17th September 1954
This programme is part of the series Remembering the Second World War in the Netherlands: Historical Sound of the 1950'sWhile much of the south of the Netherlands was liberated in late 1944, the …
29th April 1955
This programme is part of the series Remembering the Second World War in the Netherlands: Historical Sound of the 1950'sThe failure of the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 meant that the northern …
4th May 1956
The world celebrated the 350th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) in 1956. In this vintage radio report, Amsterdam fine art dealer Evert Douwes (1928-2019) and the director of …
8th July 1957
On July 8, 1957, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru paid an official visit to the Netherlands. Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns greeted him at Schiphol Airport and Radio Nederland was there …
31st December 1960
Good old-fashioned radio roundup of the year’s main events from the Dutch perspective. This newsreel-style programme contains interesting little facts and sound bites about Holland and the …
27th January 1976
This programme is part of the series Autumn of the Middle AgesIn the Middle Ages, the Netherlands played a very prominent role in European musical life. By “Netherlands”, we mean the so-called Low …
27th January 1976
This programme is part of the series Autumn of the Middle AgesIn the Middle Ages, the Netherlands played a very prominent role in European musical life. By “Netherlands”, we mean the so-called Low …
27th January 1976
This programme is part of the series Autumn of the Middle Ages In de Middle Ages, the Netherlands played a very prominent role in European musical life. By “Netherlands” we mean the so-called …
20th April 1982
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands paid a state visit to the United States in 1982, the year that marked the bicentennial of Dutch-American diplomatic ties. After a state dinner with President Ronald …
20th December 1983
This is one of the few surviving copies of a weekly magazine programme on the Netherlands, broadcast in the 1980’s. In this end-of-year edition, presented by Barry O’Dwyer, five …
1st January 1987
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
1st August 1987
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
17th August 1987
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
14th September 1987
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
27th September 1987
This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsHerman Brood (1946-2001) was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, rock star in Dutch history. His hedonistic, frantically creative life …
5th October 1987
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
26th October 1987
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
4th May 1988
1988 marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. This programme takes a look at Israel from a Dutch perspective. It was first broadcast on May 4th, which is the Dutch annual …
29th June 1988
In this unedited interview, Radio Netherlands’ science editor Anne Blair Gould spoke to Prince Bernhard (1911-2004) of the Netherlands about the World Wide Fund for Nature. The prince, who was …
15th July 1988
Pete Myers was among a select group of Dutch journalists invited to Kensington Palace to interview Britain’s Crown Prince Charles in 1988 to mark the 300th anniversary of the Glorious …
10th August 1988
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
11th November 1988
In this edition of our weekly magazine programme “Rembrandt Express”, Pete Myers speaks with Joseph Heller, the renowned American novelist and famed author of the classic “Catch …
7th June 1989
This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
28th July 1989
Rembrandt Express was a weekly magazine show about the Netherlands, hosted by Pete Myers. In the late 1980’s, he introduced the Gay Front, a monthly column about gay social issues. It was long …
23rd October 1989
By the late 1980’s, the Dutch prison system came in for praise from abroad for its low prison population – 6000 prisoners for a population of nearly 15 million – low sentencing and …
12th June 1990
The great port city of Rotterdam is a close rival to Amsterdam, not only in football but also as a hub of culture, with world-renowned annual poetry and film festivals, as well as some of …
22nd March 1991
Mercy killing or euthanasia continues to provoke heated debates in most parts of the world. In the Netherlands, according to some estimates, up to 10,000 ask for euthanasia, literally the good death, …
23rd September 1991
This programme is part of the series In So Many WordsLanguages change constantly. Dutch has been around since the Middle Ages, but it was not until the Golden Age of prosperity in the 17th century …
1st January 1992
This programme was part of a series on lesser noticed aspects of life in the Netherlands. In this episode, a British national discusses with anthropologist Harie Hoetink what has struck her about …
22nd November 1992
At the start of 1980’s, the Radio Netherlands’ English department led the transition from mainly entertainment shows to high-quality feature programmes. The focus also switched from being …
20th December 1992
Maggie Ayre and Dheera Sujan have fun with some awful Christmas songs and fan letters. Mike Bullen analyses the office party, colleagues pick their favourite fantasy figure (Anne Blair Gould, Rina …
15th August 1995
The most famous Dutch novel of the 19th century is “Max Havelaar” by Multatuli (pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887). It not only became a classic of European literature but also …
2nd November 1995
Hélène Michaud meets VVD leader Frits Bolkestein who was in the news at the time because of his critical remarks about asylum seekers, refugees and foreigners. They talk about Dutch tolerance, the …
27th October 1996
This special edition of our science program , Research File, is devoted to the achievements of Dutch 17th- century mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695). Huygens’ …
11th November 1996
In his time, Judge Dee, a historical figure of the Tang Dynasty, earned fame as a magistrate, detective and statesman. Though never forgotten in his own country, it was only in the 20th century that …
14th November 1996
