In 2024, we created a space for shared conversation and reflection for the first time, drawing inspiration from nonfiction literature. We invited the authors of the most interesting new releases, as well as creators who are making in-depth attempts to capture the complexity of today’s reality.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our sessions on nonfiction—if you’d like to revisit these conversations, you can now do so via our podcasts. For those who couldn’t join us live, we warmly encourage you to give them a listen—the conversations are truly fascinating, full of inspiring ideas and insightful reflections on the modern world. All the sessions were recorded and are available as podcasts on Spotify and YouTube.
EPISODE 1: GRZEGORZ PIĄTEK
Architect, critic, and architectural historian. Author of books including *Sanator: The Career of Stefan Starzyński*, *The Best City in the World: Warsaw’s Reconstruction, 1944–1949*, and *The Indestructible Bohdan Pniewski: Architect of the Salon and the State*. The book “The Promised Gdynia: City, Modernism, Modernization, 1920–1939” earned him numerous accolades: Polityka’s Passport Award, a nomination for the Gdynia Literary Award, and the Readers’ Choice Award of the “Nike” Literary Award. Aneta Lehman speaks with the author.
EPISODE 2: JAROSŁAW KURSKI
Journalist, reporter. Author of the book *Wódz* about Lech Wałęsa, for whom he served as spokesperson, as well as essays on Raymond Aron and a biography of Jan Nowak-Jeziorański. Since January 1991, he has been a columnist for *Wyborcza*, and since 2006, its deputy editor-in-chief. Over the years, he has pieced together the truth about his family, resulting in the book *Dziady i dybuki* — a tumultuous historical investigation into a family scattered from Ukraine to Brazil and from Great Britain to Australia, with the author’s birthplace, Gdańsk, at its very heart. Michał Ślubowski speaks with the author.
EPISODE 3: KORA TEA KOWALSKA
Kora Tea Kowalska. Archaeologist and cultural studies scholar, university lecturer. She is the author of works on the history of material culture and also specializes in the history of design and the documentation of postwar modernist monuments. A collector of discarded and unconventional objects, an expert on a TV show about antiques and collectors, and the creator of the @odrzeczysklad profile. Her book *Look Under Your Feet. On Collecting Things” is dedicated to recognizing the past world in objects and how they allow us to reconstruct fragments of everyday life. Krystyna Weiher-Sitkiewicz speaks with the author.
EPISODE 4: STASIA BUDZISZ
Stasia Budzisz. Reporter. She writes for OKO.press, Krytyka Polityczna, Nowa Europa Wschodnia, and Przekrój. She covers the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and Kashubia. In 2019, she made her debut with the investigative book *Pokazucha: The Georgian Way*. In 2023, her second book of reportage, *Welewetka: How Kashubia Is Disappearing*, was published, in which she turns her gaze toward Kashubia, the land of her own childhood—a blend of historical reportage and a family saga of the Kashubian minority. Ana Matusevic interviews the author.
EPISODE 5: FILIP SPRINGER
Reporter and photographer. Author of books on space and architecture. Nominated for the country’s most prestigious literary awards. His books have been translated into English, German, Russian, and Hungarian. A conversation about the books *The Gray Hour: Time for a New Architecture* and *Mein Gott, How Beautiful*—exploring how landscape and public space shape the narrative of everyday life. Monika Arczyńska speaks with the author.
EPISODE 6: ZBIGNIEW ROKITA
Reporter and editor specializing in issues related to Eastern Europe and Upper Silesia. Author of the book *Top Scorers: Soccer in the Shadow of the Empire* and the plays *Nikaj* and *Weltmajstry*. His book *Kajś: A Tale of Upper Silesia* received the Nike Literary Award and the Nike Readers’ Choice Award, and was nominated for the Angelus Central European Literary Award. “Odrzania” tells the story of the Recovered Territories—reminding us that history is never as straightforward as it appears in school textbooks. Michał Tokarczyk speaks with the author.
Co-funded by the City of Gdańsk
