Petra van Dam on Coping with Drought

In this episode, Amelie Homp (research assistant at the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies) speaks with Petra van Dam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) about her research project (2020–2025), Coping with Drought: An Environmental History of Drinking Water and Climate Adaptation in the Netherlands. They discuss floods, drought, and drinking-water management from a historical perspective, including unequal coping mechanisms and what past struggles can teach present-day adaptation. Van Dam also considers lessons from neighboring countries and offers both a critique of current policy and practical steps individuals can take.