Dutch stuff Tag

November 13, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro’s Dutch Climate GoodNews

13 November, 2025

Every year the Netherlands – the tiny NL! – puts 300 million kg textiles into the recycling bins. Only 15% is actually recycled… Not for long? Here are 3 Dutch startups changing the game.

Saxcell

Saxcell in the Dutch town of Enschede focuses on cotton. They take cotton clothing, dissolve it into a pulp, and then they create a replica of virgin cotton to make industrial scale fabrics. For virgin cotton, every kilogram requires an average of 6000 liters of water to become fabric. Saxcell’s cotton recycling process takes only 10 liters.

[So far so good, BUT what about synthetic fibers?]

BrightFiber

Amsterdam’s BrightFiber Textiles focuses on blends, such as cotton / polyester or acrylic.

In April 2025, BrightFiber brought a new facility online in the Amsterdam harbor – with 3 machines.
1 – a cleaner that removes zippers, buttons, labels.

2 – their smart sorter machine that separates materials.

3 – is the key: the fiberizing machine. The process produces high-quality fibers ready for the spinning mill. Currently, the machines can process 2.5 millon kg of textiles per year. Long way to get to 300million.

But they may have help soon, from:

BioFashionTech

This Rotterdam startup enables bacteria to do what humans and machines can’t. First, the textiles are ground into granules. Then, they use a patented fermentation technology, in where bacteria separate the plastic fibers from the natural ones. The separated plastic can be reused as new plastic or polyester yarn. And the organic material then becomes bioplastic or biofuel.

CEO and founder Fabiola Polli imagines a future where major fashion brands and retailers have their own in-house recycling plant.
The future could also hold her biotech solution being used for waste streams of plastic and paper food packaging.

(Tune in for tomorrow’s episode where fossil fuel companies buy up all 3 startups and shut them down.)

😉
…
This episode is largely based on reporting from Change.inc. Video includes images from Saxcell, BrightFiberTextiles and BioFashionTech.

More CGN Climate Good News? Here are 3 Dutch Agri-Business Game-Changers:
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/shapiros-orange-going-green/

November 12, 2025 In Blog

GREG SHAPIRO DOES FINTECH

GREG SHAPIRO DOES FINTECH, a “PowerPoint Parody” at De Nederlandse Bank

12 November, 2025 (from the event in June, 2025)

The event was called “Fintech Meets the Regulators,” and they needed a keynote speech to wrap things up. Dear reader, I am not an expert in Financial Technology. But I got the call to do my “PowerPoint Parody,” where I take notes on everyone’s PowerPoints and I present a comedy recap at the end of the day.

I love these gigs! It’s always so inspiring to get a snapshot of different industries. This event was about the interplay between Fintech and Dutch regulators like De Nederlandse Bank and the AFM. And yes, Fintech means crypto and blockchain – but also online payment systems like Adyen. (When Apple rolled out ApplePay? That was Dutch startup Adyen.)

How do you regulate an industry that keeps reinventing itself? The message from the regulators was: “talk to us!” The Dutch watchdogs are keenly aware that – if they overdo it – the Fintech startups will migrate to the Middle East or Singapore – or the US. Specifically, Trump’s US – where “Anything goes!”

In the US, I have a brother who is a regulator. He works for the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). Or at least he did, until he got laid off in the “Marie Kondo Spring” of 2025. I asked him if he was worried, and he said: “the thing is with most of us civil servants, we realize we could be making more money in the private sector.” So he went back and got a job at a law firm. “The worst thing would have been trying to stay on with more workload and no job security.” And – as of this writing – no pay!

SO I mentioned my brother in the keynote. I mentioned Trump and his blatantly corrupt crypto business. And I mentioned a theme of the day: regulation. Yes, Dutch Fintech players are looking closely at the US experiment with 0% regulation. They look at the US as an interesting gamble – but don’t forget Trump once bankrupted a casino.

