Random History of Belgium

Episode 138 is probably the fianl episode of this series on the history of Belgium

EP137: In part 4 on the history of Belgian social security, we'll look at the post WWII situation on how both the pension and unemployment system evolved from the blueprint laid out by one of the main pioneers in social security Mr. Fuss. We will also look at the evolution of the RVA and much more.

EP136: In part 3 on the history of Belgian social security, we'll go over the interbellum, the two World Wars and the government organized social systems like NDAW.

In EP135 of the Random history of Belgium, continues the journey through the history of our social security system. We look at child labor, factories, healthcare, the first large street battles and protests, but also the first laws protecting the workers.

In EP134 of the Random history of Belgium, we start a multi part journey, looking at the early versions of social protection, funds and charities for workers, before and during the industrial revolution. We'll track the origins of our social security systems and their history.

EP133 - We look at the life and work of our most renowned author Hendrik Conscience. His career and impact, the way he forged his own language and legacy, the marketing and symbolism and some insights about the square in Antwerp named after him.

EP132 - We'll take a look at first 100 years of the Belgian railways. How it got started, the economic structure, some key elements and problems, as well as the building of stations. We focus on the early days to see where it all came from.

In EP131 of the Random history of Belgium, we look at the expansion of the port of Antwerp, we focus on two shipyards and their importance and eventual decline. We look at the Saint-Michiels abbey, the straightening of the Scheldt river, Cockerill yards and of course Boel shipyards in Temse.

EP130 for this episode, I looked at the Trappist abbey of WestVleteren, their Cistercian religious order and their famous Trappist beers. We look at the early history of the site and their beer, while drinking a nice #Trappist

EP129 We look at the November 1991 election day, we look at the previous governments in charge, the way they wen down. The rise of new parties, and a few older ones that gained power, we talk about the aftermath and impact of this important election and their key players like CVP/PSC, SP/PS, Volksunie, Vlaams Blok and ROSSEM.

In EP128 we'll take a look at author, politician, macro-economic and "enfant terrible" of the early 1990s in Belgium: Jean-Pierre Van Rossem. We look at his Moneytron system, his media image, fraud allegations, political party and downfall.

In EP127 we'll take a quick look at the Belgian volunteer corps during the Korean war, we'll look at how Belgium got involved, who was sent there and what their impact and actions.

In EP126 we talk about abbé, Georges Lemaître, the begin behind the expanding universe theory. We look at his life, his connection with Albert Einstein and why he's been important in Belgian and even world history.

EP125 is the last episode on our political institutions and movements for now, and deals with the Walloon movement, the language law of 1932. We talk about Jules Destrée, Julien Delaitte, letters to king Albert I, the struggle for the French language privileges and much more.

In Episode 124 of the Random history of Belgium we'll get into the post-war struggle of the Flemish movement, we look at the different groups and political parties emerging, as well as the rise and fall of the Volksunie party and much more.

In EP123 of the Random history of Belgium, is part 2 on the history of the Flemish movement. We explore the 1914 tot 1946 timeframe. We examine collaboration, repression and the changing language and symbolism of the writers/politicians during that time.

In EP122 of the Random history of Belgium podcast, is part 1 of 2 on the history of the Flemish movement. We'll look at their goals, the rhetoric, origins and explain the tipping point from cultural to political organization and much more.

In EP121 of the Random history of Belgium, we look at one of our biggest telecom providers and their origins. We'll look at the original cable network, the municipalities, funding and their growth into the modern internet, telephony and tv provider they are now.

In part 3 on Belgian Television history we look at the commercial stations, the changing publisher landscape, VTM and DPG-media. #Belgium #historypods

Episode 119 of the Random history of Belgium continues the history of TV and telecom in Belgium. We look at the 1958 to 1996 time period, with the new headquarters for the state television, TV programming, color Tv and the coax cable network.

Episode 118 of the Random history of Belgium starts with the history of television. We look at the early days, experimental TV and the NIR-INR. We also explain the Eurovision phenomenon and more...

Episode 117 of the Random History of Belgium, is all about the life and work of the Belgian physicist François Englert, who won a Noble prize in 2013. We look at his life, work and theories. #RHOB #CERN

EP116 Gives us an insight in the live, work and inventions of Leo #Baekeland. A chemist who started his career in #Belgium and moved to the USA to become one of the main inventors of synthetic plastic with his invention of Bakelite. #RHOB

EP115 zooms in on an aspect of the late 19th century struggles of labourers during the industrial revolution. We look at the life and work of Emilie Claeys, who put women's voting rights on the agenda during the first wave of feminism.

In EP114 of the #RHOB Random history of #Belgium podcast, we learn about Luxembourg: the county, duchy, their Burgundian rulers, the origins, the myth and the changing borders. We'll follow the history of one of our provinces, but mainly our neighbours: the country named the Grand Duchy Luxembourg.

EP112 of the Random history of Belgium podcast will look at the life, buildings, concepts of influential architect and urban planner Renaat Braem. We talk about modernism, brutalism, the linear city and many other concepts and his real-life projects and buildings.

EP113 of the Random history of Belgium is a re-recording and adaptation of a  4 year old episode out the controversial King of Belgium, Leopold II. We look at his life, the colony, how he got the "mandate" to colonise and his later life and death. This was rewritten en re-recorded in June 2020

EP111 - We'll look at the October 1996 tot 2020 timeframe about the White March protests, the #Dutroux case and we'll look at one of the most weird incidents in recent history, the commissions, the trial and much more.

