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Each week, experts go head to head with each other and with listeners from around the world, asBarry Thorne or Fiona Campbell puts your comments and questions to the panel.

To find out what's coming up in the next edition, visit our what's on this week section.

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Below, you'll find the latest editions of the programme, with links to listen to each one.


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Times and frequencies

 

 

For export only?

Is the welfare of children really at the heart of international adoption?

 

When winning wars is not enough

Do military interventions still serve a purpose? Critics of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq might suggest not.

 

Halving hunger - halfway there?

The world is halfway towards its target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Are we on track and where should the buck stop? Four diplomats and policy-shapers debate.

 

Buy, buy happiness

Advertisers and economists tell us to keep shopping. Anti-consumerist groups tell us to shop less. Fair trade shops tell us to shop fair. Who's right? Amsterdam Forum investigates.

 

Love and marriage?

What makes for a stable relationship? Does a child's happiness depend on the parents being married?

 

One nation under God?

The late televangelist Jerry Falwell inspired both love and hate among Americans. Amsterdam Forum explores the deepening divide between secular liberals and so-called "Christian nationalists".

 

"We could have another War of the World"

Harvard and Oxford historian Niall Ferguson tells us why the twentieth century was the bloodiest in modern history, and why he thinks it could happen again. An Amsterdam Forum special.

 

The persistent problem of corruption

Corruption gets in the way of solving all the other problems facing poorer countries. So how do you fight it - with a carrot, or with a stick? Amsterdam Forum investigates.

 

Does your country need you?

Is military service going out of fashion? Are we still proud to say that we love our country? Or do we put our own needs before those of the nation? Amsterdam Forum investigates.

 

We're not getting any younger

The world’s population is ageing – and it’s forcing us to make some tough choices about how we pay for our collective old age. Will we be forced to work longer, and retire later?

 

The land of Oz

"Israel is not a country. It's a fiery collection of arguments." On this week's Amsterdam Forum, we speak to the celebrated Israeli novelist and polemicist: Amos Oz.

 

Why nobody else wants euthanasia

Euthanasia became legal in the Netherlands five years ago - but why is the rest of the world unwilling to follow the Dutch example? A Dutch physician who has performed euthanasia tells us his story.

 

Liberal democracy in Africa

All over Africa, people want democracy. But the forces that have shaped and obstructed democratic development have often been larger than any individual country. A leading political scientist explains why.

 

Does television help children - or harm them?

Research suggests that watching television can have harmful side effects - regardless of the kind of programme being watched. The television industry says its programmes benefit children. Who should parents trust?

 

A model example?

Size Zero is an official clothes size and a new notion of female beauty, and it’s raising medical alarm bells. Three South American models died for their skinny-chic look. Does the fashion industry have a duty to act?

 

The mighty and the Almighty

“President Bush makes it seem so clear that he knows what God wants.” Madeleine Albright gives her views on America, God and world affairs.

 

African Cities, a catalyst for change

African cities seem to be growing out of control, but Professor Abdoumalique Simone sees more than just chaos. In Kinshasa and Dakar, he finds survival strategies like crisis management and creative risk taking, skills that make cities work.

 

Getting the taps turned on

Why are more than a billion people in the world still without safe, clean drinking water?

 

People power : Rethinking democracy

''Ordinary people have incredible power to do extraordinary things if they're given the chance to organise themselves and the space to bring their voice to bear in the public domain."

 

Teenage and gay

"If you're 13 or 14, you know whether you're straight, so why can't you know you're gay?" Danny (14) is campaigning to raise awareness that there are many other teenagers like him.

 

Five minutes to midnight

"The bottom line is that nuclear weapons exist and the only thing that can deter a nuclear weapon is another nuclear weapon." Do we need nuclear weapons to make the world a safer place?

 

India: the next superpower?

India is the world's largest democracy and has one of the fastest growing economies. But there's still a huge gap between the rich and poor. Can a superpower be built on such foundations?

 

Not an atom of doubt

James Lovelock: "Civilisation is in imminent danger and has to use nuclear power now or suffer the pain soon to be inflicted by our outraged planet."

 

Feeling the heat

From record temperatures to green ski slopes, from melting ice caps to disappearing lakes, climate change appears to be gathering speed. The world, we're told, can not afford to wait. So how should we respond?

 

The cost of saving lives

Millions of people in developing countries don’t have access to life-saving drugs that are widely available in the west. Is it simply a matter of profit over people?