The first of three programmes produced in association with Radio Netherlands, BBC Scotland and RTE Ireland. The people who live on the man-made polders in the north of Amsterdam are sometimes called …
14th November 1996
In the first of three co-productions between Radio Netherlands, BBC Radio Scotland and RTE Ireland, Maggie Ayre travels down the Rhine with a Dutch husband and wife team who live aboard their motor …
15th November 1996
The Frisian island of Terschelling remains one of the Netherlands’ last wild nature reserves, with mile upon mile of deserted beaches and sand dunes. Once gloriously isolated, with islanders …
15th November 1996
The Frisian language is spoken by more than 300,000 native speakers in the northern Dutch province of Friesland. Although the language was never suppressed in the manner of Gaelic in Scotland or …
2nd February 1997
This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationThis is probably the most comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio …
2nd February 1997
This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationThis is the second of an 8-part series broadcast to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of Radio Netherlands in March 1997. It …
2nd February 1997
This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationIn this comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio broadcaster, part …
2nd February 1997
This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationIn this comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio broadcaster, part …
2nd February 1997
In this comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio broadcaster, part five of the eight-part series looks back at the second half of the …
2nd February 1997
This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationThis is probably the most comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio …
2nd February 1997
This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationThis is probably the most comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio …
2nd February 1997
This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationIn this final chapter of our 8-part series telling the story of Radio Netherlands, we focus on the English language department. …
23rd February 1997
Dheera Sujan happened to be in Perth when Crown Prince Willem-Alexander laid the keel for the replica of the VOC ship Duyfken, which brought the first white man to Western Australia. At the same …
11th July 1997
This edition of the “Sounds Interesting” focuses on Holland as a multicultural society, political correctness and the problems this creates for newcomers. The programme talks to …
1st August 1997
25 years ago, the Jordaan, Amsterdam’s most famous neighbourhood was badly run down and in danger of being demolished. But, as Simone Weimans and Robert Chesal discover, common sense saved the …
29th August 1997
What’s the best thing about Amsterdam? According to the people of Rotterdam, it’s the last train leaving Amsterdam for Rotterdam. In Holland, as in most places, there’s a bit of …
9th November 1997
Robert Chesal interviews several doctors who talk about how carrying out euthanasia affects them personally. It contains a very moving illustration of this, involving a mother of 11 children. …
1st January 1998
This award-winning programme tells a trans-Atlantic tale of love, music and politics. It is the story of Leon Perlee and Mercedes Sosa, both of them linked to the wooden street organ. He, a restorer …
15th January 1998
The image that many people have of Holland is one of an extremely tolerant and, in fact, overly permissive society when it comes to sex, drugs, prostitution, religion or euthanasia. The Netherlands …
25th January 1998
By the time Queen Beatrix celebrated her 60th birthday in 1998, she had been on the throne of the Netherlands for almost 20 years. By this time, she had acquired a great deal of respect both among …
30th January 1998
The first part of a three-part co-production looking at aspects of national cuisine and the customs associated with serving and receiving food in Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands. Part One is …
23rd April 1998
From its first publication to the plays, films and dispute surrounding the ownership of her name, Anne Frank’s diary continues to stir up controversy. David Swatling investigates the history and …
31st July 1998
In the Netherlands, children are being encouraged to stand up for their rights. “My parents are getting divorced. What’s going to happen to me? I’m being bullied at school.” …
1st September 1998
When Queen Wilhelmina inherited the Dutch throne from her father King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1890, she was only ten years old. She was not only the country’s first female monarch, but …
28th September 1998
In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed his famous ship “Halve Maen”, the “Half Moon”, up the river in North America that would one day bear his name. It was the start of the 60-year …
18th October 1998
David Swatling meets John Irving in Amsterdam. They discuss the storyline of Irving’s latest book, “A Widow for One Year” (set in Amsterdam), his love of Amsterdam, and we hear from …
23rd October 1998
Around the world, women are postponing motherhood, usually in order to take time to study and start their careers. When this programme was made, Dutch women were on average 29 years old when they had …
30th October 1998
Dykes, ditches, windmills, villas and geometric fields – these are some of the features of the Dutch landscape. They reflect Holland’s struggle against the water, the wealth of the Golden …
18th December 1998
25 years ago, a group of idealists squatted an entire Dutch village and created a utopian art colony and unique nature reserve: Ruigoord. It’s all over now. With plans to expand it harbour …
18th December 1998
After a shocking case of serial sexual abuse by a high school teacher, Dutch educators struggle to find more effective ways to detect and put a stop to sexual misconduct. Producer: Robert …
3rd January 1999
The Netherlands as seen through the eyes of some of the foreigners who were living here in the late 1990’s. Alain Francau, France 1998 Alan Gibson, Scotland 1999 Anna Marima, Tanzania, 1998 …
12th March 1999
James McDonald looks for a corner of the densely populated Netherlands where modern life hasn’t managed to take hold. The island of Schiermonnikoog provides just that. The 1000 inhabitants live …
