12+ Best Dutch Language Podcasts to Use in 2024
Last year, when my cousin moved to the Netherlands, I was really upset. I knew I might not meet her for a year or more. After some time, she called me to get help. It was heartbreaking to see her sad like that. Despite learning Dutch, she could not get the accent and pronunciation right. Due to this, it was difficult for her to live there. She asked me if I could help her get it right. Though I don’t know Dutch a lot, one thing I was sure of was that it can be corrected with the help of podcasts. So, I took up the responsibility and found some amazing Dutch language podcasts.
After listening to those podcasts, she was able to get into conversations easily. Undoubtedly, pronunciation and accent play a crucial role in regular conversations. Do you also want to improve your Dutch pronunciation? Just check out these amazing podcasts.
Top Dutch Language Podcasts
As mentioned above, podcasts are a great language resource to learn a language. Thus, I am mentioning some of the good Dutch Podcasts that helped my cousin in her journey-
1. DutchPod101
(Available: Youtube, Official platform, Spotify, Apple)
Dutchod101 is a podcast developed for beginners to advanced-level learners. It is on the top of my list because of the aspects it covers. Below I have mentioned those aspects in detail-
- Grammar
- Vocabulary
- Conversations
The basic episodes are shorter than 10 minutes. This podcast is a combination of both English and Dutch. Most episodes are free to use. But to access the extra resources, a subscription plan is required.
2. One Minute Dutch
(Available: Youtube, Official platform)
As the name suggests, each episode is 1 minute long. This podcast is more like the course. My cousin loved this podcast. She was so happy with the way it teaches the language. It starts with covering the greetings part with a lot of numbers and basic conversational phrases. Remember, it is only created by keeping beginners in mind. Thus, this may not be a great choice if you want to develop an intermediate level of understanding. Also, it’s a perfect choice for anyone traveling to the Netherlands.
3. Say It in Dutch (Zeg Het in Het Nederlands)
(Available: Spotify, Apple, Soundcloud)
Say It in Dutch is a perfect podcast for an intermediate-level learner who wants to learn Dutch. Despite adding episodes after one month or more than that, it still offers nicely created podcasts. In total, there are more than 50 episodes available in the podcast. The speed of the podcasts is slow. It also offers a full transcript in the form of a PDF.
4. Een Beetje Nederlands (“A Little Dutch”)
(Available: Official platform, Spotify, Apple, Podbean, Soundcloud)
History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind. -Edward Gibbon
Do you agree with it? I do. There is so much hidden in the history of the world which is still not explored yet. This podcast revolves around the Dutch history. As a language learner, I think learning a language with its cultural history is awesome. The episodes are created for the beginners who love history. Each episode is of 12-30 minutes having a slow pace.
5. Yous & Yay: New Emotions
(Available: Official platform, Spotify, Apple)
The podcast is hosted by two musicians, Sef (Yous) and Pepijn (Yay). They take interviews of everyone in their studio including artists, producers, etc. In short, the interviews are of those who want to share more about themselves. In this conversation, the tone used is relaxing and casual. It means that it is not that hard to understand the language.
6. SBS Dutch
(Available: Official platform, Spotify, Apple, Podbean)
Special Broadcasting Service is an Australian Multimedia network for spreading news in various languages. If you love to know international news in your language, it is for you. There is so much Dutch content to go through. It has interviews, community, features, and news stories in Dutch. Additionally, it strengthens listening skills and vocabulary knowledge. SBS Dutch also improves pronunciation. The duration of each episode is 5-15 minutes. Stay tuned to SBS Dutch to catch the latest things happening around you.
7. Damn, Honey
(Available: Official platform, Spotify, Apple, Podbean)
Feminism means equality and talking openly about everything that happens to girls. This podcast is an audio representation of how the girls can talk about the problem faced by them. This podcast is hosted by two female friends – Marie and Nydia. They both came from the same profession, which is writing. Both of them openly talk about the issues in the female’s life. Some of the topics they talk about are-
- Fast fashion
- Menstrual cycle
- Porn
- Sexual pleasure
- Dutch women’s movement and many more
These topics are enough to understand how bold they both are. They also ranked number three in 2020 under the category of Dutch women who make a difference in Vogue Netherlands. Two episodes are released weekly 2 hours long. However, if you can’t commit to this time, take advantage of 20-minute shorter episodes.
