, May 03, 2024
The We Will Never Get A New Cabinet Edition - Week 18 - 2024
As the coalition talks stall, Geert Wilders delivers on his promise to put the Dutch first by slinking off to Budapest to give a speech in English about African migrants. Security is stepped up for the Remembrance Day ceremony, with numbers limited for the first time, amid fears it could be disrupted by protesters. Mark Rutte books a cheap flight to Turkey to collect one of the last stamps he needs to become secretary-general of Nato. Dutch consumers are cooling on the idea of installing solar panels and heat pumps, while sustainable investment funds turn out to be fuelled by dirty energy. Oranje's all-time top goalscorer Robin van Persie warms up for his first coaching job at Heerenveen. And Joost Klein heads for Sweden with 20 suitcases of Eurovision kit, 10 of them for his shoulder pads.
Fri, April 26, 2024
The Blazing Banners and Non-Smoking Bureaucrats Edition - Week 17 - 2024
The coalition talks are in limbo as Geert Wilders turns up the Timmermans Threat level to 11 and the parties try to turn an refugee drama into a crisis. Global warming isn't putting off Dutch holidaymakers, but the cost of travel is making their eyes water. Measles cases are on the rise as the vaccination rate falls. Feyenoord's manager looks set to jump ship while Alex Kroes and the Ajax board look for a creative way out of their death spiral. And we explain why Germany is no longer a happy hunting ground for Dutch train operators and safecrackers.
Fri, April 19, 2024
The Fake Kremlins and Rotten Parliaments Edition - Week 16 - 2024
In the week that Hugo de Jonge revealed that the Binnenhof renovation will cost €2bn and last until 2028, we ask if there is any chance of a government being in place by then. The king thanks his Spanish counterpart for putting up Princess Amalia in Madrid after she was threatened by gangsters, while Prinsjesdag is set for a populist makeover. In a bad week for pensioners, six people in their 70s go on trial for distributing a suicide powder, while canal boat tours fall foul of Amsterdam's anti-tourism drive. Flower growers get creative at the Bloemencorso, and we explain how a Dutch socialist heathen architect rekindled an Olympic tradition.
Fri, April 12, 2024
The My Big Fat Greek Footballing Tragedy Edition - Week 15 - 2024
Crisis club Ajax plumb new depths of hubris as their ramshackle defending on the pitch is eclipsed by a flurry of own goals in the boardroom. Down the road in The Hague, the manure hits the fan in the coalition talks as the negotiators try to put together the puzzle pieces. A group of pensioners go on trial accused of forming a criminal organisation to distribute suicide powders. Cyclists now account for two in five road deaths, but most would still rather be seen dead than in a safety helmet. And campaigners score a major victory in their efforts to clean up 800 tonnes of debris from the bottom of the Waddenzee.
Fri, April 05, 2024
The Weapons of Mass Distraction Edition - Week 14 - 2024
Groningen is up in arms over the senate's decision to pause the great gas switch-off, in a week when several government plans perish in the upper house. Czech claims that Russia has infiltrated the Dutch parliament leave MPs with an intriguing missed Thierry to solve. Ajax's new chief executive scores a devastating own goal as the club's season of misery continues. The government's efforts to remove non-Ukrainans who fled the war turns into a legal minefield, while oil giant Shell appeals against a court order to clean up after its customers.
Fri, March 22, 2024
The Boomers with Clipboards Edition - Week 12 - 2024
After agreeing on a form of government that keeps Pieter Omtzigt on board and Geert Wilders muzzled, the four right-wing parties finally get down to business. Two new negotiators are given the task of producing a programme for government within eight weeks, but the only thing the leaders agree on is that the discussions will be "tough". The PVV scuppers a bill on animal welfare, sweeping changes are made to the law on sex offences and Dilan Yesilgöz is told to switch the air-raid sirens back on. Schiphol airport and KLM are rapped over the knuckles by the courts. And sad news in sport as Emmen withdraw from the shirt sponsorship deal that set the hunebeds buzzing.
Fri, March 15, 2024
The Sinking Orange Submarine Edition - Week 11 - 2024
A breakthrough of sorts in the coalition talks as the four parties agree to form a "programme cabinet", which sounds like a piece of charity shop furniture. Protests against the visit of Israel's president sparks cast a shadow over the long-awaited opening of Amsterdam's Holocaust Museum. The SGP starts a crusade after learning that the government has ordered four new submarines to be built in France. And drug-running winger Quincy Promes's flight from justice appears to have come crashing down to earth on the streets of Dubai.
Fri, March 08, 2024
The Europapapapegaaipimpampetje Edition - Week 10 - 2024
More than 100 days after the election, there are cautious signs that the four parties who have been bickering since December might be ready to start talking about forming a government. Meanwhile, the outgoing government is battling to keep international employers like ASML and Boskalis in the country. Venlo is hiring Croatians who don't speak Dutch to drive its buses to solve a shortage of personnel. We explain how Amsterdam's tram operator tried to invoice Germany after the Second World War for transporting Jews to the death camps. And in sport, Quincy Promes is involved in a high-speed dash from justice in Dubai, while Femke Bol and Max Verstappen are unstoppable on their respective tracks.
Fri, March 01, 2024
The Badger Courage and Grenades of Virtue Edition - Week 9 - 2024
Kim Putters begins his efforts to complete a coalition puzzle that looks increasingly like a charity shop jigsaw with two pieces missing. The mindbending 3D maze that is the Marengo trial ends with life sentences for ruthless gangland boss Ridouan Taghi and two of his henchmen. The PVV gets itself in a tangle over support for Ukraine as the caretaker government agrees a 10-year military support package. In sport, the Leeuwinnen miss out on a ticket to the Olympic Games, while Femke Bol is hoping to cash in her golden ticket in Glasgow this weekend. And Dutch News stirs up some controversy of its own as we investigate the origins of the Groningen eierbal, a hard-boiled egg deep fried in breadcrumbs that looks strangely familiar to Scottish readers.
Fri, February 23, 2024
The Quincy's Snow Drops in Videoland Edition - Week 8 - 2024
Kim Putters begins his quest to form a new cabinet by wargaming the 501 permutations put forward by Pieter Omtzigt. The mayor of The Hague asks if the city "missed signals" about the riots that engulfed an Eritrean community event at the weekend. Scientists in Delft make a breakthrough in battery technology that shouldn't be taken with a pinch of salt. In sport, Irene Schouten shocks the world of speed skating by announcing her retirement while Femke Bol continues to set new standards on the athletics track. And we pay our last respects to a guru of the Elfstedentocht and the seldom seen grootkopboloogwants.
Fri, February 16, 2024
The Wandering Cocks and Floppy Formations Edition - Week 7 - 2024
The talks to form a right-wing coalition fall apart like a Babboe cargo bike after Pieter Omtzigt makes a smart getaway in lead negotiator Ronald Plasterk's car. After a debate that sets new standards for passive aggression, Geert Wilders asks another Labour-leaning chauffeur to try to get the show back on the road. Mark Rutte could be checking out early on the old coalition after Nato says it wants to appoint a new chief by Easter. Amsterdam city council's debate on its new erotic palace is disturbed (or perhaps enhanced) by some ghostly grunting. The Netherlands officially emerges from recession but still faces a shortage of skilled workers. Quincy Promes looks forward to an extended stay in Russia after being convicted of drug smuggling, a rescue plan for cursed club Vitesse Arnhem falls through and the cricket team fly in to Kathmandu for their first post-World Cup tour.
Fri, February 09, 2024
The Empty Chair Carousel Edition - Week 6 - 2024
We ask where the talks to form a coalition government go next after Pieter Omtzigt pulls out of the negotiations, sending the other three party leaders into a state of synchronised shock. Meanwhile, the farmers' protests heat up again, sending thick black clouds of asbestos-filled smoke billowing across motorways and adding to the pressure on justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz. China denies hacking into a top secret computer system which the Dutch insist didn't contain anything significant anyway. Universities come up with a plan to limit the numbers of foreign students. And a statue of the Butcher of Banda continues to divide opinion in the historic trading port of Hoorn.
Fri, February 02, 2024
The Coke and Stroopwafel Emporium Edition - Week 5 - 2024
The coalition negotiations show signs of grinding to a halt as Geert Wilders's cold storage freezer fills up and relations between the parties become increasingly frosty. The economic picture isn't helping, as inflation remains stubbornly high and housebuilders are unable to keep up with demand. Russia's invasion of Ukraine dominates proceedings at the International Criminal Court. Conspiracy theorists get their teeth into allegations of censorship at "alternative broadcaster" Ongehoord Nederland. And Ajax's women's team continue to make waves in the Champions League.
Fri, January 26, 2024
The Hell's Bells and Rampant Rabbits Edition - Week 4 - 2024
Geert Wilders went viral with a serieus probleem this week, and he wasn't alone. Dilan Yesilgöz saw her party cleft in two by the refugee crisis, Amsterdam's lights went out two days in a row and Schiphol airport delayed its plan to make flights less frequent for a third time. PSV Eindhoven's winning streak came to an end, while Ajax's new signing finally overcame the forces of Brexit. Paintballing with wolves was given the go-ahead in Gelderland. And we announce the winner of the highly coveted Ophef of the Year Awards.
Fri, January 19, 2024
The British Artists Are Worse Than Stag Parties Edition - Week 3 - 2024
While a toilet paper discount caused stampedes in Utrecht, Geert Wilders broke the coalition talks' radio silence for the first time this week. Not to say how happy he is that tart from his home province is now officially on an EU heritage list, but to say that the four parties have "a major problem" following the VVD senate faction's surprising vote in favor of the controversial spreading law, which is opposed by the VVD in the Tweede Kamer, but supported by the VVD in cabinet. The UK government calls on British nationals abroad to register for upcoming elections -- if they haven't been kicked out or forced to move due to ever-increasing rents. An unknown Nijmegen punk band turns out to be one of the biggest Dutch gigs on the international stage, Belgium has won the title of confiscating the most cocaine and the Dutch flower industry is falling victim of inflation and Brexit, just like Ajax that's unable to let their newest acquisition play just yet. One more week to vote for your favorite ophef and to win a special mug! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSewPb7-Cjv0IhYf0pyCNFeVMnzK0t7x_uskCPg8PKHm-zyFow/viewform
Fri, January 12, 2024
The Escape to Swallow Mountain Edition - Week 2 - 2024
The coalition talks resume with a teambuilding week at a country estate in Hilversum, where the four party leaders try to keep the media and the winter chill from the door. After months of rain, the sub-zero temperatures are welcomed by skaters, but the government's decision to pump extra gas from Groningen gets a frosty response. The International Court of Justice is called on to intervene in Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Marc Overmars's intimate selfies have a long tail as Fifa bans him from working in football around the world. And we bring you a story of nuclear intrigue and espionage involving a Dutch civil engineer in Iran. Vote here for the Ophef of the Year and win a mug: https://forms.gle/KLcZL8eZdv8rhUgo6
Sun, December 31, 2023
Ophef of the Year 2023 - Bonus Episode
It's time again for our annual look back at the microscandals and minor squabbles that enjoyed 15 minutes or less of notoriety on social media. Do you remember the Roman sewage row, the Pokémon stampede, the Anne Frank Borrelplank or the penile solar panels? Almost certainly not, so let us clutter your memory once more. And don't forget to vote for the most distinguished dollop in the dung heap using our special form. Remember, under our transparently skewed voting system, Patreon supporters have the privilege of an extra vote and Grachtengordel subscribers get three. One "lucky" winner can look forward to receiving a unique DutchNews mug and a Zeesluis IJmuiden coaster. Vote here: https://forms.gle/R4cUo6oYoYWcfmoU6
Fri, December 15, 2023
The Ministerial Migration Merry-Go-Round Edition - Week 50 - 2023
The country can and must be governed, coalition scout Ronald Plasterk said after handing in his homework, but who wants to govern the country like this? Pieter Omtzigt still has serious doubts about the PVV's relationship with the constitution, Dilan Yesilgöz doesn't want the VVD to join a coalition and Caroline van der Plas is already fed up with all the bickering. Yesilgöz started a constitutional binfire in parliament when she called on the Senate to drop a migration law drawn up by her VVD colleague, Eric van der Burg, supported by the cabinet, including herself, and passed by the Tweede Kamer. Germany says a man from Rotterdam linked to Hamas was part of a Berlin-based plot to attack Jewish sites in Europe. Rembrandt's smallest portraits go on display in the Rijksmuseum after being authenticated. And we sign off for the holiday season by asking how many people will be getting coronavirus for Christmas, after hospitals report a surge in cases.
Fri, December 08, 2023
The Great Cultural Breakdown Edition - Week 49 - 2023
As the coalition talks hobble towards the start line, a new parliament of fresh faces is sworn in. But only after the old gang gets together for one last job: solving the mystery of some missing votes in Tilburg. The Brabant city is also the scene of some surreal footballing scenes as the orange Lionesses edge out the white ones in the Nations League. The Dutch government is taken to court over its supply of fighter jet parts to Israel, while the Red Cross is called in again to fix the problems in Ter Apel refugee centre. Reports suggest the Netherlands narrowly avoided being invasion by Boris Johnson, who wanted to get his hands on its vaccine stocks. Plus Amsterdam's plans for the mother of all circle parties, Rotterdam's contribution to world heritage and the contenders for the Dutch word of the year.
Fri, December 01, 2023
The No Names, No Translation Errors Edition - Week 48 2023
The process of forming a new government gets off to an inauspicious start when Geert Wilders's candidate to canvas the 15 parties turns out to have some undisclosed dodgy dealings. Geert can't find a partner, Pieter is bickering about the prenups, Dilan just wants to be friends and Caroline is urging them to give it another try. Away from the negotiations, asylum seekers get the right to work more than half the year and solve the housing crisis, while shopping bills continue to defy inflation. The most famous Dutch women's coach plots the downfall of her former charges with her new team across the North Sea. And we look at whether Amsterdam's campaign to purge British tourists from the red light district is paying off.
Fri, November 24, 2023
The We Take No Responsibility For This Podcast Edition - Week 47 - 2023
After the earthquake of Geert Wilders's election win, we pick our way through the rubble. Can the PVV form a coalition and where will Wilders find his team of ministers from? Or will it be a centrist cabinet with Frans Timmermans's PvdA-GL alliance? How many glasses of Prosecco will Vera Bergkamp need after meeting all 16 party leaders on Friday? And who will be the first to crack and phone Johan Remkes? Plus news of the Dutch football team's win against Gibraltar, higher traffic fines and a very good reason to avoid Tilburg if you still need one.
Wed, November 22, 2023
Extra Episode - 2023 Tweede Kamer Election Night Special
The podcast team reacts to what looks set to be the most dramatic election in the Netherlands for a generation. The NOS exit poll gives Geert Wilders's far-right PVV party 23% of the vote and a clear lead over its rivals. The VVD drops to third place behind the left-wing block of PvdA-GroenLinks and Pieter Omtzigt wins 20 seats three months after founding his party. We review the final week of the campaign, the game changing opinion polls, and ask the crucial question: what the hell happens now?
Fri, November 17, 2023
The Zoutelande Was Omtzigt's Waterloo Edition - Week 46 - 2023
The three front runners are deadlocked as the election campaign enters its final days, all hoping a surge in support, a tactical shift or a last-minute gaffe will tip the balance their way. Mark Rutte takes time out from his busy schedule handing out flyers in Almere to measure up the curtains at Nato HQ. Away from the campaign, Schiphol's plans to cut flights are brought down under pressure from the US and the EU. Eurostar gains a potential rival and Parisians are offered the enticing prospect of a weekend in Groningen. And in sport, we manage to use the words "Ajax" and "triumph" in the same sentence.
Fri, November 10, 2023
The Twisted Tompouce Edition - Week 45 - 2023
The gloves come off in the election campaign as Pieter Omtzigt is taken to task for his lack of detail, while kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven takes a sideswipe at Dilan Yesilgöz. Meanwhile, Frans Timmermans drops a key manifesto pledge before dashing off to eye up German chancellor Olaf Scholz's pretzel collection. Mark Rutte has an eye on his next job as he heads to the Middle East to talk to Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The government wants to extend its ban on mobile phones in classrooms while NS agrees to freeze rail fares next year. And the cricketers have two chances to clinch a place in the Champions Trophy.
Fri, November 03, 2023
The Piskijkers in the Wind Edition - Week 44 - 2023
Storm Ciaran arrived this week and proved so fierce that even the organisers of the headwind cycling championships were forced to to back-pedal. In the election campaign there was a sense of calm before the storm as Frans Timmermans and Pieter Omtzigt engaged in a bit of light sparring while Dilan Yesilgöz gave an interview that was dominated by her dog and her wardrobe. The Dutch cricket team notched up their second win of the World Cup, while Ajax moved off the bottom of the Eredivisie. And while the human population edges towards 18 million, scientists raise the alarm about the declining number of seals in the Wadden Sea.
Thu, November 02, 2023
Special Cricket Edition: Logan van Beek Interview – Week 44 – 2023
As the Netherlands cricket team prepares to face Afghanistan in a win-or-bust showdown at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India, DutchNews speaks to all-rounder Logan van Beek about the team's progress so far. A dramatic tournament has included a historic win against South Africa, a record defeat by Australia and some eye-catching individual performances with bat and ball. Plus Van Beek reflects on his cricketing heritage and his Super Over heroics against the West Indies.
Fri, October 27, 2023
The Umbrella Jousting Edition - Week 43 - 2023
The election campaign moves into top gear with the first TV debate, Pieter Omtzigt's manifesto launch and the first candidate to resign in disgrace for abusive tweeting. Mark Rutte meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders to discuss the conflict in Gaza, while safety concerns prompt the cancellation of a speech on genocide and a march commemorating Kristallnacht. The safety board criticises the government's pandemic control plan for being too narrowly focused on healthcare and calls for better communication. The cricket team come down to earth with a crash against Australia. Maurice Steijn's ill-starred reign as Ajax coach comes to an end. And a rare turtle that went even further off course than Ajax's first team is said to be recovering well in Blijdorp.
Fri, October 20, 2023
The Cricket Turns Orange Edition - Week 42 - 2023
The conflict in the Gaza strip dominates this week’s news in the Netherlands. Prime minister Mark Rutte repeated the Dutch government’s support for Israel and stressed it must stay within the boundaries of international laws and proportionality, but a similar statement by Frans Timmermans caused the first friction between the two party alliance he’s leading into the November general election. We take a first look at the results of a survey in which DutchNews readers were asked who they would vote for and what their main concerns are – spoiler: Vincent van Gogh Pokémon cards is not one of them. Energy minister Rob Jetten is investing billions to improve the Dutch electricity grid, the Tweede Kamer wants to throw the surcharge on disposable plastics in the trash and Joran van der Sloot finally admitted he murdered American teenager Natalee Holloway on the island of Aruba in 2005. The Dutch cricket team sensationally beat South Africa at the World Cup with the help of mysterious hats and oars, and Ajax is finally showing its appreciation of the women’s team – which has absolutely nothing to do with the dire performance of the men.
Fri, October 13, 2023
The Three Horses and a Deboned Pig Edition - Week 41 - 2023
The runners and riders are declared for the election and it's looking like a three-horse race with six weeks to run. There's a row about flags as councils deliberate over how to commemorate the victims of the violence in Israel and Gaza. Max Verstappen completes his procession towards the F1 title in infernal conditions in Qatar while Sifan Hassan prevails on the streets of Chicago. Extinction Rebellion suspends its blockade of the A12 motorway after MPs order the government to review fossil fuel subsidies. And we bring you up to speed on the Dutch men's cricket team's progress and the football team's injury list ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifier against France.
Fri, October 06, 2023
The Nazi Prince and Punching Pensioners Edition - Week 40 - 2023
The loudest skeleton in the Dutch royal closet fell out this week with the discovery of Prince Bernhard's Nazi party membership card. As one resistance hero fell from grace, another had his honour restored as Tula was formally rehabilitated 228 years after being put to death for demanding freedom from slavery in Curacao. And Ajax will hope that their talismanic former coach Louis van Gaal can steady the ship after appointing him as an advisor to the board. Wopke Hoekstra becomes an unlikely crusader for green causes to land a top job at the European commission. And we preview the Dutch cricket team's first World Cup appearance in 12 years. Video of the Harderwijk wolf: https://twitter.com/ton_aarts/status/1707424461404737746
Fri, September 29, 2023
The Prince Bernhard and Caribbean Dick Edition - Week 39 - 2023
Rotterdam was in shock this week after three people were shot dead in an apparent revenge attack by a medical student who had been taken to court for mistreating animals. In the election campaign, Pieter Omtzigt unveiled his list of candidates for his Nieuw Sociaal Contract party, while Esther Ouwehand stepped aside as PvdD leader for the good of the party. There are fireworks at Ajax but no celebrations as the Klassieker is postponed, fans go on the rampage and director of football Sven Mislintat is sent packing. A US chemical company faces a huge bill after it is held liable for high levels of pollution near Dordrecht. And one of the most unlikely mashups of recent years goes down a storm as Pokémon fans catch all the merchandise at the Van Gogh Museum.
Fri, September 22, 2023
Le Petit Princejesdag Edition - Week 38 - 2023
Prinsjesdag, the ceremonial presentation of the annual accounts, went down with a whimper rather than a bang, as well as plenty of bells and whistles for the royal household. Sigrid Kaag delivered a caretaker budget of minor tweaks ahead of a debate that failed to ignite the election campaign but covered plenty of ground, from the moon landings to the N35 regional road. Questions are asked after a Dutch tourist has an extended stay in Spain courtesy of the intelligence services. Feyenoord and PSV have contrasting fortunes in the Champions League. And a Frisian wool merchant who went to the ends of the earth and beyond to prove a point makes it onto Unesco's world heritage list.
Fri, September 15, 2023
The Hairpin Turns and Tongue Twisters Edition - Week 37 - 2023
The animal rights party PvdD completed its metamorphosis into a fully fledged Dutch political party this week with a bloody, bare-knuckled power struggle. Esther Ouwehand emerged as top dog in her battle with the party's management board, but will it knock the PvdD off their electoral perch? We discuss that, as well as the squabbles over D66's candidate list and the quickfire dismissal of Pieter Omtzigt's spokesman. In other news, public transport fares are going up, spending power is going down and the Dutch men's teams have something to celebrate. And a missing Van Gogh is recovered in an Ikea bag, which makes a nice change from pictures of bicycles on canal bridges.
Fri, September 08, 2023
The Pim-Pam-Pipigate Edition – Week 36 – 2023
This week the main political parties set out their stalls as the campaign for the first Rutte-free election in 20 years gathers momentum. Asylum minister Eric van der Burg loses yet another court case, this time on third-country nationals fleeing Ukraine. Denzel Dumfries dispatches Greece in Eindhoven while Max Verstappen sets yet another record in Monza. We look at why souped-up speed merchants on two wheels are threatening Amsterdam's status as a cycling haven. And could herring give way to squid and mullet as sea temperatures rise?