19th March 1999
A programme about the disappearing way of life of inland skippers. Bulk transport on river barges accounted for half of Europe’s marine freight traffic when this programme was made. Half of the …
9th September 1999
This award-winning programme focuses on a secret operation involving the Netherlands Anti-Apartheid Movement, the AABN, during Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment and the apartheid years in South …
19th September 1999
The people who many of us refer to as “gypsies”, but who call themselves Sinti and Roma, are a small ethnic minority in the Netherlands, numbering between 5,000 and 7,000 at the …
21st October 1999
The Netherlands as seen through the eyes of some of the foreigners who were living here in the late 1990’s. Jacqueline Aflick, Australia Jos Wibisono, Indonesia Leila Zacharia, Lebanon Lois Pot …
2nd January 2000
Khaled and Shukria Manupal are both physicians. They had a prosperous life and a nice home with their children in Afghanistan, until the Soviet invasion in 1979 forced them to leave their country in …
26th January 2000
When the young soldiers who had fought in the trenches of World War I returned home after the armistice of 1918, they were no longer boys but men. Many of them traumatised by their experience of the …
2nd February 2000
Within 100 years of Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, The Netherlands was the publishing centre of Europe. With presses in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, the most famous name in …
20th March 2000
At the Second World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000, Saskia van Rhenen speaks to Dutch crown prince Willem-Alexander, the chairman of the meeting. They discuss what the Netherlands can offer the …
10th April 2000
In this documentary, Marijke van der Meer looks at present-day Dutch-Caribbean migration to the Netherlands. Thousands of people from the Netherlands Antilles are hoping to find a better life in the …
1st June 2000
In this short interview recorded in Nairobi, Kenya, Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands talks about his involvement as a pilot with AMREF, the African Medical and Research Foundation. He flew …
20th October 2000
Why, in a country of plenty, with a booming economy and a highly developed welfare system, are there homeless people in Holland? Jonathan Groubert goes onto the streets of major Dutch cities to …
3rd November 2000
The Kruispost is one of two medical centres in Amsterdam staffed by volunteers. Its purpose is to offer medical treatment to those who have fallen through the health insurance safety net, such as …
17th December 2000
In the last of a four-part series on fences, The Sound Fountain concentrates on Holland, where the countryside has been tamed more than in any other country of the world. The Dutch landscape was …
23rd January 2001
Hélène Michaud reports on an unusual project to help improve bio-diversity in Dutch agriculture. It appears that most of the wheat grown in Holland is not suitable for baking good bread. Bhutan, with …
4th February 2001
In this programme we hear the strange story of the Dutch Island of Schokland. For centuries islanders battled against the raging Zuider sea. In 1859 they lost the fight and were forced off their …
21st March 2001
In this uncut interview with Bertine Krol, Willem Oltmans (1925-2004), talks freely (and outrageously, sometimes) about the monarchy, Queen Beatrix, Prince Claus, Prince Willem-Alexander and his …
25th April 2001
In the weekly programme about the Netherlands, “Dutch Horizons”, a report by Chris Chambers on the historic first official marriage of homosexuals in Amsterdam’s Town Hall, and …
24th August 2001
The purpose of the Dutch Housing Act was to provide safe and affordable housing for everybody. This resulted in a number of monuments of social housing. In the programme, Michele Ernsting reports on …
31st August 2001
This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsLouise Groenman (©Rob Bogaerts) In this unedited interview, Chris Chambers talks to perhaps the most influential woman in the Netherlands. …
30th November 2001
It was in the early 1980’s that the first announcement was made about the disease that has come to be known as AIDS. In the late 80’s, David Swatling was given a cassette tape for his …
22nd January 2002
Dheera Sujan looks at domestic violence in the Netherlands. Official figures show that 43% of the Dutch population has at some time been the victim of either physical, sexual or mental cruelty. …
6th March 2002
It was one of the most lavish movie theatres to be built in its time, a pioneering monument to the new medium of cinema, a palace for the dreams of movie-goers, from bored housewives to weary …
15th March 2002
An intimate profile of Antoine de Bakker. His name in Dutch means “the baker”, and he earned his living making the machines necessary to produce Holy Communion hosts. These very thin …
31st March 2002
After September 11, 2001, Muslims in the Netherlands became outsiders almost overnight. They are distrusted, feared and even hated. We find out how this could have happened from Yassin Hartok of the …
4th April 2002
In this special edition of Dutch Horizons, “The Kingdom at a Crossroads”, we look at the ties between the Netherlands and its former colonies in the Caribbean—Aruba and the Netherlands …
3rd May 2002
This programme is part of the series Global PerspectiveA group of international broadcasters exchanges documentaries with a common theme. This five-part series examines the way in which global forces …
10th May 2002
Ariana Nozeman (1628-1661) was the first actress on the Dutch stage. Although she came from a family of thespians, this was a daring career choice for a woman in Calvinist Holland, given the …
12th May 2002
This is the first in an occasional series of programmes in which leading figures in Dutch society are interviewed before a live audience about politics, social issues, the arts and culture. The host …
12th May 2002
Wide Angle looks back over the week in which Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was shot dead. There are reactions from politicians, ordinary people, journalists and analysts. How will the dead man’s …
9th August 2002
