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.

Dutch News

The Komkommertijd is Cancelled Edition - Week 28 - 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

The Third Wave Dancing Shoes Edition - Week 27 - 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.

The August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben Edition - Week 26 - 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

The Everything's Gone Belgian Edition - Week 25 - 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

The Amsterdam Penis Ban Edition - Week 24 - 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.

The Magnetic Orange Teringhond Edition - Week 23 - 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.

The Philanthropic Zeesluisosaurus Edition - Week 22 - 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

The Fifty Shades of Stef Blok Edition - Week 21 - 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

The 510 Square Metres of Eurovision Edition - Week 20 - 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.

The Vegan Sjopperdepop Popcorn Edition - Week 19 - 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

The Ukulele Pannenkoek Conspiracy Edition - Week 18 - 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.

The Belarus Bike Tour Edition - Week 17 - 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

The Star Wars Trump Brothel Edition - Week 16 - 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

The Jurassic Park At Hogwarts Edition - Week 15 - 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.