It’s always a challenge to get laughs at the end of a plenary session. Especially for quiet Dutch audiences! (My wife is Dutch. She once enjoyed a performance so much, she said: “I smiled very hard.”) But it worked. Once you get the first Laugh-Out-Loud moment, it becomes infectious.

The event took place at the newly renovated HQ of De Nederlandse Bank. They even redid the catering facilities with a vegetarian / vegan theme. I tried a hummus sandwich, which became a “deconstructed sandwich,” because it immediately fell apart and made a huge mess. But that’s progress.

Yes, that’s me on the event page of the Holland Fintech Association :
https://hollandfintechassociation.org/gallery/fintech-meets-the-regulators-2025/

Photos by the wonderful Anna Witkowska.

A new format: GREG SHAPIRO “SAME-DAY POWERPOINT PARODY”

Shapiro Same-Day PowerPoint Parody

November 6, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro PePijn Host Review

Greg Shapiro – Pepijn’s Comedy Club Host – Reviewed by ArtsTalk Magazine

6 November, 2025

This season I’m returning as the programmer and host of PePijn’s Comedy Club in The Hague. And we just got another great review!

Some highlights from ArtsTalk Magazine:

“Comedy is a funny thing …This was demonstrated last night at the PePijn comedy club in The Hague.”

“The evening was MC’d by …the ever suave Greg Shapiro. …His relaxed, easy-going style got everyone in the mood.”

“There was a lot of interaction ..it was always good natured and created a really good, friendly atmosphere and everybody had a good night out.”

https://artstalkmagazine.substack.com/p/stand-up-comedy-in-english-at-theater

I’ve been doing this gig since 2022, and I think I’m getting good at it. But I can’t claim credit… There’s such a wealth of talented English language standup in the Netherlands! And more and more, there are professional traveling comedians passing through. It’s hard NOT to create an excellent lineup every month.

I try to aim for diversity in my lineups. When the host is always a white guy (me), it’s easy to fall into the trap of having yet another standup night dominated by white dudes. And if they’re funny, they’re funny. But why not look a little harder? There are a lot of diverse voices who are not only hilarious, but they bring this variety of perspectives and life experience to the show. To my mind, that is what makes it worthy of Theater PePijn.

In the past, I have had a bisexual Afghan/Dutch comedian (finalist of the Dutch Camaretten awards), an Egyptian woman who works for an EU think tank, a Ukrainian refugee, and a former dominatrix.

This past month I had Ram Adithya Arangi (India), Kaili Smith (Australia) and Sharon Em (Irish), whose solo show was nominated for best debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Our next show will be on 26 November. This time I do have another white American male on the lineup. But it’s Matt Castellvi, whose comedy chops are legendary. I also have Faris Abusada, who is Palestinian, Christian and hilarious. And then there’s the Persian-American Cid Clementine, who is also intrumental in creating an English-language scene in The Hague.

Want to come?

PEPIJN’S COMEDY CLUB IN ENGLISH

https://www.diligentia-pepijn.nl/theme/pepijns-comedy-club-t7gc

See our previous review from 2024:

Shapiro Comedy Review Pepijn

October 28, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro Comedy Specials

Greg Shapiro Comedy Specials – Now in One Place

28 October, 2025

Bad news: My comedy specials don’t exist on any streaming platform where you can watch them all the way through.

Good news: your attention span probably isn’t that long. The upshot: Hello, YouTube!

I am lucky enough – and just plain old enough – to have eight solo shows, and currently four comedy specials.
The YouTube playlists are here:

https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-previous-comedy-shows

Coming soon: LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2

Soon I’ll be uploading my latest comedy special Leaving Trumpland 2, in time for the 1-year anniversary of Trump’s re-election.
That playlist is here:
LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2.0 – YOUTUBE

More ‘Previous Comedy Specials’ :

ListPusher (2022) is the story of how I joined Dutch politics, as a symbolic candidate. But for which party? Watch…

The Madness of King Donald (2019) is my 5th solo show, following up on the success of my Trump voice in the ‘Netherlands Second’ video from Zondag met Lubach.