Fri, September 01, 2023
The Orange Kermispenis Edition - Week 35 - 2023
As is tradition in September, the cabinet’s plans for the coming year will strategically leak in the weeks before the budget is officially presented by king Willem-Alexander on Prinsjesdag. This week, it was revealed that the caretaker cabinet is planning to allocate 2 billion euros to combat the cost of living crisis, following the news that more than a million people would plummet into poverty if no action is taken. Meanwhile, prime minister Mark Rutte, finance minister Sigrid Kaag and foreign affairs minister were embroiled in a Macchiavellian scheme to find a replacement for out-going European Commissioner Frans Timmermans – it will most likely be Hoekstra, but not if it’s up to the green MEPs who promised to grill him at his upcoming hearing by the European Parliament. The Sociaal-Cultureel Planbureau concluded that low-level corruption might occur more often than you’d have thought and a report by Wageningen University showed that nitrogen-based pollution has to be reduced even further than initially thought while nature minister Christianne van der Wal told provinces their plans cost too much money. It was a golden weekend for oranje supporters: Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort for the third time in a row, both the men and women hockey teams won the European title and Femke Bol was the star of the women’s 4x400 relay at the world’s athletics championship in Budapest.
Fri, August 25, 2023
The Revolting Komkommers and Chateau Almere Edition - Week 34 - 2023
The podcast returns to chew over the latest developments in the election campaign. Pieter Omtzigt steps into the fray, Dilan Yesilgöz steps into Mark Rutte's shoes, Wopke Hoekstra shuffles off to Brussels and Caroline van der Plas says she won't be standing anywhere in high heels. Nobody seems alarmed that the economy is in recession, while the dancing is over for Janssen's vaccine developers in Leiden. Sifan Hassan and Femke Bol recover from their stumbles to win medals in Budapest as Max Verstappen seems unstoppable in Zandvoort. And researchers go to the ends of the earth to identify a wartime resistance fighter after a 12-year search.
Tue, July 11, 2023
The Groundhog Day Is Over Edition - Emergency Resignation Special
A special edition of the DutchNews podcast focuses the collapse of the cabinet, the end of the Rutte era and the upcoming election. Will immigration dominate the campaign, will Vincent Karremans get back on his high horse and will Pieter Omtzigt team up with the farmers? And what about the game of Tweede Kamer musical chairs, as several parties hold leadership contests before the election in November?
Fri, July 07, 2023
The Rutte on a Sticky Wicket Edition - Week 27 - 2023
As we recorded this week's podcast, it was unclear if Mark Rutte was going to a step further than Vladimir Putin and stage a mutiny against his own government. The king apologised for the Dutch slave trading past and said the law could never be used to justify crimes against humanity. Dutch museums begin the process of repatriating hundreds of thousands of cultural artefacts taken during the colonial era. The head of national railways is widely mocked for his failure to understand the point of timetables. And there are calls for a statue to be erected to Bas de Leede after his exploits with bat and ball earn the Netherlands cricket team a place in the World Cup for the first time 12 years.
Fri, June 30, 2023
The H'ART and Headscarves Edition - Week 26 - 2023
Justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz lends the far right a veil of respectability by backing a PVV proposal to ban police from wearing headscarves. Farmers Defence Force are roundly condemned for circulating MPs' phone numbers ahead of a debate on the stalled talks on agriculture reform. RIchard de Mos is at the centre of more chaos in The Hague as the coalition is unable to agree on how to rehabilitate him after his acquittal on corruption charges. The inquiry into the government's pandemic response is sidelined by a row over how many conspiracy theorists should sit on the committee. And the Netherlands raise their hopes of qualifying for the cricket world cup by snatching a dramatic win against the West Indies.
Fri, June 23, 2023
The Megabrothel Roadblock Edition - Week 25 - 2023
In an explosive week for education, schools minister Dennis Wiersma's short fuse detonated for the last time and universities erupted in protest against Robbert Dijkgraaf's "Dutch first" plan for bachelor degrees. The farmers' lobby pulled out of talks on funding a transition to sustainable agriculture, leaving the government's nitrogen strategy in the mire. More details emerge of how the government wasted millions of euros buying substandard face masks from coathanger magnates and car salesmen during the pandemic. A 4,000-year-old burial site emerges in Brabant just in time for the solstice. And we have news of mixed results for Dutch sportsmen in cricket, football and tennis.
Fri, June 16, 2023
The Planes, Trains and Tractors Edition - Week 24 - 2023
The king announces he'll be taking regular train services after the decision to retire the royal carriage. He'll be able to travel to with NS, QBuzz or Arriva, but not Eurostar, who are furious about being shunted into a siding by the Dutch government. Also stuck in a rut are D66, who have been frozen out of provincial coalition talks by the BBB. Farmers are told whether they qualify for Christianne van der Wal's "wildly attractive" bonus scheme for peak polluters. Talks on a New Deal for farmers continue at the pace of a tractor protest after the lobby group LTO grudgingly agrees to stay on board. As the Netherlands confirms plans to train Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots, we explain how Dutch intelligence tipped off Washington about a potential attack on the Nordstream pipeline. And while the football team are run ragged by Croatia and the ageless Luka Modric in the Nations League, there is better news for the nation's cricketers and ten pin bowlers.
Fri, June 09, 2023
The Tulips Are Cancelled Edition - Week 23 - 2023
It's a bad week for European connections as the eurozone slips into recession and Eurostar trains to Amsterdam face being suspended for seven months. Prime minister Mark Rutte faces a barrage of criticism over the thorny issues of migration and the Groningen gas field earthquakes. The ICJ in The Hague is deluged with terrible Russian excuses in a case brought by Ukraine. Bad water management is causing drought and threatening the future of native bees and the butterflies. And talking of endangered species, we have news of a successful Dutch men's sports team.
Fri, June 02, 2023
The Pole Star Horse-Trading Edition - Week 22 - 2023
The new Senate is sworn in after the coalition parties emerge as the winners of the three-dimensional game of horse trading for the final seats. But not before the outgoing chamber rubber-stamps the outcome of 16 years of talks to reform the pension system. Councillors in The Hague swiftly remove signs proclaiming glory to Ukraine just as councillors in Zeeland put signs up banning hedonism in the dunes. Police, prosecutors, protesters and Amnesty International are all unhappy with the handling of the latest Extinction Rebellion protest on the A12. KLM hits back at a report that claims it failed to honour the conditions of its €3.4bn coronavirus bailout. And in an otherwise gloomy season for Ajax, the title-winning women's team have another reason to celebrate as Edwin van der Sar bows out as CEO.
Fri, May 26, 2023
The Flemings and Flamingos Edition - Week 21 - 2023
Amsterdam bans smoking joints in public in the latest stage of the capital's 12-step plan to kick its drug tourism dependency. The political agenda is dominated by the long-running pension talks and fears of another asylum system meltdown this summer. Wopke Hoekstra flies to Beijing to reassure the Chinese that little things like war, genocide and industrial espionage won't spoil a €73bn trade partnership. One football coach abruptly quits, another unexpectedly stays, while Ajax's women have their league title celebrations cancelled so as not to humiliate the underperforming men's team. And armed forces personnel face a grilling over claims that they used a training fund to procure luxury barbecues.
Fri, May 19, 2023
The Ninja Accountants Edition - Week 20 - 2023
Brabant is the unlikely setting this week for a tale of industrial espionage running from Greece to Moscow via Paris. The national audit office takes time out from infiltrating army bases to deliver a damning verdict on the government's handling of the economy. GDP unexpectedly nosedives after it emerges that bamischijven are disappearing from Friday afternoon works gatherings. Mark Rutte dashes from a summit in Iceland where he made vague promises to send F-16s to Ukraine to a meeting where he vaguely promised to resolve the nitrogen crisis. In a busy week for the courts, a Russian oligarch fails to evict squatters from his Amsterdam mansion while a French author loses his bid to block an "essayistic" adult movie. And Feyenoord win the Eredivisie but lose the distinction of having the worst hooligans in the Netherlands to troubled FC Groningen.
Fri, May 12, 2023
The Vultures and Vermeers Edition - Week 19 - 2023
Rotterdam's runaway vulture is bound for a Mediterranean island retreat after startling the owner of a house in Leipzig by turning up beside his pond. Closer to home, GroenLinks and BBB have mixed results as they try to form provincial administrations. Interpol launches an appeal to try to identify 22 women murdered across three countries in the last 50 years. Housing minister Hugo de Jonge struggles to get his plan to build 37,500 container homes off the ground. Feyenoord are on the brink of winning the Eredivisie for the first time in six years, while Max Verstappen continues his juggernaut-like pursuit of a third Formula 1 title.
Fri, May 05, 2023
The War, Peace and Parking Charges Edition – Week 18 – 2023
On the day when the Dutch commemorate their war dead, the president of Ukraine jetted in to give a sobering reminder that wars are not just for the history books. Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the ICC, the Senate, the Catshuis and a royal palace in a whirlwind tour that covered more ground than the Russian army managed in six months in Bakhmut. Dodenherdenking also featured a moving speech by a teenage girl about the Sinti victims of the Holocaust, a bugle-hating cat and yet another ophef-inducing tweet by Caroline van der Plas. PSV won the Dutch cup final in a forgettable match that culminated in a woeful penalty shoot-out. And DutchNews has a wartime exclusive of its own – tune in to find out more, as well as what to do if you have any wartime documents gathering dust in the attic. You can find out more about the campaign to donate war memorabilia and details of participating museums at https://www.actienietweggooien.nl
Fri, April 28, 2023
The Unheard Kaasschaaf Edition - Week 17 - 2023
Prime Minister Mark Rutte once again apologised to the people of Groningen for how they have been treated by the government in the past decades and pledged 22.5 billion of investments in the province’s infrastructure, public facilities and healthcare to compensate for the physical and mental damages caused by gas extraction induced earthquakes. Climate minister Rob Jetten announced the cabinet’s 30 billion euro plans to tackle climate change, while an extra 2 billion is invested to solve the asylum and migration crisis to avoid a repeat of last summer when hundreds of asylum seekers had to sleep in tents due to a shortage of accommodations. After a very expensive week, Finance minister Sigrid Kaag warned that the government is reaching the end of its deep pockets. Luckily, she found a typical Dutch kitchen tool at one of the King’s Day freemarkets that’s perfect for bringing the budget back on track. In other news, criminal lawyer Inez Weski was arrested after she allegedly helped her client Ridoughan Taghi communicate with the outside world from his cell in the extra security prison in Vught, the Dutch Railways are considering increasing train ticket prices in rush hour and public broadcaster Ongehoord Nederland might see its license revoked after spreading conspiracy theories and fake news.
Fri, April 21, 2023
The Badgers and Brothels Edition - Week 16 - 2023
The government's woes keep piling up as squatting badgers throw a spanner into the works of their efforts to house refugees. Talks with farmers' groups on nitrogen reduction are on the verge of breaking down while the government grapples with conflicting demands from opposition parties. Travellers are warned to face another summer of misery at Schiphol. The MIVD foils a Russian spy vessel posing as a fishing boat, possibly after the crew make a misguided attempt to blend in by drinking Russian-bottled Heineken. Rabobank says young families are fleeing Amsterdam for cheaper homes in the provinces. Ajax go viral by hanging a virtual poster on the wall of a fictional British pub from an American TV series. And a hotel chain threatens to sue Amsterdam city council over the location of its multi-storey 'erotic centre'. Buy your nun-alcoholic wine here: https://www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4264040/nonnen-zitten-met-64000-flessen-wijn-in-hun-maag-het-was-te-zonnig
Fri, April 14, 2023
The Wombats and Meerkats Edition - Week 15 - 2023
French president Emmanuel Macron was confronted by protests and tough questions on his relations with China on his state visit to The Hague, but the Dutch language turned out to be his biggest adversary. Farmers' party BBB looks set to shut out D66 from provincial government as tensions grow in the coalition on its nitrogen policy. Schiphol airport presses on with plans to cut the number of flights even after a court rules it doesn't have to. And we have a menagerie of animal stories, from runaway meerkats and pole-squatting storks to the untimely demise of a gorilla who became a household name.
Fri, March 31, 2023
The Axis of Trash Edition - Week 13 - 2023
A carousel of rubbish this week as Amsterdam imports 900 tonnes of waste from Rome while launching a campaign to keep out trashed British tourists. Mark Rutte promises to listen better to voters as he tries to save his government from the scrapheap, while Wopke Hoekstra tries to salvage his credibility by finding common ground with BBB leader Caroline van der Plas. Sex workers protest against being dumped in an out-of-town 'erotic centre' as the city council tries to clean up the red light district. French writer Michel Houellebecq fails to get his accidental porn film canned by the courts. Oranje are dumped on by the French in football and sent packing by Zimbabwe in cricket. And Greenpeace steps up its campaign against the high-flying, high-polluting super rich and their private jets. Stay Away campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be9yFONsMow
Fri, March 24, 2023
The Nuclear Badger Bunker Edition - Week 12 - 2023
The polder system is being hollowed out and threatens to go off the rails at any moment. Yes, those pesky badgers have been building their setts under railway lines and forced NS to cancel some trains. Meanwhile, the Christian Democrats lick their wounds at a corporate hotel near Utrecht as the coalition parties continue to reel from the aftershocks of the BBB's electoral coup. Feyenoord and the Dutch cricket team reassure the CDA that even the worst losing streaks come to an end eventually. Russia fires a broadside at the ICC while China threatens to serve up an extra hot portion of patatje oorlog if ASML stops supplying Dutch chips. And has an orange chicken curry put paid to the football team's chances of a famous win in Paris?
Fri, March 17, 2023
The Boer Burger Bonanza Edition – Week 11 - 2023
We digest the results of a bombshell election that turned the Senate, the provincial houses and the water boards upside down and the flags the right way up. Are the nitrogen reduction plans in disarray? Who will the BoerBurgerBeweging team up with in the provinces? And can Mark Rutte live to fight another round on Vandaag Inside? The war in Ukraine and the pandemic turn out to be good news for the environment. Unemployment remains low but wages aren't keeping up with the price of tomatoes. And in football, two Dutch teams are still in the hunt for Europe's lesser prizes.
Fri, March 10, 2023
The Manhattan of Prostitution Edition - Week 10 - 2023
This week we do our best to explain how next week's elections work (shout out to the water boards!), why the TV debates are between politicians who aren't standing in them and why Mark Rutte is shadow boxing with a 'leftist cloud'. Justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz is under pressure over failures in the crown witness protection system. The European Medicines Agency is displeased about the personal treatments Amsterdam city council plans to offer in its neighbourhood. In sport, there's good news in athletics, football, skating, cycling and baseball. And we report on the exotic invaders who are accused of tearing up the neighbourhood, holding raucous parties and driving up your energy bill.
Fri, March 03, 2023
The World Economic Phallus Edition - Week 9 - 2023
The systematic failure to protect Groningen residents from earthquakes and witnesses in gangland trials from being murdered in broad daylight were laid bare in two damning reports this week. We unearth the village scandal behind a portrait painted by Vincent van Gogh shortly before he left his native Brabant. Inflation rises again as the official statistics agency discovers it overcooked the figures last year. An amateur football team threatens to create an almighty headache for the KNVB after causing a cup upset. And we have an outstanding story about two plants of eye-watering proportions that will swell visitor numbers at Leiden University's botanical garden.
Fri, February 24, 2023
The Dead Cats and Fallen Emperors Special Edition - Week 8 - 2023
Unfortunately there is no regular episode this week because in a freakish coincidence the entire DutchNews podcast team is away and we promise this has nothing to do with the ten Russian spies who were expelled from the Netherlands on Tuesday. As a compensation, we release last summer's special episode for Patreon supporters in which we don't discuss the news, but rather a number of fascinating stories from Dutch history and several of them are remarkably related to current affairs. So if you want to know what a high-ranking German refugee, a giant Russian with a taste for torture, a hungry mob who literally grilled their prime minister and an art forger who conned the Nazis have in common? Spoiler: they all feature in our special summer podcast for DutchNews patrons, now available for everyone. But if you do want to support the DutchNews podcast, go to www.patreon.com/DutchNewsNL and make sure we will return next week with a regular episode!
Wed, February 22, 2023
Summer Special: The Dead Cats and Fallen Emperors Edition
What do a high-ranking German refugee, a giant Russian with a taste for torture, a hungry mob who literally grilled their prime minister and an art forger who conned the Nazis have in common? They all feature in our special summer podcast for DutchNews patrons. If you want to know more about some of the more outlandish episodes in Dutch history, subscribe to our podcast at patreon.com/dutchnewsnl
Fri, February 17, 2023
The Police Cats and Rogue Bureaucrats Edition - Week 7 - 2023
After relying on the Netherlands to help them beat the taxman, U2 appropriately hire a Dutchman to beat the drums for them in Las Vegas. There's more smashing news on the tennis court, where two home-based players reach the quarter-finals of the ABN AMRO tournament. The VVD wins the race to become the first party to pull out of an election debate this year as Mark Rutte's strategy unravels. Celebrities staff the phone lines to drive up donations to the Giro 555 earthquake appeal. A councillor wins a five-year legal battle to stop racial profiling by border guards. And campaigners ask the king to honour a diplomat who was reprimanded for breaking visa rules to save thousands of Jews from the Holocaust.
Fri, February 10, 2023
The Vanishing Vermeer Edition - Week 6 - 2023
Dutch rescue workers join the international team searching the rubble of this week's earthquake in Turkey and Syria for survivors. Back home, Mark Rutte surveys the wreckage of his asylum policy as the Council of State throws out a rule delaying family reunions. The team investigating the MH17 disaster say the chain of command went all the way up to Vladimir Putin. We ask if Dutch cheese and Belgian roads explain the Benelux hegemony in cyclo-cross. And we reveal why thousands of museum goers will miss the most famous girl in The Hague when she pays a rare visit to Amsterdam. The episode on the collapse of Forum voor Democratie was in week 48 of 2020 called "The Forum Voor Democrazy Edition" and the segment starts at 17:20.
Fri, February 03, 2023
The Oma Wants Her Tank Back Edition - Week 5 - 2023
The distant goal of putting Russia on trial for invading Ukraine moves a step closer as a dedicated prosecutor's office is set up in The Hague. Mark Rutte avoids a diplomatic incident as he takes French president Emmanuel Macron out to an Indonesian restaurant. The Dutch and German armies look set to integrate further, though there's bound to be a row about who owns the bicycles. Questions are asked in parliament about the right to protest after hundreds of people are arrested for demonstrating on a motorway. And we reveal which birds rule the roost in Dutch gardens.
Fri, January 27, 2023
The Burnt Kroket Burial Mounds Edition - Week 4 - 2023
A feast of ophef this week as the widow of singer André Hazes sues a juice channel presenter who called her a 'gecremeerd kroket' while Belgium's prime minister gets his flags in a twist. Richard de Mos rolls up in a garish stretch limousine for the start of his trial, where he's accused of running a criminal network in the heart of The Hague. The government promises to send more tanks and weapons to Ukraine as soon as it can sort out the lease contract with Germany. Amsterdam unveils its giant bike shed at Centraal Station to global acclaim and grumbles from cargo bike owners. Dutch citizens turn out to have turned up more than 1,000 Bronze Age burial mounds during lockdown. And Ajax sack Alfred Schreuder after running aground against the plucky fishermen of Volendam. Amsterdam bike shed time lapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEnJORukyBw Upside down flag: https://twitter.com/alexanderdecroo/status/1617874616730673159 Prinsenvlag apology: https://twitter.com/alexanderdecroo/status/1618209869995315208
Fri, January 20, 2023
The Ballistic Bitterballen Edition - Week 3 - 2023
Mark Rutte went to Washington this week and said the Netherlands would definitely send some weapons to Ukraine at an unspecified time in the near future. Mayors in three cities suggested digital banning orders to curb gang violence, even though they don't know what they are, how they'd work or whether they're even legal. Good news on the energy front as gas prices start to come down and Geert Wilders becomes the unlikely saviour of solar panel subsidies. The Rijksmuseum extends its opening hours after tickets for its Vermeer show sell faster than hot kroketten. And Griekspoor's Australian dream ends in a Greek tragedy following his victory in the battle of the clones. Rijksmuseum Vermeer website: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/johannes-vermeer
Fri, January 13, 2023
The Jurassic Borrelplank Edition - Week 2 - 2023
2023 gets off to a shaky start with Gert-Jan Segers stepping down as leader of the ChristenUnie party. The cabinet's plans to control immigration come unstuck in court, forcing asylum minister Eric van der Burg to kick the latest measures into the long grass. The looming recession has puts a dampener on the housing market as prices decline after nine years. One commodity that's apparently impervious to high inflation is cocaine, but Rotterdam has been eclipsed by Antwerp as Europe's largest drug smuggling port. A museum in Brabant claims a timely scoop from 70 million years ago. And last but not least, we unveil the prestigious winner of the democratically sound vote for the 2022 Ophef of the Year. PostNL instructions: https://www.postnl.nl/en/receiving/parcels/receiving-from-abroad/
Sun, January 01, 2023
Ophef of the Year 2022 Special
It's that time of year when we look back over those fleeting flare-ups of outrage and opprobrium that feature in the Ophef of the Week slot. Relive obscure controversies such as the celebrity who took her own mob to the supermarket. Recall the overpriced phone booths in the ministry of horrors. Do you remember which Belgian club was condemned for appointing an over-exposed former football director? And what about the psychedelic fury sparked by Gelderland's plans to go paintballing with wolves? So pull up a chair, grab an oliebol and a glass of bessenjenever, listen to the ophefs and select your favourite from our shortlist of three … no, four … no: six! Watch the Jumbo World Cup commercial: https://twitter.com/ottovdgalien/status/1587748502129582082?s=20&t=v3F4Rwqv89JIKYbIg9k8_Q Vote here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1wXLxDdUCRckp9NU52nUhxHbxNYklduyf9oTUdrR_EAI/edit
Fri, December 16, 2022
The Spekgladde Sex Toys Store Edition - Week 50 - 2022
Sigrid Kaag is dispatched to Paramaribo as the cabinet's efforts to apologise for the Dutch slave trade fly into a whirlwind of recriminations. Back home, Wopke Hoekstra is shocked – shocked! – by a report exposing institutional racism at the foreign affairs ministry. Dutch Moroccan footballers, meanwhile, have no regrets as they eclipse Louis van Gaal's Oranje at the World Cup. Gas supplies look set to last the winter but you'll need to hire a Chern medal-winning mathematician to work out your bill. And after the disappointment of Qatar, Barney and his fellow darts players sharpen their arrows for the world championships at Ally Pally.
Fri, December 09, 2022
The Infinite Heinrich Roller Coaster Edition - Week 49 - 2022
The cabinet makes a sorry spectacle of itself this week as its attempts to apologise for slavery come apart at the seams. Rabobank, a co-operative bank set up to lend to farmers, is suspected of getting its hands dirty with money laundering, financing terrorism and rigging bond deals. As the economy cools, Dutch households turn down the thermostat and tighten their belts in anticipation of a 4% drop in spending power. And we reveal the nation's Top 10 Dutch internet searches, a list dominated by war, murder, sex offenders and the British royal family.
