Episodes
Episode 138 is probably the fianl episode of this series on the history of Belgium
Published 04/10/22
Published 04/10/22
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.
Published 03/02/22
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.
Published 02/03/22
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.
Published 01/19/22
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.
Published 01/17/22
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.
Published 12/06/21
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.
Published 08/13/21
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.
Published 06/23/21
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
Published 05/24/21
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 elections and their key players like CVP/PSC, SP/PS, Volksunie, Vlaams Blok and ROSSEM.
Published 05/05/21
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.
Published 04/19/21
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.
Published 03/19/21
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.
Published 02/22/21
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.
Published 01/29/21
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.
Published 12/09/20
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.
Published 12/01/20
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.
Published 11/25/20
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.
Published 11/10/20
In part 3 on Belgian Television history we look at the commercial stations, the changing publisher landscape, VTM and DPG-media. #Belgium #historypods
Published 10/26/20
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.
Published 10/06/20
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...
Published 09/24/20
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
Published 08/27/20
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
Published 08/11/20
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.
Published 07/23/20