EP111 is the second part in a multi-part episode on the White March on Brussels (1996). We chronologically go over the crimes of Marc Dutroux, the ingestivation and we'll continue our journey into what caused the anger leading up to this massive demonstration.

EP109 is the first part in a multi-part episode on the White March on Brussels held in 1996. We'll look into what it was, what caused it, and begin a journey through the chronological order of events leading up to this demonstration.

EP108 - Tells the story of the master of emotions, the 'second Breughel"... the painter Adriaen Brouwer. Who lived in the early 17th century, shifting between Amsterdam and Antwerp. We look at his life and paintings, and his role in history.

EP107 of the Random history of #Belgium, deals with another food item important to our history, we'll talk about Brussels Chicory, #Witloof or Endives. We'll look at what it is, how it was discovered and how it's cultivated over time. #BelgianHistory

EP106 - The 3rd part of our Origins of the Belgian election system episide, and we go through the 1949 to more recent years, the regions gain importance, we see a few notable elections like the one of 1971 and 1991 and their impact, we also look at the evolution of the seat distribution.  

EP105, the 2nd part of the origins of the Belgian election system, we start with 1899 to 1949 and the adaptations made along the way for a more stable and math based seat distribution in parliamant, we go over the social struggles and women's suffrage.

In this episode in our origins series, we'll look at the origins of the Belgian election system, its evolution and we'll look at the first provisional governement for Belgium. We'll recap some early history and look at the 19th century evoltion of our elections in this first part.

In EP103 we take a look at speculaas and speculoos, but also one of the biggest brands of biscuits in Belgium: Lotus. We look at the pastries and company history.

With EP102 we visit the 1990s politics during a food scandal, leading to some key moments in political history. We look at what this crisis was all about, how it physically came to be and take a look at the repercussions, political fallout and the key figures playing a role in it.

EP101 - We look at the mini-state or territory that existed for 100 years within the current Belgian borders: Neutral-Moresnet. We look at its strange start, the economy, the Mosselman family and the many aspects that made this a special place in between their neighbors like Germany and The Netherlands.

This is the 100th episode of the Random history of Belgium. "I'm still kicking."

In Episode 99 of the Random history of Belgium we look at one of the subjects I've very briefly talked about during the Battle for Belgium episodes. Fort Breendonk. A SS-run concentration camp during WWII. We look at the stories, the victims and a history of the Fort.

Episode 98 of the Random history of #Belgium podcast: It's one of the most famous and important paintings in the world, commonly known as “the Ghent Altarpiece”. We'll learn more about who made it, what it depicts and what happened to it over the last 5 centuries. #vaneyck2020 #justjudges links: http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/ https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-ghent-altarpiece-closed-after-restauration/HQHr1poJoZ8F_A https://vaneyck2020.be/  

In Episode 97, the life, death, and travels of Father Damien are the central theme. We'll look at his history, faith, travels to Hawaii and the aftermath of his death, as well as his sainthood. Virtual tour: https://www.visitleuven.be/en/saint-anthonys-chapel

EP96 of the Random #history of #Belgium finally talks about our main man Manneken Pis, aka Petit Julien. We look at his personality, origins, stories, adventures and the content of his pee, as well as his extended family. #Brussels #MannekenPis

Episode 95 of the Random history of #Belgium dives into the history of a video-shop company "SuperClub". We'll look at the people behind it, the funds, the failure and the many backroom deals that ended up costing many people their live savings. 

EP94 will continue the story of the golden century of #Antwerp, we look at more buildings, art, a mayor of the city, the Spanish and French fury, and the eventual siege on the city. The episode will end in 1585 when the Spanish took control of Antwerp.  

EP93 is a two-part episode on the very prosperous and important golden century of the city of Antwerp. We'll talk about early history shortly, the role it played after the decline of Bruges, the many buildings, art and persons that mark this exceptional timeframe.    

The Random history of Belgium EP.92 continues the path with a deeper dive into the scandals that were uncovered during the A.Cools murder investigation. We'll look at the who, what and how of these scandals. We take a look at an embarrassing moment in socialist party history as well, and at the implications of these cases for Belgian politics in general.

EP91 - We dive into a political assasination that happened in the beginning of the 1990s and would leave its mark on the political landscape. We follow the career of André Cools, the murder, the trial and the events that followed, as well as the fall out of the murder trial.

EP90 of the Random history of Belgium dives back in the WWII series. In this one episode (part 11) we'll take an overview of the resistance groups that sprung up during the war. We explore a few of their specific actions as well as explain the political backgrounds and the causes for some of their actions as well as their motives.  

The Random history of #Belgium explores one of the main building companies: #besix They're active around the world with a specialization in reinforced concrete. The construction company that built one of the biggest building in the world and most people never heard of is the subject of this episode.

EP88 of the Random history of Belgium we'll look into the late 80s of the Mobutu regime until the 1997 end. We'll see the widespread corruption, increased economic aid, diplomatic failings and the poverty, as well as the reactions in Belgium. The rebellion and battle of Kolwezi, and the eventual experiments with democratization and the downfall of the regime.