DutchNews Podcast

The coalition talks are in limbo as Geert Wilders turns up the Timmermans Threat level to 11 and the parties try to turn an refugee drama into a crisis. Global warming isn't putting off Dutch holidaymakers, but the cost of travel is making their eyes water. Measles cases are on the rise as the vaccination rate falls. Feyenoord's manager looks set to jump ship while Alex Kroes and the Ajax board look for a creative way out of their death spiral. And we explain why Germany is no longer a happy hunting ground for Dutch train operators and safecrackers.

In the week that Hugo de Jonge revealed that the Binnenhof renovation will cost €2bn and last until 2028, we ask if there is any chance of a government being in place by then. The king thanks his Spanish counterpart for putting up Princess Amalia in Madrid after she was threatened by gangsters, while Prinsjesdag is set for a populist makeover. In a bad week for pensioners, six people in their 70s go on trial for distributing a suicide powder, while canal boat tours fall foul of Amsterdam's anti-tourism drive. Flower growers get creative at the Bloemencorso, and we explain how a Dutch socialist heathen architect rekindled an Olympic tradition.

Crisis club Ajax plumb new depths of hubris as their ramshackle defending on the pitch is eclipsed by a flurry of own goals in the boardroom. Down the road in The Hague, the manure hits the fan in the coalition talks as the negotiators try to put together the puzzle pieces. A group of pensioners go on trial accused of forming a criminal organisation to distribute suicide powders. Cyclists now account for two in five road deaths, but most would still rather be seen dead than in a safety helmet. And campaigners score a major victory in their efforts to clean up 800 tonnes of debris from the bottom of the Waddenzee.

Groningen is up in arms over the senate's decision to pause the great gas switch-off, in a week when several government plans perish in the upper house. Czech claims that Russia has infiltrated the Dutch parliament leave MPs with an intriguing missed Thierry to solve. Ajax's new chief executive scores a devastating own goal as the club's season of misery continues. The government's efforts to remove non-Ukrainans who fled the war turns into a legal minefield, while oil giant Shell appeals against a court order to clean up after its customers.

Right-wing parties negotiate with tough discussions, PVV rejects animal welfare bill, changes to sex offences law, Schiphol and KLM face court issues. Emmen withdraws from shirt sponsorship deal, HMS Prince of Wales visit in Rotterdam, Hans Hohervost potential PM, playground protests, municipality disputes, new government forming, aviation expansion, Dutch football updates, remote tourist destinations explored.

A coalition breakthrough leads to a 'programme cabinet'. Protests surround Israel's president's visit. The SGP crusades against submarine construction. Quincy Promes's Dubai escapades capture attention.

More than 100 days after the election, there are cautious signs that the four parties who have been bickering since December might be ready to start talking about forming a government. Meanwhile, the outgoing government is battling to keep international employers like ASML and Boskalis in the country. Venlo is hiring Croatians who don't speak Dutch to drive its buses to solve a shortage of personnel. We explain how Amsterdam's tram operator tried to invoice Germany after the Second World War for transporting Jews to the death camps. And in sport, Quincy Promes is involved in a high-speed dash from justice in Dubai, while Femke Bol and Max Verstappen are unstoppable on their respective tracks.

Kim Putters begins his efforts to complete a coalition puzzle that looks increasingly like a charity shop jigsaw with two pieces missing. The mindbending 3D maze that is the Marengo trial ends with life sentences for ruthless gangland boss Ridouan Taghi and two of his henchmen. The PVV gets itself in a tangle over support for Ukraine as the caretaker government agrees a 10-year military support package. In sport, the Leeuwinnen miss out on a ticket to the Olympic Games, while Femke Bol is hoping to cash in her golden ticket in Glasgow this weekend. And Dutch News stirs up some controversy of its own as we investigate the origins of the Groningen eierbal, a hard-boiled egg deep fried in breadcrumbs that looks strangely familiar to Scottish readers.

Kim Putters begins his quest to form a new cabinet by wargaming the 501 permutations put forward by Pieter Omtzigt. The mayor of The Hague asks if the city "missed signals" about the riots that engulfed an Eritrean community event at the weekend. Scientists in Delft make a breakthrough in battery technology that shouldn't be taken with a pinch of salt. In sport, Irene Schouten shocks the world of speed skating by announcing her retirement while Femke Bol continues to set new standards on the athletics track. And we pay our last respects to a guru of the Elfstedentocht and the seldom seen grootkopboloogwants.

Political chaos ensues as coalition talks collapse, Rutte considers stepping down, skill shortage lingers, Promes faces drug smuggling conviction. Vitesse Arnhem's rescue plan fails, eerie grunting interrupts Amsterdam's debate on new erotic palace. Dutch cricket team tours post-World Cup. Podcast covers euthanasia decision, comical anecdotes, political controversies, gas usage decline, economic overview, safety concerns for Babu products, cricket struggles, and legal cases.