Superburger (2012) is my 3rd solo show, subtitled ‘The Man with Split Nationalities.’ This one features my classic Standup piece on the Dutch national anthem.

How to Be Orange (2010), subtitled “making Dutch people take their own assimilation exam.” In 2010. That show was recorded as a comedy special for Dutch broadcaster VARA. With the last gasp of public broadcast money before the dramatic cuts from the Dutch government – the first time Geert Wilders was in power. This one has the first of my ‘Dutch product names’ bits.

The other shows

My first ever solo show was Going Dutch in 2006. It’s somewhere on YouTube, but the video isn’t good enough to call it a comedy special.

+ The solo show that got away…. My 4th solo show was 2014’s Part-Time Hypocrite. But after I recorded it, the production company went bankrupt and their files – aka my files – were deleted. SO I’m re-staging that show and uploading it in 2026!

October 20, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro Hosts Inclusivity25

Greg Shapiro Hosts ‘Inclusivity 25’ for Hello Zuidas, September 2025

20 October, 2025

“We need someone to host our Diversity event in Amsterdam. Who should we get?” A WHITE GUY?!

Yes. As host of INCLUSIVITY 25 for Amsterdam’s Zuidas business community, I knew my job was to make the event a conversation. I literally passed the mic to as many diverse voices as possible. I used my loud American persona to encourage people to share their own perspectives. And it worked! I “broke the fourth wall.” At the office space known as The Edge – Stadium.

As I found out, maybe my white maleness was useful. Maybe it helps to indeed have a white guy arguing for more diversity. In my solo show Leaving Trumpland 2, I talked about Kamala Harris, and I talked about my experience working for a Black woman as my manager. After the show, I heard from many women – and people of color. Their take was “Thank you for talking about it. When we bring it up, people think we’re whining. When you bring it up, it’s harder to ignore.”

These days the US government is anti “DEI.” My message was “without ‘Diversity Equity and Inclusion,’ you’re at a disadvantage. Without DEI, your organization will D.I.E.” (but seriously, next time make me co-host.)

A Diversity Pub Quiz for Your Organization

My part of the event was organized by Hello Zuidas. The main event was a Pub Quiz with 10 different categories, from ‘Gender Gap’ to ‘Age Gap’ to ‘Digital Inclusivity.’ At the end of the event, the organizers provided the 50 questions in the form of a deck of cards – for people to use if they wanted to host their own pub quiz for their own organization. I still have one deck left over, if you want one.

Thank you to the sponsors and initiators. Thanks to Hello Zuidas for producing the flashy video. And thanks to Elisa Schouten for bringing me on and helping prepare the quiz questions!

Hello Zuidas “Inclusivity 25”
https://en.hellozuidas.com/nieuws/inclusivity-25-let-s-celebrate-together-682489578a151554da037d47

Greg’s Blog piece on working for a woman of color as his manager (Amber Ruffin)!
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/shapiro-improv-tim-walz/

September 20, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro, Kimmel & Self-Censorship

Dutch American Comedian Greg Shapiro on Dutch NOS Nieuws, reacting to US comedian Jimmy Kimmel being canceled
Interview by Joris Kreugel for NPO Radio 1, translated from the Dutch
18 September, 2025

[excerpt Jimmy Kimmel :
“We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them – and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”]

Greg:
“That wasn’t even the joke. I mean, being canceled for just the set-up? As a comedian, that’s the most painful part. But that’s the point. Those were just facts. And he was canceled, effective immediately. And (not ‘canceled next year’ like Colbert, but) immediately canceled? I must admit I was shaken.
It reverberates, even over here. It’s unsettling. Now is their big chance to go after all these left-wing voices and cancel them. And calling it freedom of speech. It’s Double-Think. We’re living in Putin’s playbook at this point.”