 

Media, myths and reality

Our ideas of news events, people, places are often formed by the images presented by the media. But do we really get the true picture?

 

The spirit of resilience

Why hasn't AIDS caused a collapse in African society? The tremendous human suffering is matched by an extraordinary capacity to overcome it, says expert Alex de Waal.

 

The real world of John Le Carré

John le Carré made his name writing cold war fiction of plots, counter plots and betrayal. But his newer novels have much more to do with the power games and political intrigues of the real world.

 

The Netherlands: a land of division?

The Netherlands was once regarded as liberal, multicultural and tolerant. Now it's been described by one Dutch observer as a country with "apartheid". This week, Amsterdam Forum asks if there any truth in this.

 

Beyond the veil

“When I started as a lawyer for the ministry of justice, everybody said ‘oh you must be the new cleaner, because everybody felt women wearing the headscarf can only be cleaners.” Isn't it time to combat stereotypes of Muslim women?

 

Licensed to kill

The global arms trade is big business. Each year, enough bullets are produced to kill every human on the planet, twice. Who profits most? And: can there ever be such a thing as a responsible arms trade?

 

Bringing God into conflict

Countless events over the last few decades have made it apparent that religion is one of the biggest sources of conflict in modern times. But is faith to blame or is religion used as an excuse for violence?

 

Joystick junkies

Online video games are one of the biggest growth areas in mass entertainment. But are they just harmless diversions from reality or a dangerous addiction?

 

Meat of the matter

Intensive factory farming methods are making meat products cheaper and more abundant than ever before. But at what cost to the animals, the environment and our health?

 

Nuremberg – Law on Trial

Sixty years after the Nazi trials, the 'promise of Nuremberg' has not been met: the International Criminal Court is unable to prosecute the main crime prosecuted at Nuremberg - the waging of aggressive war.

 

Messenger to mankind

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel

 

The end of Iraq

Iraq has a new government and a new constitution. But with spiralling sectarian violence, increasing calls are being made for the country's partition. Is breaking up Iraq the only way to bring peace to its people?

 

The return of the surveillance state

Do you know who's watching you? Over the last five years since 9/11 we have become obsessed with security, but is the invasion of our privacy really helping the 'war on terror'?

 

Salman Rushdie and a story of paradise lost

Salman Rushdie talks about the roots of religious terrorism, Kashmir and a story of love gone fatally wrong.

 

Afghanistan: the return of the Taliban

The Taliban are on the rise and the illicit drugs trade is booming: Afghanistan is perhaps facing its worst crisis since the toppling of the Taliban in 2001. And many fingers point the blame at the international community.

 

Bringing God into conflict

Countless events over the last few decades have made it apparent that religion is one of the biggest sources of conflict in modern times. But is faith to blame or is religion used as an excuse for violence?

 

The uses and misuses of cloning

A leading UK scientist is calling for the cloning of human embryos to fight disease. But opponents say the proposal is unethical and fraught with danger.

 

The cost of saving lives

Millions of people in developing countries don’t have access to life-saving drugs that are widely available in the west. Is it simply a matter of profit over people?

 

The mighty and the Almighty

“President Bush makes it seem so clear that he knows what God wants.” Madeleine Albright gives her views on America, God and world affairs.

 

Exploding Islam's myths

"In today's world people like Osama Bin Laden and people who are committing suicide bombings are certainly not reflective of any profound Islamic thought," leading Muslim rights activist Riffat Hassan says it's high time to drop the stereotypes.

 

Human rights abuse: time for action

“Having sherry with the dictators is fine but it accomplishes very little.” The international community is failing to stop human rights abuses, so is it time to change tack?

 

Why is football so important?

“Football involves the kind of qualities that are associated with war." There seems nothing quite like football when it comes to stirring national pride... so is there more to the game than 22 men on a pitch and a ball?

 

Are the rich hindering the fight against poverty?

"Trillions of dollars have been spirited away from some of the world’s poorest nations by the world’s rich elites," says leading American businessman Raymond Baker.

 

Phobias: potentially devastating - still taboo

"Anxiety disorder is a very extreme form of fear and we estimate one every five people suffers from an anxiety disorder," says clinical pyschologist Jan van den Berg in this week's forum.

