Original title
Zembla
Released
9/7/1995
Origin country
NL
Genre
Documentary
Status
Returning series
Number of seasons
31
Number of episodes
885
Zembla is a Dutch television documentary programme by VARA and NPS. The documentaries are based on in-depth research which can take months. The subjects are often controversial. A documentary in 2001 about fraud in the Dutch construction sector led to parliamentary inquiries. In May 2006 the programme exposed the fact that politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali had lied in her claim for asylum, which led to her resignation from parliament.
A look at the case of Sharleyne
What is the position of migrant workers in the Netherlands? The research into the answer to this question started last summer in Boxtel, Brabant. There, angry citizens are diametrically opposed to their municipal council, because a migrant hotel for 400 migrant workers is planned on the edge of the village. The civil protest is increasing and the migrant workers themselves appear to be living and working under dubious conditions a few neighborhoods away. The situation is symbolic for many municipalities in the Netherlands. There are calls for a change of course, but which interests have ensured that the call for change has been ignored for years?
The fire brigade responds hundreds of times a day to incidents: entrapments in traffic accidents, drownings, suicides and many resuscitations. The almost daily confrontation with death is a psychological wear and tear for firefighters, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. As early as 2015, the Dutch fire brigade top promised to conduct research and made plans to better support firefighters. What became of these plans?
Every year, millions of Peking ducks are slaughtered at the duck slaughterhouse in Ermelo, a slaughterhouse that is part of a headache file for the Gelderland municipality: odor nuisance, haggling over permits and ducks that suffer needlessly during the slaughter process. Animal welfare organizations also monitor duck farms. There too, the natural needs of ducks are not met. Traditionally, there have been duck farms mainly in Gelderland, partly along the Veluwe. What does the ammonia emission from the ducks mean for the province's nitrogen policy?
Many farmers say they cannot do without glyphosate. The pesticide is very effective and therefore the most used weed killer in the world. But how safe is glyphosate? Scientists who examined the pesticide on behalf of the World Health Organization concluded that it is probably carcinogenic to humans. However, its use has recently been permitted again for 10 years by the European and national pesticide authorities. How is it possible that different independent scientists come to a different conclusion than the admission authorities? Zembla is investigating the approval of the poison.
Zembla receives a tip at the end of 2023. In a drug district in Copenhagen where a gang war is raging, an ATM with a Dutch link has been spotted. In Denmark there are concerns that the ATM could be used for money laundering. International investigation services appear to have been warning about this for some time.
Research into intercountry adoption led to revelations of falsified files, large-scale fraud and even the existence of baby farms. In 2021, researchers indicated in a report that they doubted whether an adoption system without abuses could exist. They therefore recommended temporarily stopping adoptions. Minister Weerwind has now decided to permanently end intercountry adoption in the future. Can adoption still be done safely in the meantime? And what is the situation in Bulgaria, where Roma children are more often removed from their homes and put up for adoption due to deep-rooted discrimination?
Trump has never made it a secret that he plans to take revenge on his opponents during his possible second term. A complete plan is already ready for the implementation of that presidency: the controversial Project 2025. Australian investigative journalists speak to unique sources around Trump and thus outline what awaits the world if he is re-elected. Insiders talk revealingly about his first term in the White House. Fanatical and influential advocates indicate how they will carry out all of Trump's orders and wishes in the future.
After approval of glyphosate in the pesticide industry in Europe, the controversial weedkiller is being investigated. Scientists' concerns about cancer and Parkinson's disease are discussed. In the United States, chemical giant Bayer is being sued by cancer patients after exposure to glyphosate. Court documents show that the chemical giant continues to keep their profitable products on the market. An American scientist, whose name appears in the European glyphosate dossier, appears to have previously questioned the dangers of diesel smoke and asbestos on behalf of the industry.
Rusty oil tankers full of Russian oil sail through the North Sea. Their owners and insurance are unclear, even as they transport millions of tons of sanctioned merchandise. Putin's war economy depends on this export, which continues through Dutch waters despite sanctions. Zembla maps this shadow fleet and spends months investigating questionable ship movements. The maritime and ecological risks for the Netherlands and surrounding countries are discussed. Through data research and experts, Zembla follows the oil and money trail and shows how Dutch companies continue to indirectly fill Putin's war chest.
From 2020 onwards, large groups of investors will invest in JuicyFields, an online platform that promises high profits on medicinal cannabis. E-growers buy plants from behind their computers and share in the profits after the harvest. The platform attracts a lot of attention with parties and golden sports cars, but in the summer of 2022 panic sets in: JuicyFields disappears and 185,000 investors together lose 645 million euros. In a diptych, Zembla, together with international journalists, investigates how the Netherlands played a prominent role in this large-scale fraud. Where did the loot go and how could the scammers operate undisturbed?
Journalists from Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands reveal one of the biggest online frauds: JuicyFields. This platform lured investors with high returns from medicinal cannabis, but disappeared with almost 650 million euros. In part one, Zembla shows how cunning the scam was set up, with a mysterious Dutchman in a leading role. In part two, the international network behind the fraud is exposed. The trail ultimately leads to Russia via a whistleblower within the organization.
The Cabinet wants to make significant cuts in care for the uninsured, while the number is increasing. Many uninsured people are migrant workers without work and housing, undocumented migrants, or Dutch people who have become homeless. Who will help them in the event of illness or an accident? Medical care is a basic right, even without insurance. Street doctor Michelle van Tongerloo is committed to providing help to this vulnerable group from the Pauluskerk in Rotterdam. Zembla investigates whether uninsured people receive the care they are entitled to or whether they are denied access to hospitals.