[excerpt Greg Shapiro ListPusher: “Greg Shapiro here, the “American Netherlander.” I am a little bit of both. A bit LOUD American, and a bit ‘doe normaal’ Nederlander geworden. trouwens ben ik tweetalig, but I don’t like to speak Dutch because it makes my mouth feel sad.”]

SELF-CENSORSHIP AT BOOM CHICAGO?

Q: How does this affect you as a comedian?
A: Right now, I’m definitely dealing with self-censorship. That’s a danger for us all. I mean, I’m doing a show next with Boom Chicago – about the upcoming Dutch election. And what exactly shall we joke about? What is tasteful enough, sharp enough – but also safe enough? There’s definitely a shift happening. Even for comedians here in the Netherlands. And that is scary. Next, I feel like – if you want to make a real joke – you’d better be ready to end up like Alexei Navalny.

Last year I was busy touring my solo show “Leaving Trumpland 2.0,” about the 2024 elections. …His first term was okay, “haha funny.”

[excerpt Greg Shapiro YouTube video: “Hi, I’m Greg Shapiro, the voice of that viral video. ‘can we just say The Netherlands Second?’ And it’s true. For 4 years I was nice and busy saying things like ‘you can ride them, you can date them, you can grab them by the pony.’]

Here in the Netherlands, it was easy to say, “Oh well, that’s happening over there.” But now – since the start of his second term – we’re all realizing “Oh dear, they really had a plan this time.” And we’re feeling it here in the Netherlands as well.

[excerpt from Leaving Trumpland: “I will say one positive thing about Donald Trump. He lied a lot. But he was consistently honest about one thing. He does not like people who are not the same color as he is. And that is technically all of us, because no one is the same color he is. He is not a naturally existing color.”]

LISTEN TO THE RADIO INTERVIEW :

Greg Shapiro quoted on NOS Nieuws about Jimmy Kimmel cancellation
https://nos.nl/artikel/2583049-jimmy-kimmel-van-het-scherm-in-de-vs-beangstigend-en-gevaarlijk

Greg Shapiro The Madness of King Donald Solo Show:
https://youtu.be/tlX2FUzXdT8?si=ei3FaEcAdZvRligb

September 8, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro’s Orange Going Green

Greg Shapiro Presents: ‘ORANGE GOING GREEN’ Climate Good News from the Netherlands

8 September, 2024

Want a quick mental health boost? I’ve got a secret: Not all climate news is bad. I’ve been collecting all kinds of examples of CGN: Climate Good News. And now there are so many… Big Oil can’t possibly kill ALL of them, right?

And these are ONLY examples from the Netherlands. It’s time for: ORANGE GOING GREEN.

DUTCH STARTUP ‘COWMANAGER’ USES EAR SENSORS AND AI TO HELP REDUCE ANTIBIOTICS AND HORMONES IN COW MILK

I did a keynote speech at Cowmanager last week, and I was inspired. This Dutch startup makes sensors for cows’ ears that help predict fertility, illness, etc. THIS MEANS that if you can predict a cow’s fertility, you don’t need as many hormones. AND if you can predict a cow getting sick, you don’t need as many antibiotics in cow milk. Finally, a health solution where Bernie Sanders would approve – and RFK jr.

https://www.cowmanager.com/

MORE Dutch Green agribusiness news?

‘NORTH SEA FARMERS’ FIRST-EVER HARVEST FROM SEAWEED FARM BETWEEN OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES.

No, it’s not enough that the Netherlands runs its entire rail network with offshore wind energy. Now, the space between the wind turbines is being used to cultivate the amazingly nutritious seaweed, thanks to “North Sea Farmers.” See? Amazon isn’t all bad.
https://www.northseafarmers.org/news/first-ever-harvest-at-pioneering-north-sea-seaweed-farm-funded-by-amazons-right-now-climate-fund

Pretty soon this Dutch startup might be contributing to Samuel L. Jackson’s Vattenfall-brand seaweed snacks.