In 1988, a civil war broke out in Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Nearly a million people had to flee the fighting. Some settled in other African countries, but many went to the United States or …
16th October 2002
Mennonites are a group of Christians founded by a former priest from Friesland, Menno Simons, in the 16th century. Despite centuries of persecution and discrimination because of their strong pacifist …
3rd November 2002
The Dutch language is the subject of this programme, more specifically a foreigner’s difficulty with it. David Swatling meets Dr. Robert Druce, editor of the new edition of “An …
31st January 2003
This programme is part of the series Rivers of the WorldRivers are the cradle of the world’s earliest civilisations. Mythology and religion were born on their banks. They provide us with life-giving …
14th May 2003
As a young Amsterdam physician of Portuguese and Spanish Jewish descent, Samuel Sarphati (1813-1866) worked early in his career to improve the living conditions of broad sections of the population in …
23rd June 2003
Protests against the war in Iraq took many forms: demonstrations, marches, candlelight vigils. But one of the most unique and peaceful actions took place on March 3, 2003. In more than 1000 venues in …
11th July 2003
A programme about our universe and the origin of life on Earth, dedicated to the late Mayo Greenberg (1922-2001), the founder and director of Leiden Astrophysics Laboratory, Netherlands. …
13th August 2003
“Traces of War” is a book created by photographer Jan Banning about 24 men who survived slave labour on the construction of the notorious Burmese and Pakanbaroe railroads. The railway …
12th September 2003
When Joseph Stalin died in 1953, many people all over the world truly mourned. Several generations later, this reaction is difficult to understand, given the millions of people who were killed under …
10th October 2003
Chris Chambers explores the relationship between the Netherlands and the philosophy of the Protestant religious reformer John Calvin. Calvinism has been a major and formidable influence on the Dutch …
17th March 2004
Every year the Netherlands is the favourite stopover of millions of migrating birds, including 1.5 million geese. It’s all about location, location, location. The Netherlands has the …
31st March 2004
A montage documentary about one of the greatest of the Dutch Masters, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) of Delft, using six of his paintings to look at aspects of his life and fame. …
2nd April 2004
Over the past 40 years, an amazing range of contraceptive products have been developed for women. For men, nothing new has emerged. Fathers and lovers just have to make do with condoms or vasectomy – …
30th May 2004
During wars and their immediate aftermath, the United Nations and international aid organisations try to help deal with people’s most immediate needs: food, shelter, water and sanitation. In recent …
7th August 2004
This programme is part of the series Basement Sessions: Historic Dutch Jazz RecordingsProducer David Swatling and host Hans Mantel delve into the Radio Netherlands’ jazz archives. In this …
24th August 2004
1 in 6 people of working age in The Netherlands are on a disability pension (the WAO). For years, people with even a minor ailment could and often did earn 70% of their last pay packet till they …
27th September 2004
Swans have inspired some of the world’s most beautiful music, poetry and legends. Many people from saints to kings have been identified with swans, like the Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova …
5th October 2004
The Amsterdam Docklands have recently been redeveloped. Where there used to be warehouses, cranes and ocean steamers are now more than 8000 houses. The project is nearing its completion and has …
14th October 2004
This programme commemorates the 350th anniversary of one of the most bizarre events to take place in the 17th century. The day was October 12, 1654, a normal Monday morning in the Dutch city of …
15th November 2004
Imagine an African landscape nearly half the size of the Netherlands, antelopes and zebra grazing a huge, flat wetland full of storks, cranes and wading birds. This is the Kafue Flats of Zambia …
10th April 2005
During the American war of independence from Britain, many years before he became the second American president, John Adams represented his country as the first American ambassador to the …
17th April 2005
The final program in a three-part series to commemorate the 225th anniversary of John Adams’ arrival in Amsterdam in 1780. His diplomatic mission was to gain support for the fledgling United …
20th April 2005
In this edition of our weekly magazine on developments in this country, Dutch Horizons, science editor Anne Blair Gould looks at the 100th anniversary of Natuurmonumenten, the Dutch Society for the …
31st May 2005
Anouk is a young Dutch girl who lives with her boyfriend Said. He’s Dutch too, but from a fairly traditional Moroccan-Berber family. Both of them are Dutch and Muslim. They have what should be a …
8th September 2005
Tourists visiting Amsterdam often marvel at the thousands of houseboats lining the famous canals. Are they safe? Are they like real houses? And above all, why do so many people in the Netherlands …
14th September 2005
Over the past decade, more than 400,000 asylum-seekers have come to Holland. Many of them were fleeing war, torture, or political or ethnic persecution. Large numbers of them were traumatised by …
11th October 2005
Illegal immigration and residence became an issue in the Netherlands in the beginning of the 1990’s. People began to realise that quite a few immigrant workers – both legal and illegal – …
5th December 2005
In 2002, the Netherlands sent a peace-keeping contingent to Afghanistan as part of ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force. In this programme, we speak with some of the officers and …
2nd January 2006
This programme was made as part of the theme of “family”, a Radio Netherlands Worldwide focus in 2006. The concept of family has changed through the ages and is becoming more diverse. …
9th February 2006
After the end of the Second World War, hundreds of Dutch children and adults who had been prisoners of the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies were sent to the Fairbridge Farm School in …
1st April 2006
In the mid 1990’s, two young women studied law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later, their lives would intersect in what the United Nations has called the fastest …
