Poland
Cosmopolitan Appetites
A new generation of chefs and media personalities is reshaping Poland’s culinary landscape, with local, traditional and artisanal foods acquiring greater prestige and visibility. That exposure has also raised questions about the role of food in defining national identity — and revealed gaps between the country’s haves and have-nots.
Living With Bison
Poland’s bison are both a conservation triumph and a cautionary tale. From just 12 surviving individuals to over 12,000 within a century, the recovery is one of the most remarkable achievements in modern wildlife preservation. But success has created new challenges.
Poland’s Primeval Forest Enters the Age of Polycrisis
The ancient Bialowieza forest straddles the border between Poland and Belarus, and has long seen tension between nature conservation and commercial exploitation. But the recent addition of geopolitics to the mix has plunged the ecosystem into crisis.
The Twilight of Poland’s Coastal Fishers
The decline of Poland’s coastal fisheries is a scientific mystery, with as many shades of gray as the Baltic Sea on a cloudy morning. The list of possible culprits includes Brussels, industrial trawlers and environmental degradation, but also conservationists, the gray seal and a type of parasitic roundworm.
Poles Step Up for Ukraine Refugees
The invasion of Ukraine has brought out positive elements in Polish society — in part due to natural compassion for their neighbors but also because of how seriously the country takes the threat of Russian imperialism.