“Mother F***ing Windfarms.” AND finally,

DUTCH VERIDI TECHNOLOGIES PROVIDES SOIL ANALYSIS GIVING MAJOR HARVEST BOOST FOR FARMERS WORLDWIDE

Do you know how many times the experts have predicted mass starvation due to human overpopulation? And yet somehow we humans keep getting more efficient at growing food. Thanks to wonky Dutch tech nerds like Delft startup Veridi Technologies. Farmers thrive on having quality soil analysis, but it’s usually terribly expensive. Until now. These Dutchies offer automated microscopy and AI – as well as training – for farmers to use their technique all over the world. Climate scarcity, make room for Food Security.
https://www.change.inc/advies-en-dienstverlening/nederlandse-start-up-maakt-bodemonderzoek-sneller-goedkoper-nauwkeuriger-en-toegankelijker-41604

I’ve been working on a solo comedy show called GREG SHAPIRO SAVES THE CLIMATE, with 60 minutes of Dutch Climate Good News. Coming soon to a theater near you…

See Greg Shapiro’s Upcoming Comedy Shows:
https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-upcoming-comedy-shows/

August 8, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro New York Times Quote

Greg Shapiro Quoted in New York Times article “English-Language Stand-Up Is Taking Off in Europe. No Joke.”

(excerpt from article by Nina Siegal)
Reporting from Berlin and Amsterdam
Published Aug. 7, 2025

Click here for gift article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/arts/english-language-stand-up-europe.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cU8.w_pV.HlIYp6TSRV-b&smid=em-share

Nina Siegal:

“These comics have to navigate culture clashes and social stereotypes. The key, they say, is to make fun of your own nationality first.”

“…The audience for English-language comedy is growing in Europe, in part because European cities are teeming with foreigners who use English as a lingua franca and want to connect through laughter. After the Covid-19 pandemic, many people who had been stuck at home watching Netflix comedy specials and YouTube clips suddenly craved a live experience.”

“To succeed as an English-language comedian in Berlin, Amsterdam or Barcelona — or in the smaller scenes in Bratislava, Slovakia; Krakow, Poland; or Prague — performers must navigate language barriers, culture clashes and social stereotypes. Jokes that resonate often strike a delicate balance, poking fun at the comedian’s country of origin while gently sending up the customs of their adopted home.”

“It is not always an easy balancing act. ‘The rule of thumb is to make fun of your own nationality first,’ said Greg Shapiro, a Chicago-born comedian who has been living in the Netherlands since 1994, and who performs English-language improv and stand-up for a living.
‘If you make fun of yourself first, you gain this permission to hold up a mirror to Dutch society,’ he explained. ‘Just first show that you’re self-aware.’ “

ALSO MENTIONED:

Thanks, Nina! Also Nina gives some shout-outs to Amsterdam regulars Matt Castellvi, Ronan Brosnan & Derek Scott Mitchell. As well as name-checks to Nira Tal, Sjoerd Scott & Roger Bak.

And – there’s a growing English-language comedy scene in The Hague. Here’s me performing at the monthly PePijn’s Comedy Club in The Hague (not in NYT article). Yes, I’ll be programming and hosting again this season.

PS – full disclosure: Nina Siegal was my editor at Time Out Amsterdam. I am her fan. She is the author of the amazing book The Diary Keepers, which follows the diary entries of six Dutch people through the second world war in Amsterdam.

That said, here are

GREG SHAPIRO UPCOMING COMEDY SHOWS:
https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-upcoming-comedy-shows/

March 9, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro Hosts NAF Gala

Shapiro Hosts NAF Gala

When you need a host for the Netherland America Foundation, you call Greg Shapiro: the American Netherlander. I grew up in America first, and I moved to the Netherlands second. The Netherland America Foundation – “NAF” – is a wonderful charity that helps Dutch & American students subsidize their higher education. (As of 2025, it might have to deal with way more US students moving over here…)

For years, New York had the only gala fundraiser! But now the NAF have started organizing galas in the Netherlands. I hosted the first one, in Leiden. In the Pieterskerk (where the Pilgrims came from). There were Dutch royals in attendance. It was all very formal. There were flags and anthems and honor guards. But the main event was the fundraising. And we set a new record! (Mostly because it was the first one.)

