In this engaging discussion, historian Robert Frost, expert Katarzyna Kosior, and renowned scholar Norman Davies dive into the fascinating history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They explore its formation and unique governance system that promoted parliamentary power over absolute monarchy. The guests highlight Jan Sobieski's pivotal role in defeating the Ottomans at Vienna and discuss the Commonwealth's cultural diversity. They also tackle the external pressures that led to its decline, and reflect on its lasting legacy in modern Poland and Lithuania.

Robert Frost defines modern poetry in an excerpt from his [Art of Poetry interview](https://urldefense.com/v3/ https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4678/the-art-of-poetry-no-2-robert-frost ;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!La9JzfrCxrTLTJC-BUCjhUWQaEI9PUYzjObTI7BHU1X34cu0PG5sG9hZ3SP6-g%24); the Italian poet Antonella Anedda discusses her poem “[Historiae 2](https://urldefense.com/v3/ https://theparisreview.org/poetry/7487/historiae-2-antonella-anedda ;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!La9JzfrCxrTLTJC-BUCjhUWQaEI9PUYzjObTI7BHU1X34cu0PG5sG9j2rn0NSQ%24)” with her translator Susan Stewart before the American vocal ensemble Tenores de Aterúe re-imagines the poem as a song in the folk tradition of Anedda’s native Sardinia; and Yohanca Delgado reads her story “[The Little Widow from the Capital](https://urldefense.com/v3/ https://theparisreview.org/fiction/7644/the-little-widow-from-the-capital-yohanca-delgado ;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!La9JzfrCxrTLTJC-BUCjhUWQaEI9PUYzjObTI7BHU1X34cu0PG5sG9iWagiT-A%24),” a tale of mystery, heartbreak, and embroidery set in a New York apartment building. Robert Frost’s December 16, 1959, interview with Richard Poirier appears courtesy of the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University's Houghton Library. PS3511.R94 Z467 1959x. [HOLLIS Permalink: 990023780790203941](https://urldefense.com/v3/ http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990023780790203941/catalog ;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!La9JzfrCxrTLTJC-BUCjhUWQaEI9PUYzjObTI7BHU1X34cu0PG5sG9jnvzRIow%24). To learn more about Tenores de Aterúe, check out their documentary feature at [www.aterue.com\](https://urldefense.com/v3/ http://www.aterue.com ;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!La9JzfrCxrTLTJC-BUCjhUWQaEI9PUYzjObTI7BHU1X34cu0PG5sG9j0o67FmA%24). Visit [Bandcamp](https://urldefense.com/v3/ https://tenoresdeaterue.bandcamp.com/ ;!!NUnUjx3wvH5xgA!La9JzfrCxrTLTJC-BUCjhUWQaEI9PUYzjObTI7BHU1X34cu0PG5sG9hoyiL-Pg%24) to hear more of their music. This episode was sound designed and mixed by John DeLore, and mastered by Justin Shturtz.