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... More >

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... More >

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... More >

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. Want... More >

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... More >

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... More >

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. Want to... More >

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... More >

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. Want to support the DutchNews podcast and... More >

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. Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks of dog food and stroopwafels healthy? Click here... More >

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. Want to support... More >

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? Will there finally be a solution to the EU’s Strasbourg problem? And which will be finished first: the coronavirus ‘track and... More >

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 also bring you up to speed with the lifting of the lockdown as Europe’s campsites brace themselves for the return of... More >

The podcast team look 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... More >

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 a decision by its insurance company and internet provides lost their protest over The Pirate Bay. Want to support the DutchNews podcast and keep our stocks... More >

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 at 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... More >

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 another 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... More >

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’... More >

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... More >

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... More >