In Episode 15 of Pole-ish, Peter and John kick off with Benny Hill’s grammatically and politically incorrect legacy, Warsaw’s striking new Museum of Modern Art, and a wild-animal challenge featuring bison, boar and beavers (naturally).

Then they’re joined by British journalist and author Jo Harper for one of their most honest and revealing conversations yet.

Jo reflects on arriving in Poland in the 1990s, building a life here through marriage, journalism and fatherhood, and the personal upheavals that shaped his writing. From Polish politics and media narratives to divorce, identity, homesickness and the strange psychology of borders, this is a raw conversation about what it means to belong somewhere, and what happens when that feeling starts to slip away.

Plus: Polish dark humour, bureaucratic frustration, flaki, and why Kazik Staszewski still hits the right note.

A funny, thoughtful, and unexpectedly moving episode about Poland and the stories we tell ourselves about home.

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Read our blog: www.pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Jo Harper: https://harpersediting.pl/

Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw: https://artmuseum.pl/

Julie Mehretu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Mehretu

Architect Thomas Phifer: https://www.thomasphifer.com/office/role/director/thomas-phifer

Benny Hill: https://bennyhill.co.uk/

Flaki: https://aniagotuje.pl/przepis/flaki

12 Groszy by Kazik: https://open.spotify.com/track/6wevlxn0kTHe6rievB13VI?si=730695c8e1974ae8

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

This week on Pole-ish, Peter and John welcome Oleg Tyshchenko, a Ukrainian developer behind Polish Heritage: Quiz Explorer - an app designed to help people discover Poland through quizzes, recipes, history and culture.

Along the way, we get into Polish vs Ukrainian borscht, the truth about pierogi ruskie, why philosophy still matters in tech, and how Polish heritage can survive across borders and generations.

Plus: ChatGPT takes our Five Big Questions, John talks Kraków Marathon dinosaurs, and Peter finds perhaps the least subtle bit of graffiti in Warsaw and is embarrassed about how “naughty” it is.

Come for the culture. Stay for the smalec.

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Read our blog: www.pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Bubble Boy (trailer): https://youtu.be/jSRU48wCphI?si=-bhbfkLaFwWcLYpF

Oleg’s Polish Heritage app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.olegtyshchenko.polishheritage&pcampaignid=web_share

Chopin Nocturnes (Rubenstein): https://open.spotify.com/album/5Q5m22P7jIwdMSKXqhrpaN?si=4a1c092c5aec4e09

Mery Spolsky – Miło Było Pana Poznać: https://open.spotify.com/track/72p7CkcPgKtWJjaxsAFNDZ?si=0bc35f0ce53e4477

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

This week on Pole-ish, we prove once again that you don’t need a wild night out for things to descend into mild chaos. Fresh(-ish) from a wholesome Kraków meetup, we recap an evening that featured cherry liqueur, questionable coordination, zapiekanka incidents, and - because it’s Poland in April - a surprise midnight snowfall. Rock and roll.

There’s also a global reality check as we discover our listeners are popping up everywhere from Vietnam to Oman (still not France… awkward), plus a deep dive into the perfect hangover cure: a full English breakfast in the middle of Kraków.

Along the way, we stumble into a hidden church, accidentally unpack a deeply disturbing Greek myth, and question some life choices.

In this episode:

· A surprisingly civilised “big night out” 🍻

· Polish wines and why you should give them a chance 🍷

· The unpredictable reactions to speaking Polish as a foreigner 🗣️

· The return of 3 in 10 (with Ipswich under pressure) ⏱️

· Oscypek appreciation hour 🧀

· And why the Polish word “no” absolutely does not mean what you think it means 🤦‍♂️

We wrap up with a nod to Majówka and Poland’s triple celebration season - so if you’re listening with a beer in hand, you’re doing it right.

As always, we’re not Polish… We’re Pole-ish.

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Read our blog: www.pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Cherry Liqueur bar: https://pianavyshnia.com/

Scandale Royale: https://scandale.pl/

Pasaż 13: https://www.myguidekrakow.com/shopping/pasaz-13

Legend of Procne: https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/procne.html

Hoopoe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopoe#

Polska Rada Winiarswa (Polish Wine Council): https://zpprw.pl/en/#

British 'champagne': https://tinyurl.com/ycd8zj64

Oscypek cheese: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscypek

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

Our two Pole-ish buddies finally record an episode in the same room. In this very special (and somewhat disorganised) episode, Peter & John record together in Kraków with no script, no plan, but absolutely no shortage of beer.

They swap stories of Poland past and present (including propeller planes into a snowy Balice), debate why Kraków might just be the perfect-sized city, and attempt to separate fact from fiction - with mixed success - on everything from wolves to bar & café density.

Along the way:

• The truth about Kraków vs Warsaw
• A near-wolf encounter in the mountains
• Museums you should visit… and one you probably shouldn’t
• The legend of the Hejnał trumpet
• A fridge inspection that gets surprisingly emotional
• And a competitive “3 in 10” that tests John’s home knowledge

It’s messy, it’s meandering, and it’s probably our most Pole-ish episode yet. Na zdrowie 🍺

PS Sorry for the dodgy sound quality in places – we’re still quite new to the game, and clearly haven’t mastered how to share a microphone. Normal service will be resumed next week.