1st July 2006
Hundreds of years after he lived, the painter Rembrandt continues to affect the lives of people in our own century. In every generation, there are people who study his work, trade in it and try to …
19th September 2006
Food and philosophy: they seem like natural companions – long dinners, leading to longer discussions. But, in fact, food has seldom been the subject of philosophers. That’s possibly …
30th July 2007
© sueddeutsche/Koos Breukel and nationalgallery Gary Schwartz is a Brooklyn-born expert on Rembrandt and Dutch 17th century art. He studied art history in the United States, came to the Netherlands …
27th August 2007
Have you ever wondered why, when we think we have found a solution to a problem, we just create more problems? Some people ascribe this to the universal phenomenon called stupidity (domheid). …
13th February 2008
With the anonymity of urban life in a globalised world, we hear every day of people who have died alone and unidentified. In Amsterdam, there are about 20 such cases every year, and each person is …
17th September 1954This programme is part of the series Remembering the Second World War in the Netherlands: Historical Sound of the 1950'sWhile much of the south of the Netherlands was liberated in late 1944, the …
29th April 1955This programme is part of the series Remembering the Second World War in the Netherlands: Historical Sound of the 1950'sThe failure of the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 meant that the northern …
4th May 1956The world celebrated the 350th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) in 1956. In this vintage radio report, Amsterdam fine art dealer Evert Douwes (1928-2019) and the director of …
8th July 1957On July 8, 1957, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru paid an official visit to the Netherlands. Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns greeted him at Schiphol Airport and Radio Nederland was there …
31st December 1960Good old-fashioned radio roundup of the year’s main events from the Dutch perspective. This newsreel-style programme contains interesting little facts and sound bites about Holland and the …
27th January 1976This programme is part of the series Autumn of the Middle AgesIn the Middle Ages, the Netherlands played a very prominent role in European musical life. By “Netherlands”, we mean the so-called Low …
27th January 1976This programme is part of the series Autumn of the Middle AgesIn the Middle Ages, the Netherlands played a very prominent role in European musical life. By “Netherlands”, we mean the so-called Low …
27th January 1976This programme is part of the series Autumn of the Middle Ages In de Middle Ages, the Netherlands played a very prominent role in European musical life. By “Netherlands” we mean the so-called …
20th April 1982Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands paid a state visit to the United States in 1982, the year that marked the bicentennial of Dutch-American diplomatic ties. After a state dinner with President Ronald …
20th December 1983This is one of the few surviving copies of a weekly magazine programme on the Netherlands, broadcast in the 1980’s. In this end-of-year edition, presented by Barry O’Dwyer, five …
1st January 1987This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
1st August 1987This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
17th August 1987This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
14th September 1987This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
27th September 1987This programme is part of the series Pete Myers' interviewsHerman Brood (1946-2001) was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, rock star in Dutch history. His hedonistic, frantically creative life …
5th October 1987This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
26th October 1987This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
4th May 19881988 marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. This programme takes a look at Israel from a Dutch perspective. It was first broadcast on May 4th, which is the Dutch annual …
29th June 1988In this unedited interview, Radio Netherlands’ science editor Anne Blair Gould spoke to Prince Bernhard (1911-2004) of the Netherlands about the World Wide Fund for Nature. The prince, who was …
15th July 1988Pete Myers was among a select group of Dutch journalists invited to Kensington Palace to interview Britain’s Crown Prince Charles in 1988 to mark the 300th anniversary of the Glorious …
10th August 1988This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
11th November 1988In this edition of our weekly magazine programme “Rembrandt Express”, Pete Myers speaks with Joseph Heller, the renowned American novelist and famed author of the classic “Catch …
7th June 1989This programme is part of the series VIP LoungeVIP Lounge was a series of portraits produced in the late 1980’s of well-known Dutch people who gained international fame for their professional …
28th July 1989Rembrandt Express was a weekly magazine show about the Netherlands, hosted by Pete Myers. In the late 1980’s, he introduced the Gay Front, a monthly column about gay social issues. It was long …
23rd October 1989By the late 1980’s, the Dutch prison system came in for praise from abroad for its low prison population – 6000 prisoners for a population of nearly 15 million – low sentencing and …
22nd March 1991Mercy killing or euthanasia continues to provoke heated debates in most parts of the world. In the Netherlands, according to some estimates, up to 10,000 ask for euthanasia, literally the good death, …
23rd September 1991This programme is part of the series In So Many WordsLanguages change constantly. Dutch has been around since the Middle Ages, but it was not until the Golden Age of prosperity in the 17th century …
1st January 1992This programme was part of a series on lesser noticed aspects of life in the Netherlands. In this episode, a British national discusses with anthropologist Harie Hoetink what has struck her about …
22nd November 1992At the start of 1980’s, the Radio Netherlands’ English department led the transition from mainly entertainment shows to high-quality feature programmes. The focus also switched from being …
