For nearly two thousand years, Asia has been the world's heartland. After a brief respite of a few centuries, it is now returning to its rightful place. The 21st century will be Asia's century, and it is in everyone's interest that the West…

The third installment of the *Tegenlicht* series turns its attention to the Gulf states of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A remarkable period of modernization is underway there, fueled by soaring oil prices. A new generation of progressive sheikhs is…

When financial hardship strikes, the instinct is often to borrow from friends. But what happens when they are unable to offer assistance? Then one must turn to those who might be considered adversaries, or something akin to them. This was t…

Two years prior, the Dutch program *Tegenlicht* explored the pressing questions surrounding oil and gas in an episode titled "Energy War": could our reliance on fossil fuels trigger conflict? Would alternative energy sources offer salvation…

The high cost of our personal transportation stems less from fuel prices than from the sheer consumption of our vehicles. Modern cars are capable of far greater efficiency. Evan McMullen, a Seattle car dealer, stumbled upon this while unexp…

The inevitable has arrived. The financial crisis has definitively reached our country. Stock markets are plummeting, and the Dutch government is responding with capital injections totaling tens of billions of euros in an effort to mitigate …

The lack of energy is not a matter of the sun; it is a matter of conversion. Sunlight that bathes the Earth provides more than enough energy to power the world for an entire year, falling in abundance on the planet's surface every half hour…

Where does the Netherlands stand with its choices regarding sustainable energy? In the international broadcast *Here Comes the Sun*, we debunked myths and explored the potential of solar power. Now, we turn our attention to the Netherlands …

Following acclaimed works on the Dutch Golden Age, art history, and most recently a book and accompanying television series exploring the history of the United Kingdom, British historian Simon Schama now turns his attention to the United St…

Director Rob Schröder provides young people in Rotterdam-South from incredibly diverse backgrounds with a camera. They use it to film their daily lives in their own neighborhood – a place where opportunities seem absent, and where they feel…

This week's Tegenlicht presents a particularly unusual offering. This past summer, on August 8th, the world was shaken by the outbreak of war between Georgia and Russia. While the fighting subsided after a few days, the situation remains te…

'Jong in... China: I Wanna Be Boss' charts the course of five bright Chinese students through their demanding final year of high school in Chongqing, a sprawling metropolis in central China.

Eve Duchemin’s *Jong in… Wallonië*, a two-part film, journeys to Charleroi in western Wallonia. There, Colin, unemployed, lives with his mother in a sprawling, dilapidated house, filling his days crafting rap lyrics with his friends. Direct…

A clouded future demands new perspectives: Singapore, Montreal, Paris, Washington. *Tegenlicht* brings you the latest insights shaping what's to come, from across the globe. Tonight, opening the six-part series *DE TOEKOMST*, we meet four g…

What elevates a political address to the realm of history? How does a president achieve a kind of immortality through the power of words? And what impact did his rhetoric have on the burgeoning youth movement that propelled Barack Obama to …

Rudy Stroink, born in 1955, is the founder and majority shareholder of TCN, a prominent and innovative development company with a strong commitment to social responsibility. He is perhaps best known as the owner of the Mediapark in Hilversu…

As non-Western economies gain increasing global influence, what economic model might they potentially impose upon us in the future? *Tegenlicht* explores both the advantages and drawbacks of Singapore's economic system, often considered the…

Martha Nussbaum addressed students at the University of Chicago, a place often associated with both the pursuit of justice and the city's role as the birthplace of Milton Friedman's free-market fundamentalism and the subsequent neoliberal C…

The opening episode of the Excellence theme follows an observational journey to an eighth-grade class at the openbaar basisschool Oscar Carré in Amsterdam's De Pijp district. A diverse school where differences are embraced, it naturally pre…

## University Colleges in the Netherlands: How They Function Are University Colleges a playground for the privileged, as Minister Plasterk once suggested? Or do they represent the future of higher education? *Tegenlicht* observes the fir…

What is required for improved talent development? Rob Wijnberg engages in conversation with Frank Furedi, British sociologist and author of the acclaimed book *Where have all the intellectuals gone?*, Robbert Dijkgraaf, professor of mathema…

If God wills it, the louder the call for Muslims in the Netherlands to choose between Western values and Islam, the more powerfully Islamic consciousness seems to be developing. Many young Muslims are returning to the original sources of th…

A portrait of the Egyptian lawyer Montasser al-Zayat. With Montasser al-Zayat, we examine the violence perpetrated by political Islam and follow his efforts to find peaceful avenues for its cessation.

Saïd Bensellam, thirty-seven years old, has cultivated a reputation during the seventeen years he's worked as a doorman in Amsterdam's nightlife. A restless youth from Bos en Lommer, he was taken under the wing of Aunt Hennie and Uncle Jan …

The Libyan man convicted in the 1988 bombing over Lockerbie, which killed 259 people, is facing a retrial due to allegations of evidence tampering. However, the reopening of this case extends beyond the possibility of the Libyan's innocence…

English bioethicist John Harris argues for the permissibility of enhancing human capabilities through pharmaceuticals or genetic interventions. He posits that humanity, as an integral part of evolution, is entitled to apply its accumulated …

In the program *Vrijheid* (Freedom), *Tegenlicht* engages with thinkers such as German philosopher and historian Peter Sloterdijk and American literary scholar Stanley Fish, exploring the concept of freedom itself. The questions raised are …