DutchNews Podcast

An unholy trinity of Christians and nationalists emerges as the last great hope for the coalition parties to save their budget. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits The Hague to dine with the king and secure €1.7bn in new aid. Public broadcaster NPO completes a figure of eight of U-turns as it announces there will be no Dutch entry at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest because of objections to Israel’s participation. Four women go on trial accused of desecrating graves during a late-night séance. An entire railway station is moved 13 metres to make room for new tracks. And the first round of the Dutch Cup throws up a bunch of giantkillings, including a humbling in The Hague and three home defeats for Eredivisie clubs.

News that Rob Jetten is expecting a baby with his partner delights almost everybody, except the family values party SGP. The discovery of a woman's body in a suitcase in Amsterdam sparks fear, anger and a mass of unanswered questions. Prices of gas, train fares and health insurance are going up as winter approaches. And one of the great medieval philosophers tackles the elephant in the dining room in his top tips for raising children.

Pandemonium breaks out in the Dutch middle classes as hackers cancel the country's Albert Heijn bonus cards. Rob Jetten criticises Donald Trump's diesel deal and sanctions against the ICC. Thrillseeking Dutch auditors say the country's roads and railways need a €9.5 billion upgrade to prepare for war. The Senate votes to stop fining the immigration service for taking too long to process asylum claims. Allegations of intimidation and bullying surround one of the Netherlands' most successful cycling teams. And there is potentially life changing news for the nation's pandas, dolphins and seals.

Rob Jetten fetches the rusting polder model from the Catshuis loft and sits down with the trade unions to revive the budget talks. The IND is in a bind after European judges order it to take 140,000 Ukrainian asylum applications out of cold storage. The government wants to recruit a 130,000-strong Home Guard in case Russia or any of Dilan Yesilgöz's other enemies invade. The student debt mountain is shrinking but graduates are facing an interest rate hike. And do rabbits hold the key to solving the nitrogen crisis?

Eelco Heinen celebrates too soon after striking a budget deal with opposition parties that lasts for exactly as long as it takes them to read the small print. Amsterdam is shocked by the shooting of a prison warden on a bustling restaurant terrace. In less shocking news, Dutch data centres are accused of hiding their impact on the environment and energy supplies. Tom Berendsen tries to mend fences with Israel after diplomats are expelled from the occupied West Bank. And we speak to the organisation representing Dutch nationals abroad about the campaign to allow dual nationality.