There are a lot of adjectives that are commonly used to describe women. Sexy, beautiful, charming, sweet, hot, cute …. Funny is not one of them. And indeed, on international stages, we mostly see male comedians. But there are two women who have decided to change that and have founded Funny Women Amsterdam.

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

Funny Women Amsterdam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnywomenams/

Today’s episode is about the Dutch afstandsmoeders. Between 1956 and 1984, thousands of unmarried women were forced to give up their babies against their will. Their babies were taken away from them the moment they were born and some of the mothers never got to see their children ever again.

Until today, the investigation and the compensation of it’s victims – the mothers and the children – in the Netherlands have been rather slow.

Dr. Eugenie Smit van Waesberghe is an afstandskind herself and for years and years, she is all over the Dutch media to draw attention to the cases of afstandsmoeders and afstandskinderen.

Website Eugénie Smits van Waesberghe: https://eugeniesmitsvanwaesberghe.nl/

Website organization The Dutch Birthmother: http://www.denederlandseafstandsmoeder.org/

Official website of the Dutch government about afstandsmoeders: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/adoptie/afstand-en-adoptie-tussen-1956-1984

Podcast Separated By Force: https://open.spotify.com/show/4VIT9j67QZkkyoLZK1KG10

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

If you think back on your childhood days, did you play with dolls? What did they look like? Very much like you? But for many children around the world, this is not the case. Because dolls are very often white and able-bodied. But what about dolls with Afro hair, male dolls or dolls with a certain skin condition or Down syndrome? Those can be found in a little shop in Amsterdam Noord, called coloured goodies. Because founder Ellen Brudet knows very well what it was like as a child to not feel represented.

Website Coloured Goodies: https://colouredgoodies.nl/

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

Every day, we are confronted with news. Often so many of them, that it can be quite overwhelming. But it seems, that we often only hear the stories of the same groups of people over and over again. In our world, there are still many people who don’t get a chance to share their stories, experiences and their view of the world. Mira Kinn wanted to change that and has founded the platform correspondents of the world where people from all over the world get the chance to be heard.

Correspondents of the World Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoftheWorld

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

When you think of design, what is it that comes to your mind? Maybe something practical that you use every day? Or maybe something very technical around electronic devices?

Shahar Livne is a conceptual material designer and what she wants to achieve with her designs is that people listen to a story. But not only her personal ones. She also tells stories about places, cultures, and relations with resources in the past, present, and future. Her work combines biology with science and philosophy and focuses on material research. Some of her projects even deal with obscure materials such as blood. 

Shahar Livne LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahar-livne-50474b122

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

"I don't see color. I only see people"

Sarita Bajnath is a diversity and inclusion coach, who offers unconscious bias training for us to understand life experiences that lie beyond our own.

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

Sarita Bajnath Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saritabajnath/

Volunteering has become a huge market. Many young people take a gap year to work with children in Africa, Asia or Latin America - very often in orphanages. On social media, they post pictures of themselves with a group of happy children. But unfortunately, it is mostly the volunteers who benefit from this experience. Agencies who organize these volunteering trips exploit the children and the young adults who are very often uninformed. 

Kristen Cheney is an expert on volunteering, voluntourism, international adoption and the white saviour complex and in this episode, she explains what is currently wrong in all these broken systems that exist worldwide.

More information provided by Kristen Cheney:

https://www.faithtoaction.org/BarnaStudy2021/ 

bit.ly/orphanindustrialcomplex https://blogsmedia.lse.ac.uk/blogs.dir/16/files/2021/11/The-Power-Behind-Good-Intentions_Toolkit.pdf 

https://rethinkorphanages.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/Interactive%20PDF_Divestment%20resource%20for%20the%20travel%20and%20volunteering%20secctors.pdf

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/author/C/K/au25338628.html

iss.academia.edu/KristenCheney

Since RuPaul's Drag Race on Netflix, Drag has become quite famous. Also in the Netherlands. Even though it has a way longer tradition here. But even if the Netherlands are quite liberal in comparison, things are far from perfect for Drag Queens especially. Danielle Jiskoot, my guest for today has decided to start an agency for Drag artists to support local artists in the Netherlands.

Website The Drag Agency: https://www.thedragagency.com/

AmsterDames Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/podcastamsterdames

On TV, in magazines and on social media, we are always encouraged to consume. People are standing in line to get the latest iPhone. Physical fights on Black Friday are a very common thing. The fashion industry is no exception there. Stores offer several new collections of clothes multiple times a year, but the clothes we buy for cheap prices usually never last very long. The term for this is fast fashion and it turns out to be extremely harmful to the environment but also to the people that work in this industry. My guests for today are Yophi Ignacia and Dieuwertje de Wagenaar work as country coordinators for the organization Fashion Revolution which wants to change that.

Website Fashion Revolution Global: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/

AmsterDames Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amsterdamespodcast/

Tuning in with a pregnant person, taking care of their needs and making sure that the person in labor and their partners have the best possible experience of giving birth. This is how Valentina Constenla Kasat describes her job as a Doula. In this episode, she talks about how found this profession for herself, what has been the best moment so far and why in some way she compares herself to a labrador.

Website Valentina: https://www.doulavalentina.com/

Disclaimer by Valentina:  When talking about the "natural" or "normal process" of birth I intend to refer to the physiological processes that have been mostly observed and studied in labor, birth and immediate postpartum. Exceptions to these physiological processes can happen. If you are facing hardships in your transition to motherhood, I encourage you to acknowledge your struggle and seek help for yourself. A start point for this could be https://psychezwangerschap.nl/en