In 2024, I was asked to host the NAF gala again. This time the location was on Amsterdam’s Dam Square at the “Industrial Club” – where you still cannot get in without a suit and a tie. Luckily, I had my tuxedo.

I was to host the dinner in a crowded room. A very crowded room. I was told that they had to choose between a stage for me, or extra seats for wealthy money donor people. Actually, it was not a choice. It was a fait accompli. Would I still be willing to do it? I said yes. Charity is the star of the show, not me.

Off the Rails

After dinner, the event relocated to the bar downstairs. The special guest – all the way from Philadelphia – was the legendary soul trio called The Three Degrees! They’re known for their hit songs ‘Dirty Old Man’ (40 years before ‘Me Too’) and ‘When Will I See You Again.’

Backstage, I learned that two of them were originals, and one was a daughter. …sorry: GRANDdaughter. Their hits were in the 70’s and so were these singers. PLUS, they had just flown over from the United States. AND it was almost midnight.

They had a great set! The crowd was loving it. They closed with their hit ‘When Will I See You Again.’ Then I was told to go back onstage and announce an encore. I built up the crowd, I waved my arm, I said “Here they are!” But they did not come back. I laughed out loud. They literally ended on ‘When Will I See You Again?’ The answer is: we will never know.

BUT the good news is: I may be back to host another NAF gala for 2025. As the US / EU alliance is being torn apart, we need organizations like the Netherland America Foundation more than ever.

The Netherland America Foundation
https://thenaf.org/

Greg Shapiro Corporate Events
https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-corporate-events/

February 12, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro EditieNL ‘Going Dutch’

Greg Shapiro Comments on new US tv show ‘Going Dutch’ – for RTL ‘Editie NL‘

31 January, 2025

It was a Thursday when my wife informed me there’s a new TV show in America called ‘Going Dutch,’ about a US Army colonel who’s punished by being sent to the least important army base in the world – in the Netherlands.

On Friday morning I got a phone call from Dutch news show to ask if I would want to comment on some clips from the show. I said yes!

I started watching a clip of the first episode. It opens on a graphic saying ‘Camp Stroopsdorf.’ Fun fact: dorf is German; Dutch is dorp. Right away I could tell: “They don’t know the Netherlands.”

As it turns out, there IS one US Army base in Limburg, right next to the German border. And it is tiny! Wouldn’t it be fun to set a tv show there and investigate the subtle quirks of Dutch culture? OR – just trot out the usual stereotypes and get half wrong?

Yes, we open on a flat terrain (typically Dutch). There are people playing frisbee (not typically Dutch). There are people on bikes, there are windmills, and there are tulips – which appear to be added by CGI. When the Colonel inspects the base, he comes across a communal lack of respect for authority. This trait might be the most accurate depiction of Dutch culture so far.

Then the Colonel confronts a young man playing a video game in the recreation center. He says “I like the medals on your uniform” – in a comically German accent.

That Ted Lasso Feeling

The whole thing makes me think of the Ted Lasso formula. It’s a classic ‘fish out of water’ set-up. In fact Ted Lasso featured a whole episode that took place in Amsterdam… But they really came to Amsterdam to tape it. And the creator of the show, Brendan Hunt, really lived in Amsterdam for five years. And he worked with us at Boom Chicago.

Even Quentin Tarantino – when he wrote that scene in Pulp Fiction about Amsterdam and the hash bars and the ‘Royale with Cheese’ – Tarantino came to Amsterdam to do his research.

I don’t know who’s writing this show Going Dutch for FOX channel in America. But if you get a season 2, please come over and I’ll show you around.

The link on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/eCfqvTd1Jaw

I guess EditieNL just calls me every time something about ‘Going Dutch’ is in the news. Here’s me talking about the Dutch app Tikkie:
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/greg-shapiro-editienl-going-dutch/