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An Englishman in the Balkans - Maybe the First Punk Podcast from Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Maybe the First Punk Podcast from Bosnia and Herzegovina

An Englishman in the Balkans

12/17/25

3m

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I Didn’t Set Out to Make a Punk Podcast

I didn’t wake up one morning with a plan to do something called punk podcasting.In truth, I only heard the phrase recently, mentioned in passing, and it stayed with me as I went out for my daily walk. I try, as much as possible, to always have a recorder in my pocket. So I can record my steps as I walk, the dogs barking in the village, in other words, Bosnia, quietly getting on with things.

As I was walking, this idea suddenly dawned on me. I might already be doing it.

Not deliberately. Not theatrically. Just by stopping.

Stepping Away from the Noise

As you know, I live in a small village in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. I’ve been here long enough for the place to stop being scenery and start shaping how I think and speak. These days, most of what I make begins with sound rather than a screen, walking audio, field recordings, spoken thoughts recorded once and left largely alone.

There’s no studio polish. No algorithm breathing down my neck. No sense that something has to justify itself through numbers or performance.

That wasn’t a creative strategy. It was a quiet retreat.

What “Punk” Means to Me Now

Punk, at least in this context, isn’t about noise or rebellion for its own sake. It’s about refusal. Refusing to optimise every sentence. Refusing to explain yourself into neat little boxes. Refusing the idea that creative work only matters if it scales.

Some episodes are short. Some drift. I’m so guilty of rambling.Some contain long pauses where nothing much happens at all, birds, wind, footsteps, the sound of thinking. That used to feel like breaking rules.

Now it feels like remembering what audio was always meant to do.

Why Bosnia Matters

I don’t think I could make this work from somewhere louder, faster, or more performative. Maybe like it would back in Kensington in London, where I was born.Bosnia gives me distance. From trends, from urgency, from the constant demand to be relevant. Life here allows unfinished thoughts. It allows walking without purpose. It allows silence without embarrassment.

Without realising it, that has seeped into my podcasting. The place I suppose has shaped the voice.

So... the First Punk Podcast from Bosnia?

Maybe.

I genuinely don’t know, and I’m not especially interested in proving it. There may well be others, in Bosnian or in English, doing something just as independent and just as unconcerned with the usual rules.

But in spirit and in practice, what I’m making feels close.Audio-first, independent. Not built for platforms, and made by someone old enough to stop asking permission.

A Quiet Invitation

If there’s a point to all this, it’s a simple one.

If you’re making something because you need to, not because it fits, sells, or scales, then you’re already closer to punk than you think. And if that work happens to come from Bosnia, carried on footsteps and birdsong, then so much the better.

This isn’t built to chase anyone. It’s built to exist.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.coffeeandrakija.com/subscribe

Previous Episode

undefined - A Life Between Worlds
A Life Between Worlds

December 12, 2025

8m

Hello again from northern Bosnia.

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to keep creating as the years move on. Not in a dramatic way, more in the quiet minutes between things. The morning walks, the stove-top coffee, the soft hum of the Vrbas as it rolls along. At nearly 73, I sometimes wonder why I still record podcasts, film my walks, or write these reflections. Nothing forces me to. And yet, I keep returning to the microphone and this page.

A Life in Chapters

I’ve lived in Bosnia, on and off, since the late 1990s. Before and after that, life took me to Canada, Kosovo, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Ethiopia, places shaped by conflict, transition, and people simply trying to get on with their lives. Looking back, each chapter feels like its own separate story, but Bosnia has been the thread tying them together.

A World That Feels Unsteady

It’s impossible not to notice how fragile the world feels at the moment. Institutions that once seemed solid now wobble. Principles that held communities together appear to be slipping away. That disappointment is real, though it isn’t bitterness. It’s simply an awareness that hard-earned lessons are being brushed aside with surprising ease.

The Anchor in Ordinary Days

And yet, life here offers daily reminders of stability.A neighbour calling across the fence, a familiar walk through the fields, a cat settling into the warmest spot in the house. These small, grounding moments give shape to the days and make reflection feel worthwhile.

Why I Keep Sharing

I don’t tell stories because I have answers. I tell them because speaking honestly about life at this age still matters. If you’re over 50 or 60 and trying to understand your place in a shifting world, you’re not alone.

The latest podcast episode explores this more deeply. And of course, if you’d like to keep up with my own stories of life in Bosnia, from rainy afternoons in Banja Luka to the hidden corners of the Balkans, check out these recent posts.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.coffeeandrakija.com/subscribe

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