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The Debrief
The Debrief episodes
- Local pride at Wawer’s old ‘Murowanka’ school
On a busy road leading out of Warsaw lies the Murowanka school building, built in 1903 by the residents of Wawer, a suburb of Warsaw.
The building is the home of the Big Histories Foundation, which engages local communities in educational activities while also promoting Polish culture through larger scale projects.
Host John Beauchamp speaks to Ewa Pietraszek from the foundation about how Wawer has developed over the years and explore some local ‘Świdermeyer’ heritage.
Links:
- ToTuBy app
- Wielkie Historie Foundation
- More info on the Murowanka building (in Polish)
16 min - UN ramps up volunteer operations in Poland
In Poland we’re all used to NGOs and civic society organisations providing the bulk of help for Ukrainians fleeing war, but what happens when you add the United Nations to the mix?
In this episode of The Debrief, host John Beauchamp speaks to Manuel Brakaj, who is in charge of talent acquisition at the UN Volunteers programme, which is currently actively recruiting in Poland due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Brakaj believes that civic engagement and volunteerism are key drivers for advancing the peace and development agenda, and actively encourages listeners to consider volunteering for the UN.
To check current opportunities in Poland and beyond you can check this link and follow UN Voluteers on LinkedIn.
17 min - Teaching an old dog new tricks
In this episode of The Debrief, we we take a look at language apprehension in older students.
Host John Beauchamp is joined by Karolina Czopek from Warsaw University to discuss whether it’s a good idea to learn Polish (or any other language!) as an older learner.
19 min - Rebuilding Skopje
In this episode, a tale of how back in the 1960s an intrepid team of Polish architects helped rebuild Skopje – the capital of what is now Northern Macedonia – after a devastating earthquake.
Host John Beauchamp speaks to Kinga Nettmann-Multanowska, who has just written a new book which highlights the Poles’ assistance six decades ago.
More information about the rebuilding of Skopje can also be found on TFN here.
33 min - What next for Ukrainians in Poland?
In this episode of The Debrief, John Beauchamp speaks to Iryna Oleksiuk from the Ukrainian House / Our Choice Foundation on the help offered to Ukrainians by Poles.
After two months of war, what lies ahead for the millions of refugees currently in Poland?
You can also find more information on the war in Ukraine from TFN here.
20 min - The Politics of MemoryThis week’s Debrief comes to you from the darkest recesses of the Bieszczady Mountains in south-east Poland. Like millions of Poles up and down the country, host John Beauchamp is going to take advantage of his God-given right to barbecue this weekend. There’s a reason why this podcast is a little late this week: I’ve just finished a month-long production of a series called The Bear Next Door on BBC Radio 4. Over five episodes, cultural and political heavyweights from the Baltic States, Finland and Moldova talk of their sense of identity in the face of Russia’s agression on Ukraine.
This sense of identity feeds directly into this week’s topic on The Debrief, as I meet Rafał Rogulski and Anna Wachowiak from the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity to talk about how a nation’s memory plays into a sense of identity.
Audio updated 05.05.2022
21 min - The Tears of a Clown
In this episode of The Debrief, John Beauchamp speaks to Krzysztof Czyżewski from the Borderland Foundation based in Sejny, north-eastern Poland, about a poem which is making the rounds online - a lament on the conflict in Ukraine...
26 min - Easter catch up with TFN’s own Monica ZielinskiIn this edition of The Debrief, John Beauchamp speaks to new(ish!) recruit Monica Zielinski about how she’s shaking up TFN’s social platforms!
Remember to check out and follow TFN wherever you get your social fix:
- TikTok
And of course, we chat about growing up as a Polish-American in Connecticut as well as what’s in store for Easter this year.
Wesołych Świąt!
Cover Photo: Easter table at the Olsztynek ethnographic museum. PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
20 min - Wrocław’s Leopoldina reopens after painstaking renovation
In this episode, John Beauchamp speaks to Dr Łukasz Krzywka, a veteran of forty years at Wrocław University’s Institute of Art History, on the restoration of the Aula Leopoldyńska, known as the Leopoldina, a pearl of 18th century baroque art and architecture.
The space was named in honour of the university’s founder, Emperor Leopold I, and principally designed by the Austrian architect and painter Christophorus Tausch, while a number of artists from across the lands came to make the hall mostly what it is today. Why mostly? This is a renovation of a renovation, and details have been lost over the centuries, says Dr Krzywka.
Photo: PAP/Maciej Kulczyński
26 min - Saving Ukraine’s heritageWhat is the remit of Poland’s National Cultural Heritage Institute at home and how can it help save Ukranian cultural heritage from Russian missiles? Debrief host John Beauchamp meets the institute’s director Dr Katarzyna Zalasińska talks protection of cultural heritage at home and how it is supporting Ukrainian partners during the ongoing conflict.
We also hear how UNESCO has so far been powerless to stop its annual World Heritage meeting from going ahead in the Russian city of Kazan, despite protests.
Please remember to subscribe to The Debrief wherever you get your podcasts!
Get in touch with us by writing to [email protected]
23 min
About The Debrief
From the publisher's feed
TFN's The Debrief is your regular dose of news and views on Polish culture, society and some history too. Join John Beauchamp as he takes a closer look into what's making Poland. Stay on the lookout…
for the latest Debrief Extra, your espresso shot of cultural news from Poland and beyond!