The KrakCast

Tom Bonneau from tourism startup Goodtime Monty visited us to talk about how his new map for visitors to Krakow combines the best of old and new. How is a nice folded map better than burying your face in a phone all day when you're looking around a new city? Listen and find out — and pick one up for yourself soon!

One of the iconic names of the early days of internet culture in Poland was quietly turned off for good recently. If you don't know about Nasza Klasa or how big it was before it got killed by Facebook, listen and travel back in time to the ancient, prehistoric days of about 15 years ago. 

Winemaker Marcin Miszczak is the owner, manager and everything guy at Winnica Jura, a vineyard just outside of Krakow. He joined us to talk about what it takes to start making wines here and the Polish wine industry generally. Grab a glass and listen as Marcin explains the ins and outs of whites and reds and more!

August 1st was the 77th anniversary of one of the most important events of World War II. Listen as we discuss what happened and why it plays such a huge part in the way Poland sees itself and its own history. 

About 350,000 Polish students recently took an exam that determines where they go to High School after finishing the 8th grade. Should 15-year-olds be faced with such pressure? Did you know what you wanted to do with your life when you were that age? Listen as we discuss the pros and cons of this aspect of the Polish education system. 

Obviously, we have to start with Jumping On Cop Car Guy before we get to other news, including too many Polish Olympic swimmers, drowning season in Poland, teenagers love TVP, Polish universities for Polish students, fake cocaine in the Rynek, banning fireworks and when trams & buses collide. 

Several particularly horrific recent car accidents have led the government to propose new penalties for drunk and dangerous driving. Will this do anything to change Poland's notoriously poor road safety conditions? Listen and learn just how the government plans to punish the people who make driving here such a risk. 

After spending way too much talking about the weather, we finally get around to what students study at Polish universities, births are down during COVID, Wolt (not to be confused with Bolt) will bring everything to your door in 15 min, the genetic map of Poles and more. 

One of the biggest figures of the last twenty years of Polish politics is making a return to the stage, but does anyone care? Listen as we discuss what Donald Tusk's decision might mean for his party and the next round of elections. Will the sequel be better than the original or will it be a Police Academy-style embarrassment? Get some popcorn and make your own decision!

After mentioning the return of The Witcher and the debut of The Office, we move on to Carrefour wanting out of Poland, full-auto Zabkas, horses in the heat, paramedics want a pay raise (who doesn't?), Krakow the Green City and jobs for parking attendants and tram drivers. 

Our friend Sarah is a trained and certified nutritionist, so we invited her to join us for a discussion about the modern Polish diet and some of the ways it has changed in recent years. Listen and start feeling either really hungry or really guilty, depending on what's in your kitchen. 

We brought in someone who actually knows what they're talking about to discuss one of our favorite topics—the gravity-defying recent rise in prices for property in Krakow. Listen as we cover the many reasons why it often feels like we're living in Manhattan or central Tokyo while we still earn like we live in...well, you know the rest. 

Every two years, we go through the same cycle, moving from "POLSKA, GOLA!" to "YOU SUCK!" in about a week. Poland's performance at the European Championships has us wondering if maybe it's time to try some other sport. Listen as we detail the last 20 years of almost constant embarrassment and ask why countries with a fraction of Poland's population are so much better. 

The extreme weather is our start this week before moving on to boar wars, census people at your door, doctors on strike, cameras all over the city keep us safe or possibly not and Galeria Plaza finally dies. 

Given how hard the test is, every driver in Poland should be a God-level driving expert so...why aren't they? That's one of our many questions about the whole strange process of getting a driver's license in Poland. Listen as our friend Sarah describes her experience and how she answered the question about saving someone who was about to die. Wait, what? 

Is Robert Lewandowski better at making commercials than he is at playing for Poland? That's our start this week before moving on to a gay dating show for Polish tv, difficult Polish names, possibly racist souvenirs in Krakow, the worst air in the world and clear proof that the Polish government listens to The KrakCast. 

Jan Matejko, the greatest of all Polish painters, went to the Jan Matejko School of Fine Arts, located on Jan Matejko Square in Krakow. Coincidence? Listen to our short profile of the artist behind so many iconic works and find out. 

After insulting all Geminis, we get into the news, including a trilogy of animal terror, who's in the Polish middle class, nurses on strike, the sugar tax is killing us, Poland has THE WORST traffic and Happy 115th Birthday!

Poland has the same problem as many other Western nations—plenty of sex (wait, right?) but not enough babies. Why is having three kids considered a "big" family now? What happens when a society can't be bothered to reproduce itself? Who's the crazy one in this conversation, John or Gabi? Listen and make your own decisions as we serve up this massive black pill about our not-so-distant future. 

Our friend Natalia, a native of Belarus, joins us to discuss the latest events related to the arrest of dissident journalist Roman Protasevich and the political climate in Belarus generally. Listen and learn how wearing red or white or even speaking Belarussian is bad idea in Europe's last dictatorship.