In a conversation with Tegenlicht, Beppe Grillo laid out his vision for Europe's future. "You call us Italians 'spaghetti eaters'," he said. "As if we were a bunch of gnomes. But we are, in fact, incredibly dangerous. We invented fascism. A…

In "De Vreemdeling" is presented a portrait of Sheikh Khalid Yasin, a 62-year-old African-American man born in Harlem and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is a figure of radical views, considerable controversy, and the most popular preacher…

The ominous future of a volatile region. On April 10, 2010, a Polish government plane crashed near the Russian airfield at Smolensk. There were no survivors, and Poland lost, in a single instant, nearly its entire political leadership. The …

California has long served as a proving ground, a place where individuals seek to reinvent themselves and their lives.

The urban population of the Netherlands seems to have forgotten that the countryside is more than just a route for a Saturday afternoon bike ride. The city attracts more people, more investment, and more attention. Does this risk creating a…

Tegenlicht examines the collision between aspiration and reality in the Netherlands' fastest-shrinking region: South Limburg. Through conversations with architects, administrators, demographers, and most importantly, with the residents of i…

Against the prevailing tide of austerity and short-sighted politics, *Tegenlicht* seeks a vision for Zeeland. Farmers, citizens, fishermen, and landscape architect Adriaan Geuze – a champion of a different approach – explore a new perspecti…

For its episode on Noord/Oost-Groningen, *Tegenlicht* makes its home in the new construction of Blauwestad. From the model apartment, the possibilities for the region's future are explored. Farmers are taking advantage of the recent dry spe…

The world's finest carpets originate from Iran, a land renowned for its exquisite hand-woven textiles. *In Our Persian Rug* tells the story of a Persian carpet, a metaphor for the Iran of today.

The economy strained under a heavy deficit, politics were hopelessly polarized, and the world once again seemed fractured along familiar lines. It was time for fresh inspiration. As it did each year, Tegenlicht sought its kindred spirits in…

A narrative of WikiLeaks' trials and tribulations, recounted from within the movement itself. The criminal investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by the United States Justice Department has recently extended to the Netherlands.…

For weeks, the phenomenon of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange has dominated both current and established media. Yet, a persistent quest for definitions, meanings, and interpretations of what WikiLeaks (and soon, OpenLeaks) truly represents cont…

*Money & Speed: Inside the Black Box* is a true-crime thriller that plunges us into the heart of our automated financial world. Through conversations with those intimately involved and data visualizations precise to the millisecond, it reco…

The euro faces pressure from all sides. What will be the outcome? Kees Vendrik, a financial expert for GroenLinks, was challenged by Tegenlicht to envision a future scenario for 2011. Walking a line between fiction and stark reality, Vendri…

Following the collapse of the Western financial system, it may be time to consider alternative banking models. Across the globe, various options exist, one of which is Islamic banking – banking conducted in accordance with the principles of…

China operates under economic principles largely unfamiliar to the West. If the figures on its economic miracle are to be believed, this growth is perpetual. Yet, how much true resilience lies within that expansion? By Western standards, li…

They appear in the news each day: our own European leaders, so pleased by the uprisings in North Africa, and vying for position in condemning the crumbling dictators across the desert.

In the program *Tegenlicht*, an exploratory conversation with philosopher, historian, and Confucian scholar Tu Weiming examines the future of China.

The Guangzhou police station, home to three hundred officers, is situated on the square overlooking one of China's most vital railway junctions.

For the VPRO's "Knap Crimineel" theme week, De Tegenlicht contributed a piece exploring the high recidivism rate among former prisoners – approximately 80% return to incarceration. Rein Gerritsen is among those who have successfully navigat…

The contemporary geopolitical landscape is defined by information. The Chinese government has recognized this keenly, and consequently restricts access to platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Against the backdrop of the anticipated Arab Spring, which we now witness daily across television, radio, Twitter, and Facebook, *Tegenlicht* considers Europe’s role. More pressingly, what course of action is warranted? Producer Chris Kijne…