Pole-ish

Peter MacLeod / John Nett
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Two expats. Two cities. Two perspectives. Peter, a Brit living in Warsaw, and John, an American based in Kraków, dive into the hilarious, always confusing and often eye-opening reality of building a new life in a foreign country.              From navigating Polish bureaucracy, learning a new language, dating, renting, and understanding cultural differences, to deeper conversations about immigration, integration, politics and money... no topic is off-limits.           Using humour (humor!), honesty and a healthy dose of self-deprecation, they compare British and American viewpoints as they try to make sense of modern life in Central Europe. Along the way, they share real stories, practical tips, and introduce some very special guests in order to bring them greater context to their new lives.  Whether you live or plan to live as an expat in Poland or elsewhere, want to improve your English or Polish, or are just curious how two foreigners survive everyday life in an alien environment, welcome to the adventure!   New episodes every Monday.           

  1. Jun 22

    Flying Solo

    No guest this week - just Peter and John, armed with microphones, questionable opinions and 21 increasingly random questions. In this special guest-free edition of Pole-ish, the hosts turn the spotlight on themselves. They tackle everything from beaches vs. mountains, Warsaw vs. Kraków, and Żabka vs. Biedronka, before John reveals his own answers to the Five Big Questions usually reserved for guests. Along the way, John discovers a new scuba diving community in Kraków, Peter stumbles across the historic town of Olsztynek, and the pair discuss one of Poland's most beloved icons - the legendary Fiat 126p "Maluch". There's also a deep dive into the curious history of Czernina, the traditional Polish duck-blood soup once used to reject unwanted suitors, plus plenty of the usual banter, disagreements and cultural observations. -- 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. Centrum Nurkowe Nautica: http://www.nauticadiving.pl/ Polski Fiat 126p ‘Maluch’: https://www.motor1.com/news/62725/soviet-bloc-cars-were-weird-polski-fiat-126p/ Czernina: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czernina Jesień – Tańcuj (z filmu ‘Chłopi’) - Various Artists: https://open.spotify.com/track/1TwTHhkLEU4XcDRobMAUaW?si=a5fa1028d1a24248 Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

    1 hr

  2. Jun 15

    Mission Accompl-ish

    Football, history, bureaucracy, seafood, bicycles and a lot of affection for Poland - it can only be Pole-ish! In this episode, Peter and John welcome Mike Giammattei, an American former Army Reservist who came to Poland on deployment, met the woman who would become his wife, and ended up building a life in Gniezno, Poland's historic first capital. Along the way, Mike shares his experiences of bristling at Polish bureaucracy, working in logistics and his frankly bizarre love of Ipswich Town - not exactly one of English football's most glamorous clubs. Elsewhere, Peter reports from the Baltic coast with some surprisingly salty facts, John reflects on a seafood extravaganza in Kraków, and the pair discuss cycling culture in Poland and the Netherlands. This week's Pole of the Week is the extraordinary Irena Sendler, the Polish social worker who helped save around 2,500 Jewish children during the Second World War. -- 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. RJ’s Goals – in memory of Mike’s brother: https://www.instagram.com/rjs.goals?igsh=NXJrb3VwZ2dmY2dw Kapitan Konrad: https://en.kapitankonrad.pl/ Dutch Reach Project: https://www.dutchreach.org/ Polish National Anthem (Mazurek Dąbrowskiego): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BWvhox662o Ipswich Town Football Club: www.itfc.co.uk New Haven Pizza: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven-style_pizza Delta Dawn – Tanya Tucker: https://open.spotify.com/track/7GH8qNOm2gEKryVUyVzkmt?si=5bdd431f9c1c491f Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

    1h 8m

  3. Jun 8

    Two Weddings and a PESEL

    In Episode 19 of Pole-ish, we ask what makes someone leave Britain behind to build a new life in Poland. Communications consultant Tom Lane swapped the drizzle of West Midlands for the sunlit uplands of Poznań after falling in love during the Covid years. He shares the story of moving to Poland, navigating the post-Brexit maze of paperwork, getting married across two countries, and launching his own communications business in a foreign language and culture. Along the way, the conversation explores Polish bureaucracy, learning the language (obvs), football, community spirit, quality of life, and how Poland for Tom increasingly feels more like home than the UK. Elsewhere, Peter and John discuss Czechia, Nashville, amber, Żabka, churches, and the welcome return of the legendary 666 bus to Hel. -- 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. Return of the 666 bus to Hel: https://notesfrompoland.com/2026/05/31/polands-666-bus-to-hel-returns-in-new-form/ Polish amber: https://culture.pl/en/article/amber-poland-a-history-crafted-in-resin UNESCO Heritage Sites in Poland: http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/pl Polish National Anthem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland_Is_Not_Yet_Lost Myslovitz - Długość dźwięku samotności: https://open.spotify.com/track/0DqRsfmMvauRib1AsgpOP2?si=de6e5c9309ae4c01 Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

