POLcast

POLcast episode 52

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• A mission to give voices to those who are not heard

Art gives a voice, empowers, returns dignity and changes lives. This is what Anna Rak and the acting school she graduated from in New York believe in. Anna is a Polish actress there who works with inmates - her work has also changed her life. She also aims to give a voice to art communities in New York who have so much to offer and are not heard enough.

 

• A Polish-Canadian athlete wins gold for Canada in Pyeongchang 

Alex Kopacz was born in a Polish Canadian family in London, Ontario. At 6 foot 5 (195 cm) you would imagine him in basketball, but Alex is the reigning Olympic co-champion in the two-man bobsleigh event. Together with his pilot they won gold for Canada at this year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

 

• People of African descent in Poland

We have heard on POLcast about the experience of people from other countries and ethnicities living in Poland. One person who has actually done solid research in this field is Sarah Grunberg, a sociologist and professor at Ithaca College, New York, who wrote a PhD thesis at the Graduate School for Social Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the University of Warsaw on Race and Identity in the Polish-African Communities of Poland.

 

Also in this episode:

• Greatpoles.pl on Ernest Malinowski.

• Smacznego! Eating Polish: wild mushroom soup

POLcast episode 51

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• Polish folk music - the multicultural way

Polky Village Band was created by ethnomusiologist, musician and singer from Poland Ewelina Ferenc and consists of Canadian musicians of various ethnic backgrounds. They charm Canadian audiences with Polish fold music and dances.

• Polish-Canadian-Japanese artist's help for Laos, India, and Uganda

Sylvia Beauchain lives in Japan, with which she feels very close spiritual connection, and has devoted her life to her two great passions – art and helping those in need, which she has successfully connected to change other people’s lives.

Also in this episode:

• The Crooked House in Sopot

• The story of Chopin's heart

• Smacznego! Eating Polish: white fish in horseradish sauce

• The "polska" dance

POLcast episode 50

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• An orchestra which saves lives

Since 1993 the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, a non-governmental charity in Poland, has been working tirelessly with one goal in mind "Health Protection and Saving Children's Lives through Providing Medical Equipment to Public Hospitals". It was created by Jurek Owsiak and had millions of followers all over the world. It has recently played in Canada.

• North America's only mayor with Polish roots

Bonnie (Bozena) Crombie, former member of federal parliament and Mississauga councillor, became mayor of Mississauga in 2014 after her predecessor 93-year-old Hazel McCallion stepped down after 36 years in office. 

• Success inspired by the 1930s cartoons

Tina Nawrocki is a Canadian illustrator and 2D animator, a lead animator for the highly successful video game Cuphead inspired by cartoons of the 1930s.

Also in this episode:

• Episode 1 of "Great Poles" - the first interview produced by our young partners in Poland who produce an English language website greatpoles.pl 

• Smacznego! Eating Polish: savoy cabbage

POLcast episode 49

In this episode you will hear:

Our POLcast's third award - granted to us by CEMA (Canadian Ethnic Media Association).

Interviews:

• Great Poles - a project by young history buffs

A group of ambitious high school students from Poland (and not only) worked for months to create a website called greatpoles.pl which has just been launched. It’s a beautifully prepared English language website featuring great Poles from the past and those who make Poland known around the world today. Stanislaw Borawski, a history buff, is one of the key people behind the Great Poles project.

• How I reconnected with my Polishness

Quo Vadis in Latin means “where are you going?”. It is the title of an 1896 iconic historical novel by one of the most famous Polish writers Henryk Sienkiewicz, which contributed to his Nobel Prize for literature in 1905. Young Polish Canadians have adopted this phrase as the title of their conferences. There have been already 12 Quo Vadis conferences, the latest one in Burlington outside Toronto on October 13 and 14, 2017.

We present a continuation of a story we featured in our last Episode 48, when we shared with you the ideas and goals of the young Polonia - Canadians of Polish descent, young professionals, who have created and are continuing a movement called Quo Vadis? POLcast talks to another young Polish Canadian involved in the movement and in organizing those conferences - Louiza Szacon to hear her take on “Polishness”.

• Beyond bravery - the Auschwitz volunteer 

Marek Probosz is one of the few Poles who made it in Hollywood - actor, director, screenplay writer, university lecturer, who is passionate about history. Among dozens of roles he played, there was one that was very special because this character was a truly extraordinary and heroic human being - captain Witold Pilecki. 

Also in this episode:

• Wawel Treasures' trip from Poland to Canada and back

• Smacznego! Eating Polish: apple kompot

• Christmas traditions - unconventionally

MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WESOŁYCH ŚWIĄT i SZCZĘŚLIWEGO NOWEGO ROKU!

POLcast episode 48

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• A legend that needed to exist

Dariusz Rosiak, a renowned Polish press and radio journalist and author, has just published his 6th book “Biało-czerwony. Tajemnica Sat Okha” (White and red. The secret of Sat Okh).

Sat Okh, Long Feather (c. 1920 – July 3, 2003), was supposedly born to a Polish woman and a native Canadian Shawnee chief, then returned to Poland, where he fought in WW2, worked in the navy and then started his career of informing Poles and other Europeans about the culture and tradition of native Canadians.

• Time for the young Poles in Canada

Quo Vadis in Latin means “where are you going?”. It is the title of an 1896 iconic historical novel by one of the most famous Polish writers Henryk Sienkiewicz, which contributed to his Nobel Prize for literature in 1905.

