Dutch history, as we know it, leaves a lotunsaid. The voices of women, people of colour, and LGBTQ+ communities are toooften missing from the mainstream narrative. Elyzabeth Gorman is here to changethat.
A former New York theatre professional turned Amsterdam tour guide, shedigs through the city’s archives to uncover the hidden and erased stories of the past. With her company Badass Tours, she brings these powerful narratives back to life. In this podcast, Gorman takes us deep into the queer history of the Netherlands.
Nestled in the leafy suburb of Tervuren just outside Brussels, the AfricaMuseum has long stood as a monumental symbol of Belgium’s colonial past. Founded in 1898, the museum once served as a powerful propaganda tool in the service of King Leopold II’s imperial ambitions in the Congo and Central Africa. Today, however, the institution finds itself at the centre of a very different mission: decolonisation. In this podcast, Bart Ouvry, Managing Director of the Africa Museum, speaks candidly about the challenges of leading this transformation.
On a crisp October morning, history came alive under the vaulted ceilings of Amsterdam's City Archives. A modest parchment, locked away for centuries, brought us face-to-face with the city's ancient origins. Known as the Toll Exemption Privilege, this document—dated 27 October 1275—marks the very first mention of Amsterdam. In this podcast, senior curator Erik Schmitz explains the significance of the Toll Privilege, describing it as "a tangible link to the foundation and resilience of the city," that now celebrates its 750-year jubilee.
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Get the answers from 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 his uniquely American insight into the Netherlands' history and culture, especially how the country relates to the United States.
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photo Greg Shapiro © Adrie Mouthaan
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 not as famous today as his friend Rembrandt.
In this episode of The Low Countries Radio, we reconstruct the lives and works of these two giants of art, showing how trends and the zeitgeist can drive or hinder an artist's career, but how their legacy is bound to the whims of fate and fortune.
Welcome to the world of the Dutch Masters.
In this episode, 92-year-old Holocaust survivor Simon Gronowski talks about his spectacular escape from a deportation train to Auschwitz, why he befriended the son of Flemish Nazi supporters and reminds us why we must remain vigilant against political extremism.
In this podcast, we talk to Christine Kooi, professor of European History at Louisiana State University, about the turbulent Protest and Catholic Reformations in the Low Countries of the sixteenth century.
In her latest book Reformation in the Low Countries 1500-1620, Kooi covers the key moments of both the Protestant and Catholic Reformations as they unfolded in both the Northern and Southern Netherlands in the sixteenth century.
Synthesizing fifty years' worth of scholarly literature, the Canadian-American author and academic with Dutch roots focuses particularly on the political context of the era: how religious change took place against the integration and disintegration of the Habsburg composite state in the Netherlands.
Special attention is given to the Reformation's role in both fomenting and fuelling the Revolt against the Habsburg regime in the later sixteenth century, as well as how it contributed to the formation of the region's two successor states, the Dutch Republic and the Southern Netherlands.
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Why is the tulip a Dutch symbol even though this colourful flower comes from the Ottoman Empire? Why did owning tulip bulbs show your status and luxury in the 17th century? Why did a famous surgeon have his surname changed to Tulip? And to what economic disaster does Tulip Mania refer?
In this podcast, we dig up the bulbs of the past, trim the stems of historical myth and emerge with a lustrous vase of understanding as to where the tulip came from, how it came into vogue in the Dutch Republic and what place the flower holds today in the Netherlands.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
Rebellion, unrest and anti-authoritarianism are as much woven into the fabric of the Low Countries’ histories and cultures as dikes, dams, churches and cheese. In this podcast, we take a look at some of the major and minor protest movements that have occurred across Belgium and the Netherlands, which have helped shape them into the places they are today: the Amsterdam Eel Riots (1886), the Leuven Student Protests (1968), the Amsterdam Coronation Riots (1980) and the Brussels White March (1996).
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
The Low Countries have long held mystery and intrigue for people around the world. Over thousands of years, innumerable myths and legends have sprung out of this small corner of Europe, while many more have been created by bemused foreigners looking in from the outside.
Why do the Japanese love a dog from Flanders? Why do Americans admire a Dutch boy who stuck his finger in a dyke? Why are there so many swans in Bruges? Why were cats thrown off the belfry in Ypres? And why is 'The Flying Dutchman' a scary phenomenon?