Fri, December 02, 2022
The Vegan Kroket and Nuclear Fission Ch!pz Edition - Week 48 - 2022
A week totally devoid of plot twists includes another farmers' protest, a pre-nuptial agreement between GroenLinks and PvdA, and a warning from the AIVD that Russia and China might be spying on us. There's a double dose of ophef as sports minister Conny Helder leaves parliament early to fly to Qatar, then says 'never mind' to the desert state's human rights record. As Oranje sleepwalk into the World Cup knockout rounds, Morocco's historic win against Belgium triggers fireworks before bedtime. A leak ruins Rob Jetten's nuclear celebration cake, and we tell you why Thierry Baudet won't be getting a copy of his own book for Christmas.
Fri, November 25, 2022
The 18 Portraits of Tietenman Edition - Week 47 - 2022
Inflation is a growing problem, and not just for the Oranje fan who was kicked out of a Qatari stadium this week for accessorising his rainbow armband with a pair of false breasts. Brussels tells finance minister Sigrid Kaag to redo her budget arithmetic as fears of a recession deepen. The Dutch government makes farmers an offer they can't refuse to settle the nitrogen crisis. The Bible Belt becomes the unlikely last bastion of blacking up in the name of Catholicism, while arsonists in Brabant attack a farm that was getting ready to accommodate asylum seekers. And as the KNVB ties itself in knots over FIFA's armband ban, will a Frisian skyscraper in goal lift Louis van Gaal's side to new heights? Wolf video: https://nos.nl/artikel/2453549-spelende-drentse-wolvenwelpen-voor-het-eerst-te-zien-op-beeld
Fri, November 18, 2022
The Blackface Wolf Ban Edition - Week 46 - 2022
Eight years after the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine, three men are given life sentences for the murder of the 298 passengers and crew. The reality of the ongoing war was brought home for Wopke Hoekstra, who had to take shelter from Russian missiles on a visit to Kyiv. The war is also set to push the Netherlands into a recession by the end of the year, but economists are hopeful of a recovery in the spring. Even football can't provide light relief as the World Cup kicks off in Qatar amid a chorus of disapproval, while Feyenoord fans disgrace themselves yet again in Europe. And while one Mondrian painting turns heads in the art world with its €50m price tag, another turns out to have been hanging the wrong way up for 77 years.
Fri, November 11, 2022
The No Country for Old Wolves Edition - Week 45 - 2022
Mark Rutte took a flight out of Egypt this week to fend off a mutiny in his party on asylum. It's not just the wolves that are feasting in Gelderland as a restaurant in Nijmegen is named the best place in the world for plant-based cuisine. The government still can't decide on a new pension scheme, and you'll have to wait longer to claim it anyway after the retirement age goes up again. Louis van Gaal unveils his squad for the World Cup in Qatar, while the cricket team upsets the odds to beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup.
Fri, November 04, 2022
The Sultans of Swines Edition - Week 44 - 2022
Early November is traditionally a fruitful time for conspiracy theorists, as Guy Fawkes, David Icke and Rian van Rijbroek will testify. The RIVM admits it mixed up its numbers on nitrogen pollution just as the Council of State tells the government to redo its homework on building permits. Dutch railway operator NS cuts services and raises ticket prices, but insist it's still the only company fit to run the train network. Thousands of Ukrainian refugees settle in and successfully find jobs after the government decides not to treat them like refugees. And will rainbow-coloured wolves soon be roaming the Hoge Veluwe?
Fri, October 28, 2022
The Taming of the Wolf Edition - Week 43 - 2022
This week, we look at two instances of climate activism in the Netherlands and ask why the superglue does not seem to work. Asylum minister Eric van der Burg's troubles continue as local councils give him yet another ultimatum about sorting out the mess of where refugees should sleep. House prices are falling and interest rates are up so no hope of much helpful happening on the housing market. Dutch cricketers at the World Cup in Australia have not yet managed a win in the Super12 but are urging the big test nations to spend more time warming up in the Netherlands. The NS public book price is first delayed and then cancelled after voter fraud and animal welfare groups have accused rangers at the Hoge Veluwe national park of taming a wolf to show they are a threat to humans after all.
Fri, October 21, 2022
The Perishing Parrots Edition - Week 42 - 2022
Wopke Hoekstra says Netherlands needs a 'constructive' relationship with gas-rich Qatar as he rejects parliament's calls to boycott the upcoming World Cup. Let's hope the relationship is constructed more carefully than the stadiums for the tournament, which cost the lives of thousands of migrant workers. Asylum minister Erik van der Burg is caught between a rock and a hard place after a court orders him to improve conditions for refugees, but his own VVD party and local councils won't give ground. After a two-day nationwide search, police find the bodies of a disabled 10-year-old girl and her care worker who went missing. And we report on the conclusion of a long-running court case involving a load of hot air, some ruffled feathers and a ballooning compensation bill.
Fri, October 14, 2022
The For Rutte's Eyes Only Edition - Week 41 - 2022
Inflation will stay high until next year, house prices are cooling and there's a wave of bankruptcies on the way. 2023 looks like a good year to hide under the bedsheets, which might have inspired one prisoner this week to execute a traditional-style escape. The Groningen gas inquiry continues, but not even the collective force of a thousand earthquakes can jog Mark Rutte's active memory. And Amsterdam orders the closure of another 'dark store' that prides itself in delivering to your door faster than Napoli can score against Ajax.
Fri, October 07, 2022
The Curse of Henk Krol Edition - Week 40 - 2022
Johan Remkes, the government's polder tsar, works his magic again as Dutch farmers cautiously welcome his plan to buy out up to 600 of the biggest nitrogen polluters - essentially the same plan that sparked two years of furious protest. There seems little hope of reconciliation between Khadija Arib and her successor as chair of parliament, Vera Bergkamp, after Arib quits as an MP and accuses Bergkamp and her PvdA colleagues of stabbing her in the back. The coronavirus season begins with the traditional 'don't panic' message from the health ministry as hospital beds fill up. Inflation rises to record levels, led by the bill for the government's energy price cap, which hits €23.5 billion. Nine men go on trial in Lelystad accused of being involved in a fatal attack on another Dutchman in Mallorca. And the remains of two medieval lions are dug up in The Hague, just as Ajax suffer their worst mauling in the history of the Champions League. * Henk Krol tweet: https://twitter.com/HenkKrol/status/1577963576437997569 * Five Live scene: https://twitter.com/AlexMazereeuw/status/1576844319306022912 * Nitrogen crisis explainer: https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2022/06/whats-all-the-fuss-about-nitrogen-in-the-netherlands/
Fri, September 30, 2022
The Chairmageddon Edition - Week 39 - 2022
A bleak autumn looms as inflation surges to a new high, hospital beds start filling up with coronavirus patients and a battle royale breaks out between the Tweede Kamer's past and present chairwomen. Wages are also rising, though not as fast as inflation, and healthcare workers suffering from Long Covid could be in line for a €15,000 payout. But it's not all doom and gloom: some of Rembrandt's finest works are going on display in the Mauritshuis and Oranje have qualified for the finals of the glittering Nations League. And there's good news about the murder rate, which has come down by half in the last 20 years.
Fri, September 23, 2022
The Big Five of the Veluwe Edition - Week 38 - 2022
The inverted flags weren't the only sign of distress as the king opened Parliament for what looks set to be a gruelling year. The speech was rewritten at the last minute to include the goverment's hastily agreed energy price cap, one of several measures designed to bring down the soaring inflation rate. The cabinet walked out of parliament in protest at Thierry Baudet's latest conspiracy theory about Sigrid Kaag, who also came under fire for wanting to splash out on a more sustainable budget briefcase. Louis van Gaal is caught out embroidering his playing career as the Netherlands make progress in the Nations League. And there's animal news galore with happy lions, thriving wolves and a feisty seagull. Hofvijverpan video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtI8yoBUeA&feature=youtu.be
Fri, September 16, 2022
The Last Call For Benschop Edition - Week 37 - 2022
As a winter of bankruptcies and financial lockdown draws nearer, the government dips into its pockets to help households struggling with their energy bills. The train drivers' strike is settled with a 9.25% pay rise, but Schiphol's boss, Dick Benschop, pays the price for a summer of airport chaos. Another big earner, Sywert van Lienden, anxiously awaits to see if the report into his €100 million face mask deal will salvage his reputation. And Heerenveen's mascot scores a win over his own club after a court ruled it strayed offside by suspending him in a dispute about last winter's lockdown rules.
Fri, September 09, 2022
The Only The Headlines Edition - Week 36 - 2022
The entire podcast team abandoned Paul by fleeing abroad, so no hour long episode as usual but only a brief overview of this week’s headlines. Agriculture minister Henk Staghouwer resigned after concluding he wasn’t the man for the job, Dutch leaders offered their condolences to the British Royal Family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the NS plans to cancel all train services as rail workers continue to strike for better pay and conditions, the Netherlands hit the EU target of filling gas reserves by 80% and Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort the second time in a row.
Fri, September 02, 2022
The Johan Remkes For Dictator Edition - Week 35 - 2022
Exactly 350 years after the disaster year of 1672, the government faces an energy crisis, a refugee accommodation crisis and a nitrogen pollution crisis all at once. Wopke Hoekstra experiences an identity crisis as he oscillates between supporting the government's nitrogen policy as a cabinet minister and attacking it as leader of the Christian Democrat party. The earthquake crisis in Groningen triggers seismic levels of blame-shifting at the parliamentary inquiry. And we look back at a sporting summer in which Sarina Wiegman became the most powerful Dutch person in England since William III and Spain ruled the southern provinces again as the Vuelta a España rolled through Brabant. - NRC Vandaag podcast episode on Ter Apel (in Dutch): https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2022/08/31/waarom-de-langverwachte-opvangcrisis-in-ter-apel-niet-voorkomen-werd-a4140324
Fri, July 08, 2022
The Six Degrees of Johan Remkes Edition - Week 27 - 2022
Farmers this week stepped up their protests against the government's nitrogen policy by blocking deliveries of food to supermarkets. That was especially bad news for the government's new team of tax inspectors who have the Herculean task of classifying fruit and vegetables. While the farmers came under fire for ploughing up a nature reserve, police are facing questions after shooting at a tractor driven by a 16-year-old boy. Photos are released of the jewel thieves in cloth caps who raided an art fair in Maastricht before fleeing on electric scooters, in a straight-to-TikTok remake of Peaky Blinders. And the orange season is over at Wimbledon as both Dutch players lose in the men's fourth round. Amsterdam arrest: https://twitter.com/AmericanFietser/status/1544458680917180422
Fri, July 01, 2022
The Sledgehammer Diplomacy Edition - Week 26 - 2022
Farmers stepped up their protests this week, bringing two cows to The Hague to illustrate the effect of the government's nitrogen reduction plans. One cow would go to the slaughterhouse today, the other would go back to the farm to be slaughtered later. Police described the hardliners' approach as a threat to democracy as CDA MP Derk Boswijk was forced to stay home after his family was visited by a fleet of tractors. Hard-hitting tactics were also favoured by jewel thieves who raided the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht using a sledgehammer. It's not just farmers who have an axe to grind: family doctors held a demonstration on the Malieveld to protest against long hours and bureaucracy. Mark Rutte breaks his silence on the farmers but says it's the wrong time to… TEFAF robbery video: https://twitter.com/HWHofs/status/1541730594211725312
Fri, June 24, 2022
The Big Farmageddon Edition - Week 25 - 2022
After a two-year ceasefire during the pandemic, farmers warn their tractors are not for turning as a new wave of protests begins against the government's plans to cut nitrogen emissions. Coronavirus infections are rising but health minister Ernst Kuipers sees no cause for alarm, as long as everyone follows his lead and washes their hands. Mark Rutte makes a U-turn on Ukraine, Rob Jetten does an about-face on coal-fired power stations and beleaguered Lelystad Airport is given another stay of execution. And archaeologists in Gelderland make a unique discovery: a building project that wasn't cancelled for want of an environmental permit.
Fri, June 17, 2022
The Speedy Boarding for Russian Spies Edition - Week 24 - 2022
It was the week the Dutch government discovered the truth of what a famous Scotsman once said about the best laid plans of mice and men. Schiphol airport announced thousands of flights will be cancelled this summer because it can't recruit enough staff. Agriculture minister Christianne van der Wal was doorstepped by angry farmers and censured by her party after admitting the current plans to curb nitrogen pollution weren't adequate. And health minister Ernst Kuipers came under fire for not doing enough to prepare for the next wave of coronavirus infections. The AIVD unmasked a Russian spy who used a fake Brazilian identity to infiltrate the ICC, while an unsung Dutch tennis player dispatched another Russian in Rosmalen to earn a ticket to Wimbledon.
Fri, June 10, 2022
The 1922 Boomers and Bangers Edition - Week 23 - 2022
The Netherlands needs to ramp up its efforts to cut nitrogen pollution, including measures to reduce the agriculture sector, nature minister Christianne van der Wal warned this week. Also in line for a shake-up is the police force, where racist officers will face stronger sanctions and senior officers take on the macho culture. Rotterdam city council expands the boundaries of 'big tent' politics as polar opposites Leefbaar and Denk go into coalition together. And as a New Year fireworks ban fizzles out in the Tweede Kamer, Feyenoord fans are hit with another fine and a stadium ban for mixing football and firecrackers. Nitrogen explainer: https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2022/06/whats-all-the-fuss-about-nitrogen-in-the-netherlands/
Fri, June 03, 2022
The Great Pencil and Baboon Migration Edition - Week 22 - 2022
In a week dominated by queues and logjams, Schiphol airport struck a deal with ground staff to try to avoid a summer of misery for air passengers. Dutch motorists began queueing for petrol in Germany as Russia put the squeeze on fuel prices. A housing bottleneck left people sleeping on chairs at Ter Apel refugee centre, while Westland's greenhouse industry wastes no time in exploiting Ukrainian workers. The waiting list for compensation for earthquake damage in Groningen could grow longer too if the government bows to pressure to raise production again. And economists warn the labour shortage is a long-term problem with no easy fix, even if the Dutch agree to work longer than 32 hours a week.
Fri, May 20, 2022
The Nokia Pigeon Post Archive Edition - Week 20 - 2022
It turns out Mark Rutte doesn't have the most unreliable memory in the Netherlands: that accolade goes to his trusty old Nokia 301. We digest the fall-out from Nokiagate and ask what happened to Rutte's promises of a more open style of government. Collective paralysis also seems to have afflicted the coronavirus response, with health experts warning of an autumn lockdown as minister Ernst Kuipers tells businesses to make their own pandemic control plans. The CBS warns of economic stagnation as the war in Ukraine and a chronic shortage of staff take their toll. And a homing pigeon proves that not all memories are prone to real-time archiving as it completes a 15-year round trip.
Fri, May 13, 2022
The Volendam Aural Torture Chamber Edition - Week 19 - 2022
The shiny new administrative culture was put back in its box this week as Mark Rutte and Sigrid Kaag roamed the parliamentary corridors drumming up support for their spring budget package. In the debating chamber, parents who were targeted in the childcare benefits scandal walked out as a coalition MP refused to take questions during his maiden speech. Eleven gangsters were jailed in a gruesome case in which a sea container was fitted out as a makeshift torture chamber. Erik ten Hag rounded off his Ajax career in triumphant style, while singer S10 successfully sneaked a Dutch-language song into the Eurovision final.
Fri, May 06, 2022
The Drunken Baby Bird Liberation Edition - Week 18 - 2022
The women take over this week as we remember the dead of World War II and celebrate freedom, while three peregrine falcon chicks escape their eggs on a ledge high above the Rijksmuseum. We ask can Hugo de Jonge solve the housing crisis, as he did coronavirus, or would he perhaps be better off trying to sort out the mess at Schiphol airport? The Netherlands has tumbled in the annual press freedom index but is there a link to the way government press officers avoid answering questions? And as cafe life gets back to normal in the Netherlands, we wonder why everyone seems to be drinking more beer at home. - Brenda from Bristol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6-IQAdFU3w - Rijksmuseum Peregrine Falcon: https://www.vogelbescherming.nl/beleefdelente/slechtvalk
Fri, April 29, 2022
The Grey Monk's Eyeopener Edition - Week 17 - 2022
More evidence this week that the Netherlands is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic as people try to offload the jigsaw puzzles and DVDs they bought during lockdown on the King's Day street markets. The government has a clear-out of its munitions depots to support Ukraine's war effort, as Ukrainian refugees boost net migration in the first quarter of 2022. King Willem-Alexander finally makes it to Maastricht, while Amsterdam keeps up its Koningsdag tradition of imposing an alcohol limit that everyone ignores. And health minister Ernst Kuipers is urged to step up the long-term coronavirus plan to avoid a surge in infections, lockdowns and overcrowded attics next winter.
Fri, April 22, 2022
The Pull the Gilles Beschoor Plug Edition - Week 16 - 2022
This week the PvdA had to find a new leader after Lilianne Ploumen decided she was unsuited to the job and quit as an MP. But the real crisis was at D66, where Sigrid Kaag was undermined by the party's woefully misjudged handling of a sexual harassment inquiry. Germany angered the islanders of Schiermonnikoog by announcing plans to drill for gas in the Waddenzee. Feyenoord tore up their plans for a new stadium on the Maas and Erik ten Hag ended weeks of speculation by confirming his move to Manchester United.
Fri, April 08, 2022
The Passion of the Hugo Edition - Week 14 2022
Former health minister Hugo de Jonge tried to extricate himself from the face mask scandal this week by defending a deal that he officially had nothing to do with. Another former minister, Stef Blok, is deployed to speed up the confiscation of Russian assets as the number of Ukrainian refugees reaches 22,000. Soaring fuel prices drive inflation up to its highest level in 1976, while economic uncertainty puts the brakes on the housing market. In football news, Ajax coach Erik ten Hag looks to be packing his bags for Manchester as Ronald Koeman is confirmed as the successor to Louis van Gaal as Oranje coach. And a new breed of organised criminal makes life sour for Noord-Brabant farmers.
Fri, April 01, 2022
The Planning Putin's Popcorn Party Edition - Week 13 - 2022
*Apology: unfortunately this week's recording was disturbed by occasional drilling noises. We have passed the workman's details on to Maurice de Hond.* Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the toast of Brielle this week as he commemorated the 450th anniversary of the town's liberation from Spain. In his address to the Tweede Kamer he also called on the Dutch to send more weapons, stop buying Russian gas and lift the handbrake on his country's wish to join the EU. Zwolle is in shock after a double fatal shooting in McDonald's while families ate dinner. The long-running campaign to create a legal supply chain for cannabis cafes hits the buffers again because of a shortage of growers. Oranje warm up for the World Cup by beating Denmark in Christian Eriksen's first international match since his cardiac arrest. And we reveal which lucky patron is receiving Paul's historic red pencil. - Peregrine falcon webcam: https://www.vogelbescherming.nl/beleefdelente/slechtvalk - Belgian parliamants thread: https://twitter.com/LeChouNews/status/1509086541683077122
Fri, March 25, 2022
The Exploding Sluices and Vanishing Statues Edition - Week 12 - 2022
Disgrace and disappointment dominate a week in which Hugo de Jonge again dodged questions about his part in a deal to buy substandard face masks that made three enterprising young lobbyists €20 million richer. His successor as health minister, Ernst Kuipers, warned that the pandemic isn't over but we're going to remove all the restrictions anyway. A book that accused a Jewish notary of betraying Anne Frank's family is withdrawn from sale after an independent report dismantles its central claims. The war in Ukraine prompts a startling change of tone in how Dutch politicians talk about refugees, which doesn't go unnoticed. And there's plenty of sporting ophef as Louis van Gaal lashes out against FIFA and disgraced football director Marc Overmars is welcomed with open arms and overt amnesia in Antwerp.
Fri, March 18, 2022
The Dreadlock Him Up Edition - Week 11 - 2022
We do our best to help you digest the alphabet soup that is the local election results, including the sad news that Jesus will not be setting Rotterdam's municipal tax rates for the next four years. The flu season kicks off just as the last coronavirus restrictions are lifted and Ernst Kuipers puts his faith in the common sense of the Dutch people. The Netherlands is struggling to meet its climate change targets or find an estimated €90 bn of assets held by sanctioned Russians. And Ajax extend a remarkable home record in Europe as they lose 1-0 to Benfica.
Fri, March 11, 2022
The War On Limburg Edition - Week 10 - 2022
As war continues to rage in Ukraine, we focus this week on a campaign closer to home: the municipal elections on March 16. There's rage in The Hague too as foreign affairs minister Sigrid Kaag goes AWOL in faraway Maastricht. The government brings in measures to relieve the effect of the war on living costs, but not until July. Luckily it's wasting no time in taking down the coronavirus restrictions just as infections crank up in the wake of Carnaval. And we speak to Groningen-based journalist Andrii Degeler, who returned to his native Kharkhiv just as the Russian invasion began.
Fri, February 25, 2022
The Uitwaai Olympics Edition - Week 8 - 2022
A massive upheaval of the European postwar order and the invasion of a sovereign state puts a damper on the Netherlands' coronavirus "freedom day". Politicians roundly condemn Vladimir Putin's incursion in Ukraine, but only after Mark Rutte makes time to chat about his car on a TV talk show. Three storms caused record amounts of damage to cars and buildings and left four people dead. A suspiciously named brand of gin triggers 'No Go' letters from Yoko Ono and an even more suspicious crowdfunding campaign. And we look back to the distant days of last week when the Dutch scooped a sackload of skating medals at the Winter Olympics. Terrible Maps map: https://twitter.com/TerribleMaps/status/1495793175054753792
Fri, February 18, 2022
The Freedom for Squirrels Party Edition - Week 7 - 2022
Freedom Day is almost here, and what finer way to celebrate than by reviving the biggest superspreading events of the last two years: Carnaval in Brabant and reopening nightclubs? Confusion abounds at political party Volt as one of its MPs is suspended over allegations of inappropriate behaviour shortly after being the target of online abuse. Ireen Wüst brings down the curtain on her illustrious skating career as the Dutch team scoop up medals in Beijing. Storm Eunice brings chaos to the roads and rails, but at least traffic is flowing freely on a controversial bridge for squirrels in The Hague. And another EU-related storm – Brexit – has blown thousands of jobs across the North Sea, but not in the direction the Brexiteers were hoping for.
Fri, February 11, 2022
The Geubbels and Goebbels Edition - Week 6 - 2022
Following the cancellation of TV talent show The Voice, football club Ajax and the Dutch parliament are the latest institutions to face accusations of sexual harassment. The Dutch government brings forward plans to relax the pandemic measures and sketched out its strategy for 'living with the virus'. Energy prices drive inflation up to its highest level in 40 years, but are wages keeping pace? Also, we explain why Big Brother is watching you on discount store cameras and how a suspiciously named Swede caused ophef in the Dutch speed skating camp.
Fri, February 04, 2022
The Jeff's Hef Ophef Edition - Week 5 - 2022
We sift through the wreckage of a week when Storm Corrie battered the coastline, a German cargo ship smashed up a wind farm and the cold case team investigating the betrayal of Anne Frank ran into strong headwinds. The government trashed its plans for a 2G coronavirus pass just as half a million vaccine certificates are destined for the shredder. And billionaire Jeff Bezos sparked uproar with plans to dismantle a Rotterdam landmark to make way his gargantuan new yacht. Further afield, the Dutch skating team sharpens its blades for the Winter Olympics in China and Henk Krol eyes up a transfer to pensioners' paradise Spain.