Young Polish Canadians have adopted this phrase as the title of their conferences. There have been already 12 Quo Vadis conferences, the latest one in Burlington outside Toronto on October 13 and 14, 2017.

•  Suitcases that change people’s lives

Not Just Tourists was founded with the purpose of getting medical supplies to those who can’t afford them in third world countries. Tourists can change the lives of the inhabitants of the countries they visit. POLcast talks to a Polish Canadian whose life has also changed as a result of being involved in this amazing organization.

Also in this episode:

• The Bones of the Wawel Dragon
• Why a Pole’s politeness can be lost in translation
• Smacznego: gluten free pierogi

POLcast episode 47

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• Poppies on Canadian graves in Poland

Nancy Campbell - a Canadian teacher (an great fan of Poland) who initiated an international collaboration between an elementary school in Poland and an organization out of Edmonton called No Stone Left Alone. She recently visited Krakow to attend an event - the result of this unique partnership between Poland and Canada

• A child's journey from the Arctic to the Equator - Part 2

Irene Tomaszewski - an Ottawa-based writer and editor, talks about the unbelievable story of thousands of Polish children (herself included) traveling from Siberia via Iran and India to Africa during WWII. Part 2 focuses on the African chapter.

•  The man who saved our planet

Slawomir Grunberg - an Emmy-winning director, documentary producer and superb cinematographer, educated in Poland at the renowned Lodz Polish Film School, working in the US since 1981, author of dozens of award-winning films, talks about the film he made about the late Stanislaw Pietrov, who saved the world in 1983.

Also in this episode:

• Being Black In Poland

• Polish Roma (Cyganie)

• "Smacznego! Eating Polish" - salmon salad

• Updates: Andrzej Rozbicki's Polish-Canadian-Cuban story and Filip Terlecki

• Our music for you - the best of Polish Roma music.

POLcast episode 46

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• An eye-opening experience of the world of the blind

Monika Dybiel - a blind guide from Warsaw's "Invisible Exhibition" talks about this special place and the lives of people who are blind and visually impaired

•  "Creative" is the word

Filip Terlecki - a Toronto-based filmmaker - director and screenplay writer, founder of a  multi-platform production company, talks about his most recent film and working in advertising.

 

Also in this episode:

• How to piss off a Pole

• "Smacznego! Eating Polish" - yummy summer salads

• Updates: Tomasz Kozłowski, Ola Turkiewicz and Marek Probosz

• An interesting Polish music connection - a prewar hit.

POLcast episode 45

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• A hero from zero (part 2)

Marek Probosz - a Polish success story in Hollywood, where he came for a short visit in 1987 as a big Easter European star - film, television and stage actor in his native Poland with more than 50 starring roles  and numerous awards, known across Eastern Europe as the “De Niro of Poland”(part 2 of the interview),

•  Polish-Jewish roots turned life mission

Peter Jassem - the head of the Polish-Jewish Heritage Foundation, a dynamic organization in Toronto. An accomplished architect in his day job, he has devoted over a decade of his life to this labour of love.

•  Kraków through the young lens

Philip Zave - a Toronto artist shares his impressions from Kraków and Auschwitz.

•  What shocks foreigners when they visit Poland

Wolters World - Mark Wolters travels the world and shares his observations on his YouTube channel. This one is on Poland.

 

Also in this episode:

• Niceties vs. directness in the English and Polish languages

• "Smacznego! Eating Polish" - the amazing summer soup "chłodnik"

• Updates: Tomasz Kozłowski and Andrzej Rozbicki and his "Music and History" program

• An interesting Polish music connection.

POLcast episode 44

In this episode you will hear:

Interviews:

• Marek Probosz - a Polish success story in Hollywood, where he came for a short visit in 1987 as a big Easter European star - film, television and stage actor in his native Poland with more than 50 starring roles  and numerous awards, known across Eastern Europe as the “De Niro of Poland”(part 1 of the interview),

• John Godson - the first black man in Polish Parliament. He moved from Nigeria to Poland in 1993 and in 2001 received Polish citizenship. A minister, missionary, academic, politician, actor, teacher, businessman, he was first a city councillor in Lodz and then became a member of Parliament.

• A bicultural Polish-Indian family living in Canada.

and

• A brief (and brilliant) history of Poland by Dr. Walter Perchal, York University, Toronto.

Also in this episode:

• Differences between a normal friend and a Polish friend

• "Smacznego! Eating Polish" - Polish hamburgers "kotlety siekane"

• Updates: Bart Soroczyński, Ola Turkiewicz and Ron Davis

• An interesting Polish music connection.

POLcast episode 43

In this episode you will hear:

• How a young German sees the complicated relationship between Germany and Poland – the past and the present (part 2).
• What Canada’s Ambassador to Poland sees as his role in Poland and how he promotes Canada there.
• How an extreme sport can lead to much more than an adrenaline rush and records.

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Interviews:

• Johannes Schneider - a German, born and educated in Germany, who also lived for a number of years in Austria, now a Canadian, talks about his native country's troubled past - WWII and its relationship with Poland (part 2 of the interview),

• His Excellency Stephen de Boer - Canada’s Ambassador to Poland since December 2015.

• Tomasz Kozłowski - a psychologist by profession, whose life passion is extreme sports - mainly skydiving, mountain rescues. Author.

Also in this episode:

• Paradise Cave
• Foreigners in Poland - who and why?
• "Smacznego! Eating Polish" - traditional pork chops

• Goodbye to one of the best - Zbigniew Wodecki's music