As a result of the lecture about the Prophecies of Nostradamus which he gave for the Studium Generale, Delft, NL on November 17, 2009, Theo van Berkel was interviewed by Manu, compiler and host of the radio program Spoken, which is broadcasted every Sunday evening by FunX radio, NL. The interview with Theo was part of Spoken: Geloof jij in Nostradamus? (tr.: Spoken: Do you believe in Nostradamus?), broadcasted on December 6, 2009. The main question in Spoken: Geloof jij in Nostradamus? was if it was true what was said about Nostradamus that he predicted the attack on the Twin Towers and the raise of Hitler. This edition of Spoken: Geloof jij in Nostradamus? also contained an interview with dr. Jan Willem Nienhuys, secretary of the "Skepsis" foundation, who was quite critical about the predictional value of the Prophecies of Nostradamus, and an interview with Maarten W.T. Post, the author of Djenghis Khan: sleutel tot het raadsel Nostradamus (Rijswijk, NL, 2001). The interviews were framed with raps about the theme Nostradamus. Further, Manu talked with MC Poldermodel, one of his musical guests, who for this occasion wrote a spook about Nostradamus, about the phenomenon of predicting the future.
In Spoken: Geloof jij in Nostradamus, Manu presented a varied series of opinions and ideas about Nostradamus and his work in an open, objective and informative way, offering his public the opportunity to think about this theme and to form an opinion about it in the same way as he enabled his guests to express their meaning and ideas. 

This paragraph contains a summary of the interview which Manu had with Theo. Theo told that it was in 1980 when he started his investigation of the Prophecies of Nostradamus. In that time, he was subscribed to the astrological magazine Sagittarius, edited by the Dutch astrologer Jan Bernard Gieles, which contained a series of articles about Nostradamus. By means of astrology, Gieles was able to predict with a one-day accuracy. In one of his letters, Nostradamus had written that he was able to predict with a one-week accuracy. Theo wanted to find out how that was possible.
In the first half of his life, Nostradamus was an apothecary and a physician, according to Theo. In the second half of his life, Nostradamus began to write predictions in almanacs, meant for farmers in his region, and in what we nowadays know as the "Prophecies of Nostradamus".
Many commentators sincerely think that Nostradamus correctly predicted events in the past such as the decease of Henry II, the rise of Cromwell, the outbreak of the world wars and the attack on the World Trade Centre. According to Theo, this is not true. The problem is that most predictions do not contain fulfilment years, which means that they can be linked to countless events. Another problem is that they, without being aware of it, project the circumstances of their lifetime upon the future and start to look through the Prophecies of Nostradamus in search for correspondences and next, claim that Nostradamus predicted such and so. In 1980, Theo himself linked quatrain 01-70 to the events in 1979 in Iran, where the Shah was removed by ayatollah Khomeiny. In the course of the years, he changed his opinion and no longer maintains this link, since quatrain 01-70 does not contain a fulfilment year, no matter how striking some of the lines of this quatrain seem to correspond with what happened in Iran.
Speaking about the methods of Nostradamus, Theo told that according to his letters, Nostradamus got visions in the night and made astrological calculations in order to determine the place and date of fulfilment. Theo did not know by what technique Nostradamus got his visions. Gazing in a scale, filled with water? Herbs? Mind-blowing matters? Who will tell.
Probably, Nostradamus wanted to leave predictions to mankind after his death.
In his lifetime, Nostradamus was famous. According to Theo, this was not because of his Prophecies - they became known after his death - but because of his almanacs.
To the question how to deal with the Prophecies, Theo answered that it would be wise to be very careful. He told that there were indications that they are the product of several authors but attributed to Nostradamus and published under his name. They are that gloomy and contain that very little number of fulfilment years, that they can be linked to countless situations. A pitfall is that you often think that you study the Prophecies of Nostradamus, while actually you study comments upon them.
In the coming time, Theo's investigation is aimed towards the authenticity of the Prophecies of Nostradamus and towards what happened with them in World War II. 

About FunX radio
The aim of FunX radio is to make professional radio programs for urban youngsters between 15 and 35 years and to give them the opportunity to express their meaning. In 2002, FunX radio started with broadcasting. This was in Rotterdam. Quickly, local broadcastings were started in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Today, FunX radio can be received throughout the Netherlands by means of cable transmission or on Internet. 
The people who listen to FunX radio are quite diverse, but have a lot of things in common. They are young and live, work or study in and outside the "Randstad" (the urbanized area in the west part of the Netherlands) and like to give their meaning about topics like news, politics, religion and school. Music is a strong uniting factor. FunX radio broadcasts the music which fascinates them like R&B, hiphop, latin and dance, but also Arabic raï, Turkish pop music and reggae/dancehall. Artists such as Ali B and the duo Lange Frans en Baas B became well-know by FunX radio.
The program Spoken, a radio program which FunX radio broadcasts every Sunday evening between 9:00 and 11:00 P.M., dates from 2008. From the beginning, the compilation and hosting is done by Manu, composer/musician and anthropologist. In past editions of Spoken, Manu discussed a large, varied range of themes such as poverty in the world, the relation between financial institutes and arm industry, legislation in the Netherlands and reincarnation. Each edition contains interviews with people who, by profession or else, occupy themselves with the topic which is discussed.

More information about FunX radio can be found on www.funx.nl.