BRAM talk

The BRAM RADIO team visited the latest IamExpat Fair in Amsterdam to find out who’s there and what’s their story?Newcomers to Amsterdam, coming to study, to work or to join family or partners: how do they make sense of their new life here? It can be quite different to what they are used to, wherever they come from. There’s quite a market in supporting these newcomers so, IamExpat Media holds regular fairs to bring useful services together in one place to meet as many new internationals as possible. Hear from a range of newcomers, service providers and one of the founders of the fair, in this order:Shahzeb, newcomer from PakistanPanos Sarlanis, co-founder of IamExpat MediaEmma Slot, new founder of Urban Kickstart, first time having a stand at the fairMelvin van Jaarsveld RB, partner of NAHV BelastingadviseursShannon Koopman, from the family team at Frans Otten StadionA report back from Amsterdam's IamExpat Fair on 7 March 2026 at the Beurs van Berlage.Interviews by Michalis Daniilakis and Cathy Leung.📻 Broadcast premiere on BRAM RADIO online radio station: Friday 15 May 2026, 13:00, with occasional repeats.Music bed: 'Couch surfer' by We Are Okhttps://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Ahead of the 2026 Amsterdam municipal elections, on 9 March there was an Election Debate in English. BRAM RADIO aka Broadcast Amsterdam went along and made a [rough 😊] recording for anyone that missed it.Debate participants: Suleyman Aslami (D66), Marianne Brackel (VVD), Juliet Broersen (Volt), Bastiaan Minderhoud(PvdA), Milka Yemane (Groenlinks)Venue: Equals Amsterdam | Organiser: Tom Wouter Bijl (D66) | Host: Greg Shapiro This recording will also be aired several times on our streaming radio station in the run up to 18 March. (Disclaimer: minimal use of an AI tool to try to improve the audio quality, and edited for length.) About the Amsterdam elections 2026Amsterdam will elect a new city council, and district committees, on Wednesday 18 March 2026. Many international residents are eligible to vote (see below), hence an elections debate in English also.Quick linksamsterdam.nl/en/elections [in English]amsterdam.nl/verkiezingen [in Dutch]Choosing who to vote for?AT5 has a tool, the AT5 Kieskompas, to help you decide which party fits your issues, available in both Dutch and English, https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/237137/twijfel-jij-nog-wat-je-moet-stemmen-18-maart-vul-nu-het-at5-kieskompas-inDutch News website has a round-up of the main local political parties and links here, https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/02/local-election-watch-housing-and-litter-dominate-in-amsterdam/Who can vote? You can vote if all of these apply to you:You are 18 years or older.You are registered as a resident of Amsterdam.You are an EU citizen, or you have been registered in the Netherlands without interruption for at least 5 years.If you are not sure, you can find out it you are eligible at amsterdam.nl/who-can-vote.If you are eligible, you will automatically receive a stempas, a voting pass, in the post about two weeks before the elections. look out for an envelope with the word, ‘Stem’ in big red letters on the front.Find your local polling booth here, https://stembureaus.amsterdam.nl/mapAt the polling booth, you’ll need your voting pass (stamps) and proof of identity to be able to vote, eg your passport, ID card, driving license or residence permit.What are these elections for?Elections for the city council and the district committees are held every 4 years.For the city council, political parties submit their candidates to sit as councillors in the city council.In addition, each district has its own district committee. Candidates from both political and non-political parties and groups are eligible to stand for election.

A fight for clean air in Amsterdam: on Tuesday 20 January 2026, the local action group Adem Vrij aan het IJ  (https://ademvrijaanhetij.nl) again shared their concerns about the emissions of the ICL fertiliser factory in their neighbourhood. They presented Jeroen Olthof, deputy of the province of North Holland, with a New Year's card from about 170 residents, all wishing for stronger measures to deal with the ICL factory. BRAM RADIO's Dominik Kucera was at the event and spoke with various parties to find out what's at the heart of this protest. (The province and the environmental service will come up with a new permit for ICL at the end of January, reports AT5.) Audio report by Dominik Kucera for BRAM RADIO, the online radio station for Amsterdam, produced by Stichting Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Jennifer Barnett shares all about being a small boat owner in Amsterdam. From mooring and dock etiquette, dogs on boats, writing on boats and more. Jennifer was talking with Dam Daily host, Sarah McCloskey, on 7 June 2023 on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nlThe original interview included lively music tracks picked out by the guest/host and is available on our website with her playlist and links, here, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/jen-boat-life/Podcast editor: Paweł Kierzniewski