8. Really Happened (Echt Gebeurd)
(Available: Apple)
Ready for some laughs? This podcast is hosted by comedians and amazing writers. Really Happened is entirely in Dutch, making it a perfect choice for advanced learners. The main focus of this podcast is to have a main focus on telling real-life stories in a fun manner. These stories are true, yet unbelievable. It is a perfect choice to sharpen the Dutch skills. There are more than 200 episodes of it. They are updated weekly. Each episode is 10-15 minutes longer.
9. Man Met De microfoon
(Available: Spotify, Apple, Podcastluisteren)
Translation: “Man With The Microphone”
This podcast is hosted by a man living in Amsterdam, Chris Bajema. He narrates various stories and takes interviews with people who have a lot of experience with them. It is both funny and informative at a single time. There are multiple topics covered on this platform, from food to cars, everything is covered.
10. De Universiteit van Nederland
(Available: Official platform, Spotify, Apple)
It basically means the University of Netherlands. There are more than 300 episodes on this podcast. It covers almost everything related to the Dutch and the Netherlands. The episodes are presented by the scientists from Dutch University. Each of them is around 15 minutes including a brief introduction and a mini-lecture on it. Just because the episodes are created by scientists, it does not mean that there are multiple scientific terms. In fact, the whole podcast is created keeping layman in mind.
11. De Dag
(Available: Official platform, Spotify, Apple, Podcastluisteren)
The creator of this podcast is NPO Radio 1. It is one of the main broadcast channels in the Netherlands. The episodes are 20 minutes that focus on interesting news stories. It has stories from a particular day or another current event. De Dag is a combination of international and domestic news. Listen to it and learn what is going on in the Netherlands.
12. Vloeiend Vlaams
(Available: Youtube)
Meaning: Fluent Flemish
Fun fact: Flemish is the Dutch language spoken in Flanders. It is one of the official languages of Belgium.
From the description above, you may have an idea of who will benefit from this podcast. Yes, it’s for the people who are traveling to Belgium. There are not many episodes of it as they are new. Still, it can offer deep knowledge of Flemish. There are stories about Flemish history. My cousin always tries to learn something new. Thus, she enjoys it thoroughly. She has the right accent and a lot of vocabulary.
13. Dutch Sermons on SemonAudio
(Available: Official platform)
Do you prefer listening to conversations based on moral subjects? If yes, this is a perfect choice for you. Listening to this platform is an easy way to learn more about the Dutch language. Listening to real sermons in Dutch helps to develop language skills along with learning religious beliefs. The episodes are of 1.5 hours in duration.
It means there is a lot of content to go through. When the content is all in the targeted language, there will be some new words that you may have to encounter. The number of episodes is limited as they upload them after a few weeks.
14. (Bonus:) To speak Dutch
(Available: PlayerFm)
The reason I have yet to add it to the list above is because it is no longer active. However, the old episodes teach Dutch basics so easily. This podcast covers language skills, grammar, and vocabulary. It can be a good choice to listen while traveling to the Netherlands. In total, there are 27 episodes, of 5 minutes duration. The topics included are:
- Days of the week
- Verb tenses
- Phrases
- Numbers and many more
How to use Podcasts while learning Dutch?
Learning a language can be easier than having its correct pronunciation. In such a situation Podcasts can be a great help. Whether learning the Korean accent or the Italian accent, they are useful for each language. However, here I have discussed how to add Dutch podcasts while learning it. Follow the steps given below to use them in the journey-
- Start with choosing the right podcast. There are more than 100 podcasts available online on the internet. Thus, I have created a short list of nice Dutch podcasts.
- Make sure that the theme matches your interest. Everyone has their own taste in selecting the podcast. Therefore, I have mentioned podcasts related to different themes. If you love cooking try to use the podcasts which teach new recipes in Dutch.
- Stay consistent. Being consistent is the key. To get fluency or the right accent is not a one-day thing. You must be consistent in it. Don’t miss even a single day of listening to it. Even if the day is tiring, try to listen just for 5 minutes.
- Never stick to a single podcast. Try to mix two to three podcasts together. It will help in learning better.
Conclusion
Podcasts are a great way to correct the pronunciation and accent of any language. This is how my cousin also improved. By helping her, I found some amazing podcasts that helped many others learn Dutch properly. Some provide content for the beginner level, whereas others provide it for the advanced learner. I have created the list that helped my cousin learn Dutch properly.
Feel free to reach us in the comments section if you have any suggestions or doubts.