 

Rights defender extraordinaire

"For every prisoner in Guantanamo Bay there are 100 Muslims out there who are so incensed at what we've done that they are willing to throw away their lives to blow people up," Clive Stafford Smith.

 

Campaigner kicked out?

"The Netherlands is a tolerant society but only if you keep your head under the poppy field" - human rights lawyer and author Naema Tahir on Ayaan Hirsi Ali's decision to leave the country.

 

Split on Islam

"What we want is a very decent discussion, but very straightforward, on the question: 'Is Islam compatible with liberal democracy as we have it in Western Europe?'" says Dutch columnist Bart Jan Spruyt.

 

Regime change changed

"Coercive regime change of the sort we saw in Iraq is not going to be a terribly useful instrument for promoting democracy. It produces this big counter reaction and it's very hard to control," Francis Fukuyama in the forum this week.

 

Hour to hour in Baghdad

"I used to live from day to day, now I'm living from hour to hour because I don't know what will happen next," says Baghdad resident Sawsan Al Sayyab, one of the voices from Iraq in the forum this week.

 

Bridging the divide

Is there a 'clash of civilisations' going on between Europe's Muslim and non-Muslim communities? Not according new research from a US based Danish professor who's been interviewing hundreds of Muslim leaders.

 

Darfur - away from the limelight

"We may witness a real dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation and then the world will be confronted with a situation that calls for different responses," Suliman Baldo in the forum on the Darfur tragedy .

 

Serbia's genocide charge

"People from the Balkans need reconciliation and not trials and litigation," says Serbian lawyer Sasa Obradovic. Milosevic is dead and his trial over but Serbia itself is in the dock at a unique trial in The Hague.

 

Muhammad cartoon fallout

"This very simple cartoons issue could have, in the long run, a more damaging impact than September 11," says Tariq Ramadan, commenting on the fallout from the Danish cartoons row.

 

In Paranoia's palm

"After 9/11, after what happened in Madrid and in London, we feel threatened, but we have done a kind of reality check - it is not so huge a threat as we think it is," says Rik Coolsaet in the forum on terrorism this week.

 

Adopt the poor

There are as many over-fed people worldwide as there are people suffering from hunger. This is morally absurd, says Hans Eenhoorn of the UN's task force on hunger. Can't one country adopt another?

 

Beyond oil and gas

"Nuclear energy, if safely developed with safe reactors, is very ecological and absolutely necessary to protect the environment," Bruno Comby from Environmentallists for Nuclear Energy in this week's forum.

 

"Rogue State" - Osama bin Laden's book tip

"We asked to be attacked - 9/11 was in direct retaliation for decades of US foreign policy in the Middle East." US author William Blum, whose book was recommended by Osama bin Laden, joins the forum this week.

 

Where to now for Hamas?

"Either you believe in democracy or you don't. If you believe in democracy, you must accept the result of a free and open election, which this was from all accounts," listener Rolf Pitsch on the Hamas election win in this week's forum.

 

"Trail of blood"

US Apache helicopter"Nothing more vividly sums up the horrific situation in Iraq than what happened on Wednesday of this week when American helicopters attacked a wedding party in the west of Iraq killing 40 mostly women and children, a massacre. How long is the world going to stand for this? When I

 

A silent emergency

Health statistics show that on average a child dies every 15 seconds from water-related diseases somewhere in the world. This dire situation has been labelled by aid agencies `the silent emergency´.

 

Agonising on Afghanistan

"We think it would be very unwise to go on with what is basically a peace mission in what is basically a war area," D66 defence spokesman Bert Bakker on why he's against sending Dutch troops to the NATO mission in southern Afghanistan.

 

Congo - in search of a state

"It is one of the most brutal wars in contemporary history and its consequences can be looked at in the same way as the consequences of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Professor Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo in the forum.

 

Poverty in paradise

"The Netherlands is still paradise for many, yet for those trying to make a living here, especially if you're a non-western immigrant or unskilled, exclusion looms. And it's that type of exclusion that I'm worried about" - Professor Louk de la Rive Box.

 

Terror vs human rights

"We cannot live in a peaceful world without human rights being front and centre, and only when we abide by the human rights framework that we have developed over the last 50 years can we really tackle problems like terrorism," says Amnesty's Bart Stapert.

 

Tuning in

Amsterdam Forum, Radio Netherlands interactive discussion programme, is broadcast every Sunday on short wave (AM). Click to see the times and frequencies.