Fri, January 28, 2022
The Ambushed By Napoleons Edition - Week 4 - 2022
The Netherlands went into Schrödinger's Lockdown this week, as venues everywhere opened up until 10pm while their owners fumed about staying closed. A shadowy transaction at the Binnenhof caught the eye of Twitter observers, while in the debating chamber Ernst Kuipers raised eyebrows with his claims about 3G passes. Dubious claims also put paid to the career of a VVD political adviser after Geert Wilders dug up her well documented history as a member of a terrorist group. In other discrimination news, the tax office is found to have passed its blacklists of dual nationals around government departments like pepernoten at Sinterklaas. And Amsterdam's VU university is shocked to find that the Chinese government might have had an ulterior motive in sponsoring its human rights centre.
Fri, January 21, 2022
The Old Politics Die Hard Edition - Week 3 - 2021
Any hopes of a fresh start to 2022 are well and truly cancelled. RTL pulls the plug on its most successful TV show, the Voice of Holland, as allegations emerge of widespread sexual abuse. The first parliamentary debate of the new cabinet term begins with angry exchanges as MPs round on Geert Wilders for his language towards Muslims and women. Budget institute Nibud calculates that everyone will be poorer this year, but the cabinet still wants to break the link between minimum wages and pensions. All this and record coronavirus infections too. Meanwhile, a cold case team claims to have solved one of the biggest mysteries of the Second World War: who told the Nazis where Anne Frank's family were hiding? #Netherlands #DutchNews #DN #Dutch #TheNetherlands #News #DutchPolitics #DutchCurrentEvents #Holland
Fri, January 14, 2022
The PowerPoint Breakdown Edition - Week 2 - 2022
A year after Mark Rutte's four-party coalition resigned in disgrace, a new cabinet of four parties, led by Mark Rutte, promises a fresh start and a "new elan". Within days two ministers have tested positive for coronavirus and the justice minister is under fire for not bothering to enforce the rules. Departing economic affairs minister Stef Blok drops a stink bomb in Groningen on his way out, revealing that gas production in the earthquake-ridden province will have to double. New housing minister Hugo de Jonge will need all his skills and more to tackle the shortage of affordable homes. And we reveal which minor ruckus has won the coveted title of Ophef of the Year 2021. Rita Verdonk's campaign video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXQAYlCoYDE&t=2s
Sat, January 01, 2022
The Ophef of the Year 2021 Bonus Episode
Special guest and celebrity roof gardener Molly Quell joins us for the traditional celebration of online outrage, political chicanery and flash-in-the-pan fame that is the DutchNews ophef awards. We have 11 instantly forgettable scandals for you to choose from, but in true Dutch fashion only four of them actually count. Look back in astonishment at a year of ministerial mishaps, penis-shaped cakes, QR codes for dead dictators, unlikely online matchmakers and abstinent Euro-rockers. And don't forget to vote for your favourite via the link below. You could even win a coveted DutchNews ophef mug! Vote here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd1XwbqQfUb_hZWGc5b_D0w9kd8l3uOXjD473u7A9EA8THK7Q/viewform
Fri, December 17, 2021
The We Finally Have A New Coalition Edition - Week 50 - 2021
Rejoice this Yuletide, for a cabinet is born! Or is it four more years of being led by the same donkeys? In a special edition of the DutchNews podcast, we pick over Rutte IV's frugality-busting coalition deal. Can the government regain people's trust in the wake of the childcare benefits scandal and the Groningen earthquakes? What will the climate change plans mean for households? Can they really find €5 billion in healthcare savings? And who will benefit most from the €3 billion of tax cuts?
Fri, December 10, 2021
The So Sad To See Hugo Edition - Week 49 - 2021
Eleven months, eight resignations and more than 8,000 coronavirus deaths since the Dutch government resigned, a new cabinet looks set to take office just in time for the Christmas recess. Schools will not be finishing early for the holidays, however, despite the threat of the Omicron variant and the advice of the Outbreak Management Team. The booster campaign picks up speed as the EU decides that covid passports will expire after 9 months for people who have only had two jabs. Princess Amalia takes up her seat on the Raad van State and plants a tree on her first royal duty. And the Formula One season heads for a dramatic climax, or possibly a dramatic Max crash. #Netherlands #DutchNews #DN #Dutch #TheNetherlands #News #DutchPolitics #DutchCurrentEvents #Holland
Fri, December 03, 2021
The Oppepkoffie O'Macron Ophef Edition - Week 48 - 2021
Coronavirus cases are flying high but the big news this week was about two quarantining tourists who were barred from flying home and forced to spend the night in a stinking toilet in Groningen. Hugo de Jonge promises to give everyone over 60 a booster jab by Christmas as the cabinet comes under fire again for its sluggish vaccination programme. The coalition talks look to be creeping towards a conclusion as speculation begins about the ministerial merry-go-round. And completing a week of slow news, the major Dutch cities call for urban speed limits to be reduced to 30 km/h.
Fri, November 26, 2021
The Nijntje's Jumbo Nightmares Edition - Week 47 - 2021
While shoppers hunt for a Black Friday bargain, the Dutch government faces a Code Black scenario in hospitals as coronavirus infections continue to spread. Unrest boils again in Dutch cities as bars are forced to shut early and stricter rules are mooted for unvaccinated people. The cabinet comes in for criticism for its mixed messages, ineffective measures and late start to the booster vaccine campaign. If all else fails for Hugo de Jonge, there's good money to be made from busking on Sunday mornings, according to researchers from Tilburg university. Dutch football teams enjoy their best season in Europe for a decade and Feyenoord fans get a royal surprise on their way to Prague. And a security guard in Almere is led on a wild goose chase by the Netherlands' most famous stuffed rabbit.
Fri, November 19, 2021
The Extremadura Infection Inquisition Edition - Week 46 - 2021
2G or not 2G? That is the question vexing Dutch politicians as coronavirus cases keep soaring and the calls for tighter restrictions grow louder. The coalition talks are still on track despite a careless party leader leaving confidential documents on a train. Sparks fly in parliament as far-right party FVD is accused of threatening behaviour. And that could be the only flashpoint we see this winter after ministers bow to pressure to ban New Year fireworks.
Fri, November 12, 2021
The Vaccinterklaas Edition - Week 45 - 2021
With Code Black looming in hospitals, the Dutch government brings in a 'lockdown lite' in the hope of bringing infections down by Sinterklaas. But at least there'll be less black on the faces of the saint's entourage, as research show 'sooty Piets' have become the dominant strain. December 5 is also the date when Mark Rutte hopes to have his fourth cabinet installed, a mere nine months after the general election. In sports news, Feyenoord's plans for a new stadium are torpedoed by rising building costs and Ajax reach a settlement with Appie Nouri's family.
Fri, November 05, 2021
The Assistance Admiral Walrus Edition - Week 44 - 2021
With coronavirus cases on the rise again, experts call for firm, decisive action to bring infections down. Politicians, however, prefer to tinker with work from home rules, rely on a patchy QR code system and put the hard decisions off for another week. Elsewhere this week the Netherlands clocked up a record number of billionaires, while Amsterdam announced plans to restrict the city's housing market for private landlords. Ajax marched on in Europe but Rotterdam's mayor lost his rag with Feyenoord supporters who went on the rampage in Berlin. And if you want to get away from plagues and hooligans, a new ferry route is starting up between Eemshaven and Norway.
Fri, October 29, 2021
The Not All Nazis Refused The Vaccine Edition - Week 43 - 2021
New climate change forecasts this week were the stuff of Dutch nightmares: if the Netherlands doesn't step up its efforts to cut emissions, it risks becoming a Mediterranean country. Even more urgently, the rising tide of coronavirus infections has raised the prospect of restrictions being imposed again. And there's still the question of when we'll have a new government as the coalition breaks its own record for the longest formation in history. Bad news too for Ronald Koeman, sacked after 21 months at Barcelona, and customers at Welkom Energie, the first Dutch casualty of the soaring gas prices. But at least there was a warm welcome for Freya the walrus, who joined a submarine crew for breakfast as part of her tour of the Dutch coast.
Fri, October 15, 2021
The Sinterklaas Mortal Kombat Edition - Week 41 - 2021
Sinterklaas ophef comes round earlier every year, but there's a twist this time around: it's not about Zwarte Piet. A critical review of the government's coronavirus strategy comes out just as cases soar again and ministers promise to repeat the same mistakes as last year. Infections are certainly moving much faster than efforts to compensate for the victims of the child benefit scandal, with MPs, judges, the ombudsman and the Council of Europe all criticising the handling of the affair. And Rotterdam moves another 40 centimetres away from sea level as the new highest building in the Netherlands tops out.
Fri, October 08, 2021
The Stef Blok Snert Rap Edition - Week 40 - 2021
This week the coalition talks moved into an exciting new phase as the four parties from the last government finally agreed to make up the numbers. Also making up numbers was junior justice minister Ankie Broekers-Knol, who was rounded on by all sides after she suggested 100,000 Afghans could be on their way to the Netherlands. Other numbers causing concern are the coronavirus infections, which are rising again, and the figures on your next gas bill. Can Wopke Hoekstra come up with a tax-free solution to the energy crisis? Or will we spend a desolate winter watching Stef Blok tell us to cook one-pot dinners through till spring?
Fri, October 01, 2021
The Justified Sultans of Waku Waku Edition - Week 39 - 2021
Six months after the election, the coalition merry-go-round comes full circle as the four parties from the last coalition agree to form the next one. A vegan restaurant in Utrecht becomes a cause célèbre for protesters against the coronavirus check pass. Mark Rutte gets some unwanted attention from the criminal underworld and a former councillor best known for his part in a penile pastry scandal. Supermarket chain Jumbo hopes its 'kletskassa's' can help to combat the epidemic of loneliness and atone for its in-store playlist. And former world champion Raymond van Barneveld is implicated in some sharp practice during a lockdown darts tournament.
Fri, September 24, 2021
The Hugo de Johnson Edition - Week 38 - 2021
The pandemic put paid to the usual Budget Day pageantry again, but the economic revival gave parties plenty of scope to embellish the balance sheet with extra cash for teachers, healthcare staff and new houses. The abolition of the 1.5 metre rule failed to bring a rapprochement with the hospitality sector over the compulsory corona check app. Leonardo di Caprio became the latest celebrity to sign up to the Dutch fake meat revolution. And as a hen changes sex in Zeeland, we ask if there's more chance of a rooster laying an egg than the coalition talks producing a new government.
Fri, September 17, 2021
The Hexit Pursued By A Rhino Edition - Week 37 - 2021
D66 leader Sigrid Kaag will be spending more time with Johan Remkes after she resigned over the chaotic operation to evacuate Kabul. Remkes's task of forming a new coalition became more complicated as the ChristenUnie and Labour played significant parts in Kaag's downfall. The cabinet abolished the 1.5 metre society and set up the Corona Check Club, despite loud protestations from the hospitality industry. Max Verstappen proved a pain in the neck for Lewis Hamilton at Monza while taxi app service Über was left with a headache after a court ruled it had to treat its drivers as employees. And we bring you some fake bird news and the tragic tale of a disastrous date between pachyderms in Drenthe.
Fri, September 10, 2021
The Grategate Edition - Week 36 - 2021
There are three levels of crisis in the Netherlands: moderate, severe and 'call Johan Remkes'. The self-styled Plumber of Groningen has given himself a month to unclog the blockage in the coalition negotiations, which has grown fatter this week following Sigrid Kaag's gossamer-veiled attack on Mark Rutte. Despite warnings from viral experts that coronavirus infections are set to rise as we move into autumn, Hugo de Jonge still plans to relax the pandemic restrictions later this month. There's plenty of sporting success to cheer as Max Verstappen triumphs at Zandvoort, the Paralympic team comes home with a sackload of gold medals and Memphis Depay bags five goals in two matches for Oranje. And the podcast's own four-legged mascot became an unlikely celebrity after his expensive tastes went viral on Twitter.
Fri, September 03, 2021
The Immaculate Stingray Edition - Week 35 - 2021
Scientists were stunned this week when a stingray at Harderwijk's Dolfinarium gave birth seven years after its last sexual encounter, but it will take an even bigger miracle to form a new Dutch government by Christmas. With the coalition talks deadlocked, Mark Rutte and Sigrid Kaag have bowed to the inevitable and called in 'Mister Stikstof' Johan Remkes to fix the crisis. Elsewhere there is concern about the decision to abandon the 1.5 metre rule on university campuses, a mudfight over the Tweede Kamer's new decor and a row about MPs sitting in the caretaker government. And after a 36-year absence, the Dutch Grand Prix rolls into the Zandvoort dunes and kicks up a sandstorm of ophef.
Fri, July 16, 2021
The Komkommertijd is Cancelled Edition - Week 28 - 2021
It's the last podcast before the summer holiday, but there's little respite in prospect for thousands of people in Limburg hit by unprecedented flooding in the Maas valley. The chances of anyone going abroad are diminishing fast as the surge in coronavirus cases turn the Netherlands red on the EU's travel map. The country is shocked by the murder of investigative journalist Peter R de Vries in broad daylight in Amsterdam. Mark Rutte apologises after clashing with reporters over the failures of the government's coronavirus strategy. And justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus unveils plans to make doxing a criminal offence.
Fri, July 09, 2021
The Third Wave Dancing Shoes Edition - Week 27 - 2021
Alarming news dominates this week's podcast as journalist Peter R de Vries is shot in the street and coronavirus infections spread like wildfire through the country's nightspots. Was De Vries targeted for his investigations into the Netherlands' drug gangs? And what measures will the government bring back to save everyone from long Cov- sorry, from having to cancel their holidays? MPs say goodbye to the Binnenhof for the last time before a renovation that's expected to last five years, so it might be finished before the next coalition is formed. A Dutch referee will need to be checking his carpets for Lego bricks after the Euro 2020 semi-final. And we tell you why the retired queen's bodyguard was court martialled for 'not paying attention' at Castle Drakensteyn
Fri, July 02, 2021
The August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben Edition - Week 26 - 2021
After Oranje checked out early from Euro 2020, the state broadcaster brought further shame on the nation by posting the wrong lyrics to the German national anthem. Fans looking to drown their sorrows had to move fast to beat the ban on cut-price alcohol promotions from July 1. Elsewhere it was a week of success in Dutch sport, with Max Verstappen and Mathieu van der Poel scoring victories on four wheels and two. In other motoring news, Sigrid Kaag got tied up in CGI seatbelts in a classic example of the Streisand effect. Farmers and fishermen caused a stink as 185 million kilos of manure went missing and the government secretly issued too many pulse fishing permits. And Amsterdam's mayor commemorated Keti Koti by apologising for the city's role in the slave trade.
Fri, June 25, 2021
The Everything's Gone Belgian Edition - Week 25 - 2021
Coronavirus infections are receding, Janssen vaccines are being snapped up like hot cakes and football fans are looking forward to watching Oranje on the big screen again. But will the Delta variant spoil everyone's party this summer? As the coalition talks get stuck in the mud, Mark Rutte gets stuck into Victor Orbán over Hungary's law banning the 'promotion' of homosexuality. And we explain how modern technology has cast fresh light on Rembrandt's Night Watch. - Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/DutchNewsNL - Ophef: King Willem-Alexander shaking hands - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0AjCc02cM4&feature=youtu.be - Complete Night Watch - https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/stories/operation-night-watch
Fri, June 18, 2021
The Amsterdam Penis Ban Edition - Week 24 - 2021
Face masks are on the way out and tourists are on the way back as the end of the pandemic looms into view. But after 50 years of milking British stag parties, Amsterdam is looking to lure a different class of post-corona visitor. In other bad taste news, streets around the country are turning orange as the Dutch make a bright start to Euro 2020. Pieter Omtzigt splits with the CDA after his memo saying he has lost trust in the party is leaked to the media. And there's evidence that wolves are not such a menace to sheep as farmers feared, but they do make better jumpers. - Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/DutchNewsNL - Princess Amalia's handwritten letter to prime minister Rutte - https://twitter.com/RickEversRoyal/status/1403336150790643716 - Camiel Eurlings speech, CDA Congress 2010 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkUfHeZCqkM&t=94s - Complete 2010 CDA Congress (8 hours) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iI9hdHki2I&t=5135s - Anne Holligan’s Oranje Street video - https://twitter.com/annaholligan/status/1405431496870174724 - King visiting Oranje Street - Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) • Instagram-foto's en -video's - King supporting Oranje - https://twitter.com/palpeet/status/1404179234025844737
Fri, June 11, 2021
The Magnetic Orange Teringhond Edition - Week 23 - 2021
The government is looking to speed up the end of lockdown as coronavirus infection rates hurtle downwards, but at the Binnnehof everything's grinding to a halt. Wopke and Mark can't manage to split up Jesse and Lilianne, Sigrid doesn't want to share with Gert-Jan and Pieter has served up a giant can of worms. Elsewhere, four men go on trial accused of murdering all 298 people on board flight MH17 seven years ago. The Dutch football team get ready to kick off at Euro 2020, Russia kicks off about Ukraine's shirts and two supermarket chains get into an off-the-pitch scuffle about orange tat. And we tell you how a pair of WhatsApp con artists got their fingers burned when they went back for a second bite.
Fri, June 04, 2021
The Philanthropic Zeesluisosaurus Edition - Week 22 - 2021
Mark Rutte and Hugo de Jonge joined the 10 million people to be vaccinated this week, just as museums, restaurants and the Droomvlucht ride at the Efteling reopened for business. The Janss— pardon, Johnson & Johnson vaccine was taken out of circulation over concerns about blood clots, while controversy raged about the face mask deal that netted CDA protégé Sywert van Lienden €9 million. Wopke Hoekstra spent the week tilting at windmills as he failed to prise apart the two left-wing parties in the coalition talks. And a poor result for the football team was offset by historic triumphs in cricket and rugby.
Fri, May 28, 2021
The Fifty Shades of Stef Blok Edition - Week 21 - 2021
A mass coronavirus experiment, outrage over drugs tourists and pariah status for Belarus: this year's Eurovision Song Contest really had it all. Museums, bars and restaurants are set to open sooner now that coronavirus is on the wane, even in Rotterdam. In a landmark judgment, global super-polluter Shell is told it has an obligation under human rights law to stop climate change. While the coalition talks grind on at glacial speed, one cabinet minister signs off work with exhaustion, raising concern about politicians' workloads. And Amsterdam steps up its efforts to ban drugs tourists from the city, surprising some visitors who were unaware there was any other reason to be there. - Twitter thread with photos of the new temporary Tweede Kamer Building - https://twitter.com/TvanGroningen/status/1397893602634866688 - Video of Italian guitarist "snorting coke" - https://twitter.com/Agronveliu97/status/1396238279754887168 - Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/DutchNewsNL
Fri, May 21, 2021
The 510 Square Metres of Eurovision Edition - Week 20 - 2021
At long last coronavirus infections have started to fall, but not soon enough to make this year's Eurovision Song Contest an even more tasteless experience than usual. Also falling rapidly is Forum voor Democratie's seat count as three MPs defect in the wake of the latest row and the Brabant coalition collapses. A village north of Amsterdam has its quiet afternoon rudely interrupted by a scene straight out of a heist movie. And we have the inside scoop on how our very own Molly Quell's horticultural mix-up ripped through social media like Japanese knotweed. - Dinge-A-Dong, Dutch Eurovision entry 1975 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI78Bqp6z6g - Molly’s plant gate thread - https://unrollthread.com/t/1394561601970266116/ - Jemini – Cry Baby, UK Eurovision entry 2003 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAJ62IG3gBo
Fri, May 14, 2021
The Vegan Sjopperdepop Popcorn Edition - Week 19 - 2021
The podcast team look forward to the mouthwatering prospect of bitterballen for breakfast as step two of lifting the coronavirus restrictions looms into view. One thing falling even faster than the infection numbers is Forum voor Democratie's seat count as the party splits faster than a uranium atom on steroids. Riots break out in Doetinchem as Go Ahead Eagles pip De Graafschaap in the battle to get out of the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. Afghan interpreters come under the spotlight as the VVD fights its own asylum policy, while an avian refugee turns heads in Zeeland. And we investigate how the Dutch became Europe's biggest fans of fake meat.
Fri, May 07, 2021
The Ukulele Pannenkoek Conspiracy Edition - Week 18 - 2021
For the second year in a row the May 4 and May 5 ceremonies took place without an audience. Actor André van Duin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the event with moving speeches about rebuilding after the war, while conspiracy theorists marked it with a tasteless poster about coronavirus rules. The Netherlands' largest online retailer bol.com was reeled in by an online phishing scam that cost it €750,000. Bees, cows and jackals all feature in our round-up of animal news. And after the weekend celebrations at the ArenA, we ask if you're more likely to catch a nasty disease from a pigeon or an Ajax supporter. - Marco van Basten pannenkoek moment: https://youtu.be/Bq3u7GHZLbA?t=56 - André van Duin on Dam Square: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiNeH1b58Lk - Angela Merkel May 5 speech: https://youtu.be/VPDY2ilNih0?t=380
Fri, April 30, 2021
The Belarus Bike Tour Edition - Week 17 - 2021
Sighs of relief alternated with sharp intakes of breath this week as the coronavirus rules were relaxed just as the number of patients in hospital reached a four-month high. Minutes of cabinet meetings confirmed that ministers tried to stonewall MPs' efforts to expose the child benefits scandal. Another critical report shed a light on the culture of bullying and abuse in the world of gymnastics. And a Dutchman's dream of starting a new life in Belarus was scuppered when he was caught trying to cross the border from Lithuania on his bike.
Fri, April 23, 2021
The Star Wars Trump Brothel Edition - Week 16 - 2021
Three months after introducing a curfew to drive coronavirus infections down, Mark Rutte said it was 'responsible' to lift restrictions now that cases are 25% higher and hospitals have started cancelling heart surgery. There's another setback in the efforts to form the next government as it emerges ministers pre-cooked the evidence they gave to parliament about the tax office scandal. There's shocking footage of a journalist's car being attacked by a shovel truck in Gelderland. And we investigate whether curfews are cool for cats. Photo of the Tweede Kamer Trump Brothel: https://twitter.com/sterestherster/status/1384415717391482881
Fri, April 16, 2021
The Jurassic Park At Hogwarts Edition - Week 15 - 2021
As infections rose again this week, the government agreed to organise a series of mass events for people who are sick of lockdown, so they can get sick with coronavirus instead. We also explain why a D66 MP gave up his seat after just 15 days while Geert Wilders was uncharacteristically silent on the subject. Newly published tape recordings shed light on the case against the four men accused of shooting down flight MH17. And police are trying to trace a Mr Blessings in disguise, who devised a ploy to catch a hoard of valuable Pokemon cards. Manhattan tweet: https://twitter.com/palpeet/status/1382662813722816513 Jiggyjig song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCVjw1Qzh9o&t=186s Koningslied: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEUKyKb4g6k
Fri, April 09, 2021
The Resurrection Rutte Edition - Week 14 - 2021
In an Easter week of remarkable comebacks, none was so spectacular as Mark Rutte's career diving and resurfacing like a Dutch submarine catching a glimpse of barbecue sunshine. Forum voor Democratie's prodigal pensioner Theo Hiddema returned as a senator and veteran negotiator Herman Tjeenk Willink came out of retirement to head the coalition formation talks. We ask what could possibly go wrong as Hugo de Jonge unveils a cunning plan to hold mass public events in the middle of a pandemic. If you prefer to stay indoors, we explain how you can help fish navigate the Dutch canal network from the safety of your laptop. And the Dutch art world's answer to Sherlock Holmes helps track down a suspect in the case of two stolen paintings by Van Gogh and Frans Hals.
