Notes from Poland

This week, in a reversal of roles, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill is in the podcast hot seat, giving a range of his own perspectives on Polish politics in an interview with Fabian Eiden, based in Heidelberg, Germany.The conversation was recorded for the Committee on Constitutional affairs of the 93rd International Session of the European Youth Parliament, taking place this July in Warsaw. Stanley Bill agreed to give his views for the delegates on the state of Polish democracy, the reasons for PiS’s electoral success, the campaign against LGBT communities, the role of the European Union, and the problems of the Polish opposition.Fabian Eiden is one of the organisers of the European Youth Parliament and a PhD candidate at Heidelberg University. Also check out our previous interview with Barbara Nowacka on the crisis of Poland's opposition.Producer: Sebastian LeśniewskiSupport the show

This week, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill talks with Barbara Nowacka, one of the leaders of Poland’s largest opposition grouping, Civic Coalition, about the current crisis of the opposition parties.They discuss the troubles of the Civic Coalition, conflict with the Left, the government’s post-pandemic recovery plan, and the fate of the Women’s Strike.Also check out our previous interview with deputy foreign minister Paweł Jabłoński on rule of law.Producer: Sebastian LeśniewskiSupport the show

In the sixth part of our Brief History of Poland series, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill looks at the eighteenth-century decline and fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, covering the period between 1697 and 1795. He examines the Saxon kings, the descent into political disorder, the Enlightenment and reform, Hasidic Judaism, the Constitution of the Third of May, and the three partitions that wiped the Commonwealth from the map of Europe.The Brief History of Poland series covers over a thousand years of Polish political and cultural history, from 966 until today. Check out the previous episode in our Brief History of Poland series.Producer: Sebastian LeśniewskiSupport the show

In the fifth part of our Brief History of Poland series, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill looks at the war-torn seventeenth century and the beginnings of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s decline, covering the period between 1582 and 1699. He examines the Polish occupation of the Moscow Kremlin, the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque, Sarmatian culture, Ukraine and the Khmelnytsky Uprising, conflict with the Ottoman Turks, and the Battle of Vienna.The Brief History of Poland series will cover over a thousand years of Polish political and cultural history, from 966 until today.Producer: Sebastian Leśniewski Check out the previous episode in our Brief History of Poland series.Support the show

This week, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill talks with Poland’s former finance minister, and key author of post-1989 free market reforms, Leszek Balcerowicz, about Poland's economy and politics under the current government in the shadow of coronavirus.They discuss PiS's social spending programs and economic policy, its handling of the epidemic, rule of law, and the opposition’s best strategies for electoral success.Also check out our previous interview on rule of law with Poland's deputy foreign minister.Producer: Sebastian LeśniewskiSupport the show

In the fourth part of our Brief History of Poland series, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill looks at the "golden age" of Poland-Lithuania in the sixteenth century, covering the period between 1505 and 1572. He examines the reign of the last two Jagiellonian kings; the establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; religious tolerance and conflict; the great cultural achievements of the Polish Renaissance; and the beginning of the free royal elections.The Brief History of Poland series will cover over a thousand years of Polish political and cultural history, from 966 until today.Producer: Sebastian LeśniewskiSupport the show

This week, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill talks with Poland's deputy foreign minister Paweł Jabłoński about controversies over rule of law in Poland and the ongoing conflict over the EU budget.They discuss the multiple changes Poland's PiS-led ruling coalition has made to the judiciary, including the constitutional court and the judiciary council, as well as the proposal to tie rule of law conditionality to the EU budget and Poland's ensuing veto of the budget.NOTE: In the discussion, reference is made to a PiS motion to the Constitutional Tribunal of 23 October 2015. Click here to download the document (in Polish). Producer: Sebastian LeśniewskiSupport the show

This week, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill talks with women's rights activist and academic Agnieszka Graff about the mass protests against the recent abortion ruling in Poland.They discuss the motivations of the protests, their striking use of vulgar language, the reaction against the church, the political background to the court ruling, and what might happen next. Graff talks about her own experience of the protests, including the organisation of a street blockade.Agnieszka Graff is an activist and a professor at the American Studies Centre of the University of Warsaw.Also check out our previous episode on the recent crisis in Poland’s ruling coalition and the reshuffle of the government. Producer: Sebastian Leśniewski Support the show

This week, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill is back with Ben Stanley, a political scientist at SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, to talk about the recent crisis in Poland's ruling coalition and the reshuffle of the government.They discuss the conflict between Law and Justice (PiS) and the United Poland (Solidarna Polska) party of justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro; the background to the government reshuffle; Jarosław Kaczyński's new position; the appointment of an MP known for anti-LGBT comments as education minister; and political scenarios for the future.Producer: Sebastian Leśniewski Support the show

This week, Notes from Poland editor-at-large Stanley Bill talks to Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy, director of Belsat television, a Polish service broadcasting into Belarus in Belarusian and Russian languages.They discuss the background to the current mass protests in Belarus, Poland’s broader interest in its eastern neighbours, the muted international response, and the threat of Russian intervention.Producer: Sebastian Leśniewski Support the show