Two young gamers, one from the Netherlands, one from Ukraine, talk about how they got connected online, and day to day life in a war zone for Julien compared to teen life for Samuel in rural Achterhoek. This chat with Samuel and Julien originally featured on the Friday edition of Dam Daily radio show with Chris Willis on 24 March 2023, as broadcast on BRAM RADIO, the local, online station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nlThe original interview and full radio show included more music tracks and local news and is available on our website here,https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/24-mar-2023-dd/.

From night kayaking to his sadhu board, Ukrainian music artist, Fenoman (aka Igor Kramarenko), shares the story of his new life in Amsterdam, how he found a place to stay, and getting to know the city. He also talked about his music and other Ukranian bands, and what they can do to raise awareness and funds to support Ukraine following the Russian invasion. You can follow Igor on Instagram at @igor_fenoman.This is an edit of Igor's guest spot on the Your Amsterdam Weekend show with @CathyCentral on 12 January 2023, as broadcast on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nlThe original interview included more music tracks and is available on our website with links, here, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/wk-2-yaw-2023-fenoman/.

What went down at the first ever AI hackathon in Amsterdam? Our Executive Producer @CathyCentral gave a short report on her experience.Cathy was talking on the Dam Daily show on 13 February 2023 on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Stichting Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Artist, Marnet Schoemaker talks about her art on shop shutters in Amsterdam’s De Pijp district, designing labels for Amsterdam beer and more. You can follow Marnet on Instagram at @marnetschoemaker, and check out her exhibition from 26 Nov 2022 to 26 February 2023 @ Oranjekerk in de Pijp.Marnet was talking with Dam Daily host, Sarah McCloskey, on 14 November 2022 on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station from Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nlThe original interview included lively music tracks picked out by Marnet and is available on our website with her playlist and links, here, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/marnet-schoemaker/.

Before he left Amsterdam, our long-time radio show host, Ben Maxwell, shared his feelings on leaving the city reluctantly, but on the bright side of his new radio opportunity at QBS in the Qatar. They also talked about football a little bit as that's where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place. Ben was talking with Fridays' Dam Daily host, Chris Willis, on 17 June 2022 on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station.https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

On 9 March 2022, there was an Election Special in English at the Podium Mozaïek in Amsterdam. It was organised by the local GroenLinks and D66 parties and they were joined by PvdA, Volt and VVD. Here’s how it went down … Amsterdam will elect a new city council, and district committees, on Wednesday 16 March 2022, and many international residents are eligible to vote. The event was a chance to hear directly from these parties, on their plans for making Amsterdam a better place, covering everything from housing and sustainability to public safety and culture. The event was recorded and Broadcast Amsterdam has made this edit for listening back On Demand, and for airing on our local internet radio station in the run up to 16 March. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl   

Brad Vanstone, part of the Together Ukraine team, joined us to share how they have found a direct way to help Ukrainian refugees by driving vans and lorries full of much needed supplies to the Polish-Ukraine border. Brad was a guest on the Dam Daily show on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station on 9 March 2022, hosted by Cathy Leung. This is an edit of that interview. It’s likely the situation will get worse in Ukraine so they also have a plan to transport people away and to a place of refuge. For that they need mini-buses and probably more drivers. Follow the links below to help with financial donations or offering the help/supplies currently needed. https://www.instagram.com/togetherukraine/https://whydonate.nl/fundraising/vital-supplies-for-ukrainian-women-and-children/enBRAM Talk is a series of talk-only highlights from Broadcast Amsterdam radio station, streaming 24/7 and all shows available On Demand. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Ann Doherty, from Voedselpark Amsterdam, on the race against time to “preserve a green piece of Amsterdam for future generations”, specifically by buying the ultra fertile 42 hectare Lutkemeerpolder in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Ann was a guest on the Dam Daily show on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station on 28 February 2022, hosted by Cathy Leung and Sara McCloskey. This is an edit of that interview. You can follow and support the Voedselpark Amsterdam initiative at https://voedselparkamsterdam.nl or on Instagram at @voedselpark_amsterdam. Ann is also part of the Pluk CSA community farming project in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, with about 100 Amsterdamers farming their own produce, and Ann helps to run Cityplot, educating Amsterdammers on things like balcony gardening, worm composting and more.BRAM Talk is a series of talk-only highlights from Broadcast Amsterdam radio station, streaming 24/7 and all shows available On Demand. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Hear a totally unofficial google translate version of the first poem of 2022 by the Amsterdam city poet, Marjolijn van Heemstra. The original poem is in Dutch of course, but we can appreciate the imagery and the sentiment even in English. The Dutch version has an added lyrical feel of course and we have a little taster of that too, with @CathyCentral's very best Dutch pronunciation. (First broadcast on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station on 9 February 2022 on our Dam Daily Wednesday edition. https://www.parool.nl/kunst-media/eerste-stadsgedicht-van-marjolijn-van-heemstra-2022~b9654e9c/https://www.marjolijnvanheemstra.nl/nieuws/marjolijn-van-heemstra-is-de-nieuwe-stadsdichter-van-amsterdam/https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

