Mariusz Szczygiel
Polish journalist Mariusz Szczygiel (b. 1966) has been working for Gazeta Wyborcza since 1990. In the mid-1990s he presented the very first talk show in Poland, “On Any Subject You Like”. In 1996 he published a collection of articles about Poland entitled “Sunday, Which Came On a Wednesday”. His second book, Gottland, on the history of the Czech Republic, won the European Book Prize in 2009.
According to a recent survey, Poles are more fond of the Czechs than they are of any other nation. Polish author and Czechophile Mariusz Szczygieł wonders: could it be that the Poles see in their Czech neighbours qualities that they would like to have themselves? 
As of New Year’s Day 2010, Czechs in possession of small quantities of narcotics need no longer fret about trouble with the law. That comes as no surprise in a country in which marijuana is, for many, part of everyday life, remarks Polish journalist Mariusz Szczygiel.