08 - Draining the Swamp (or, The Secret Soggy Story of Sphagnum)

We sit down with Bart Ouvry, managing director of AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, Belgium, to speak about the challenges he faces attempting to decolonise a colonial museum. Established in 1898, the museum ...

23 Des 202448min

We dumbly delve into the deep and desolate doldrums that define trying to understand the growth and development of Dutch shipbuilding in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, particularly in Holland...

9 Des 202456min

On October 27, 1275, Count Floris V of Holland issued a toll exemption to the village of Amsterdam as compensation for damage caused by his troops. This document remains the oldest known written refer...

11 Nov 202443min

Between the years 1000 and 1500 CE the soggy, sphagnum filled bog lands of the western Low Countries were terraformed to support human habitation and, as such, the seeds of future prosperity and hards...

14 Okt 202458min

We chat with comedian and author Greg Shapiro a.k.a. The American Netherlander a.k.a. the voice of Donald Trump in the "America First, the Netherlands Second" video. Greg shares with us his uniquely A...

5 Aug 202458min

They both lived during the Dutch Golden Age, grew up in Leiden, were taught by the same painter, shared a studio, received all the praise, and painted the rulers of their time. And yet, Jan Lievens is...

3 Jun 202446min

In the 1440s a goldsmith from Mainz called Johannes Gutenberg developed a movable type printing press which catalysed the European printing revolution. It heralded a technological leap in communicatio...

23 Jan 20241h 6min

We meet Simon Gronowski, a 92 year old jazz pianist, lawyer and Holocaust survivor. At the age of eleven, Simon was locked in a cattle wagon with his mother and around 50 other people after a month’s ...

27 Des 202338min