Our Man with the Enemy

This VPRO's ‘summer classic’ is based on an equally simple and refreshing idea that originated in 1988: When during the summer most of the channels are showing reruns, ask interesting people people to curate their ‘favorite television evening’ and let them clarify the fragments in a long-form interview/conversation. The programme was first aired in 1988. Each episode takes up an entire Sunday evening, lasting typically three hours. It consists of an in-depth studio interview with a notable Dutch, Belgian or other Dutch-speaking foreigner, interspersed with cinema or television footage selected by the guest, which is subsequently discussed. Guests include writers, scientists, television personalities, politicians or business people.

After the West left Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban returned to power. Thomas Erdbrink, who speaks fluent Persian (and therefore Dari) after years as a correspondent in Iran, presents various stories of Afghans. He speaks with Taliban fighters, courageous women, and the victims of the American bombings, among others.

Through the eyes of Thomas Erdbrink, you see an Iran that is rarely featured in news reports. The first series was broadcast in 2015 and was also shown in seven short parts in The New York Times. In June 2015, 'Onze man' won the Silver Nipkow Disc, the award for the best television program, and in 2016 the journalistic award De Tegel. The second series (five episodes) was broadcast in April and May 2018.

FRONTLINE and The Associated Press, in collaboration with the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism, investigate deaths that occurred after police used tactics like prone restraint and other "less-lethal force." The documentary and accompanying reporting draw on police records, autopsy reports and body cam footage, offering the most expansive tally of such deaths nationwide.

A talkshow about the media that week in The Netherlands.