Continuing with our series of episodes inspired by the Krakow Jewish Festival, we spoke with Eva Hussain of the ASPJ. Originally from Poland, she has been living and working in Melbourne, Australia for over thirty years. Eva tells us about how she helps people with family history in Poland gain Polish citizenship and make property restitution claims, two issues of particular relevance to the Polish-Jewish diaspora worldwide. After Dave somehow lands us on the subject of Johnny Depp for a brief moment, Eva takes us on an interesting tour through the complexities of trying to regain lost family property in Poland and the work of the Australian Society of Polish Jews and Their Descendants. 

Thanks for stopping by, Eva, and best of luck back in Melbourne! 

Find out more about the ASPJ and Eva's work here - 

http://aspj.org.au/

https://polaron.com.au/

John is back in the chair this week after a brief absence but, being from Florida, is unable to impress Dave with his soccer/football knowledge while commenting on Poland's latest sporting disappointment. After conducting a post-mortem on the brief Polish visit to the World Cup, talk turns to a proposed tax on sugar and increased government spending on healthcare, including higher salaries for doctors. Do Polish doctors deserve more money? Should we place higher taxes on, as Dave says, "fat people"? Will John ever be allowed to comment on European sports without being attacked? Find out in this week's KrakCast News! 

In the latest of our episodes on the subject of Judaism and the local Jewish community, we are joined by Marcjanna Kubala, Director of Hillel Krakow. She tells us how Googling herself (come on, we've all done it...) led to an unexpected discovery about her family history and a journey of exploration into her identity. We then turn to the origins of the Krakow chapter of Hillel and its mission of providing a social forum and building a sense of community for students with Jewish roots. The conversation then jumps to Marcjanna's experiences in Israel, the Law of Return and, most importantly, where you should take selfies when visiting the Holy Land. After a confusing exchange about tattoos and Judaism (Yes? No? Maybe?), we ask Marcjanna about her favorite part of the Krakow Jewish Festival. Listen and find out what it is! 

Learn more about Hillel on their site and Facebook page- 

https://www.hillel.pl/

https://www.facebook.com/HillelGimel/

In the second half of our chat with Jonathan Ornstein, we turn to bigger subjects like the use of the term "Polish death camps" and the development of Auschwitz as a tourist attraction before jumping in a time machine to go back to Jonathan's time on a kibbutz in Israel. We wrap things up by talking about some of the upcoming events during the Krakow Jewish Festival. Don't forget to check out the site of both the Krakow JCC and the Krakow Jewish Festival for a complete listing of everything that's going on. 

http://www.jcckrakow.org/en/

http://www.jewishfestival.pl/en/

We're not officially (or unofficially) connected to the Krakow Jewish Festival in any way, but we thought it would nice to use this week and next to conduct a series of interviews connected with Jewish life here in Krakow. The idea is to gain some insights into Judaism, Jewish life and local Jewish organizations (and to shamelessly capitalize on increased online searches for the Krakow Jewish Festival, which we are totally not connected with, officially or unofficially). To start things off, we were very lucky to play host to Jonathan Ornstein, Director of the Krakow JCC, for a two-part interview. In this first part our chat, he tells all about what the JCC does and how the great work of a huge team of volunteers is helping to preserve and expand a dynamic and very active local Jewish community. Jonathan also explains the role of the JCC in the upcoming Krakow Jewish Festival (which is not connected with us in any way) and tells us what it's like to make small talk with Prince Charles and the Pope. Keep an eye on The KrakCast for the second part of our interview with Jonathan Ornstein in a couple of days. 

Also, take a look at the incredible schedule of events at both the JCC and the Krakow Jewish Festival (which is totally unrelated to us here at The KrakCast, in case you didn't know). 

http://www.jcckrakow.org/en/

http://www.jewishfestival.pl/en/

Mark Bryan joins The KrakCast this week to tell us about the upcoming Krakow Rugby Festival, two days of non-stop rugby with a little partying included (or possibly the other way around). Come out this weekend and scrum your fly-half or prop your hooker or....oh, just listen to the show to get all the details! 

http://krakowrugbyfestival.com/

In this episode we turn our investigative tastebuds towards the exciting world of Poland's craft beers. Never afraid to embrace a challenge in this world of safe spaces and micro-aggressions, your hosts "hoppy" Dave, "long finish" Josh and special guest "no more for me, thanks" Nathan, summon up all their bottle and review three fine examples. Despite the diversity of opinions - ranging from "undrinkable" to "head and shoulders above the rest" - we can reassure listeners there was ultimately very little bitterness.

It's World Cup preview time here on The Krakcast with Nathan Arnold filling in for John. We start by asking: can Poland unleash their inner Smoki and blast their way through to the later stages? Dave thinks so. The other guys... not so much. Can England keep up their proud record of not winning a knockout game since the mighty Ecuadorians were put to the sword in 2006? Can Dave remember when Gareth Southgate took over from Roy Hodgson (I'll give you a clue: no, no he can't)? 

We lament the hasty introduction of VAR, before lamenting Gianni Infantino's highly un-Italian pasty complexion and lack of hair, before pondering/lamenting the possibility of FIFA having to deal with tactical racism. Then we lament other stuff, we really cover a lot of ground at the Krakcast, we're like a young Patrick Vieira! (With added lamenting.)

We of course get around to all of the perennial preview classics: dark horses, suprise omissions, can Joachim Low keep his hands out of his pants for a whole month, what's up with Belgium, etc., etc.

Don't miss it, this isn't Morocco v Iran we're talking about, it's the Krakcast!

If you live here, you know exactly what we're talking about because you've probably already been asked for exact change several times today. If you've never been here but plan to visit, you'll have your own experience with this mysterious phenomenon within a couple of hours after crossing the border. What happened to Poland's coins? Are they somewhere in the land of the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot or is there a more reasonable explanation, like they were all dumped in the Wisła? Listen as the guys share frustrating experiences related to Poland's bewildering lack of change at every cash register in the country (except McDonald's). 

We're all over the place this week, with talk about Polish roads, new airports and Poland's performance in one of the 284 major international volleyball tournaments. After that, we take a deep dive on the question of whether the U.S. should accept Poland's request to establish a military base here (John's answer - no, no and no). We then bring things to a close with a reminder that Krakow's concert scene was not always as busy as it is now and face the fact that we're too old to care.