20th December 1992Maggie Ayre and Dheera Sujan have fun with some awful Christmas songs and fan letters. Mike Bullen analyses the office party, colleagues pick their favourite fantasy figure (Anne Blair Gould, Rina …
15th August 1995The most famous Dutch novel of the 19th century is “Max Havelaar” by Multatuli (pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887). It not only became a classic of European literature but also …
2nd November 1995Hélène Michaud meets VVD leader Frits Bolkestein who was in the news at the time because of his critical remarks about asylum seekers, refugees and foreigners. They talk about Dutch tolerance, the …
27th October 1996This special edition of our science program , Research File, is devoted to the achievements of Dutch 17th- century mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695). Huygens’ …
11th November 1996In his time, Judge Dee, a historical figure of the Tang Dynasty, earned fame as a magistrate, detective and statesman. Though never forgotten in his own country, it was only in the 20th century that …
14th November 1996In the first of three co-productions between Radio Netherlands, BBC Radio Scotland and RTE Ireland, Maggie Ayre travels down the Rhine with a Dutch husband and wife team who live aboard their motor …
15th November 1996The Frisian island of Terschelling remains one of the Netherlands’ last wild nature reserves, with mile upon mile of deserted beaches and sand dunes. Once gloriously isolated, with islanders …
15th November 1996The Frisian language is spoken by more than 300,000 native speakers in the northern Dutch province of Friesland. Although the language was never suppressed in the manner of Gaelic in Scotland or …
2nd February 1997This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationThis is probably the most comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio …
2nd February 1997This programme is part of the series A Golden Anniversary CelebrationThis is probably the most comprehensive audio compilation of what was achieved in the first 50 years of the Dutch external radio …
23rd February 1997Dheera Sujan happened to be in Perth when Crown Prince Willem-Alexander laid the keel for the replica of the VOC ship Duyfken, which brought the first white man to Western Australia. At the same …
1st August 199725 years ago, the Jordaan, Amsterdam’s most famous neighbourhood was badly run down and in danger of being demolished. But, as Simone Weimans and Robert Chesal discover, common sense saved the …
29th August 1997What’s the best thing about Amsterdam? According to the people of Rotterdam, it’s the last train leaving Amsterdam for Rotterdam. In Holland, as in most places, there’s a bit of …
9th November 1997Robert Chesal interviews several doctors who talk about how carrying out euthanasia affects them personally. It contains a very moving illustration of this, involving a mother of 11 children. …
1st January 1998This award-winning programme tells a trans-Atlantic tale of love, music and politics. It is the story of Leon Perlee and Mercedes Sosa, both of them linked to the wooden street organ. He, a restorer …
15th January 1998The image that many people have of Holland is one of an extremely tolerant and, in fact, overly permissive society when it comes to sex, drugs, prostitution, religion or euthanasia. The Netherlands …
25th January 1998By the time Queen Beatrix celebrated her 60th birthday in 1998, she had been on the throne of the Netherlands for almost 20 years. By this time, she had acquired a great deal of respect both among …
30th January 1998The first part of a three-part co-production looking at aspects of national cuisine and the customs associated with serving and receiving food in Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands. Part One is …
23rd April 1998From its first publication to the plays, films and dispute surrounding the ownership of her name, Anne Frank’s diary continues to stir up controversy. David Swatling investigates the history and …
31st July 1998In the Netherlands, children are being encouraged to stand up for their rights. “My parents are getting divorced. What’s going to happen to me? I’m being bullied at school.” …
1st September 1998When Queen Wilhelmina inherited the Dutch throne from her father King Willem III of the Netherlands in 1890, she was only ten years old. She was not only the country’s first female monarch, but …
28th September 1998In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed his famous ship “Halve Maen”, the “Half Moon”, up the river in North America that would one day bear his name. It was the start of the 60-year …
18th October 1998David Swatling meets John Irving in Amsterdam. They discuss the storyline of Irving’s latest book, “A Widow for One Year” (set in Amsterdam), his love of Amsterdam, and we hear from …
23rd October 1998Around the world, women are postponing motherhood, usually in order to take time to study and start their careers. When this programme was made, Dutch women were on average 29 years old when they had …
30th October 1998Dykes, ditches, windmills, villas and geometric fields – these are some of the features of the Dutch landscape. They reflect Holland’s struggle against the water, the wealth of the Golden …
18th December 199825 years ago, a group of idealists squatted an entire Dutch village and created a utopian art colony and unique nature reserve: Ruigoord. It’s all over now. With plans to expand it harbour …
18th December 1998After a shocking case of serial sexual abuse by a high school teacher, Dutch educators struggle to find more effective ways to detect and put a stop to sexual misconduct. Producer: Robert …
3rd January 1999The Netherlands as seen through the eyes of some of the foreigners who were living here in the late 1990’s. Alain Francau, France 1998 Alan Gibson, Scotland 1999 Anna Marima, Tanzania, 1998 …
12th March 1999James McDonald looks for a corner of the densely populated Netherlands where modern life hasn’t managed to take hold. The island of Schiermonnikoog provides just that. The 1000 inhabitants live …
19th March 1999A programme about the disappearing way of life of inland skippers. Bulk transport on river barges accounted for half of Europe’s marine freight traffic when this programme was made. Half of the …
9th September 1999This award-winning programme focuses on a secret operation involving the Netherlands Anti-Apartheid Movement, the AABN, during Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment and the apartheid years in South …