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Read our blog: www.Pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Hejnał: https://mariacki.com/hejnal/

Rynek Underground Museum: https://muzeumkrakowa.pl/en/branches/rynek-underground

Kraków Stained Glass Museum: https://muzeumwitrazu.pl/

Kraków Wax Museum: https://www.poloniawaxmuseum.com/

Grey Wolf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

Something very different this week with Peter and John taking a well-earned(!) break. What happens to all the bits that don’t make the cut? They come back to life. Think of it as the Pole-ish podcast’s very own monster – slightly unhinged, oddly charming, and impossible to categorise.

This week, we bring you a selection of offcuts, bonus content and bloopers that haven’t previously been aired in previous episodes.

Listen out for:

· John makes a mess of Three in 10 – twice!

· David Kennedy eloquently describes the best way to brew tea (milk first?)

· A staggering number of things in Poland named after John Paul II

· Peter falling through ice in Warsaw

· The fine art – and competitive strategy – of Baltic beach paravanning

· And many more bloopers, misfires, and moments that probably should have stayed on the cutting room floor

If you’re an expat, living in Poland, a fan of the country, or simply enjoy hearing two confused guys giving professional broadcasters a bad name, then tune in!

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Read our blog: www.Pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

In this special bonus Thursday episode of Pole-ish, we bring you the second part of our interview with Raf Uzar – yes, that’s him off the wonderful My English Podcast.

Today, Raf takes us on a journey across Poland, and down into Slovakia, eating and drinking along the way, as well as going way waaaay back as he regales us with tales from his early days as a young man in Łódz and his extraordinary interface there with the local police. Derby County fans in particular sit back and enjoy, as you’re in for a treat!

Plus: Raf fails to do his ‘FIVE BIG QUESTIONS’ homework, but still manages to style it out spectacularly.

If you’re an expat in Poland, learning Polish, learning English, learning neither, a fan or Raf (you will be after listening), or just curious about Poland and what makes it so distinctive, then jump right in!

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Read our blog: www.Pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

My English Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/3CnRA9vkzYcyEUCCJMW1wu?si=3decae7f20ba465f

My English Podcast (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZLIiT3cVePNxwurQj1oYkw

My English Podcast (Apple): podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-english-podcast/id1791442086

Iława: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C5%82awa

Jaś i Małgosia (kotlety on bigos): https://klubjasimalgosia.pl/

Wena by Kaliber 44: https://open.spotify.com/track/5W9CRNHamRFzaoqgQLLPE0?si=d4f90a21d27e42ab

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

In this episode of Pole-ish, we’re joined by Warsaw-based communicator, broadcaster and storyteller Raf Uzar – one of the exquisite voices behind My English Podcast and a passionate observer of Poland’s place in the world.

From learning Polish to unpacking cultural differences, communication styles, and Poland’s evolving global image, this conversation dives into what it really means to live between cultures. Raf shares his journey from the UK to Poland, his background in linguistics and media, and why authenticity and language matter more than ever.

We explore:

• Poland’s international reputation and how it’s changing
• Communication styles across cultures (Poland vs UK vs US vs Japan)
• Language learning, pronunciation, and expat life in Poland
• Stereotypes, history, and the narratives shaping modern Poland
• Why being genuine might be the ultimate cross-cultural skill

Plus: Easter traditions, highly controversial takes on Italian food, and Peter drops a massive Polish language bomb.

If you’re an expat in Poland, learning Polish, learning English, or just curious about Polish culture, communication, and identity - this one’s for you. Part two of our chat with Raf drops in a bonus episode this Thursday!

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Read our blog: www.Pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

My English Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/3CnRA9vkzYcyEUCCJMW1wu?si=3decae7f20ba465f

My English Podcast (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZLIiT3cVePNxwurQj1oYkw

My English Podcast (Apple): podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-english-podcast/id1791442086

State Certification of Proficiency in Polish as a Foreign Language: https://certyfikatpolski.pl/en/

Wedel Chocolate: https://wedel.com/

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

What does it really take to feel at home in a new country?

In this episode of Pole-ish, hosts Peter MacLeod and Johnathan Nett explore expat life in Poland through the lens of community, culture, and music. Peter sits down with Luiza Chrzanowska — coach, expat, and founder of Warsaw’s international choir Choir in Action — to discuss how singing brings people together across languages and backgrounds.

From living in Poland as an expat to navigating identity, multiculturalism, and integration, this episode dives into the challenges and rewards of building a life abroad. Discover how music, friendship, and shared experiences can help you find your tribe in Poland.

Plus:

• A quick-fire 3 in 10 on Polish BBQ traditions
• Insights into Polish culture, language, and community life
• Reflections on expat identity and belonging

🎶 Whether you’re an expat in Poland, planning to move, or simply curious about Polish life, this episode hits all the right notes.

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Read our blog: www.Pole-ish.eu

Write to us: peter@pole-ish.eu

Follow our socials: search for ‘Pole-ish Podcast’ on BlueSky, Xwitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Choir In Action (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5s3M0qzv0WJfWTrNdh8IFA

Choir In Action (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/ChoirINACTION#

Choir In Action (Patronite): https://patronite.pl/chorwakcji

Oscypek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscypek

Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c