Dutch News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

The podcast crew discussed the Top 150, the Tweede Kamer's answer to the Top 2000.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A bonus edition of the podcast!

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.

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.

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.