19th September 1999The people who many of us refer to as “gypsies”, but who call themselves Sinti and Roma, are a small ethnic minority in the Netherlands, numbering between 5,000 and 7,000 at the …
2nd January 2000Khaled and Shukria Manupal are both physicians. They had a prosperous life and a nice home with their children in Afghanistan, until the Soviet invasion in 1979 forced them to leave their country in …
2nd February 2000Within 100 years of Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, The Netherlands was the publishing centre of Europe. With presses in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, the most famous name in …
20th March 2000At the Second World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000, Saskia van Rhenen speaks to Dutch crown prince Willem-Alexander, the chairman of the meeting. They discuss what the Netherlands can offer the …
10th April 2000In this documentary, Marijke van der Meer looks at present-day Dutch-Caribbean migration to the Netherlands. Thousands of people from the Netherlands Antilles are hoping to find a better life in the …
1st June 2000In this short interview recorded in Nairobi, Kenya, Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands talks about his involvement as a pilot with AMREF, the African Medical and Research Foundation. He flew …
20th October 2000Why, in a country of plenty, with a booming economy and a highly developed welfare system, are there homeless people in Holland? Jonathan Groubert goes onto the streets of major Dutch cities to …
3rd November 2000The Kruispost is one of two medical centres in Amsterdam staffed by volunteers. Its purpose is to offer medical treatment to those who have fallen through the health insurance safety net, such as …
17th December 2000In the last of a four-part series on fences, The Sound Fountain concentrates on Holland, where the countryside has been tamed more than in any other country of the world. The Dutch landscape was …
23rd January 2001Hélène Michaud reports on an unusual project to help improve bio-diversity in Dutch agriculture. It appears that most of the wheat grown in Holland is not suitable for baking good bread. Bhutan, with …
4th February 2001In this programme we hear the strange story of the Dutch Island of Schokland. For centuries islanders battled against the raging Zuider sea. In 1859 they lost the fight and were forced off their …
21st March 2001In this uncut interview with Bertine Krol, Willem Oltmans (1925-2004), talks freely (and outrageously, sometimes) about the monarchy, Queen Beatrix, Prince Claus, Prince Willem-Alexander and his …
25th April 2001In the weekly programme about the Netherlands, “Dutch Horizons”, a report by Chris Chambers on the historic first official marriage of homosexuals in Amsterdam’s Town Hall, and …
24th August 2001The purpose of the Dutch Housing Act was to provide safe and affordable housing for everybody. This resulted in a number of monuments of social housing. In the programme, Michele Ernsting reports on …
31st August 2001This programme is part of the series Chris Chambers meetsLouise Groenman (©Rob Bogaerts) In this unedited interview, Chris Chambers talks to perhaps the most influential woman in the Netherlands. …
30th November 2001It was in the early 1980’s that the first announcement was made about the disease that has come to be known as AIDS. In the late 80’s, David Swatling was given a cassette tape for his …
22nd January 2002Dheera Sujan looks at domestic violence in the Netherlands. Official figures show that 43% of the Dutch population has at some time been the victim of either physical, sexual or mental cruelty. …
6th March 2002It was one of the most lavish movie theatres to be built in its time, a pioneering monument to the new medium of cinema, a palace for the dreams of movie-goers, from bored housewives to weary …
15th March 2002An intimate profile of Antoine de Bakker. His name in Dutch means “the baker”, and he earned his living making the machines necessary to produce Holy Communion hosts. These very thin …
31st March 2002After September 11, 2001, Muslims in the Netherlands became outsiders almost overnight. They are distrusted, feared and even hated. We find out how this could have happened from Yassin Hartok of the …
4th April 2002In this special edition of Dutch Horizons, “The Kingdom at a Crossroads”, we look at the ties between the Netherlands and its former colonies in the Caribbean—Aruba and the Netherlands …
3rd May 2002This programme is part of the series Global PerspectiveA group of international broadcasters exchanges documentaries with a common theme. This five-part series examines the way in which global forces …
10th May 2002Ariana Nozeman (1628-1661) was the first actress on the Dutch stage. Although she came from a family of thespians, this was a daring career choice for a woman in Calvinist Holland, given the …
12th May 2002This is the first in an occasional series of programmes in which leading figures in Dutch society are interviewed before a live audience about politics, social issues, the arts and culture. The host …
12th May 2002Wide Angle looks back over the week in which Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was shot dead. There are reactions from politicians, ordinary people, journalists and analysts. How will the dead man’s …
9th August 2002In 1988, a civil war broke out in Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Nearly a million people had to flee the fighting. Some settled in other African countries, but many went to the United States or …
16th October 2002Mennonites are a group of Christians founded by a former priest from Friesland, Menno Simons, in the 16th century. Despite centuries of persecution and discrimination because of their strong pacifist …
3rd November 2002The Dutch language is the subject of this programme, more specifically a foreigner’s difficulty with it. David Swatling meets Dr. Robert Druce, editor of the new edition of “An …
31st January 2003This programme is part of the series Rivers of the WorldRivers are the cradle of the world’s earliest civilisations. Mythology and religion were born on their banks. They provide us with life-giving …
14th May 2003As a young Amsterdam physician of Portuguese and Spanish Jewish descent, Samuel Sarphati (1813-1866) worked early in his career to improve the living conditions of broad sections of the population in …