Fri, March 26, 2021
The Great Alkmaar Cheese Scam Edition - Week 12 - 2021
While Dutch salvage experts worked to free a 200,000 tonne cargo ship blocking the Suez canal, back home everything ground to a halt this week. The coalition talks were stalled by Kajsa Ollongren's positive coronavirus test and then torpedoed by her documentary faux pas. Hugo de Jonge struggled once again to convince MPS he was turning round the Netherlands' vaccination strategy. And the football team's World Cup dreams were marooned in the doldrums as Turkey inflicted a 4-2 defeat in Istanbul. One thing that is flowing freely is your personal data, as hackers obtain the details of 7.3 million car owners. Rita Verdonk campaign video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUYaRTYQ4w8 Tweede Kamer seats and change: VVD: 34 (+1) D66: 23 (+5) PVV: 17 (-3) CDA: 15 (-4) PvdA: 9 (+0) GroenLinks: 8 (-7) SP: 9 (-5) FVD: 8 (+6) PvdD: 6 (+1) ChristenUnie: 5 (+0) Volt: 3 (+3) SGP: 3 (+0) JA21: 3 (+3) DENK: 3 (+0) 50PLUS: 1 (-3) BBB: 1 (+1) BIJ1: 1 (+1)
Fri, March 19, 2021
The Blame My Wife For The Pandemic Edition - Week 11 - 2021
The podcast team asks all the important questions in the wake of the election results. Who will be the fourth wheel on Mark Rutte's fourth cabinet? Where did the vote for the traditional left-wing parties go? Why did Sigrid Kaag's footwork succeed while Wopke Hoekstra stumbled? Will anyone ever wear a turtleneck to a television debate again? Plus we pick over the latest coronavirus figures, the problems with the AstraZeneca vaccine and a stand-off between health minister Hugo de Jonge and the nation's favourite grumpy grandpa.
Wed, March 17, 2021
Election Night Special - The Thank God You're Not Hugo Edition - Week 11 - 2021
We react to a dramatic exit poll that the election campaign scarcely deserved, with big wins for D66, disappointment for PVV and CDA and devastation for GroenLinks and the SP. Can the coalition 'motorblok' go it alone or will they try to bring a fourth partner on board? And we look at the four new parties entering parliament - with the Farmers' Citizens' Movement bring bringing the total to a record 17.
Fri, March 12, 2021
The Superspreading Nazi Hippos Edition - Week #10 - 2021
In a week dominated by elections, infections and corrections, Mark Rutte engaged some elaborate verbal trickery to justify extending the coronavirus curfew that he's been promising for weeks to abolish. Less than a week before election day, we ask why Rutte's VVD seem unassailable in the polls and what their rivals are doing to bridge the gap. The Dutch pick up plenty of gold in the sporting arena, with Suzanne Schulting sweeping the board in short track speed skating. And we bring you news of a pregnant wolf and some nomadic petrified lions.
Fri, March 05, 2021
The It´s All Happening In Drenthe Edition - Week 9 - 2021
A mixed week for boutique entrepreneurs as hairdressers and beauticians went back to work while cafe owners and sex workers protested against the lockdown. The first leaders' debate featured a painful confrontation for Mark Rutte, a pointed exchange between Sigrid Kaag and Geert Wilders, and an own goal by Jesse Klaver. We explain why cut-out penguins popped up in Drenthe, how researchers read a 300-year-old letter without opening it and why Rutte raised hackles in Groningen again. And with less than two weeks to go, we give you a bluffer's guide to the election so you can dazzle your friends with your knowledge of kiesdelers and informateurs.
Fri, February 26, 2021
The Dancing German Gangsters Edition - Week 8 - 2021
The third wave of coronavirus rolls in just as deliveries of the vaccine grind to a halt and Amsterdam becomes the superspreading capital. Shipments of heroin and cocaine are also disrupted by police, while one of Germany's most wanted men is tracked down to Amsterdam. Finance minister Wopke Hoekstra slips up in Friesland, where ice stadium bosses are accused of engineering overblown results. In pot and kettle news, Hugo de Jonge accuses AstraZeneca of reneging on its promises. And we tell you why a group of homeless badgers are being passed from pillar to border post in Limburg.
Fri, February 19, 2021
The Dreadlocked Lockdown Deadlock Edition - Week 7 - 2021
Alarm bells rang in The Hague this week as a judge struck out the coronavirus curfew, prompting a mad scramble to get a new version through parliament. There was also a mad scramble across the country to find old skates as the coldest temperatures for eight years turned the Netherlands into a winter wonderland. Scientists call on people to send in their dead mosquitos and PVV MP Dion Graus faces more allegations of domestic abuse. And as election day approaches, we speak to polling specialist Tom Louwerse about the way opinion polls reflect and shape the political landscape.
Fri, February 12, 2021
The Wrong Way Icebreaker Edition - Week 6 - 2021
Coronavirus plays second fiddle to skating fever this week as temperatures plunge and politicians call for the Elfstedentocht to go ahead, whether Friesland is ready for it or not. While the snowstorm rages outside, Thierry Baudet is caught up in a fresh racism storm as the FVD's WhatsApp chats leak out. Amsterdam eclipses London as Europe's share trading hub, overshadowing some bad news on the jobs front. And we tell you why three Dutch lions got the cold shoulder from a French zoo.
Fri, February 05, 2021
The Hugo Is Skating On Thin Ice Edition - Week 5 - 2021
The Netherlands is bracing itself for its biggest freeze in a decade, but it still won't be as cold as the relationship between health minister Hugo de Jonge and hospital bosses after last week's row over vaccination numbers. Also in a frosty mood is Ajax coach Erik ten Hag over the omission of €22.5 million signing Sebastian Haller from his European campaign because somebody refused to fill in a form. Speaking of incomplete paperwork, all four coalition parties need to get their skates on to meet the deadline to file their list of candidates for the election. We celebrate a home grown winner in one of the few sporting events to go ahead this winter. And we speak to NRC's London correspondent Melle Garschagen as he prepares to set sail for his homeland after five years dominated by Brexit and coronavirus.
Fri, January 29, 2021
The Demissionary Corona Edition - Week 4 - 2021
First the government collapses, then law and order breaks down on the streets of Zwolle. January 2021 is shaping up to be quite a month. The podcast team looks back on a turbulent week of rioting, vaccine gridlock and a massive data leak in the coronavirus testing system. Yet despite imposing the first curfew since the end of the war, polls suggest the caretaker government is more popular than ever. Elsewhere, Tour de France hope Tom Dumoulin takes a break from the bike and civil servants rattle a few cages with their advice on how to watch sport in a pandemic.
Fri, January 22, 2021
The This Debate Should Have Been An Email Edition - Week 3 - 2021
The government caved to pressure this week to bring in a 9pm curfew, after five hours of furious debate about what time it should begin. All fingers were pointing at Mark Rutte in the aftermath of the child benefits scandal as his practice of holding meetings in secret came under scrutiny. The entire world of speed skating moved to Friesland for winter, while the big names in chess descend on Wijk aan Zee. And we speak to Ben Coates about the state of the Dutch coronavirus strategy.
Sat, January 16, 2021
Extra Episode - The On Your Bike, Rutte Edition - Week 2 - 2021
A special edition of the podcast following the collective resignation of Mark Rutte's cabinet on Friday. We ask what this means for the families involved and how it will affect the government's pandemic response. We examine Lodewijk Asscher's role in triggering Rutte's downfall, how the question of racism was marginalised during the inquiry and what effect it might have on the election campaign. And we reveal why Rutte took a wrong turn on his bike as he set off to tend his resignation to meet the King. Link to Episode 49: https://soundcloud.com/dutchnewsnl/the-defenestrated-bond-villain-edition-week-49-2020#t=1:05:02
Fri, January 15, 2021
The Ham Sandwich Virus Edition - Week 2 - 2021
This week's podcast was recorded while the cabinet was deciding whether to resign over the child benefits scandal, so we're unable to respond to the possible collapse of he government. But we can bring you up to speed on the coronavirus lockdown, the vaccination schedule and what sandwiches you can bring with you from the UK. Despite predictions of economic meltdown, fewer businesses went to the wall than at any time in the last 20 years and one home delivery firm saw its profits soar. And the Dutch wolf population is thriving, to the chagrin of Frisian farmers who want to erect a giant border fence to protect them from invaders from Drenthe and Overijssel.
Fri, January 08, 2021
The Blazing Bicycles and Ferris Wheels Edition - Week 1 - 2021
2021 begins with a muted bang and the prospect of a long, cold winter lockdown. Health minister Hugo de Jonge showed his disdain for 'symbolic' gestures as the Netherlands' vaccination programme was finally launched at a televised press conference. The mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, came under fire for a New Year protest that bore an uncanny resemblance to a street party. And speaking of parties, a record number signed up to take part in the March 2021 election. Plus, live and exclusive, we announce the soaraway winner of our Ophef of the Year Awards for 2020.
Thu, December 31, 2020
The Ophef of the Year 2020 Bonus Episode
Let's face it, most reviews of 2020 are going to be about as appealing as eating a burned kaassoufflé at an André Hazes concert in Zoetermeer. So why not escape the pandemic and binfire of democracy, pour yourself a glass of droplikeur and enjoy our Ophef of the Year Awards. From king Willem-Alexander being framed by a window cleaner to the alternative news station's interview with the ghost of Pim Fortuyn, we've got all the news it was fit to get fleetingly enraged about. There's also Thierry Baudet's tweet about Moroccan train inspectors, musical seat-stealing in the Tweede Kamer and Mark Rutte's viral handshake with Jaap van Dissel. Vote for your favourites by clicking on the link below and get a chance of winning a very special Dutch News Podcast mug. We'll announce the winner in our New Year show, once we've rigged the results. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/11xxoxdZUfXFXqkNYj5D7XHF0WBQDCv7k1Gs3bn2M_gk/edit
Mon, December 21, 2020
Teaser - Ophef of the Year 2020 Bonus Episode
Let's face it, most reviews of 2020 are going to be about as appealing as eating a burned kaassoufflé at an André Hazes concert in Zoetermeer. So why not escape the pandemic and binfire of democracy, pour yourself a glass of droplikeur and enjoy our Ophef of the Year Awards. From king Willem-Alexander being framed by a window cleaner to the alternative news station's interview with the ghost of Pim Fortuyn, we've got all the news it was fit to get fleetingly enraged about. There's also Thierry Baudet's tweet about Moroccan train inspectors, musical seat-stealing in the Tweede Kamer and Mark Rutte's viral handshake with Jaap van Dissel. We've posted an excerpt of the full episode publicly, but if you want hear the full ophef list first, help keep the podcast going by supporting us on Patreon. Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of dog food and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer. www.patreon.com/DutchNewsNL
Fri, December 18, 2020
AMA Christmas Break Bonus Episode - The Dutch Design Dog Chair Edition
Our special Ask Me Anything was recorded in the summer in the innocent, carefree days before the second wave. We tackled your questions on why the Dutch were being so mean to the Italians, the price of Trouby's dog food and Belgian architecture. We also try to rank flavours of drop and Dutch ice-cream flavours, which makes us wish coronavirus would take away our sense of taste. And you can enjoy Paul's reflections on going to see the worst Dutch movie ever made.
Fri, December 11, 2020
The Jesus Take The Avocado Edition - Week 50 - 2020
We've got a Christmas games and puzzles edition of the podcast to wrap up the year. Hugo de Jonge leaves the rest of the CDA playing Exploding Kittens for a new leader following his unexpected departure. The government continues to play whack-a-mole with the coronavirus pandemic as infections increase. The ChristenUnie tries a new opening gambit by including contraceptives in the basic healthcare package. And there's the riddle of the metal monolith that materialised from nowhere in Friesland.
Fri, December 04, 2020
The Defenestrated Bond Villain Edition - Week 49 - 2020
We throw the spotlight on the bureaucratic vices of incompetence and intransigence in this week's podcast. We take an in-depth look at the parliamentary inquiry into the child benefits system, which left thousands of families financially and emotionally ruined when they were wrongly tagged as fraudsters. There's a whole lot of voting going on as Forum voor Democratie hold a referendum on Thierry Baudet's leadership and the annual celebration of shopping-mall wallpaper that is the Top 2000 begins. And we ask if Dick Lawyer is really retiring to spend more time with his chickens and who will win the tug-of-love contest for the Netherlands' last surviving circus elephant.
Fri, November 27, 2020
The Forum Voor Democrazy Edition - Week 48 - 2020
It began in the spring, died away during the summer and came back with a roar in the autumn. No, not coronavirus, but the disintegration of right-wing populist party Forum voor Democratie, which burst apart this week in a shower of resignations, poison-pen letters and video tirades, with a backing track of 80s disco. We do our best to make sense of it all and pick out the highlights, as well as ask what happens to the FVD vote. We also update you on more serious political matters, such as the ongoing global pandemic and the inquiry into the tax office scandal. There's more ophef as the most famous circus act in the Netherlands encounter their arch-nemesis in court. And we ask who's been out rustling steel horses at midnight in Katwijk.
Fri, November 20, 2020
The Cultural Wasteland Edition - Week 47 - 2020
Sinterklaas is working from home, the New Year fireworks have gone out with a whimper and the Elfstedentocht has been abandoned even earlier than usual as coronavirus kills off Dutch seasonal joy. On the positive side, there's a vaccine and the League Against Swearing have published a handy guide to which children's books to buy this Christmas. Coronavirus is also blamed for the government's failure to process thousands of asylum applications in time. And we bring you the story of how a Swedish insomniac helped solve a 25-year-old mystery on the island of Texel.
Fri, November 13, 2020
The Four Seasons Belgian Vegetables Edition - Week 46 - 2020
A good news week as coronavirus infections start coming down across the kingdom – except in Curaçao, where Dutch tourists are touching down with their fake test certificates and piling into the beach bars. An awkward week for education minister Arie Slob, who is forced to switch sides over anti-gay school charters in the Bible Belt. Amsterdam city council has some distasteful suggestions for celebrating Sint-Maarten, while police in Limburg are surprised to find a cellar that hasn't been converted into a drugs lab.
Fri, November 06, 2020
The Saved By A Literal Train Wreck Edition - Week 45 - 2020
Disaster was averted this week in 'city of bridges' Spijkenisse when a metro train came to rest atop a sculpture. The government imposed a two-week 'hard lockdown' to try to stop the coronavirus second wave turning into a healthcare disaster. And a disastrous performance by a Rotterdam academic on Thierry Baudet's TV channel went viral. All this calamity and we haven't even mentioned a certain electoral contest. Meanwhile, Mark Rutte concluded a political saga that out-ran Soldaat van Oranje by announcing he will run for re-election as prime minister.
Fri, October 30, 2020
The Netherlands Is A Failed State Edition - Week 44 - 2020
In a week of fake news and dodgy data, the Dutch government adopts the Niksen approach to disease control. As Covid-19 spreads through the Binnenhof and two ministers go into quarantine, the friendly folk at Farmers Defence Force turn up on Rob Jetten's doorstep with a box of meat products and a camera. Coronavirus also starts to hit the football world, while in Venlo VVV put up the weakest defensive display since Ferd Grapperhaus's wedding. There's uplifting news too as Rhenen's baby giant panda is no longer gender neutral and the first flying car is (almost) cleared for take-off.
Fri, October 23, 2020
The King of Ophefs Edition - Week 43 - 2020
It's been a week of blaming and shaming as the king and queen flew into a storm of outrage over their pandemic-busting trip to Greece. A Dutch hacker hijacked Donald Trump's Twitter, AZ snatched an unlikely win in Naples and the egg-pilfering gay penguins were up to their usual tricks. Further lockdown measures loom larger as coronavirus infection numbers continue to climb. And there's concern that up to 6,000 British people may become illegal immigrants at the stroke of midnight on January 1.
Fri, October 16, 2020
The Wink Wink Lockdown Roulette Edition - Week 42 - 2020
Mark Rutte was in no mood to celebrate his 10th anniversary as prime minister this week, but there was a party outside Parliament as drinkers packed the bars for a last round before lockdown. We ask if the new restrictions will be enough, why Germany is bailing out the Dutch ICUs again and whether circle parties will ever return. In crime news, the chances of being murdered go down but the stakes for illicit gamblers are raised as police break up a blind pig casino in a Brabant basement. Plus the KNVB gets a VAR review and a red card over its shutdown of the women's football league.
Fri, October 09, 2020
The Nightmares At The Binnenhof Edition - Week 41 - 2020
After months of delays, the coronavirus tracker app gets the green light just as the country's infection map turns a deep shade of red. The disease even manages to get sucked into the black hole of ophef that is the renovation of the Binnenhof. In another long-running saga, Willem-Alexander is thwarted again in his quest to become the Sun Energy King. And in sports news, Kiki Bertens is accused of contempt of court at the French Open and PSV snap up a World Cup winner.
Fri, October 02, 2020
The Minnesotan 4D Political Chess Edition - Week 40 - 2020
They can cover our faces, but they can't mask the awkwardness of performing a full U-turn in a matter of days. Mark Rutte grudgingly agreed this week to mask up at the grocery store and advised everyone else to cover their faces wherever the sun doesn't shine. That prompted an even more startling U-turn from Geert Wilders, who suddenly decided he didn't like the government telling people what to wear in public. Elsewhere, the Covid recession started to bite as major companies unveil job loss plans and a suspect in a long-running murder investigation went on trial. Plus we ask how Sergino Dest will cope with the traffic in Barcelona after growing up in the parallel universe that is Almere.
Fri, September 25, 2020
The Great Tit In The Coal Mine Edition - Week 39 - 2020
Autumn is a season of missed opportunities and mellow fruitlessness for the Dutch government as its coronavirus strategy unravels. Rising infections, waiting lists for corona testing and no trace of a tracker app - we ask what's gone wrong. Also going nuclear are the VVD, who want to build more power stations if they remain in government next year. The socialists and D66 also kick off their election campaigns, while Amsterdam takes steps to control the spread of Airbnb.
Fri, September 18, 2020
The Towering Humiliation Edition - Week 38 - 2020
A low-key Budget Day brings sober news on the economic front, unless you happen to be a princess approaching her 18th birthday. New coronavirus restrictions are imminent as a surge in infections puts even more strain on the testing system. The tension also took its toll on Rotterdam's Erasmusbrug and the prosecutor handling a high-profile racial abuse case. Plus we tell you why zoos have been hit by corona and there's a sense of anticlimax around the new football season in Emmen.
Fri, September 11, 2020
The Pythagorean Prinsjesdag Parrots Edition - Week 37 - 2020
Despite a new surge in coronavirus infections, there were signs of normal life returning this week. The government's budget plans were leaked ahead of Prinsjesdag, the football season geared up for a restart and there was a bitter row in parliament about refugees. While D66 decided not to pick a self-confessed forger as its leader, Geert Wilders announced his discrimination trial would run for another season. And we bring you a shocking tale about blue parrots, legal eagles and a phantom balloon.
Fri, September 04, 2020
The Grapperhaus Goes Viral Edition - Week 36 - 2020
The podcast returns from the summer break to find the Dutch border has advanced further than the coronavirus tracker app. We explain why Ferd Grapperhaus's wedding turned into a political horror show and why Hugo de Jonge still can't celebrate his CDA leadership win. Plus we weigh up Tom Dumoulin's chances of winning the Tour de France and Dick Advocaat's chances of a fourth term as national football team coach now Ronald Koeman has jumped ship for Barcelona.
Wed, August 12, 2020
Summer Bonus Episode Teaser - The Dutch Design Dog Chair Edition
In this summer special, the podcast team answers your questions. The Dutch in EU negotiations. What are the best flavors of drop? (Hint: None) Are Dutch BBQs a hate crime? We've posted an excerpt of the full episode publicly, but if you want the answers to all of these questions, help keep the podcast going by supporting us on Patreon. Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of dog food and stroopwafels healthy? Click here to become a Patreon backer. https://www.patreon.com/DutchNewsNL
Fri, July 17, 2020
The Wilders For More Moroccans Edition - Week 28 - 2020
It's the last podcast before we head off for our holidays in sunny Spijkenisse. We tell you who won the Christian Democrat leadership election, how many people joined the unemployment queue in June and why neighbours saw red over a green house. In sport, calls grow louder to overturn a ban on singing in football stadiums. And love knows no bounds as campaigners persuade the government to relax travel restrictions for long-distance sweethearts.
Fri, July 10, 2020
The Sluisje McSluisface Edition - Week 28 - 2020
There's a lot of outrage on this week's podcast. At the beheading of André Hazes. At lockdown measures. At a change to ID cards. But most of the podcast's outrage is directed at the inadequate compensation for nazi snitches. And while the CDA leadership election wasn't rigged, we do try to influence another election by encouraging you to vote for Sluisje McSluisface.
Fri, July 03, 2020
The Brexit Muppet Returns Edition - Week 27 - 2020
The lockdown has eased to the point where we can focus on less distressing subjects than a global pandemic. So we've put together a podcast packed with news of slavery, institutional racism and Brexit. One of Groningen's favourite sons comes home to revive the city's footballing fortunes. New laws come into force on paternity leave, organ donation and holiday letting. And there's a spike in popcorn sales as three seat snatchers set up yet another political party.
Fri, June 26, 2020
The Cancelling Canals and Derksen Edition - Week 26 - 2020
As the threat of coronavirus fades and the temperature rises, the podcast team ponders the new normal. Will packed train carriages lead to a second wave? Will any of the political leadership contests this summer descend into civil war? Are Amsterdam's canals less culturally significant than 'that Oranje feeling'? How will football fans be stopped from singing in stadiums? And which will be finished first: the coronavirus 'track and trace' app or Johan Derksen's talk show career?
Fri, June 19, 2020
The Kapsalon Acid Test Edition - Week 25 - 2020
In a week of cancellations, we bring you possibly the most distressing story ever to feature on the podcast. Wopke Hoekstra cancels himself as the next prime minister, the cup final is finally abandoned and Thierry Baudet causes ophef with his itinerant boreal bouquet. In better news, circle parties are saved from oblivion as Hema finds a buyer. We bring you up to speed with the lifting of the lockdown as Europe's campsites brace themselves for the return of Dutch tourists. And we tackle the hot political question of the day: is someone who's never eaten kapsalon fit to be prime minister of the Netherlands in 2021?
