Dutch News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Dog Ate My Podcast Edition - Week 46 by Dutch News

Tax-free Millionaires' Shortbread (It Was A Scone) - Week 45 by Dutch News