23rd June 2003Protests against the war in Iraq took many forms: demonstrations, marches, candlelight vigils. But one of the most unique and peaceful actions took place on March 3, 2003. In more than 1000 venues in …
11th July 2003A programme about our universe and the origin of life on Earth, dedicated to the late Mayo Greenberg (1922-2001), the founder and director of Leiden Astrophysics Laboratory, Netherlands. …
13th August 2003“Traces of War” is a book created by photographer Jan Banning about 24 men who survived slave labour on the construction of the notorious Burmese and Pakanbaroe railroads. The railway …
12th September 2003When Joseph Stalin died in 1953, many people all over the world truly mourned. Several generations later, this reaction is difficult to understand, given the millions of people who were killed under …
10th October 2003Chris Chambers explores the relationship between the Netherlands and the philosophy of the Protestant religious reformer John Calvin. Calvinism has been a major and formidable influence on the Dutch …
17th March 2004Every year the Netherlands is the favourite stopover of millions of migrating birds, including 1.5 million geese. It’s all about location, location, location. The Netherlands has the …
31st March 2004A montage documentary about one of the greatest of the Dutch Masters, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) of Delft, using six of his paintings to look at aspects of his life and fame. …
2nd April 2004Over the past 40 years, an amazing range of contraceptive products have been developed for women. For men, nothing new has emerged. Fathers and lovers just have to make do with condoms or vasectomy – …
30th May 2004During wars and their immediate aftermath, the United Nations and international aid organisations try to help deal with people’s most immediate needs: food, shelter, water and sanitation. In recent …
7th August 2004This programme is part of the series Basement Sessions: Historic Dutch Jazz RecordingsProducer David Swatling and host Hans Mantel delve into the Radio Netherlands’ jazz archives. In this …
24th August 20041 in 6 people of working age in The Netherlands are on a disability pension (the WAO). For years, people with even a minor ailment could and often did earn 70% of their last pay packet till they …
27th September 2004Swans have inspired some of the world’s most beautiful music, poetry and legends. Many people from saints to kings have been identified with swans, like the Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova …
5th October 2004The Amsterdam Docklands have recently been redeveloped. Where there used to be warehouses, cranes and ocean steamers are now more than 8000 houses. The project is nearing its completion and has …
14th October 2004This programme commemorates the 350th anniversary of one of the most bizarre events to take place in the 17th century. The day was October 12, 1654, a normal Monday morning in the Dutch city of …
10th April 2005During the American war of independence from Britain, many years before he became the second American president, John Adams represented his country as the first American ambassador to the …
17th April 2005The final program in a three-part series to commemorate the 225th anniversary of John Adams’ arrival in Amsterdam in 1780. His diplomatic mission was to gain support for the fledgling United …
20th April 2005In this edition of our weekly magazine on developments in this country, Dutch Horizons, science editor Anne Blair Gould looks at the 100th anniversary of Natuurmonumenten, the Dutch Society for the …
31st May 2005Anouk is a young Dutch girl who lives with her boyfriend Said. He’s Dutch too, but from a fairly traditional Moroccan-Berber family. Both of them are Dutch and Muslim. They have what should be a …
8th September 2005Tourists visiting Amsterdam often marvel at the thousands of houseboats lining the famous canals. Are they safe? Are they like real houses? And above all, why do so many people in the Netherlands …
14th September 2005Over the past decade, more than 400,000 asylum-seekers have come to Holland. Many of them were fleeing war, torture, or political or ethnic persecution. Large numbers of them were traumatised by …
11th October 2005Illegal immigration and residence became an issue in the Netherlands in the beginning of the 1990’s. People began to realise that quite a few immigrant workers – both legal and illegal – …
5th December 2005In 2002, the Netherlands sent a peace-keeping contingent to Afghanistan as part of ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force. In this programme, we speak with some of the officers and …
2nd January 2006This programme was made as part of the theme of “family”, a Radio Netherlands Worldwide focus in 2006. The concept of family has changed through the ages and is becoming more diverse. …
9th February 2006After the end of the Second World War, hundreds of Dutch children and adults who had been prisoners of the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies were sent to the Fairbridge Farm School in …
1st April 2006In the mid 1990’s, two young women studied law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later, their lives would intersect in what the United Nations has called the fastest …
1st July 2006Hundreds of years after he lived, the painter Rembrandt continues to affect the lives of people in our own century. In every generation, there are people who study his work, trade in it and try to …
19th September 2006Food and philosophy: they seem like natural companions – long dinners, leading to longer discussions. But, in fact, food has seldom been the subject of philosophers. That’s possibly …
30th July 2007© sueddeutsche/Koos Breukel and nationalgallery Gary Schwartz is a Brooklyn-born expert on Rembrandt and Dutch 17th century art. He studied art history in the United States, came to the Netherlands …
27th August 2007Have you ever wondered why, when we think we have found a solution to a problem, we just create more problems? Some people ascribe this to the universal phenomenon called stupidity (domheid). …
13th February 2008With the anonymity of urban life in a globalised world, we hear every day of people who have died alone and unidentified. In Amsterdam, there are about 20 such cases every year, and each person is …