Public:De Krodkast

De Krodkast
Presentation
Hosted by	J.A. Brown (episodes 1–15, 17–20) Annemieke Duijvesteijn (sidekick) (episodes 3–13, 15, 17–20) Annemieke Duijvesteijn (episode 16) J.A. Brown (sidekick) (episode 16)
Genre	Variety novelty talk absurdism
Created by	J.A. Brown
Language	Dutch
Updates	Weekly (season 1) Fortnightly (season 2)
Production
Production	J.A. Brown
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	20
Publication
Original release	1 September 2022
Provider	Acast
Related
Website	shows.acast.com/krodkast

De Krodkast is a podcast hosted by Dutch entrepreneur and media personality J.A. Brown with the help of his assistant Annemieke Duijvesteijn (in episode 16, Duijvesteijn temporarily took over presenting and Brown was relegated to a side role). Its first episode appeared on 1 September 2022. The podcast is available in the Google Podcasts directory, enabling it to be received in most podcast software, as well as from the Acast website and Brown’s own website. De Krodkast is recorded at Brown’s home studio in in Nijmegen, and was formerly recorded at the StartUp Nijmegen podcast studio. It deals with a variety of subjects, usually involving Brown’s interests, his work, and events taking place in the lives of Brown and Duijvesteijn. Seldom, current news events or developments are also discussed. The podcast occasionally features guests who are invited by Brown from his personal network to talk about their work, life philosophy, or a topic of their interest.

History

The podcast began in September 2022 when StartUp Nijmegen, an “accelerator” for startups in Nijmegen, opened its own podcast studio, allowing connected startup owners to record a podcast. Brown, who had become an entrepreneur in 2019 when he founded his eponymous sole proprietorship, had joined StartUp in late 2021 and saw the ability to release a podcast as an opportunity to spread his ideas and products. He asked his girlfriend Annemieke Duijvesteijn, who had recently began to be involved in his enterprise as an administrative and communications assistant, to join him as a sidekick, which she accepted.

The idea of a podcast was not new to Brown, as he saw it as a good way to broadcast his ideas, having previously done something similar as a radio deejay on FMFM 133.7 FM. However, he had lacked a suitable studio or equipment up until this point. After Brown had met Duijvesteijn, the idea arose of having her join him as a sidekick on the podcast, and the two discussed ideas during a holiday in the summer of 2022.

On 27 October 2022, Brown digitally released a song titled “HET GROTE KRODKASTONDERSTEUNINGSLIED a.k.a. HET OORPIJNLIED” (approx. “THE BIG KRODKAST SUPPORT SONG a.k.a. THE EAR PAIN SONG”), an upbeat cover of Palito Ortega’s “La felicidad” (using a version played on the Hammond organ by Klaus Wunderlich that had previously appeared as background music on the Belgian absurdist cartoon show Kabouter Wesley), with lyrics encouraging the listener to support the podcast financially. The incipit goes: Wilt u de Krodkast steunen met geld? (‘Do you want to support the Krodkast with money?’). Financial support has increased since, although it is not known whether or not this has been a consequence of the song’s release.

In early 2023, Brown left StartUp Nijmegen and purchased his own audio equipment to set up a home studio. From the second season onwards, the podcast has been recorded there. As mentioned in the third episode of the second season, Brown moved house in late 2023, taking his home studio with him.

In February 2024, after episode 16, De Krodkast went on hiatus, returning on April 30 with episode 17.

Starting in episode 19, Brown began to advertise hats with the text “MAKE REALITY GREAT AGAIN”, designed by Egbert-Jan Weeber, which he started selling shortly thereafter, on the podcast.

Format

Episodes are generally around 40 minutes in length, with some (particularly earlier) episodes being around 30 minutes in length, as well as some episodes crossing the 1-hour mark.

The tone and focus of the podcast has evolved over time. Whereas earlier episodes generally mainly discuss topics related to Brown’s activity in a more or less straightforward manner, the tone has gradually become more light-hearted, and discussion has spread out across a wider variety of topics. The podcast is characterized (particularly since the middle of the first season) by frequent use of jingles and sound effects, in a style that harks back to Brown’s earlier FMFM 133.7 FM radio broadcasts. Notably, Brown also often interrupts Duijvesteijn while she is talking. In season 2, this led to the introduction of a new to-be-recurring item known as “De Onderbreek-o-Meter” (‘The Interrupt-o-Meter’).

The podcast features a number of recurring items:

• De week die was (‘The Week That Was’): Brown discusses events from the past week with Duijvesteijn, as well as with any guests. The item’s title is a reference to British comedy show That Was the Week That Was.
• Ik ondervind hier hinder van (approx. ‘I am experiencing a hindrance as a result of this’): Brown discusses something that annoys him (sometimes Duijvesteijn or a guest also does this).
• Annemieks dierenfeiten (‘Annemiek’s Animal Facts’): Duijvesteijn lists some obscure facts about a species of animal.
• Luisteraar van de maand (‘Listener of the month’): an unspecified distinction that is supposedly awarded to a different listener each month; however, in reality, it is always awarded to Jesse Bos from Beekbergen (a real-life friend and former colleague of Brown’s). On several occasions, Duijvesteijn has tried to award the distinction to someone else, such as her mother or her brother, only to get talked over by Brown.
• Help Jac aan een postbus (‘Help Jac to a P.O. box’): after leaving StartUp Nijmegen between seasons 1 and 2, Brown regularly started lamenting the fact that listeners were no longer able to send him “letters and postal cards” (Dutch: brieven en briefkaarten), since he does not publish his house address (where the studio is now located). Instead, he would like to have a post office box, but because he considers getting one in Nijmegen prohibitively expensive, he started exhorting his listeners in season 2 to donate money so he can get one. (Brown’s use of the phrase brieven en briefkaarten is a, somewhat obscure, reference to Ronflonflon.)
• Annemieks roddelrubriek (‘Annemiek’s Gossip Item’): Duijvesteijn discusses the latest gossip, in a sort of pastiche of so-called “juice channels” on social media. The gossip usually pertains to Duijvesteijn’s and/or Brown’s social circles, insofar as they have been previously mentioned on the podcast.
• De Onderbreek-o-Meter (‘The Interrupt-o-Meter’): Brown counts the number of times he has interrupted Duijvesteijn in the previous episode (or, on two occasions, in all episodes of season 1, and in all episodes of season 2 released up to that point, respectively).
• En tot die tijd… een spannend muziekje (‘and until then… an exciting piece of music’): This is simply the music at the end of each episode. It is a reference to an expression often used by Dutch radio deejay Gerard Ekdom.

Recurring topics of discussion include privacy, especially as it relates to technology companies and products (which Brown frequently criticizes in general), as well as the company culture at Brown’s former employer Kodision and Brown’s (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to buy it. References are also regularly made to a golden ham, a mysterious unspecified entity, that are never explained.

Episodes

A total of 20 episodes have been released over two seasons.

Season 1

No.	Title	Sidekick	Guest	Length	Released on
1	Waarin J.A. Brown vertelt over zijn bedrijfsactiviteiten	none	none	30:00	1 September 2022
2	Waarin J.A. Brown vertelt over zijn activiteiten in het verleden	none	none	27:29	7 September 2022
3	Waarin we kennismaken met Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Public:Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	25:00	14 September 2022
4	FAALHAZERIJ, kent u die uitdrukking?	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	30:00	21 September 2022
5	Waarom iedereen veelweter moet worden, of: Creatief met Crypto	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Nico H. Tari	01:00:00	28 September 2022
6	Iraanse Man Arnhem vertelt over fitness en comedy	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Nico H. Tari	01:17:29	5 October 2022
7	Welkom bij de kugsus “Hoe word ik een productieve en gemotiveerde student ZONDER dronken uitspattingen”, ik ben uw kugsusleider Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	40:00	12 October 2022
8	De Krodkast over de Krodkast, of: Het maken van een Krodkast	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	27:30	19 October 2022
9	Studenten stevenen af op RAMPKOERS!	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Ruben Kleijn	30:00	26 October 2022
10	Wij zetten die rwina vol op RAM(P)KOERS	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Ruben Kleijn	44:59	3 November 2022
11	Lof der zotheid	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	37:21	11 November 2022

Season 2

No.	Title	Sidekick	Guest	Length	Released on
12	NIEUW: Oud nieuws	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	47:00	19 December 2023
13	MOORD! BRAND! en meer van die dingen	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	30:16	2 January 2024
14	Waarin Annemieke Duijvesteijn schittert door afwezigheid	none	none	19:59	16 January 2024
15	Met succes terug van weggeweest: de terugkeer van Iraanse Man Arnhem uit Spijkenisse, of zoiets	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Nico H. Tari	01:05:00	30 January 2024
16	Waarin Annemieke Duijvesteijn (of moet ik zeggen Poektin) de tent overneemt	J.A. Brown	none	23:35	14 February 2024
17	Wij weten hoe de hazen achterlopen. Dat wil zeggen, de FAALhazen	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	39:59	30 April 2024
18	Zoekt niet en gij zult vinden	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Balder Stalmeier	01:25:14	14 May 2024
19	J.A. Brown en Annemieke Duijvesteijn gooien er met de pet(ten) naar	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	40:00	4 June 2024
20	Waarom alles alsmaar dóórverbaggeriseerd wordt, tevens woordsalade	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	none	50:00	18 June 2024

Bonus material

On 21 May 2024, an approximately 10-minute bonus episode was released titled “Dichter bij Balder”. It is a recording made in July 2023, when the podcast was in between its first and second seasons, and features Balder Stalmeier (the previous episode’s guest) as well as a very brief appearance by Timo van Veen, at whose party it was recorded.

List of bonus episodes

No.	Title	Sidekick	Guest	Length	Released on
1	Dichter bij Balder	Annemieke Duijvesteijn	Balder Stalmeier Timo van Veen (special guest)	10:05	21 May 2024

Reception

The podcast has managed to attract a small but dedicated niche audience, mostly in the Netherlands. Public reactions to the podcast have been sparse, reactions usually coming in the form of informal comments from listeners who directly know Brown. Some episodes have been criticized for featuring discussions of unsavoury topics such as menstruation. This has itself been ridiculed with references to a fictional country called Menstruatië (‘Menstruatia’).

External links

• Official page on Acast (in Dutch)