Transporting children to special education has been difficult for years. Children are picked up late or not at all, drivers change often and travel times are sometimes very long. A government study shows that 1 in 5 children are late for school as a result. This year things got out of hand in the Utrecht region. Due to procedural errors, there was hardly any transport for months, and an emergency solution with a coach for thirty children caused extra stress. The problem may lie with the tender that turns everything upside down every few years.
Every year, around 3,000 people die in the Netherlands due to exposure to hazardous substances at work. Many become ill and have to struggle for years for recognition. Employers are obliged to record exposure data and keep it for 40 years, but this often does not happen. This makes it difficult to link an illness to work. Experts say the protection system is failing. Victims and relatives seek recognition. A new institute should ensure faster compensation, but this will take years. At the same time, calls are being made in The Hague for rules to be relaxed.
Existing recreational parks and campsites are a popular investment project for project developers. If such a park is taken over by a new owner, existing residents will have to move. People who have been holidaying there for generations, but also people and families who are forced to live in such a park permanently in times of housing shortage. In Zembla we follow the residents of the Westeinder campsite in Rijsenhout. This campsite was bought last year. Since then, the new owner has been dismantling the park piece by piece. In the broadcast we reconstruct the year in which the residents had to deal with intense conflict situations, threats and intimidation, based on unique source material. Zembla investigates the force field of conflicting interests. Who will help the vulnerable residents who have been living on the campsite for years? And why doesn't the government intervene before things get out of hand?
Conservative Christian organizations worldwide are fighting for traditional family values, even if that comes at the expense of basic democratic rights. For example, President Trump draws on a detailed strategic plan to transform America into a Christian conservative state: Project 2025. Key organizations behind Project 2025 are also active in Europe, where they support like-minded people with lawsuits, political influence and millions of dollars in financial support. In ‘God’s lobbyists’, Zembla journalists map international money flows and track down Dutch members of a network that wants to restore the ‘natural order’ by introducing strict anti-gay laws and banning divorce.
The number of asylum applications in the Netherlands has risen sharply in recent years. It is not only about adults and families who flee their country because of war or poverty, but also about thousands of minors who travel to the Netherlands without a family. These young people come directly under the authority of the reception organization Stichting Nidos. From that moment on, a youth protector must help young people in their development towards independence and monitor their well-being. But what care and guidance can these young people really count on? We asked that question to those involved in the reception. They paint a staggering picture.
Fifteen years ago, Zembla journalists discovered that the health of pedigree dogs was very poor. They were bred to meet certain aesthetic requirements, which gave them external characteristics that were very harmful: from flat snouts that made it difficult for them to breathe, to chronic headaches due to skulls that were too small. After this research, new legislation was passed to improve the welfare of pedigree dogs. What has this legislation achieved? Has health now become a priority within pedigree dog breeding? Zembla is once again investigating whether pedigree dogs have a future.
The world has watched as President Trump weakens NATO, disparages European allies and hands Ukraine over to Russia since taking office. Trump calls Putin a “reliable future business partner” who wants to end a “nasty war” and has a right to parts of Ukraine. It is a radical change of course in the White House. How much influence does Putin have over Trump? Could the radical change of course in the White House be linked to an operation that was started forty years ago by Russian intelligence? Operation Trump: How the Kremlin got a foot in the door of the White House.
Two years ago, Zembla revealed how PFAS producer Chemours (formerly Dupont) has known for decades that the PFAS they use is dangerous to humans and the environment. The commotion is huge: hearings follow in both the House of Representatives and the Provincial States, thousands of local residents file a mass complaint and the Public Prosecution Service starts a criminal investigation. Zembla follows the PFAS trail and ends up at a factory in Helmond. Zembla investigates how the pollution in Helmond could get so out of hand and why supervisors did not intervene. When the trail leads back to Chemours, sensational discoveries follow.
More and more children in the Netherlands are being given a dyslexia certificate. These are children who have a serious deficit in reading and spelling. From group 3 in primary school, the language development of children is closely monitored. If dyslexia is suspected, strict protocols are then followed. Before this diagnosis can be issued, the school must first demonstrate that the pupil has received extra help for a longer period. But how are these diagnoses made in practice? Do we measure dyslexia or inadequate education? Zembla investigates the diagnosis of dyslexia.
Elon Musk has been promising self-driving cars that drive more safely than people for years. Tesla took the first step ten years ago with the introduction of the Autopilot system. The cars were considered green and innovative, but were involved in serious accidents in the United States and Europe. This led to sharp criticism, investigations and lawsuits. Nevertheless, Musk perseveres and he hopes to receive approval for the introduction of Full Self Driving in Europe this year. Zembla investigates how it is possible that Tesla's Autopilot system has been linked to accidents for years, and what role the Dutch National Road Traffic Service plays in this.
For a long time, the number of young people smoking was declining, and a nicotine-free generation seemed within reach. Until vaping arrived. Vaping is becoming increasingly popular, and nicotine use among young people is rising again. Experts are calling it a vaping epidemic that must be stopped as quickly as possible. Young people are ending up in the hospital with symptoms such as shortness of breath, pulmonary hemorrhages, and collapsed lungs from excessive vaping. Zembla delves into the current vaping culture and discovers a new type of vape that is gaining popularity among schoolchildren. This vape is causing significant concern among schools, parents, and addiction treatment centers.
A new treatment method for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become incredibly popular in a short time: high-intensity trauma therapy. Over a period of just a few days, patients are guided through various exercises to revisit their worst memories: sexual abuse, physical assault, neglect, or other shocking events. The creators of the therapy claim remarkably good results: almost ninety percent of patients reportedly feel better after the treatment. But is this true? We investigate the claims of providers of high-intensity trauma therapy.
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