Fri, June 12, 2020
The Trojan Herring Edition - Week 24 - 2020
The podcast team looks back at a week dominated by bread and circuses, as the fairground wagons circled on the Malieveld and the first batch of new herring went to a good cause. The government is told to beef up its nitrogen reduction plans and warned of dire economic times ahead. Coronavirus testing is rolled out amid questions about why it took so long, while trials of a potential vaccine take a step forward. And we bring you the final chapter of a story that began 40 years ago with a trip to the library.
Fri, June 05, 2020
The Sesame Street Kartel Buttons Edition - Week 23 - 2020
It has been a week of protests. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema touched the hot button issue of slavery opposition while an unsocially-distant crowd gathered on the Dam to protest racism. Those demonstrations spread to other cities without incident but an anti-lockdown protest over the weekend saw multiple arrests. A skating rink protested the decision by its insurance company and internet providers lost their protest over The Pirate Bay.
Fri, May 29, 2020
The Sjopperdepop Seat Snatch Switch Edition - Week 22 - 2020
On the eve of the first big relaxation of lockdown rules, the podcast team asks if it's safe to take a seat on the train or in the bar. Police close an abattoir in Gelderland following a coronavirus outbreak, shining a spotlight on conditions for migrant workers. The Netherlands continues to aggravate its EU partners over financial support for corona-hit countries, while at home there are more unsavoury twists in the tax office fraud scandal. And we bring you up to date on a spate of new political appointments as 'Mister Stikstof' Johan Remkes takes his last bow.
Fri, May 15, 2020
The Great Coffee Shortage Edition - Week 20 - 2020
The nation took its first tentative steps into the 1.5-metre society this week. Children started going back to school, hairdressers started hacking though their waiting lists and the American ambassador resumed his love affair with fake news. In parliament, defence minister Ank Bijleveld narrowly survived her second motion of no confidence over the deaths of civilians in an air strike in Iraq. We also report on the freak incident that cost five experienced surfers their lives off the coast at Scheveningen and why the football season went into extra time in the courtroom.
Fri, May 08, 2020
The Lavender Flavoured Lockdown Edition - Week 19 - 2020
As the nation prepares to emerge from lockdown, hand stitched face masks at the ready, we examine the government's plans in detail. Libraries, acupuncturists, sex clubs and campsite toilets all featured in Mark Rutte's schedule as Dutch society slowly returns to normal. Coronavirus also gave this year's ceremonies to commemorate the end of the war an even more sombre atmosphere than usual. While the humans are staying home, the animals have been getting busy, increasing the population of the Netherlands' zoos by two. In the absence of regular politics, fringe parties Denk and 50Plus maintained interest by hitting the self-destruct button simultaneously. And don't miss this week's ophef featuring a murdered politician, a discredited psychic and an invisible MP discussing 5G and climate change.
Fri, May 01, 2020
The Mark Rutte Is Our Scout Leader Edition - Week 18 - 2020
The podcast team overcomes 'coronamoeheid' and the horror of 'coronakapsels' to bring you the latest news on the lockdown as well as a few of the 700 new Dutch words that the epidemic has generated. Ministers come under more pressure over face masks, the economic outlook goes from terrible to abysmal and researchers warn of a hidden danger for intensive care patients. Mink farms are cordoned off as evidence emerges that some animals can transmit the virus, while the football season looks like going to extra time in the courtroom. We also consider a potential breakthrough in the MH17 investigation and the implications of Forum voor Democratie getting its first taste of power in Noord-Brabant.
Fri, April 24, 2020
The It's A Virus, Stupid Edition - Week 17 - 2020
As the schools prepare to reopen in May, we examine the government's strategy to release the lockdown. What's the impact on regular healthcare? Is it all over for the football season? How did KLM manage to stir up outrage about executive bonuses twice in a week? And most importantly of all, when can we stop cutting our own hair? In other news, there are fresh disclosures about the bombing raid in Iraq in 2015 and a landmark court decision on euthanasia. Plus: why hay fever sufferers need to be on their guard against German pollen.
Fri, April 17, 2020
The Bootleg Hairdressers Edition – Week 16 - 2020
In this week's coronavirus news, demand on intensive care beds appears to be easing off but there is growing concern about the spike in deaths in nursing homes. There's also news of research into what proportion of people may have developed immunity, a rash of scams involving face masks and why idiots are burning down phone masts. As the sense of apocalyptic doom intensifies, a church's Easter light show sparks panic in Brabant. Sporting events attempt to move indoors – with mixed results – and a grandmother gets more than she bargained for when she opens up a four-year-old second-hand jigsaw puzzle.
Fri, April 10, 2020
The Send Hoekstra the Hornbill Edition - Week 15 - 2020
Our socially distancing podcast team updates you on the state of the lockdown as the first signs emerge of the outbreak being brought under control. What do privacy campaigners have to say about the government's plan to use tracker apps? Why is Wopke Hoekstra persona non grata in Italy? And will the football season end sooner than the row about whether to end the football season? Away from the corona doom and gloom, we've got news of a bionic bird and how MPs short-circuited Utrecht's plan to switch off the gas supply.
Fri, April 03, 2020
The RUTTE.MAG.NIET.DANSEN. Edition - Week 14 - 2020
We bring you up to date with the latest news on how the Dutch are dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Find out how the government is planning to ramp up the number of intensive care beds, how an ambulance got held up for 20 minutes in Belgium and why finance minister Wopke Hoekstra had to eat a large slice of humble pie. The competition for 'most awkward bodyswerve of the year' award has two strong entries this week from Mark Rutte and Hugo de Jonge. And art thieves spoiled Van Gogh's birthday by helping themselves to one of his paintings during the corona shutdown.
Fri, March 27, 2020
The Empowered Busybodies Edition - Week 13 - 2020
Our latest quarantined podcast brings you news of the latest coronavirus figures, the government's strict new social distancing rules and the efforts to step up testing. The KNVB still hopes to finish the football season and the MH17 trial is postponed to June for non-corona reasons. The virus is separating not just friends and families, but the men's and women's clothing racks in a shop on the Belgian border. And while the first corona babies may be a few months away, the storks are already playing havoc with the train services in Drenthe. (PS: want to hear us in better quality sound? Your Patreon donation can help your wish come true.)
Fri, March 20, 2020
The Corona Ate Our Podcast Edition - Week 12 - 2020
In the first virtual edition of the DutchNews podcast this week brings you all the latest news on the shutdown, with some audio issues as we get used to our new working conditions. How are families managing home schooling? What help is the government giving to people and businesses? Can you still go outside? And should we quarantine Hugo de Jonge's shoes? We also look at the community initiatives that have sprung up to help people cope and the medical advances that might hold the key to controlling corona. And did we witness Mark Rutte's Gettysburg moment during a visit to Albert Heijn?
Fri, March 13, 2020
The Better Call Paul Edition - Week 11 - 2020
As the coronavirus rate among the podcast team hits 25%, we take stock of how the Netherlands is responding to the pandemic. Will isolated Brabanders produce a miracle drug? Is anyone checking on Dick Advocaat? And is cancelling Soldaat van Oranje the sign we really have reached the end of days? In non-corona news, the MH17 trial got under way and the king apologised to Indonesia for the Dutch excesses during the decolonisation war. Airbnb faces a €200 million bill after its booking fees were found to be illegal. And the tax office is under pressure to compensate around 1800 families who were wrongly accused of fraud.
Fri, March 06, 2020
The Slippery Corona Slope Edition - Week 10 - 2020
This week's podcast looks ahead to the start of the MH17 trial with an interview with Asymmetrical Haircuts, a two-woman team of reporters who specialise in international justice. We also do our best to keep up with the rapid spread of coronavirus, the even faster decline of Ajax and the extensive Dutch preparations for Eurovision. And we tell you why jumping on your bike after hours is a more hazardous undertaking than you might think.
Fri, February 28, 2020
The Corona and Taghi Ruined Everything Edition – Week 9 - 2020
This week's podcast was recorded before news broke of the first case of coronavirus in the Netherlands. We examine how the country has been preparing as the disease spreads through Europe and ask the key questions, such as: is Brexit muppet safe? Elsewhere, there's a withering exposé of tax avoidance in the flower trade, Dutch clubs are knocked out of Europe and ophef champion Thierry Baudet threatens court action over a TV show that said what he was thinking. Our discussion looks at why Mark Rutte and the Frugal Four hit all the wrong notes at last week's EU budget summit.
Fri, February 21, 2020
The Ceta Handbags and Speedy Bawbags Edition - Week 8 - 2020
As Dutch citizens are declared free from coronavirus, it seems the spirit of Brexit has infected the IND as it blunders not once, but twice on UK citizens' privacy. Dutch skaters dominate the world championships, but all the talk is of what was inside Kjeld Nuis's speedsuit. The debate on how to keep tourists and prostitutes apart in Amsterdam's red light district flared up once again. And find out why some off-colour parrots could land their breeder in jail. Our discussion this week examines why the EU's free trade deal with Canada is meeting strong resistance from Dutch opposition parties.
Fri, February 14, 2020
The Stormy Chihuahuas Edition - Week 7 - 2019
Ciara blew into the Netherlands this week and left a trail of fallen trees, insurance claims and cancelled bicycle races. Police stepped up their search for a blackmailer who sent four letter bombs to Dutch companies and Chinese migrants spoke out against a surge in racist behaviour linked to the coronavirus. In politics, the Ceta treaty was the subject of a long and emotionally charged debate that stretched into the early hours. And 24 chihuahuas score a victory for the underdog at the Council of State. Our discussion focuses on a thorny problem in North Brabant, where local parties are under pressure to keep the far-right FvD out of talks to form a new provincial coalition.
Fri, February 07, 2020
The Viral Racism Edition - Week 6 - 2020
It's been a turbulent week of naming, blaming and shaming. KLM suspended all flights to China because of fears about the coronavirus, the government cracked down on New Year firework sales and the football authorities announced plans to tackle racist behaviour. Health minister Bruno Bruins condemned people who ostracised Asian tourists on public transport, while Thierry Baudet refused to apologise for his discredited tale of harassment by train staff. And we discuss the implications of the recent court ruling that using algorithms to identify fraud 'hot spots' breaches human rights.
Fri, January 31, 2020
The Keep Your Coronavirus Bonnetjes Edition - Week 5 - 2020
As January stumbles, coughing and spluttering, into its last hours, we look back on a week bursting with apologies. Mark Rutte said sorry for the Dutch government's involvement in the Holocaust, while Arie Slob said 'sorry, there's no more money' to striking teachers. Two ministers were appointed to shake up the tax office, which is still apologising to parents over the child benefit scandal. National train operator NS, meanwhile, made no apology for its approval ratings, while the government thought twice about asking people stranded in Wuhan to pay for their emergency flights home. In our discussion we look at two contrasting approaches to drug policies by coalition parties and ask: can we mention the 'e' word this far out?
Mon, January 27, 2020
The Delayed Christmas Bonus Episode
Originally this episode was intended as the bonus episode during the Christmas break but we failed to release it, mostlybecause we have the organizational skills of the Belgian railroads. Anyway, here is it and enjoy listening to Paul who tortures Molly and Gordon with Dutch popular culture, history and politics and with random facts about the Netherlands!
Fri, January 24, 2020
The Panda Sex Edition – Week 4 - 2020
This week, there are too many tourists, too many sports injuries and too many pandas puns. We bring you the latest investigation into a 2009 plane crash that doesn't leave the Dutch Safety Board looking very safe and tell you why everyone you know with a PhD always looks very tired. In our discussion, we get into the child benefits scandal and what the government is doing to repair the broken system.
Fri, January 17, 2020
The Sexplaning Ophef Edition - Week 3 - 2020
At last we can reveal the results of the most undemocratic vote since the Brexit referendum: our very own Ophef of the Year Awards. Mister Stikstof puts a spanner in the works of Schiphol's expansion plans and joins the chorus of VVD mayors calling for a fireworks ban. Lego is urged to take the Dutch approach to road design, while the tax office also gears up for a structural overhaul. And there are big New Year developments in the careers of an Iranian Olympian and a Dutch YouTube star.
Fri, January 10, 2020
The Condemn Condone Condom Edition - Week 2 - Year 2020
An even more explosive New Year's Eve than usual has forced politicians to talk seriously about banning neighbourhood fireworks. We discuss whether 2019 will prove to be the tipping point in the annual debate about a tradition that leaves hundreds of people injured each year. The Netherlands pulls its troops out of Iraq, Hudson's Bay pulls out of its Dutch stores and Ajax defender Sergino Dest pulls out of the team's controversial winter tour. Plus we've got a red-hot ophef of the week, so be sure to check in with us online, unless you're a certain Dutch celebrity...
Fri, December 13, 2019
The A Fridge Too Far Edition - Week 50 - 2019
It's the final podcast of the year and that can only mean one thing: the nominations for Ophef of the Year are in. We update you on the situation in Duindorp, the tax office benefits scandal and Ajax's exit from the Champions League. There's a tall story about US basketball players bingeing on a Dutch delicacy, and Molly gets to ask Stef Blok the question on everyone's lips: who's inside the Brexit Muppet suit? Click here to vote for the Ophef of the Year: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWkimbZwfMWanQG0w21zCNXOmKacktGvk9T5VEw7fZiB1PFg/viewform?usp=sf_link
Fri, December 06, 2019
The Rutte Tops Trump Edition - Week 49 - 2019
Hot gossip, dodgy deals and bureaucratic minefields dominate this week's news. Finance minister Menno Snel comes under fire over the tax office's blunderbuss approach to suspected benefit fraud and tempers flare as The Hague cracks down on New Year beach bonfires. The detention of a teenager who was unaware he was an illegal immigrant sparks uproar, as does Klaas Dijkhoff's decision to trouser thousands of euros for leaving a cabinet post after less than a month. We bring you the fascinating story of the amateur footballer who blagged his way into four professional clubs without playing a game. And just what did Mark Rutte find so funny about Donald Trump that it triggered the president's early exit from the Nato summit?
Fri, November 29, 2019
The Cats Are Worse Than Stikstof Edition - Week 48 - 2019
Several long-running sagas come to a head in this week's podcast. Prime minister Mark Rutte and defence minister Ank Bijleveld face more tough questions over the deaths of 70 civilians in a bombing raid in Iraq. The tax office's sledgehammer approach to families suspected of defrauding the child support system also comes in for heavy criticism. Meanwhile, decorated war hero Marco Kroon's career is dangling by a thread after his confrontation with police during Carnaval season. And we ask the question that's been on everyone's lips: are you really breaking the law if you let your cat out? Disclaimer: We apologize for the bad audio quality, which in the absence of Molly we fully and completely blame on her.
Fri, November 22, 2019
The Hook Us Up Hoekstra Edition - Week 47 - 2019
We're a man down this week, with Gordon disappearing under mysterious circumstances. Molly and Paul hold down the fort and tell you about why Kim Kardashian West ruffled some feathers in the Netherlands, why Dutch people are still chanting racist things at football matches and how Oscar Wilde got his ring back. In the discussion, they ask what is integration and why are the Dutch so bad at it?
Fri, November 15, 2019
The Vroom Vroom Debacle Edition - Week 46 - 2019
As the nitrogen crisis continues to hang over the country like a vaguely threatening cloud, we examine how cutting speed limits became such a hot political potato. A court orders the government to bring home the children of jihadist mothers, while the MH17 takes another twist as prosecutors implicate Russian military commanders. The start of Sinterklaas season triggers the annual tide of rage about Zwarte Piet and GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver is named the brightest star in the Dutch political firmament. And after a six-year absence from international football tournaments, can the Netherlands seal qualification for Euro 2020 this weekend?
Fri, November 08, 2019
The All Hijackers On Deck Edition - Week 45 - 2019
It's been a week of false starts and abrupt endings as Schiphol's timetable was thrown into turmoil by a trigger-happy instructor, teachers went out on strike following a double U-turn by unions, a lawyer survived a cross-border assassination attempt and Ajax salvaged a draw from a winning position after being reduced to nine men against Chelsea. We also discuss the fall-out from the recent revelations about a raid by Dutch fighter planes that killed 70 civilians in Iraq.
Fri, November 01, 2019
The Dick Lawyer Hard Reset Edition - Week 44 - 2019
There's a groundhog day feel about this week's podcast as the builders' protest fills the deep tyre treads left by the farmers on the Malieveld, yet another do-or-die date is set for Brexit and our favourite football manager once again comes out of retirement for one last job. Plus we bring you an 11-year-old shaggy dog story from the Achterhoek and the lottery giveaway that made green-eyed punters see red. In our discussion we step into the legal and political minefield surrounding the issue of bringing Dutch IS fighters to justice.
Fri, October 25, 2019
There's No Podcast This Week - Week 43 - 2019
Sorry folks, no podcast this week!
Fri, October 18, 2019
The Make Hay Not War Edition - Week 42 - 2019
As 8,000 tractors roll into The Hague, the DutchNews podcast asks if the farmers will reap a bitter harvest from their rolling protests against anti-nitrogen regulations. We also try to unravel the mystery surrounding a family of cultists found living on a remote farmhouse in Drenthe, find out how undercover flower investigators blew the lid on the black tulip scam, explain how a team of engineers' hopes of winning Down Under went up in smoke and tell you why your neighbourhood is likely to be decked out in orange tat this summer.
Fri, October 11, 2019
The Talented Mister Stikstof Edition - Week 41 - 2019
The city of peace and justice resembles a Wild West frontier town this week after a corruption scandal and an inferno on the beach brought down The Hague's entire government. But the new sheriff, Johan Remkes, arrives with some heavy baggage as his report on the nitrogen ruling is cited as one reason why the renovation of parliament will be delayed by a year. We also update you on a scientific breakthrough for premature babies in Eindhoven, the ban on texting while cycling, the UN's view of racism in Dutch society and Oranje's quest to qualify for Euro 2020. In our discussion we look at the candidates to lead the three largest coalition parties into the next election.
Fri, October 04, 2019
The Everything Happened In The Hague Edition - Week 40 - 2019
This week, Paul and Molly update you on endless things going on in The Hague, from the municipality coalition falling to improper building permits. They also talk sports, protests and the Marianne Thieme leaving her post as the leader of the animal rights party. In the discussion, it's tractors, stifstof and a PSA for eating less meat.
Fri, September 27, 2019
The Great British Bird-Off Edition - Week 39 - 2019
In a week literally exploding with news, we examine how the coalition may lose its majority over a building permit, the mayor of Amsterdam got in hot water over a non-smoking gun, ministers faced tough questions about Stints and jihadist passports, and some Dutch political horse-trading left British citizens in an unstable situation. There's also our usual round-up of the week's sporting action, ophef about the Battle of Arnhem and the strange but true story of Utrecht's smallest jailbird.
Fri, September 20, 2019
The Sexy Brexit Muppet Edition - Week 38 - 2019
There was only one question on everybody's lips on Prinsjesdag (aka Budget Day) this year, eclipsing even the speculation about Marianne Thieme's outfit or whether Wopke or Erik came up with the €50 billion special projects fund: would King Willem-Alexander be the first monarch to deliver his speech through a beard? We also reflect on the shocking murder of a lawyer on his doorstep in Amsterdam, the sad death of Fernando Ricksen at 43, a stunningly candid interview by the mayor of Amsterdam's partner and the slow process of detoxifying Zwarte Piet. Plus, find out why ophef rang out round the capital when one new resident complained to the council about his noisy neighbours.
Fri, September 13, 2019
The Royal Flying Flamingos Edition - Week 37 - 2019
It's been a week of courtroom drama in the Netherlands as Geert Wilders calls for his race-baiting trial to be thrown out for political interference, a doctor is cleared of murder in a landmark euthanasia case, a woman seeks redress for having her baby taken away from the state in the 1960s and a key MH17 witness becomes a pawn in a prisoner exchange. We also look back at Oranje's historic 4-2 win over Germany and try to explain why the government paid millions of euros for the royal family's tables, cabinets and ping-pong bats.
Fri, September 06, 2019
The We Know What Otten Did Last Summer Edition - Week 36 - 2019
The podcast team look back over a summer of blistering heat and bristling with ophef: who poisoned the plants in Thierry Baudet's office? Why does Haarlem have a problem with globetrotters? And was the king wise to come out as a redbeard? We also look at how Amsterdam became a paradise for cocaine dealers, why the Labour party has done a U-turn on student funding and Ronald Koeman's return to Hamburg 31 years after he wiped the floor with the Germans.
Fri, July 12, 2019
The Ban This Sick Fun Edition - Week 28 - 2019
There's plenty to shout about in our last podcast before the summer break as five cities bid to host next year's Eurovision, a children's playground is forced to close because of complaints about noise, a proposed Holocaust memorial sparks local protests and the Dutch women's football team are cheered all the way to the final. In our discussion we take the pulse of the coalition at the halfway point and ask if it will make it to the finish line.
Fri, July 05, 2019
The Bonfire of the Caterpillars Edition - Week 27 - 2019
It's been a week of big-name casualties as the law finally caught up with celebrity gangster Willem Holleeder and Frans Timmermans saw a top European job slip through his fingers. While Queen Maxima came under fire for her silence in a meeting with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, one cyclist in Groningen probably wishes she'd kept quiet when police stopped and fined her for using her phone. And it's been a busy week for Amsterdam's mayor Femke Halsema, who announced plans to recognise anti-slavery campaigners in the city's street names and tackle the problems caused by tourists in the red light district. In our discussion we ask if the Dutch women can go one better than their male counterparts at the football World Cup.
Fri, June 28, 2019
The Anne Frank and Crystal Meth Edition - Week 26 - 2019
Cheese, canals and cycling - the podcast team tries to identify the DNA of Dutch identity in a week when the Dutch sense of order was turned on its head. The 112 emergency services hotline broke down, the women's football team won a match with a late penalty and a midsummer Elfstedentocht was staged in 30-degree heat. We also look at moves to atone for two dark episodes in the nation's history, the latest vaccination figures and yet more changes to the inburgering criteria.
Fri, June 21, 2019
The Feminazi Apocalypse Edition - Week 25 - 2019
For every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction, as a university in Eindhoven demonstrated this week with its plans for women-only job applications. We discuss the proposals and the ensuing social media firestorm in this week's podcast, as well as bringing you up to speed with the criminal inquiry into the downing of flight MH17, the Dutch women's World Cup campaign and the first native wolves for 200 years. Plus: the butcher whose ill-advised nostalgia trip left him licking his wounds.
Fri, June 14, 2019
The Not Those Nazis Edition - Week 24 - 2019
We're living on the edge in this week's podcast, and not just because the pinautomaten in Albert Heijn have broken down. The king weighs into the Irish border issue that has been stirred up again by Brexit, Jeroen Dijsselbloem drops a bombshell into the pension talks, universities are accused of setting the bar too low and YouTube causes ophef by taking down the wrong type of Nazis. In sport the women's team scrape through their opening World Cup match while the men once again lose a tournament final to the host nation. And we discuss whether bringing back children from the Syrian civil war is desirable or feasible.
