Podcast series
De Kunst van Transparantie is a podcast series I developed together with Asha Narain and Publiek Denken, and where I co-host the conversation. We explore how openness and secrecy are bound up with power, trust, history and technology. Who decides what becomes visible, who gets heard, and which interests clash? The conversations show why transparency is never only about information, but also about how we relate to each other and to government.
With Bas van Beek (investigative journalist) and Paul Frissen (political philosopher)
How transparent is the Netherlands, really? Investigative journalist Bas van Beek and political philosopher Paul Frissen on why government information so often stays locked away — and whether full openness is always desirable.
With Maarten Schurink (Secretary-General, Ministry of Defence) and Pascalle Grotenhuis (Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
What happens when openness causes harm to people or to state security? Maarten Schurink (Ministry of Defence) and Pascalle Grotenhuis (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) on the line between the right to information and the need to protect.
Column — Manuela Fun
“One distinction from the conversation stayed with me: protecting is different from concealing. Protecting means handling information carefully because disclosure could cause harm. Concealing means withholding information to avoid criticism.”
Read the column: Protecting is different from concealing
With Marja Wagenaar (former Member of Parliament and decision-making architect)
Why does openness remain so uncommon within government? Marja Wagenaar, former MP and decision-making expert, on the roots of a culture where caution and fear often prevail.
With Peter Burger (researcher in journalism and disinformation, Leiden University) and Marije Arentze (advisor on strategic resilience against disinformation)
How does trust form, how does it break down, and how is it rebuilt? Peter Burger (Leiden University) and Marije Arentze (TwynstraGudde) on disinformation and whether transparency truly restores trust.
Column — Manuela Fun
“Fact-checks and stricter rules are necessary, but they don't answer the real question: how do we keep a society together when people increasingly live in different realities?”
Read the column: We're fighting disinformation. But are we missing something bigger?
With Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen (public administration scholar) and Serv Wiemers (director, Open State Foundation)
Government is increasingly using algorithms and artificial intelligence. But what happens to trust, accountability and democratic oversight? In this episode: public administration scholar Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen and Open State director Serv Wiemers.
With Lousewies van der Laan and Arco Timmermans
Openness is not neutral. What becomes visible when information is made public, and who gets to interpret the story, shapes the balance of power. Lousewies van der Laan and Arco Timmermans examine how transparency in international trade and advocacy enables democratic oversight — but can also be used strategically — and who benefits from that, or becomes vulnerable because of it.
With Guido van Enthoven and Michel Dückers
What do crisis situations do to openness? When time pressure, uncertainty and safety collide with the need for information, transparency becomes an ongoing dilemma. Guido van Enthoven and Michel Dückers examine which factors make openness difficult during a crisis, who decides when a crisis is over, and what insufficient openness does to trust in government and in society.
Colonial archives can make the past visible, but they themselves emerged within unequal power relations. What does openness mean when the sources mainly reflect the colonial government's point of view? This episode examines what access, interpretation and historical responsibility mean — and whether opening archives is enough to do justice to the past.
The closing episode of the series reflects on everything the conversations revealed about openness, power and trust — and what that says about who we are as a country.