Find out in this podcast about folk tales and legends from Flanders and the Netherlands.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
Despite making up over 50% of the population, the fundamental role which women have played in the development and progress of Low Country societies has often been neglected in historical accounts. Time to honour some women pioneers in Belgium and the Netherlands: Aletta Jacobs, Corry Tendeloo, Isabelle Gatti de Gamond, Marie Popelin and Marga Klompé.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
When the Netherlands and Belgium did not exist, people spoke of the Low Countries when referring to the area around the river deltas. Water has always played an essential role in the history of that region.
For centuries, living on these waterlogged lands provided the Dutch and the Flemings with opportunities for trade, urbanisation, agriculture and much more. But it also meant that they lived under the constant threat of devastating and deadly floods.
In this podcast, we discover how the Low Countries, after centuries of battling floods, have gradually learnt to treat water as an ally and a part of the cultural identity of its inhabitants.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
In this episode of TLC Radio we are going to flip through the pages of comic history in the Low Countries; from the use of illustrated prints from as early as the 15th century to the position of comic studios in Belgium and the Netherlands during the Second World War. You’ll hear about some titles that you may never have heard of, as well as many that you smurf.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
Throughout the centuries, the Low Countries have been the breeding ground for many world-changing inventions and scientific advancements.
Inspired by animated environmentalist superheroes Captain Planet and the Planeteers, in this podcast, we are presenting Dutch inventors and their impressive discoveries through the elements earth, fire, wind, water and heart.
From maps and microscopes to fire hoses and artificial hearts.
With their powers combined. nothing is impossible!
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
Why do the Dutch hang school bags on flagpoles, place giant blow-up dolls on their front lawn and have clocks without numbers in their pubs?
And why do the Flemings celebrate newborns by eating ‘poop beans’, close the curtains in their house and welcome friends by the backdoor?
In this episode, we are delving into some of the unique and peculiar customs, social norms and rituals of Flanders and the Netherlands and see the different ways in which these traditions have evolved over time.
We follow the trajectory of traditions a typical life would encounter, from the cradle to the grave.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
In this podcast, we get out the drawing board, put on a hard hat and clamber up a scaffold of creative construction, so that we may cast our view on a few of the most striking, unique or just plain weird buildings that can be found in Belgium and the Netherlands. We also explore some of the schools of thought that have come to influence architecture in our beloved region.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
We have long imposed our personal whims on other animals. We use them for labour or sport. We give them symbolic meaning, assigning them divine significance and power. Or we groom them and breed them to eat.
For thousands of years, our relationship with animals has been an integral part of how we and our world have evolved. In the Low Countries, this is a journey from the ancient times of hunter-fisher communities to the early days of animal husbandry, through centuries of urbanisation, warfare, massive floods and land reclamation. All have had a drastic impact on animal life in the region.
In this episode, we discuss some animals that roamed or still roam in the Low Countries. We will see how the relationship between humans and animals has helped shape local societies and cultures, and how, over the millennia, we have exterminated some animals and invited others into our homes, but also unintentionally had some as very unwelcome guests.
Starring in this podcast: reindeer, cows, chickens, pigs, shipworms, badgers, beavers and wolves.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
In this episode of The Low Countries Radio, we are going to delve into some of the sports that have developed in or been adopted and grown in Belgium and the Netherlands.
We will hear about people who listen intently to birds in little boxes while they keep track of their calls on a big long stick, others who jump over canals using a big long stick, as well as a bunch of people skating the famous Elfstedentocht and smashing a very hard ball across a field using their hands.
So saddle up, wait for the starting gun...on your mark. Ready... set...go!
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
What is the origin of Dutch? Why does the language sound familiar on all continents? What do Yiddish, English and Russian have in common? What is the difference between Dutch spoken in Belgium and in the Netherlands? And why were cuddle-buddy and one-and-a-half-metre-society voted Dutch words of the year?
Find out in this podcast about the fascinating history and impact of the Dutch language.
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.
What is the influence of religion on our cuisine? Why do Belgians love eating out at restaurants? Which recipes can be found in the oldest Dutch cookbook? And why did the Dutch ever eat tulip bulbs and now have a dish called a hairdresser's salon?
In this episode, we find out what Flemish and Dutch people have been eating since prehistoric times. Smakelijk!
Do you want to know more about Flemish and Dutch history and culture? Visit www.the-low-countries.com.