Fri, June 07, 2019
The You Can Park Your Bike In Our DMs Any Time, Prime Minister Edition - Week 23 - 2019
This week we look at how a rogue news agency flapping its wings stirred up an international media storm about a Dutch teenage girl's death. We also bring you news of some real storms that exposed one of the country's largest cocaine labs, Ivanka Trump flying into The Hague to near-universal disappointment, two healthy developments in football and an apology from Mark Rutte to the people of Groningen. In our discussion we report on why it took nine years to reach a deal on pensions and what it means for employees and ZZP'ers.
Fri, May 31, 2019
The Pregnant Whale And Belgian Pepper Spray Edition - Week 22 - 2019
We ask the hard-hitting questions on this week's podcast. What happened in the Eerste Kamer elections? Why are the Hell's Angels so upset this week? How will Sinterklaas arrive next year? Does Brabant really smell like anise? And, in the discussion, is anyone at the EU riding a dragon?
Fri, May 24, 2019
The Hipster Santa Claus Landslide Edition - Week 21 - 2019
In this week's podcast we try to unravel the logic behind a European election debate that featured two men who weren't in the running but not the leader of the winning party, the blunder that led to hundreds of children being sent to the wrong secondary school, and the end-of-season football relegation play-offs. Duncan Laurence's Eurovision victory inspires an archetypal Dutch discussion about splitting the bill, Erik Wiebes triggers rumblings of discontent in Groningen and another VVD minister, Mark Harbers, resigns in a row over statistics. We also discuss justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus's plan to bring the laws on sexual assault up to date.
Fri, May 17, 2019
Eurovision is Worse Than Brexit Edition - Week 20 - 2019
Plenty of sea changes in this week's podcast as Mark Rutte takes the fight to Thierry Baudet, Sybrand Buma becomes the second coalition party leader to abandon ship in mid-term and Amsterdam's mayor decides not to impose a booze ban on the city's canals. The Hague opts out of the cabinet's plan for legalised cannabis cultivation, there's a poignant edge to Ajax's title celebrations and the food safety board warns people about the dangers of eating filet americain. In our discussion we ask if anyone does, or should, care about next week's European elections.
Fri, May 10, 2019
The Swedish Men Are Better Edition - Week 19 - 2019
The podcast returns from a two-week break to commiserate with Ajax fans over their shock exit from the Champions League, catch up with Forum voor Democratie's fruitless search for a senate leader and find out why the tourist board has started telling visitors to get out of Amsterdam. We also bring you the latest on the arrest of a suspected serial killer and why organic labelling is less wholesome than it sounds. In our discussion we take a deep dive into the statistics that show the Dutch spend more than their European peers on mortgages and healthcare but less on holidays.
Fri, April 26, 2019
The Infected Tulip and Painted Zwerfkei Edition - Week 17 - 2019
This week on the podcast we try to piece together the debris after an explosive week for Forum voor Democratie, find out why so many MPs claim to live in Limburg and catch up with the campaign to ban a homophobic American Holocaust denier from Amsterdam. There's also news of the neck-and-neck Eredivisie title race and some mysterious vandalism on Texel. In our discussion we give you the lowdown on this year's King's Day festivities in Amersfoort.
Fri, April 19, 2019
The Long Live King Trouby Edition - Week 16 - 2019
As the country gears up for the Easter weekend, the podcast team checks on the progress of the fledgling provincial governments and asks if fears that the housing market is overheating are well grounded. We also look at Ajax's rejuvenation in Europe, what sank Amsterdam's last floating flower business and how one of the country's most decorated soldiers poured home-made fertiliser all over his reputation. And with a week to go to King's Day, we ask why young people are turning their backs on the monarchy.
Fri, April 12, 2019
The Stamppot With Jelly Edition - Week 15 - 2019
Cheese and chips are on the menu in this week's podcast as the Chinese are accused of stealing the Netherlands' digital secrets, Donald Trump threatens to raise the tariffs on Gouda and Edam and the country is warned of a growing obesity crisis. We also ask why Enschede council bailed out its football club, why the Dutch are taking over Britain's railways and whether your tax demands will be arriving by drone in future. In our discussion we try to unravel the Moebius band of disaster that is Brexit and what the new deadlines mean from a Dutch perspective.
Fri, April 05, 2019
The April Fools Role Playing Edition - Week 14 - 2019
This week's podcast has good news for Brits wanting to vote in the European elections, bad news for parents with unvaccinated children in The Hague and fake news about Amsterdam's coffeeshops that generated some home-grown ophef. We also look at why the justice department faced a grilling over a gruesome murder, how Ajax finally got back on top for 24 hours and how much you might have to fork out for the gun that might or might not have killed Van Gogh. In our discussion we ask if the Netherlands is facing a 'silent epidemic' of prescription painkiller use and what the government can do about it.
Fri, March 29, 2019
The Article 13 Is Worse Than Article 50 Edition – Week 13 - 2019
Foreign interference looms large in this week's podcast as tulip growers tell tourists to stop trampling through their fields, the Dutch and Australian governments begin a series of highly awkward talks with Russia on the investigation into flight MH17, a Picasso is recovered from the clutches of the international underworld and Oranje's bright young upstarts are taught a familiar lesson by the Germans. In our discussion we ask why Europe's new copyright directive has become the most hated thing on the internet since Pepe the Frog.
Fri, March 22, 2019
The Owls Are Not What They Seem Edition - Week 12 - 2019
Thierry Baudet's success in the provincial elections stirred up plenty of ophef (as well as sparking a speech strung together from off-cuts of Oswald Spengler and rejected Nick Kershaw lyrics), but has it really changed the political landscape? We dissect the results and discuss the implications for Mark Rutte's cabinet on this week's podcast. Plus the latest on the Utrecht shooting, which is now being treated as a terrorist act, where the Netherlands ranks on the world happiness index, and a look ahead to Oranje's Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
Fri, March 15, 2019
The Ministry of No Silly Dancing Edition - Week 11 - 2019
In a week when the government agreed to bring in a "polluter pays" tax on CO2 emissions, the atmosphere turned poisonous at an Amsterdam school where staff are accused of having terrorist sympathies and in the fishing community of Urk, where a mob descended on the home of a migrant family. Mark Rutte nears the end of his tether over Brexit, though if if he's hopping mad or stockpiling Marmite he'll have to stay away from the Foreign Affairs ministry's canteen. We also try to keep up with the all-conquering Dutch speed skaters and discuss how (and whether) you can vote in next week's elections.
Fri, March 08, 2019
The Belgium is Cancelled Edition - Week 10 - 2019
Plenty of ground to cover in this week's podcast, from Ajax's swashbuckling conquest of Madrid to Wopke Hoekstra's peacemaking mission to Paris and a setback for Albert Heijn in Belgium. Dutch ministers call for short-haul flights to Brussels to be scrapped, IS fighter Yago Riedijk is told he'll have to find his own way back to Arnhem and Willem Holleeder's long career as the Netherlands' most notorious gangster may be running out of road. In our discussion we look at the latest moves to return works of art taken during the colonial era to their countries of origin.
Fri, March 01, 2019
The Magnificent Solo Gift Card Edition - Week 9 - 2019
A week of impulse buys and dodgy transactions is capped by the Dutch government increasing its stake in Air France-KLM, sparking ophef in Paris and causing the airline's share price to take a nosedive. We do our best to untangle the can of worms that was opened by Wopke Hoekstra's surprise move. Elsewhere, 90,000 bottles of vodka marked for Kim Jong-Un are seized in Rotterdam, new migrants are warned not to fall for scammers posing as the Dutch immigration service and disgruntled gift card owners spark riots in toy stores. We also bring you news of a terrorist plot in Groningen and ask what could possibly be prompting record numbers of British expats to turn Dutch.
Fri, February 22, 2019
The Jihadi Daycare Edition - Week 8 - 2019
The sound of doors slamming shut runs through this week's podcast as the Netherlands says it will turn away returning IS fighters, Venezuela closes its border with Curacao and a Dutch journalist has a full-on crockery-smashing row with a Fox News host. We also find out how the cabinet got its fingers burned over energy bills and discuss whether compelling children from immigrant families to attend pre-school will really help them integrate better.
Fri, February 15, 2019
The Everyone's a Muppet Edition - Week 7 - 2019
A blockbuster edition of the podcast this week as the Dutch government sends in Stef Blok to wrestle with a muppet named Brexit and try to beat Venezuela's aid blockade by going through Curacao. We also hear how Ajax took pride from a home defeat, Amsterdam's mayor raised the stop sign to red light tourism and a Dutch entrepreneur's flour bomb blew up in his face. In our discussion we review the court decision that could allow dozens of people to prove once and for all that they were secretly fathered by a sperm clinic owner.
Fri, February 08, 2019
The Whistling Dixit Edition - Week 6 - 2019
There's an end of days feel to the podcast as we review a week in which schoolchildren took a collective day off to demand urgent action on global warming, just days after MPs agreed to talk about it for a bit longer. We also look at why a no-deal Brexit could trigger medicine shortages in the Netherlands, a setback for British expats and Dutch shoemakers and perhaps the most alarming news of all – is Dick Lawyer really about to pull out of football management?
Fri, February 01, 2019
The Tweede Derde Vierde Kamer Mint Edition - Week 5 - 2019
It's a high-stakes edition of the podcast as political parties are banned from receiving foreign donations, the government sees an €8 million Rubens painting go west and cyclists face €95 fines for using mobile phones. In sport, physiotherapists' goldmine Robin van Persie leaves Ajax's €75 million man chasing shadows in the Klassieker, while FC Utrecht call time on Dick Advocaat's lucrative career. And we discuss whether the deal to grant amnesty for more child refugees to settle means Mark Rutte's cabinet will be allowed to stay in the Binnenhof.
Fri, January 25, 2019
The Barefoot Refugees Edition - Week 4 - 2019
Dirty money and clean air are the hot topics on this week's podcast as the government is warned it won't meet the targets for CO2 emissions in the Urgenda ruling, while coming under pressure to tighten its fiscal rules to stop tax money flowing out of the country and organised criminals flowing in. In sport Frenkie de Jong celebrates his big-money transfer to Barcelona by leaking four goals to Heerenveen. And the controversial Oostvaardersplassen cull proves to be a big hit with lovers of venison. In our discussion we look at how the coalition has once again snagged itself on the thorny issue of asylum.
Fri, January 18, 2019
The Blame David Cameron Edition - Week 3 - 2019
It may be winter outside, but there's been plenty to get hot under the collar about on the news front this week. Amsterdam's most infamous neighbourhood gets a less than clean bill of health, party leaders turn up the heat on the climate change deal and showbiz star Gordon (no relation) sees red over a spicy TV review. We also bring you the results of the Ophef of the Year vote, hot off the press, and discuss the ongoing nuclear meltdown that is the Brexit saga.
Fri, January 11, 2019
The Bonfire of the Ophefs Edition - Week 2 - 2019
The podcast returns after the Christmas holidays to blaze a trail through the opening week of the year. We ask why a 48-metre bonfire on a beach on a windy night surprised the authorities by setting things on fire, whether internationals are really responsible for Amsterdam's sizzling hot housing market, and what British nationals in the Netherlands can do if they want to escape the firestorm of Brexit. In our discussion we choose our 10 favourite social media micro-infernos in the inaugural Ophef of the Year Awards.
Fri, December 21, 2018
Top 150 Bonus Episode - Week 51 - Year 2018
The podcast crew discussed the Top 150, the Tweede Kamer's answer to the Top 2000.
Fri, December 14, 2018
The Commercial Breakdown Edition – Week 50 - 2018
Our last podcast of the year features a helter-skelter game of red cards, own goals and penalties that ultimately changed nothing, while away from the Brexit negotiations Ajax qualified for the next round of the Champions League. We ask why girls are more likely to move up the educational ladder then boys, whether stints will ever be allowed back on cycle paths and why a group of Chinese villagers were told to Buddha off by a Dutch court. In the discussion we look at the catchiest – and the most irritating – adverts in the Netherlands and how they have affected cultural life.
Fri, December 07, 2018
The George Soros Eye Shadow Palettes Edition - Week 49 - 2018
As a round-the-clock deportation-busting church service draws the attention of the world's media, Amsterdam calls time on the giant letters outside the Rijksmuseum, Dick Advocaat causes some ophef when he gets a time out in the referee's room and Emile Ratelband is told he can't turn the clock back on his passport. We also discuss why the Marrakesh pact to control migration has sparked a heated debate both in the Tweede Kamer and internationally.
Fri, November 30, 2018
The Ginger and Lime Brexit Edition - Week 48 - 2018
The past looms large in this week's podcast as rail operator NS agrees to compensate Holocaust victims who were transported on its trains. Amsterdam's mayor comes under pressure to enforce the so-called burka ban, there's a run on contraceptive pills, Mark Rutte delivers a 'deal or no deal' message on Brexit and health insurers sound the death knell for reincarnation therapy. In our discussion we look at the contenders for the annual Word of the Year competition.
Fri, November 23, 2018
The Piet And Pensions Edition - Week 47 - 2018
Things fall apart in this week's podcast as we update you on the increasingly bitter Zwarte Piet debate, plans to deal with a no-deal Brexit, the dispute over the 30% ruling and an electoral boycott triggered by a missing hyphen. Thankfully the football team salvaged some pride with their stunning comeback against Germany. In our discussion we ask if the breakdown of talks to reform the pension system is the beginning of the end for the Dutch polder model.
Fri, November 16, 2018
The Brex'nkaas Breakdown Edition - Week 46 - 2018
In a week dominated by dodgy deals, Molly and Paul look at the implications of the Brexit breakthrough for UK nationals in the Netherlands, find out how a cinema chain lost €19 million in an internet scam and explain why Dutch language tests have been cancelled for the rest of the year. We also catch up with the ever petulant Max Verstappen, the triumphant women's football team and the soft cheese manufacturers who learned the hard way that 'over smaak valt niet te twisten'. In the discussion we look at plans to make the appointment of mayors more democratic and transparent.
Fri, November 09, 2018
The Mosquitos Should Be Dead By Halloween Edition - Week 45 - 2018
The regular podcast team returns to discuss whether nuclear power will kill us faster than global warming, why there's been a rash of births among sports stars and whether filming at accident scenes should be banned. We also bring you up to date on the Pakistani lawyer fleeing religious persecution, Ajax's revival in Europe and a forthcoming feast of Rembrandt. In the discussion we ask why several hospitals were allowed to go bankrupt last month and how the government can prevent a repeat of the chaotic scenes that followed.
Fri, November 02, 2018
The Dutch News Podcast - Nazi Time Edition - Bonus - 2018
A bonus edition of the podcast!
Fri, November 02, 2018
The Feminazis Take Over Edition - Week 44 - 2018
The Dutch News podcast this week moves to Amsterdam, ditches Gordon and Paul, and introduces a whole new cast of characters. Senay Boztas and Deborah Nicholls-Lee join Molly to talk about the latest in the story about an electric wagon maker filing for bankruptcy, what advice Mark Rutte is giving schoolchildren and a new turn in the case of a Dutch collector accused of owning a stolen mummy. Molly talks sports, where she tells you about the latest with Max Verstappen and Deborah covers a very strange fishing trip. In the discussion, Dutch News editor-in-chief Robin Pascoe joins the crew to debate the merits of moving the Red Light District.
Fri, October 26, 2018
The Banquets and Bankruptcy Edition - Week 43 - 2018
While King Willem-Alexander spiced up a royal banquet this week by mentioning Brexit and the last successful invasion of England in the same dinner speech, back in the Netherlands more recent ghosts loomed large as the government faced calls to apologise for the treatment of the so-called 'kraut whores' after WWII. We also focus on what happens to patients when a hospital goes bust, why religion has become a minority pursuit, the Champions League goalscoring hero who had a public message for his mother and an intrepid cat's impromptu road trip. In our discussion we examine the legacy of former prime minister Wim Kok, who died this week at the age of 80.
Fri, October 19, 2018
The Crime Doesn't Pay Dividend Tax - Week 42 - 2018
Fireworks and firearms are to the fore in this week's podcast as we rake over the ashes of Rutte's dividend tax debacle, find out how police blew open a suspected terrorist cell in Arnhem, and reveal how Amsterdam plans to make New Year a less explosive occasion. Plus the Night Watch gets a very public makeover and for once there's plenty to cheer about in the sporting arena. In our discussion we look at how local mayors are increasingly being driven into hiding by mobsters.
Fri, October 12, 2018
The Pitchfork and Pindakaas Edition - Week 41 - 2018
It's been a week of departures as D66 leader Alexander Pechtold handed over the reins to Rob Jetten, Mark Rutte pulled the plug on his dividend tax plan, Unilever rowed back from Rotterdam and the Zwarte Piet motorway blockers had to leave their clogs at the door. Plus Bibian Mentel hangs up her snowboard as she reveals she's been diagnosed with cancer for the 10th time. In our discussion we take a look at the ongoing efforts to reunite artworks stolen by the Nazis to their rightful owners.
Fri, October 05, 2018
The Blackface Barbies and Bonnetjes Edition – Week 40 - 2018
It's been a week of comings and goings after Russian spies were ejected from The Hague, Pim Fortuyn's assassin was allowed to emigrate, and Zwarte Piet got a last-minute reprieve. Ajax returned from Germany with a point in the Champions League and Unilever looked poised to stay in Brexit Britain despite the Dutch government's offer of a tax sweetener. In our discussion we try to bring you up to speed on the national soap opera that is the Willem Holleeder trial.
Fri, September 28, 2018
The Smoke and Terrorist-Free Bubble Edition - Week 39 - 2018
Partnerships made the headlines this week as Sigrid Kaag answered Rihanna's call to invest in education, Mark Rutte called on the UN to secure justice for the victims of the MH17 disaster and new fathers were given more time off work to spend with their babies. One baby that stirred more controversy was Morgan the orca's calf, born in Tenerife despite a 'no breeding' clause in the contract that regulated her move to Spain. And police and security services claimed to have thwarted a major terrorist plot in Arnhem and Weert. In our discussion we take a closer look at Groningen's plan to become the Netherlands' first smoke-free municipality.
Fri, September 21, 2018
All The King's Belgian Horses Edition - Week 38 - 2018
In this week's podcast we bring you the latest news on the tragic accident in Brabant that cost four young children their lives. As it was budget day we analyse the government's financial plans, including controversial measures on the dividend tax and the 30% ruling, as well as who wore the best hats and how government statisticians and Belgian horses made up the numbers. And while Dick Lawyer returned to the field for a last hurrah, a group of hot air balloonists got into hot water with a disgruntled farmer. https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2018/09/dutchnews-podcast-the-all-the-kings-belgian-horses-edition-week-38
Fri, September 14, 2018
The Dick Lawyer Returns With A Leaky Suitcase Edition – Week 37 - 2018
On this week’s podcast, we update you on Lili and Howick, further the leaks ahead of Budget Day and discuss the potential changes to the dual nationality law. Dick Lawyer returns and Paul sneaks in a bonus op hef. In the discussion, Molly interviews Gordon about his recently published memoir. All The Time We Thought We Had.
Fri, September 07, 2018
The Blok's Book of Bigots Edition - Week 36 - 2018
The podcast returns after the summer hiatus with news of a foreign minister fighting to stay in his job, two children fighting to stay in the country and students fighting for space on overcrowded university campuses. We also bring you up to speed on the terrorist stabbing at Amsterdam station and ING bank's unprecedented fine for money laundering, plus how Wesley Sneijder's last match as a Dutch international gave a whole new meaning to playing at home. In our discussion we look back at the best stories and ophefs of the long hot summer.
Fri, July 13, 2018
The Groundhog Ophef Edition - Week 28 - 2018
With the summer break looming, we decided to pick out our favourite examples of 'ophef' - those tornados of outrage that blow up on social media only to be forgotten within 24 hours - from the year so far. It was also a week in which Mark Rutte got caught up in another Trump whirlwind at Nato, Frisian water engineers proved to be more useful than Elon Musk, the king faced a possible fine for flying drones in his back garden and a Dutchwoman reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for the first time in 40 years
Fri, July 06, 2018
The Rutte Gets Busy Edition - Week 27 - 2018
As one of the longest droughts on record continues, examiners are feeling the heat after an administrative meltdown leaves hundreds of students in Limburg facing a miserable summer. The government admits that new migrants have been left high and dry by the integration process, employees are being burned by the rise of casual labour and Max Verstappen is on fire in the Austrian Grand Prix. In the discussion Paul and Molly look back at how Mark Rutte hot-footed it from Brussels to Washington to the Catshuis as he attempted to fix all the world's major problems, including Donald Trump, by Tuesday lunchtime. And spare a thought for the delivery drivers who broke down in a sweltering van with no way out and a huge pile of money for company.
Fri, June 29, 2018
The Everything Is Miserable Edition - Week 26 - 2018
Own goals, defensive stalemates and an unorthodox formation – no, not the World Cup, but Rotterdam's talks to find a coalition, which finally concluded this week. This week the podcast team discuss the last week's political developments, which also saw former GroenLinks leader Femke Halsema come out of retirement to become Amsterdam's first female mayor. In another first for women, sailing came home as Carolijn Brouwers celebrated victory in the Volvo Ocean Race, which finished in Scheveningen harbour. There was also a disturbing attack on the Telegraaf's newspaper offices, the ophef that erupted when when writer Tommy Wieringa joked about it, an oil spill in Rotterdam harbour and a victory for the PVV as the burqa ban becomes law a mere 13 years after they first proposed it.
Fri, June 22, 2018
The Canna-Business As Usual Edition - Week 25 - 2018
The podcast team looks back at a week of contrasts, as falling crime levels lead the government to consider closing more prisons while rising sea levels trigger a deal to set long-term climate change targets. As PSV's manager Phillip Cocu gets ready to fly out to Turkey, the Netherlands' Moroccan footballers are flying home after an early exit in Russia. And police arrest four people suspected of supplying illegal guns to terrorists in France, but terrorism is ruled out as a motive for the fatal accident at the Pinkpop music festival. In our discussion we ask if the attempt to create a legal cannabis supply chain will end the link between drugs and crime.
Fri, June 15, 2018
The Balls, Bans and Bangs Edition - Week 24 - 2018
The podcast team looks back at a week in which the government decided that burqas were a bigger threat to society than stray fireworks, a school in Drenthe shelved plans to stage a mock shooting and Delft's porcelain image was rattled by a series of blasts and bombings. Schiphol airport vowed to get tough on passengers who pre-load during pre-boarding and the women's football team almost blew their chances of World Cup qualification. In our discussion we ask if Mark Rutte's speech to the European Parliament signals a seismic shift for the prime minister and the European Union.
