POLcast

The Ornate and the Minimalist: Stories from Warsaw’s Cultural Core Step into the very heart of Warsaw, where two strikingly different buildings—one steeped in ornate socialist grandeur, the other a beacon of minimalist modernity—stand side by side: the Palace of Culture and the Museum of Modern Art's new exhibit. Listen to an exclusive interview with curator Natalia Sielewicz, offering an insider’s perspective on the museum’s vision and collection. Stay tuned until the end for a special surprise: a song about the Palace of Culture—written and performed especially for this episode. Think you can guess who the artist is? Contact me at mbonikowska@rogers.com.

Listen to some stories from my visit to Warsaw: • 10th birthday of POLIN - an award winning museum in Warsaw which tells the story of the Jewish community in Poland. • An artist's art in Yiddish. • A Trinidadian in Poland. • A multiethnic oasis in Warsaw. • A Warsaw unique church. • Enjoying live Chopin music in the iconic park in Warsaw - a 65-year-old tradition.

Today I will take you on a trip to two continents and to two places almost 10,000 km apart. • The first one is in Poland. It’s the city of Sopot, on the Baltic Sea coast. You will meet Canadian Polish photographer and film personality Ela Kinowska [https://elaphoto.com/en/about-me/] • My second POLcast guest is a black musician/composer whom I heard playing Chopin's music on his keyboard north of San Diego, California.  Also, you will learn about a Polish inventor Stefan Kudelski, whose work truly revolutionized Hollywood!  And finally, the linguist in me always loves to give you something about the Polish language. Visit POLcast website - https://www.mypolcast.com [https://www.mypolcast.com/2024/09/chopin-in-a-california-park-the-art-of-photography-from-sopot-poland/].

What a long way it has been since the idea to create POLcast was born 9 years ago! It started in 2015 and Episode #1 [https://www.mypolcast.com/2015/04/episode-1/] was released on March 15, 2016. This anniversary calls for memories and summaries. In its 8 years POLcast has released 100 episodes. I have interviewed well over 200 hundred people and brought you stories from all the continents (well, except for Antarctica, but weather- or climate-wise we did reach far north - Alaska and the Canadian Yukon).  In this special episode I walk you through the idea and history of POLcast. Many people and stories are mentioned and acknowledged. My sincere thanks to all of them: POLcast collaborators, partners, interviewees, and - most of all - to YOU, our loyal POLcast listeners from over 100 countries all over the world and to our invaluable sponsors-donors. Thank you for all the awards and distinctions granted to POLcast! In this episode you will hear many voices - people from many countries talking about POLcast. Thank you for all these kind words. Changes to POLcast are coming soon so stay tuned!

May 2024 - the very first Polish Heritage Month in Canada. I’m talking to Irek Kuśmierczyk, liberal MP of Polish descent, representing a dynamic city of Windsor since 2019. How did it happen? Katy Carr’s song “Polonia” ends the episode.