Culture

Journalist and activist Elena Kostyuchenko talks about the dangers of her investigative journalism, the new Russia, and why she will always struggle to leave the country of her birth. Paulina Wilk

Writer Jędrzej Morawiecki talks about the myths and misconceptions surrounding Russia, as well as what led him to fall in love with the country. Jan Pelczar

Israeli visual artist Yael Bartana talks about the prospect of women ruling the world, patriarchal norms, and her new film “Two Minutes to Midnight”. Mateusz Demski

Iranian director Mania Akbari talks about living with illness, exile from her home country, and being a female artist in a world that is still marred by patriarchy. Artur Zaborski

Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić talks about her film “Quo Vadis, Aida?”, the Srebrenica massacre, and why women’s perspectives of war are important. Mateusz Demski

Philosopher Alain de Botton talks about how Romanticism has shaped our notions of love and what we can do to deconstruct this. Aleksandra Reszelska

French director Julia Ducournau won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival for her subversive body horror “Titane”. She talks about the importance of choreography, Vincent Lindon, and how she struggles to write about love. Jakub Armata

Mediaevalist Łukasz Kozak talks about the myths and realities behind upiory – prototype vampires from Slavic folklore. Stasia Budzisz

Japanese director Sion Sono talks about the importance of humour in his films, the realities of cruelty and suffering, and what he is afraid of. Sylwia Niemczyk

On the 80th anniversary of his birth, we share an interview with the Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski from the “Przekrój” archives. Izabella Bodnar

Michel Laub – author of “Diary of the Fall”, among other books – talks about inheriting trauma, the situation of Jewish people in Brazil, and the mechanisms of violence. Aleksandra Lipczak

The Roman philosopher, dramatist and statesman talks with a modern day Stoic about what we can learn from children and how Stoicism can guide us through the contemporary world. Piotr Stankiewicz

Annibale Siconolfi – the 3D artist known as Inward – talks about the inspirations behind his dystopian images, his life in Italy, and why NFTs have revolutionized the art world. Dariusz Kuźma

Kazuo Ishiguro, Nobel laureate in Literature, talks about his latest novel “Klara and the Sun”, and what advances in technology might mean for humanity. Sylwia Stano 

The celebrated Czech documentary film-maker Helena Třeštíkova talks about the influence of Miloš Forman on her cinema and how she made the film “Forman vs. Forman”. Mateusz Demski

Ryan Nicodemus – part of the The Minimalists duo – talks about what minimalism means, how to stop craving new things, and the documentary “The Minimalists: Less Is Now”. Dariusz Kuźma

The one-time Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius talks with a modern-day Stoic about moderation, Zbigniew Herbert and smartphones. Piotr Stankiewicz

David France talks about how he made “Welcome to Chechnya”, a harrowing yet inspiring documentary about LGBT persecution in Chechnya and the activists that oppose repression. Dariusz Kuźma