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Beautiful Burgundian Bureaucracy and the Citizens of Ghent
4 May 2026
Philip the Good ruled over a sprawling collection of territories (Flanders, Brabant, Holland, Hainaut and more) that shared little beyond a common ruler. To hold them together, he built an ambitious centralising bureaucracy, appointing loyal outsiders as stadhouders to govern provinces on his beha
Decolonising the AfricaMuseum
3 June 2025
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
Exploring Dutch Culture with Greg Shapiro, the American Netherlander
6 August 2024
. What is the difference between 'Dutch direct versus Midwest nice'? . How do I survive the citizenship test in the Netherlands? . What does the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration) have to do with the American Declaration of Independence? . Why is pinda kaas not actually cheese? . Is th
The Curious Life of Rembrandt and His Forgotten Painter Friend Jan Lievens
30 May 2024
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.
Simon Gronowski’s Great Escape from the 20th Nazi Convoy
10 January 2024
Meet Simon Gronowski, a 92-year-old jazz pianist and lawyer from Brussels, and, above all, a Holocaust survivor who escaped from a deportation train to Auschwitz.
Our Top Podcasts of the Year
19 December 2023
Join us in bidding goodbye to 2023 with the podcasts we have published this year on the fascinating history of the Low Countries. They are worth another listen. Sit down by the fireplace. Relax with a glass of wine and enjoy the stories.
Reformation in the Low Countries: Religious and Political Turmoil in the Sixteenth Century
21 November 2023
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.
# 24 – How Philip the Good Crowned Himself “Grand Duke of the West”
23 October 2023
The court of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, became widely known as the most extravagant and luxurious in Europe during the almost fifty years of his reign between 1419 and 1467. Using pomp, ceremony and patronage of the arts, an image was created of Philip as a wise, just and fair ruler; the “
#23 – Geert Groote and the Modern Devotion’s Fight Against the Excesses of the Church
14 September 2023
In the late Middle Ages, innovative ideas entered the Roman Catholic Church thanks to a Dutch priest. Geert Groote is known as the father of the Modern Devotion, a religious movement, that can be considered one of the forerunners of the Reformation. His spiritual legacy had followers across Europe f
On the Barricades: Protest Movements in the Low Countries
23 August 2023
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, wh
#22 – When a Miracle Turned Amsterdam into a Holy Town
22 May 2023
Before Amsterdam made an international name for itself as a port and trading town, it became known as a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. Thanks to a Eucharistic miracle.
