Podcast

This time, Jim and Irma sit down with a real boy from the Zeedijk: Henk de Vries, founder of The Bulldog. In an unfiltered conversation, Henk looks back on half a century of neighbourhood life, full of unexpected twists, special encounters and moments that shaped him. He tells how a small cellar grew into a household name in [...]

This time, Jim is on his own. In a special episode, he talks to legendary twin sisters Martine and Louise Fokkens, also known as the Ouwehoeren. With Amsterdam humour and razor-sharp honesty, they share their views on love, work and dignity. They talk about jealousy, bread bags, kinnesinne and what makes a good sex worker [...]

This time, Irma and Jim talk to Arnold-Jan Scheer: journalist, writer, illusionist and documentary filmmaker. We dive into the unpolished history of the Red Light District, where Arnold-Jan has been filming his documentary Heart of Amsterdam since 1984. We hear about pen-pushing birds of paradise, wrestling clubs in the Casa Rosso and how an entire neighbourhood changed, but never lost its soul [...]

In this episode, Irma and Jim speak to lawyer, writer and self-proclaimed bird of paradise Basten Quaedvlieg. We hear how, as a classic bowler, he won his place in a world that prefers to keep him on the sidelines, and how five-star hotels, set pastas and hospitality are more important to him than healthcare systems ever were. Basten talks candidly about his [...]

In this episode of The Heart of the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood, Irma and Jim talk to Eva Krammer, chairman of Huis de Pinto: a literary and cultural meeting place in the heart of Amsterdam. We hear how one building managed to stop a four-lane highway, why volunteering is so intertwined with the neighbourhood, and how the library of yesteryear transformed [...]

In this third episode of The Heart of the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood, Irma and Jim talk to ramen operator Pim van Burk and Dylan Meijer, Jan Otten's stepson and director of the Otten Group. A conversation about windows, rules, respect and the role of entrepreneurs in a neighbourhood full of contradictions. We hear about motorbike helmets in the office, neighbourhood [...]

In this second episode of The Heart of the Nieuwmarkt Neighbourhood, Irma and Jim talk to Theodoor van Boven: entrepreneur, local resident and founder of De Condomerie. A conversation about condos, culture, community and the art of getting lost. Theodoor tells how a "joke for six months" grew into a world-famous phenomenon, why a woollen condom [...]

In this first episode of The Heart of the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood, Irma and Jim talk to Epco Runia, head of collections at Museum Rembrandthuis. They discuss Rembrandt's life in the neighbourhood, his artistic development and what makes this iconic neighbourhood so special - then and now. Epco Runia Epco tells how he went from being a sceptic [...]

What happens when you give residents, entrepreneurs and artists of life from the Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood a microphone? In Het hart van de Nieuwmarktbuurt, you will hear stories from behind the facades and under the canopies - raw, surprising, outspoken and sometimes moving. Podcast series In this podcast series, Irma Tomas and Jim Zielinski explore the soul of a neighbourhood that [...]