Fri, June 08, 2018
The Did You Spill My Coffee Edition - Week 23 - 2018
This week's podcast asks if Amsterdam can hold back the rampant spread of tourism in the age of Airbnb and stag weekends. We also look back at a week in which Mark Rutte's handiness with a mop broke the internet, universities once again asked if English is taking over on campus, AD's fishy judging panels kicked up a stink and two fallen giants of world football went through the motions in Turin. Liner notes: https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2018/06/dutchnews-podcast-the-did-you-spill-my-coffee-edition-week-23
Fri, June 01, 2018
The Crunching Councils, Sleeping Lion Edition - Week 22 - 2018
This week's podcast brings you up to date on the process of forming council administrations after this year's local elections. Elsewhere, torrential rain causes havoc around the country, the Dutch government gets tough on Russia over the MH17 inquiry, opposition grows to reforming the 30% tax ruling, and a court makes a groundbreaking ruling on gender neutrality. We also look at how Tom Dumoulin narrowly missed out on the Giro d'Italia title and what happened when a purloined lion-shaped pearl went under the hammer. If you live in the Eindhoven area, you can now listen to the DutchNews podcast on Radio 4 Brainport at radio4brainport.org or on AM radio at 747 mHz. https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2018/06/dutchnews-podcast-the-crunching-councils-sleeping-lion-edition-week-22
Fri, May 25, 2018
The 8% is the Goldilocks Zone of Communism Edition - Week 21 - 2018
This week's podcast looks at the ramifications of the latest developments in the MH17 inquiry as the Dutch government and joint investigation team point the finger of blame squarely at Russia. We also find out about the Friesland community came up with an eye-catching additional member to the European Capital of Culture programme, why a soldier is being given a ceremonial burial four centuries after he died and who won the battle of the Dicks on the football field. In the discussion we ask if the Dutch system of holiday pay is a nice little seasonal sweetener or a paternalistic anachronism. Liner notes: https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2018/05/dutchnews-podcast-the-8-is-the-goldilocks-zone-of-communism-edition
Fri, May 18, 2018
The Ophefgeddon Edition - Week 20 - 2018
The podcast returns after a two-week break with a round-up of the minor outrages that have been swirling round social media, from the French family who cheated death at a safari park to Hema's protracted protractors and Thierry Baudet's unsettling ode to a baguette. Elsewhere, find out why Mark Rutte had some unlikely guests on his flight back from the Caribbean, how Amsterdam is planning to turn back the tourist tide and why universities are concerned about the growth of English-language classes. And in sport, we catch up with Tom Dumoulin's bid for a second Giro title and attempt to untangle the Byzantine permutations of the end-of-season Eredivisie play-offs.
Fri, May 04, 2018
The Shortbread and Chill Edition - Week 18 - 2018
Liner notes: https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2018/05/dutchnews-podcast-the-shortbread-and-chill-edition-week-18
Thu, April 26, 2018
The Missing Gordon Is Taxing Edition - Week 17 - 2018
It's a special King's Day podcast this week as the team examine the Dutch tradition of donning inflatable headgear and flogging your unwanted Dire Straits CDs to unsuspecting neighbours. We also find out why the prime minister was caught out by some unmemorable memos, why Turkey was upset about Menno and why expats are up in arms about the 30% ruling. Plus how a Dutch city gave a ringing endorsement to the late Swedish DJ Avicii. Dividend Tax Memos https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/rutte-does-u-turn-and-pledges-to-release-documents-on-dividend-tax/ https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/dutch-prime-minister-faces-stormy-debate-over-dividend-tax-memos/ 30% Ruling https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/government-to-cut-time-limit-for-30-rule-from-next-year/ https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/no-transition-period-for-expats-hit-by-30-ruling-cuts-ministry-says/ https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/opposition-parties-unit-to-censure-prime-minister-over-dividend-tax-memos/ Armenian Genocide https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/dutch-minister-attends-armenian-genocide-commemorations-for-first-time/ Bikes https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/for-the-first-time-more-cyclists-are-killed-on-the-dutch-roads-than-people-in-cars/ https://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2018/04/red-light-air-pollution-measurement-bike-shows-traffic-hotspots/ Sports https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/van-persie-ponders-future-with-feyenoord-after-scoring-in-knvb-cup-win/ https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/house-where-football-legend-johan-cruijff-grew-up-is-available-for-rent/ Avicii https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/04/utrechts-tribute-to-dance-maestro-avicii-goes-around-the-world/
Fri, April 20, 2018
The More Coke, Less Drop Edition - Week 16 - 2018
We have a second shot at discussing the war on drugs in the week's podcast: is the Netherlands really becoming a narcostate, and are so-called 'cocaine yogis', with their healthy eating, hard partying lifestyles really to blame? We also bring you the latest news on British citizens' efforts to secure their rights ahead of Brexit, the expats who are allegedly taking over Amstelveen's schools, the impasse in Rotterdam's coalition talks and a rugby club that's going to surreal lengths to pay for their solar panels.
Fri, April 13, 2018
The Breaking Brabant Edition - Week 15 - 2018
Today on the podcast: is the housing market overheating, why did a singing road lose its voice, is Max Verstappen more accident-prone than a Jeff Koons sculpture, and how did hawks and sea eagles become embroiled in a treetop turf war? Note: Due to a technical error, there is no discussion on this week's podcast.
Fri, April 06, 2018
The Arm The Prostitutes Edition - Week 14 - 2018
After scoffing all their Easter chocolate in record time, the podcast team return with news of the Dutch banker jailed for his part in Donald Trump's rise to power, why the supermarkets came under fire for their part in English football fans' latest rampage through Amsterdam, and the man ordered by his local council to hunt down and catch a school of vanishing fish. We also look at proposals to change the security law, in the wake of the sleepwet referendum, and rules on bankers' pay in the wake of ING's climbdown on their chief executive's salary. In our discussion we ask if restricting freedom of speech should be curtailed after Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb was called an 'infidel' in a video blog by an imam.
Fri, March 23, 2018
The Spekkoek and Stracciatella Edition - Week 12 - 2018
It's an election results special in this week's podcast, as we discuss why local parties rule the roost, how D66 lost out in the cities, whether it can get any worse for Labour and who fared best of the newcomers, including Denk, the PVV and the Animal Rights Party. There's also news of the 'dragnet' referendum, technological advances in football and death in the Oostvaardersplassen.
Fri, March 16, 2018
The Disaster Tourism Edition - Week 11 - 2018
With a week to go until the local elections, we bring you up to speed on the soap opera that is Rotterdam's campaign and explain how and where you can cast your vote. Elsewhere, was ING's about-turn on its CEO's pay rise a victory for people power, and did Unilever's decision to close its London headquarters really have nothing to do with Brexit or the Dutch government's abolition of dividend tax? There's also the remarkable story of the Paralympic athlete who won two gold medals amid an ongoing 18-year battle against cancer. In the discussion we pick out our favourites from the growing crop of books about the Netherlands.
Fri, March 09, 2018
The Uber Dull Blok Edition - Week 10 - 2018
In the week when the most boring man in politics returned to the cabinet, a plot by taxi drivers to storm Uber's offices with fireworks and molotov cocktails was foiled, Dutch cyclists won a clutch of medals at the indoor track world championships, we dig deep to find some more riveting news – like the car abandoned in the middle of the sea and the homeless man who was fined for cooking heron's legs. We also have the second part of our discussion on referendums and the so-called 'dragnet' law that will give AIVD agents more powers to tap your internet traffic.
Fri, March 02, 2018
The Broken Referendum Edition - Week 9 - 2018
It may be just about the coldest start to March on record, but there's plenty of hot topics to digest on this week's podcast. We find out why Geert Wilders's efforts to thaw relations with Russia got a less than warm reception from the MH17 relatives, how a teenager won the right to brand himself a prince and what burning issues the Netherlands plans to tackle as chair of the UN security council. Plus the Winter Olympians return home in a blaze of glory and one of Johannes Vermeer's best-known paintings is back in the spotlight. And as D66 prepares to chuck its referendum law on the bonfire, we discuss why successive attempts at direct democracy in the Netherlands have failed to catch fire.
Fri, February 23, 2018
The Bad Bat Red Bulb Edition - Week 8 - 2018
In this week's podcast we bring you the latest news on the campaign to prosecute tobacco firms for damaging public health, the row over whether Parliament should deny the people a referendum on its plan to scrap referendums, and the Dutch gold rush at the Winter Olympics. We also find out why a Bible belt town took a dim view of its new bat-friendly street lighting and asked if new Dutch fathers will have the energy to cheer plans to extend paternity leave. In our discussion we look at the vast range of candidates, and how you can vote for them, in next month's municipal elections.
Fri, February 16, 2018
The So Many Organs Edition - Week 7 - 2018
This week's podcast brings you up to speed with the gold rush for Dutch skaters at the Winter Olympics, the minister who lost his job over a lie and the eagle that went awol after being harassed by seagulls. We also reflect on the life of the Netherlands' longest serving prime minister, Ruud Lubbers, and the consequences of the new organ donation law. In our discussion we look at the growing campaign to sue the tobacco industry for damaging public health and new measures to restrict smoking.
Fri, February 09, 2018
The Fuck The King Edition - Week 6 - 2018
This week's podcast brings you the latest on the Brexit court case in Amsterdam, the race row engulfing the Forum voor Democratie and the party leader whose career capsized in the Maldives. The Dutch government replaces the leaders of its smallest Caribbean territory and Ronald Koeman replaces Dick Advocaat as manager of the national football team. Plus we look ahead to the Winter Olympics and ask if Dutch skaters will dominate the ice rink again in Pyeongchang.
Fri, February 02, 2018
The Sacred Cows Edition - Week 5 - 2018
In this week's podcast we ask who was responsible for the cyber attacks that mysteriously hit Dutch banks a week after details emerged of the security services' role in a counterespionage operation against Russia. Plans to cut gas production in Groningen and compensate earthquake-hit householders got back on track, the senate debated changes to the law on organ donation and there was a happy ending for Hermien the fugitive cow. In our discussion we look at why the debate about the Dutch colonial legacy has flared up again.
Fri, January 26, 2018
The Foreign Invaders Edition - Week 4 - 2018
In this week's podcast: how the Dutch caught the Russians hacking the American election; why the Belgians swelled the numbers at a Dutch nationalist rally; how a German wolf toured the Netherlands for two weeks before dining out in Belgium; what police did when a dinosaur showed up in Almelo; and why Limburg wants to be shot of its imported beavers. In our discussion we focus on the trials and tribulations of housebuying in the Netherlands.
Fri, January 19, 2018
But Everyone Speaks English Edition - Week 3 - 2018
In this week's podcast we survey the debris from a winter storm that cost €90 million and the obstacles on the path to learning Dutch. Plus how the Belgians came to the rescue when the Russians came calling, why an Amsterdam court became the latest Brexit battleground and the fake news item that's been exposed after 370 years. You can also hear how Molly's favourite football manager fared as he tried to revive Sparta's fortunes.
Fri, January 12, 2018
The Men Can't Apologize Properly Edition - Week 2 - 2018
The podcast team looks back at a week of shocks that began with another earthquake in Groningen, saw the PVV whip up a social media storm in Utrecht and ended with a baptism of fire for new US ambassador Peter Hoekstra. How did Camiel Eurlings' apology backfire, why was nobody in the least perturbed when the rivers overflowed, and did Hoekstra backtrack on his denial that something he claimed never to have said was fake news? Plus we discuss the local council scheme to reward teenagers who managed not to cause mayhem and destruction on New Year's Eve.
Fri, January 05, 2018
The Arkmageddon Alpacalypse Edition – Week 1 - 2018
The DutchNews podcast returns after an extended Christmas break with a feast of news from the old year and the new. We catch up on the Dutch winter storm that was too fierce for Noah’s Ark, the former minister who crashed his bus while texting behind the wheel and the whirlwind of fake news that engulfed the new US ambassador. Plus what happened when Rotterdam police suggested undressing suspects in the street and an alpaca went walkabout in Haarlem.
Fri, December 08, 2017
The Grinch Stole My Oliebollen Edition - Week 49 - Year 2017
There's not much Christmas cheer in our last podcast of the year, as the Dutch government joins the chorus of disapproval against Donald Trump's latest diplomatic intervention, texting while cycling is officially frowned on, a radio station is pilloried for a sexist prank and Spain comes under fire for its treatment of Morgan the orca. Andre Rieu makes a surprise guest appearance in our sports news, while our end-of-year discussion looks at some of the top 2000 reasons to celebrate Christmas in the Netherlands.
Fri, December 01, 2017
The Poison Chalice of Fake News Edition - Week 48 - 2017
In this week's podcast we tackle the biggest, blackest hot potato of our times - when and how will the Zwarte Piet debate end? It's been a week of bitterness and recriminations, with a chaotic end to the Yugoslavia tribunals in The Hague and the Dutch government facing accusations of fitting up an airline pilot who spent eight years in an Argentinian jail before being cleared this week of throwing dissidents out of planes in the 1970s. We also pick our favourites from the shortlist for Dutch Word of the Year and look at Ajax's attempts to export their renowned academy system to China – just as Dutch football clubs plunge in the European pecking order.
Fri, November 24, 2017
The Random Descriptions of Boners Edition - Week 47 - Year 2017
We look back on a week of thwarted protests as MPs fail to talk out a bill to scrap a tax break for homeowners and the A7 motorway is gridlocked by the Zwarte Piet debate. Amsterdam emerges as the first big winner in the Great Brexit Clearance Sale (and immediately frets about the effect on house prices), the Yugoslavia tribunal in The Hague delivers its verdict on the Butcher of Bosnia and a Dutch men's sports team shocks Europe by winning a match. In our discussion we ask which Dutch books you can buy your relatives this Christmas.
Fri, November 17, 2017
The Dog Ate My Podcast Edition - Week 46
The Dog Ate My Podcast Edition - Week 46 by DutchNews
Fri, November 10, 2017
Tax-free Millionaires' Shortbread (It Was A Scone) - Week 45
Tax-free Millionaires' Shortbread (It Was A Scone) - Week 45 by DutchNews
Fri, November 03, 2017
The Unfortunate Train Name Edition - Week 44 - 2017
This week's podcast has a transport theme as a judge calls time on Amsterdam's beer bikes, the Anne Frank Foundation cries foul on Germany's national rail operator and Russia has a hissy fit over air cargo slots at Schiphol. We also tackle the mystery of the cat that travelled 150km to a Belgian town with an appropriate name. In our discussion we analyse the two-day debate in Parliament to welcome the new Dutch government.
Fri, October 27, 2017
The Shoes That Should Be Sterilised Edition - Week 43 - 2017
In this week's we give you the lowdown on who's who in the new Dutch government and find out why the health minister's shoes made a splash at the swearing-in ceremony. Others to make a splash this week were the protester who disrupted a dolphin show in Japan and the students who came up with a novel way to stop green roofs leaking. In sport, we find out why Max Verstappen is still angry about being pushed off the podium and which Dutch player is officially the world's best footballer.
Fri, October 27, 2017
The Shoes That Should Be Sterilised Edition - Week 43 - 2017
In this week's we give you the lowdown on who's who in the new Dutch government and find out why the health minister's shoes made a splash at the swearing-in ceremony. Others to make a splash this week were the protester who disrupted a dolphin show in Japan and the students who came up with a novel way to stop green roofs leaking. In sport, we find out why Max Verstappen is still angry about being pushed off the podium and which Dutch player is officially the world's best footballer.
Fri, October 20, 2017
There Are Too Many Ministers Edition - Week 42 - 2017
In a change to our regular podcast format, this week we interview author Ben Coates about why the Dutch are different, how he became an accidental migrant and how, as a former British political hack, he struggled to make sense of a political system that relies on parties agreeing with each other. We also bring you the names to look out for as the new Dutch government takes shape, the latest news on the murder of student Anne Faber and the remarkable story of the tigers that fled the war in Syria.
Fri, October 13, 2017
The Whistleblowing Chicken Edition - Week 41 - 2017
There's an early Christmas feel to this week's podcast as we unpack the eagerly awaited coalition agreement, wrap up the Abba penalty kicks saga and find out how a neglected pet chicken led police to a drug dealer's treasure trove. We also have news of some green eggs and a ham-fisted attempt to break out of jail.
Fri, October 06, 2017
The Deplorable Hand Grenade Edition - Week 40 - 2017
The Deplorable Hand Grenade Edition - Week 40 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, September 29, 2017
The Cannibal Car Park Edition - Week 39 - 2017
The Cannibal Car Park Edition - Week 39 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, September 22, 2017
The Hoedjes and Horses Edition - Week 38 - 2017
This week, we’ll be bringing you up to speed on the budget and the coalition talks; we’ll tell you about a Dutchman who was outstanding on his bike while a lot of new bike owners in Tilburg had problems standing out; and we find out what happened when Amsterdam’s women tried to take a stand against the city’s public toilets.. Our discussion looks at the pandemonium that ensued when a major high street chain store said it was scrapping boys and girls labels on children’s clothes.
Fri, September 15, 2017
The Twitching Game Show Finger Edition - Week 37 - 2017
The Twitching Game Show Finger Edition - Week 37 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, September 08, 2017
The Suicidal Kleptocat Edition - Week 36 - 2017
The Suicidal Kleptocat Edition - Week 36 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, September 01, 2017
The Loose Camel Edition - Week 35 - 2017
The Loose Camel Edition - Week 35 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, August 25, 2017
The What Is Taking Them So Long Edition - Week 34 - 2017
The What Is Taking Them So Long Edition - Week 34 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, August 18, 2017
The Summer of Chicks Edition – Week 33 - 2017
The Summer of Chicks Edition – Week 33 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, July 14, 2017
The We Apologise For Everything Edition - Week 28 - 2017
The We Apologise For Everything Edition - Week 28 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, July 07, 2017
The Bitterball Twist Edition - Week 27 - 2017
The Bitterball Twist Edition - Week 27 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, June 30, 2017
The Fishy Edition – Week 26 - 2017
The Fishy Edition – Week 26 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, June 23, 2017
The We Demand Absolute Loyalty Edition - Week 25 - 2017
The We Demand Absolute Loyalty Edition - Week 25 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, June 16, 2017
Tjeenk Willink's Love Letters Edition – Week 24 - 2017
Tjeenk Willink's Love Letters Edition – Week 24 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, June 09, 2017
The Paul Ducks Out Edition - Week 23 - 2017
The Paul Ducks Out Edition - Week 23 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, June 02, 2017
The Headbanging Vultures Edition - Week 22 - 2017
The Headbanging Vultures Edition - Week 22 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, May 26, 2017
The Bus Baby Eagle Edition - Week 21 - 2017
The Bus Baby Eagle Edition - Week 21 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, May 19, 2017
The Moonlighting Monarch Edition - Week 20 - 2017
In this week's podcast, we argue about possible coalition options now that the talks have fallen apart, debate when there will be a team outing to see the new pandas and make fun of Molly for not knowing anything about football.
Fri, May 12, 2017
The Crashing Boars Edition - Week #19 - 2017
The Crashing Boars Edition - Week #19 - 2017 by DutchNews
Fri, May 05, 2017
The Treasureless Treasure Hunt Edition - Week #18 2017
This week, we will tell you about lines at Schiphol, lines in Rotterdam and update you with the latest coalition talks news. In our discussion section, we will ask whether or not it’s appropriate to honor refugees on Remembrance Day.
Fri, April 28, 2017
The Fifty Shades of Orange Edition - Week 17
This week we talk about orange kings on television, orange ties in Brussels and the orange tragedy that is the Dutch national football team. In our discussion we will answer the question why the Dutch Royal Family is so popular as well as why James Bond should wear an orange bow tie.
Fri, April 28, 2017
The Happy Orange Bunnies Edition - Week 16 - 2017
We’ll be talking more about King’s Day traditions in our discussion, but first we’ve got news of earthquakes in Groningen, a rare footballing success and why Dutch teenagers are happy bunnies, but Dutch bunnies aren’t.
Thu, April 13, 2017
The Pandamonium Edition - Week 15 - 2017
This week, we’ll update you on the latest coalition news, we’ll say farewell to the Amsterdam beer bikes and we’ll welcome two new immigrants to the country. This week we don’t have a discussion. Instead we’ll tell you something about us because we would like our listeners to get us know better, but mainly because we just like to talk about ourselves.
Fri, April 07, 2017
The Keep Calm and Draw Hitler Edition - Week 14
This week, we have an update on the coalition talks, a missing dog and why you’ve been seeing a lot of photos of Dutch politicians holding hands. In our discussion, we tackle everyone's favorite issue: the inburgeringsexamen.
Fri, March 31, 2017
The Tunnelly McTunnelface Edition - Week 13
We’ll be looking at what Brexit means to the Netherlands, but before that we’ve got news of the coalition talks, a controversial shopping trip and a goat with a little bit extra.
Fri, March 24, 2017
The Crooks and Crocs Edition - Week 12
This week we'll be discussing coalitions, crocodiles and cartagrophy, as well as an amazing art robery story.
Sat, March 18, 2017
The Panda to Populism Edition - Week 11
This week, we talk about the election results and goldfish. And pandas. In our discussion, we dissect the election and what will happen next.
Wed, March 15, 2017
The Pod and Ballot Cast Edition (Part 2)
This is the second Special Dutch News Election Podcast. We have been keeping an eye on everything that has happened here in the Netherlands and we’ll give you an update on the Dutch elections as well as the exit polls results.
Wed, March 15, 2017
The Pod and Ballot Cast Edition (Part 1)
This is the Dutchnews podcast and this is the first special election day podcast we have in store for you today. In this episode we’ll be discussing yesterday’s big debate, the very last polls released yesterday and bring you up to speed what is going on in the Netherlands on this fine Election Day.
Fri, March 10, 2017
The Cat Calling Edition - Week 10
We talk about the Dutch government's response to the Turkish referendum, more on marijuana and naming Geert Wilders's cats. In our discussion, it's all the news ahead of next week's election.
Fri, March 03, 2017
The Lock Her Up Edition - Week 9
Groningen Gas https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/gas-company-nam-is-liable-for-groningen-earthquake-victims-stress/ Police Diversity http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/102317-2/ Russian Election Interference http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/dutch-passed-on-information-about-trumps-aides-and-russia-nyt/ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/us/politics/obama-trump-russia-election-hacking.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0 Over subscription https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/02/popular-dutch-university-courses-are-heavily-oversubscribed/ Beavers http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/262039892/Bever+moet+opzouten,+want+zijn+gangenstelsel+maakt+de+dijk+zwak.aspx Granny https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2017/mar/01/the-99-year-old-who-threw-herself-in-prison-and-other-strange-bucket-list-requests Polls http://peilingwijzer.tomlouwerse.nl/ Discussion http://www.parool.nl/binnenland/jan-roos-pauw-en-jinek-raken-mij-niet~a4450045/ http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/campaign-trail-wilders-back-on-the-streets-income-tax-call/ http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/03/facebook-to-start-fake-news-checks-in-the-netherlands/
Fri, February 24, 2017
Dutch News Podcast - The Gateway Drug Edition - Week #8 2017
This week’s podcast we have some drugs, a feast fit for a king, sponsored cows and a spare leg.
Fri, February 17, 2017
Dutch News Podcast - The Mansplaining Edition - Week 7 2017
This week, it's elections, elections, elections and one stowaway cat. We talk the CPB report about the parties platforms, the latest polls and the rule of law assessment in election news. In our discussion, we cover equality in the Netherlands and why women seem to be lagging behind.
Fri, February 03, 2017
DutchNews Podcast - Week 5
Dutch News Podcast - Week 5
Tue, January 24, 2017
Dutch News Podcast - Trial 1
#Netherlands #DutchNews #DN #Dutch #TheNetherlands #News #DutchPolitics #DutchCurrentEvents #Holland
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