Friday, November 19, 2010

Radio Netherlands Program Preview November 20-26

Welcome to our weekly guide to Radio Netherlands Worldwide's English Service - a list of the new programmes coming up on Radio Netherlands Worldwide this coming week, beginning on Saturday.

But first of all, let's have a look at the new winter season when we'll be focusing more on features such as The State We're In and Earth Beat and reinforce our regional approach.

From 31 October 2010, there is a daily two-hour block serving South Asia from 1400 UTC. Programming includes Earth Beat India, produced in association with All India Radio, and our own South Asia Wired, getting people to talk to each other across national borders.

When it's evening in Africa, Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings custom-made programmes for the continent. Bridges with Africa continues, as does Africa in Progress, which is seeing an increased number of broadcasts in the new season.

We're not forgetting our home ground either. Daily editions of Network Europe tell you what's happening in the EU and the rest of the continent. Every weekend there's a review of the week's top stories, and the culture magazine Network Europe Extra.

Musically, the classical concert series Live at the Concertgebouw features two class performances each week. RNW Music is producing a weekly edition of Hear the World, a whole hour of music from all continents replacing the jazz series which has come to an end.

Speaking of which, the change of season is also a moment to say goodbye to some old friends. We enjoyed bringing you Classic Dox, Radiobooks and Reloaded, but these programmes will be taking a well-earned rest. A number of four-minute news bulletins have provisionally been dropped from the schedule to create more space for our feature programmes.

We hope you will enjoy our radio programmes, whether you listen to them online, via satellite, your local station, or shortwave. Stay tuned!

So this coming week on:

*** The State We're In ***

"Flesh and blood"

Kidnapped by mom: In 2006, Chris Gulbraa rode his bike from his home, where he lived with his mother and his brother in Kasugai, Japan. The 15 year old was going to the airport, and he had no intention of ever returning. Five years earlier, his mother had fled to Japan from the US, essentially kidnapping Chris and his brother during a custody battle. The father, Mike Gulbraa, had run out of options because Japan doesn't recognize parental rights if they're non-nationals. But then Mike received a text message from Chris saying he wanted to come home.

Escaping to dad: After one failed attempt to escape Japan, Chris was under close scrutiny by his mother who'd fled the US with him over a custody battle. But he soon tried again to get back to his dad in the US. At one point, he was stopped at airport customs before boarding his plane. He texted his dad for help. The plan worked, and father and son are now reunited.

The Snatchback: International marriages have skyrocketed over the years, and so have international divorces. The ensuing legal and ethical areas are really murky. So what happens if you win your custody battle in court, but your ex-spouse flees overseas? What do you do? Some call on Gus Zamora. He kidnaps children for a living and returns them to the custodial parent.

Somaly Mam: Somaly has won international acclaim for rescuing thousands of young girls and women forced into prostitution in Cambodia and across Asia. But her battles are far from over. Somaly tells Jonathan in this emotional interview why she keeps fighting for "her girls", despite death threats and the kidnapping of her own daughter.

Meeting mother: Samuela de Ruiter was born in Ghana but grew up with a white adoptive family in the Netherlands. Last summer, she met her birth mother for the first time, and she's now at a crossroads of deciding whether to build a relationship with her biological family, or sever all ties and just move on.

*** Earth Beat ***
Marnie Chesterton and her team look at the footprint we're leaving on our planet

"A pound of flesh"

This Thanksgiving, would you consider swapping your turkey for meat grown in a lab? It might be yucky, but with over 70% of the planet used for livestock, isn't it time we got over our squeamishness? From the petri dish to your dinner plate, the price of a pound of flesh. That's on next week's edition of Earth Beat from Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

*** Africa in Progress ***

Pearlmira Kwesi-John has a voice of gold and pianist Raymond Okeke Macauley has fingers of gold. Both dream of becoming solo performers and are determined to work hard at reaching their goal. What's remarkable in their career paths is that they both had music teachers at home who believed in them, offered them scholarships, and encouraged them to pursue classical music studies, just as their country was coming out of a bloody war.

Guests:
Pearlmira Kwesi-John ( Sierra Leone)
Raymond Okeke Macauley ( Sierra Leone)

*** Network Europe Week ***

A collaboration by Europe's leading broadcasters

A pan-European team links up across the continent every day to provide a fresh perspective on events and life in Europe.

This week:
· About face: Ireland gets help but insists it's no EU bail-out
· A shuffled deck.... but has anything really changed in the French government?
· A double helping of royalty... the dutch discuss stripping their queen ... of power
· And the British get giddy about next year's royal wedding... by buying souvenirs

*** Network Europe Extra ***

Arts and Culture brought to you each Sunday from Europe's widest partnership of international broadcasters.

This week:
· Greetings from the end of the world: We head to the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu.
· The Day the Music died: Polish composer Gorecki dead at 77
· Boom or Bust: Student cleaners in Prague bare all
· And... Ray of Light: No, not Madonna, but the guys who make the rock stars look good.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC):
1530 South Asia 11835, 15745

***European Jazz Stage/World Music***

Music from Southern Africa, with Bongo Maffin and Oliver Mtukudzi & the Black Spirits.
Hosted by Dheera Sujan.

*** Live! at the Concertgebouw ***

The Royal Concertgbouw Orchestra is conducted by a guest conductor, Italian maestro Daniele Gatti, in heroic music by Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Hosted by Hans Haffmans and Cynthia Wilson.

*** Bridges with Africa***

Lively discussion and thought-provoking reports about and from the African continent

This week on Bridges With Africa...
· Splitting up Sudan? It's an idea that provokes mixed feelings...
· Unashamedly obese in South Africa...
· Guinea had elections - now what?
· And there's music from the desert - in Niger...

*** Commonwealth Story ***

The first Hello, by Anuradha Kumar from India.
The promise of a village telephone.
Read by Sagar Arya.

Radio Netherlands - English

Effective: 31 October 2010 - 27 March 2011
broadcast daily unless otherwise indicated
target areas: af (Africa) am (Americas) as (Asia) ca (Central America) eu (Europe) na (North America)pa (Pacific)
sa (South America) va (various areas)

All times UTC
1000-1057 9720as 12065as
1400-1500 12080as 15595va
1500-1557 15595as
1800-1857 6020af 11655af
1900-1957 7425af 9895af 11615af 11655af
2000-2057 5935af 7425af 11655af
(R Netherlands/Leo van der Wounde)