Matt Ruppert, from Parakeet joined us on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station to talk with Dam Daily (Friday) host, Chris Willis, about how it's going for Amsterdam's bars coming out of the most recent lockdown, funding for affected businesses, and the fun stuff of developing new menus.https://www.parakeetamsterdam.nlhttps://broadcastamsterdam.nl

There's a a call-out to submit your input to Amsterdam’s Environmental Vision for 2050. @CathyCentral joined Alexis on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station to share with our listeners all about the draft vision, how you can have your say, and how it will be rolled out.The deadline for your submissions is Wednesday 3 March 2021 - but the possibility to get a 2 week extension if you let them know you'd like extra time.Info: https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/living/latest-news/2021/amsterdam-comprehensive-visionThis feature was first broadcast on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/

Rik Stapelbroek, from 'Prison Escapes', joined us on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station to talk with BRAM Breakfast host, Chris Willis, about how the current partial lockdown, and the coronavirus, has affected their business. Can you really take an escape game online? They have. https://prisonescape.nl/online/en/https://broadcastamsterdam.nl

There's a national effort in the Netherlands to stop smoking 'together' during October 2020, and Claudia Magaldi joined @CathyCentral on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station to tell us all about the campaign. She shared why smoking is such a problem in the Netherlands and how she persevered when she moved here so that she could use her many years of experience in her native Brazil to become part of the solution here. https://claudiamagaldi.com/en/https://stoptober.nlOriginally broadcast on our Dam Daily radio show. See our original show post, here: https://broadcastamsterdam.nl/podcast/stoptober-together-more-9-oct/

Kedar and @CathyCentral dedicate this episode of the Tiffin Box to those "Missing Amsterdam", with Amsterdam legend, Mike Berry calling in live from New Zealand to share what he misses most since leaving with his family seven years ago. You'll be surprised by the top 3 picks he came up with on the spot! (Shout out to MJB!). Our Nicola from West Yorkshire also contacted the show to share what she misses most. Again, she threw us a few curveballs here! Flatness, anyone? Links are shared in the Pinterest board, here: https://nl.pinterest.com/broadcastams/tiffin-box-links/This podcast is a highlight from Broadcast Amsterdam radio station, broadcasting 24/7 online at https://broadcastamsterdam.nl.Original show: The Tiffin Box lunchtime radio show broadcasts live 13:00-14:00, with music tracks and local stories for your Amsterdam lunch hour. This excerpt is from 24 September 2020.

Knap House is the newest creative agency in town and its totally queer! Founder, Matt Carney talks with @CathyCentral to explain what it means and why it's needed. (https://www.knaphousequeer.com)First broadcast on the Dam Daily live radio show on BRAM RADIO, the local, online radio station for Amsterdam, produced by Stichting Broadcast Amsterdam. https://broadcastamsterdam.nl.

The co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, Roger Hallam, visited Amsterdam in August 2019 to give a talk and inspire locals to join in their global movement to the oncoming climate crisis. Broadcast Amsterdam asked Roger tell us what it’s all about and asked him some tricky questions. (Also broadcast on Broadcast Amsterdam radio station, https://broadcastamsterdam.nl.)