The Debrief

In this episode of The Debrief we speak to resident history expert Stuart Dowell, who explains how a gold and diamond necklace which the French leader gave his Polish mistress failed to sell at auction.

The original receipt that came with the necklace shows that it was purchased in Breslau, now Wrocław, on 4 May 1810, just six days before Walewska gave birth to their lovechild.

Read the full story here.

In this bonus episode for the Christmas season, The Debrief takes a look behind the most interesting stories to come out of Poland over the past year, as chosen by TFN writers.

Listen in to find out what we have to say about the year gone by, and check out the links to the relevant stories below.

Check out Editor-in-Chief Dagmara Leszkowicz’s choice here.

Staff Writer Joanna Jasińska’s favourite story of the year can be found here.

Managing Editor Ed Wight’s top story can be read here.

Wishing all our listeners and readers all the very best for the Christmas and holiday season!

In this episode of The Debrief we speak to staff writer Joanna Jasińska, who explains how Maciej Pietrowicz will drive 10,000 kilometres from Poland to Nepal in a Jelcz truck to commemorate the golden age of Polish Himalayan climbing, as well as the first winter ascent of Mount Everest.

Read the full story here.

In this episode of The Debrief we catch up with TFN resident history buff Stuart Dowell, who explains the backstory of Ferdynand Ossendowski, who in the closing stages of WWII met Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, known as the Mad Baron, only to die of a mystery illness shortly afterwards.

Read the full story here.

Have you ever thought about a story you’ve come across and wondered – what really lies behind the headlines? What makes a story so interesting? Or thought-provoking? Or, perhaps, inspiring?

Join me John Beauchamp for The Debrief, a new weekly podcast from TFN which goes behind the headlines.

Launching Monday 23 December 2019 on all good podcast apps and on TheFirstNews.com. Subscribe now to make sure you don’t miss any episodes and make sure you stay up to date.