    1h 7m

  4. Jun 1

    Pole-ish Position

    For Episode 18 of Pole-ish, we’re joined by internationally minded Polish career coach, recruitment expert and intercultural communication specialist Lucy Bolin. After living in six countries across Europe and North America - including the US, UK, Germany, Spain and France - Lucy shares what two decades abroad taught her about identity, ambition, language, belonging and the emotional reality of expat life. We explore reverse culture shock, why some people never truly feel “at home”, how moving abroad changes your personality, and why learning the local language matters far more than many people realise. Lucy also opens up about returning to Poland during COVID, raising a multilingual family, the emotional pull of home, and why she believes Polish people are uniquely adaptable abroad. Along the way, we discuss confidence, self-awareness, recruitment culture, British food, Polish seriousness, beaches on the Baltic coast and the psychology behind starting over. -- 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. Puszcza Białowieska: https://bpn.gov.pl/ Lucyna Bolin Coaching: https://www.lucynabolin.com/ Sviatoslav Kondrativ: https://www.youtube.com/@NaSkrzypcachGraSviatoslav Marcin Wyrostek: https://www.youtube.com/user/wyrostekmarcin Maciej Tubis – Into The Night: https://open.spotify.com/track/1wJq8P1gSQzp9fReVlsMOU?si=ecfa96e49abe476c Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

    1h 8m

  5. May 25

    Rosół Cures Everything

    In Episode 17 of Pole-ish podcast, Peter and John are joined by Nigerian-born content creator Raphael Obi, whose hilarious and sharply observed videos about life in Poland have built a huge online following. Raphael talks about why he moved from Nigeria to Warsaw, the culture shocks of arriving in Poland, learning the Polish language (or attempting to), and what it’s like being a Black foreigner in one of Europe’s most homogenous countries. The conversation dives into identity, belonging, bureaucracy, Polish food, viral content creation, and why rosół apparently solves every problem in life. Elsewhere in the episode: Peter discovers the wonderfully Polish tradition of the parapetówkaJohn takes us deep underground into Poland’s legendary salt minesWe visit the ancient settlement of Biskupin - the “Polish Pompeii”And Peter somehow survives another round of Three in Ten SecondsExpect observations, laughter, honesty, and at least one attempt at Disco Polo singing. -- 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. Follow Raphael Obi / DarkMagikCA Instagram: @darkmagikcaTikTok: DarkMagikCA LiveLinktree: DarkMagikCAWieliczka Salt Mine: www.kopalnia.pl Biskupin Archaeological Site: https://biskupin.pl/ Bałkanica – Piersi (Będzie zabawa!): https://open.spotify.com/track/3bsxKpPB1rv80N8edDIZz8?si=6daa91481db549cb Pole-ish Guest Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68kYaLG4XYgcjRdSjzzgcW?si=de7065757241400c

    55 min

  6. May 18

    Barszcz to the Future

    We boldly go where no podcast has gone before... well, at least no podcast which also features ptasie mleczko, pétanque and the coconut song. Our special guest is Dr Tomasz Zajkowski - President of the Polish Astrobiology Society, and researcher at AGH University’s new Faculty of Space Technologies in Kraków. Tomasz talks to us about the search for extraterrestrial life, whether we might all secretly be Martians, the challenges of science in Poland and the US, and why understanding alien life can actually teach us more about ourselves. Along the way, we discuss Polish student festivals, Stanisław Barańczak’s linguistic madness, veganism, California culture shocks, Mazurian lakes, and the possibility that Poland may soon play a much bigger role in space exploration. Also featuring: Rugby & cricket in Warsaw parkswhy Americans sit facing restaurant entranceswhich Polish delicacy is much in demand at NASAand a scientifically questionable amount of discussion about bird’s milk.We urge you to listen to this episode – it’s out of this world! -- 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.  Stanisław Baranczak: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Bara%C5%84czak Polish Astrobiological Society: https://astrobio.pl/ Project Hail Mary (film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12042730/ The Coconut Nut (The Coconut Song) - The San Miguel Master Chorale: https://open.spotify.com/track/1XHeQupI4MWPA7UrU6EKEu?si=f7ee483235a94ac6

    54 min

  7. May 11

    Borders, Beavers & Benny Hill

    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. -- 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

    1 hr

  8. May 4

    T*ts – Slow Down!

    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. -- 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

    55 min
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About

Two expats. Two cities. Two perspectives. Peter, a Brit living in Warsaw, and John, an American based in Kraków, dive into the hilarious, always confusing and often eye-opening reality of building a new life in a foreign country.              From navigating Polish bureaucracy, learning a new language, dating, renting, and understanding cultural differences, to deeper conversations about immigration, integration, politics and money... no topic is off-limits.           Using humour (humor!), honesty and a healthy dose of self-deprecation, they compare British and American viewpoints as they try to make sense of modern life in Central Europe. Along the way, they share real stories, practical tips, and introduce some very special guests in order to bring them greater context to their new lives.  Whether you live or plan to live as an expat in Poland or elsewhere, want to improve your English or Polish, or are just curious how two foreigners survive everyday life in an alien environment, welcome to the adventure!   New episodes every Monday.           

Information

  • Creator
    Peter MacLeod / John Nett
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Peter MacLeod / John Nett