Why I Still Believe in Podcasting | International Podcast Day 2026

Today is International Podcast Day, so I’ve switched on the microphone for a slightly different episode.

The doors are open, the sun is coming in, and if the dogs bark — or Tamara reminds me about the dishwasher — you may well hear that too.

After more than half a century around microphones, I still don’t really think of myself as a podcaster. I think of myself as someone who makes radio.

And perhaps that’s why podcasting appeals to me so much.

In this short reflection, I talk about the magic I first found in radio as a child, listening to a transistor beneath the pillow, and why I’ve found myself moving away from screens, algorithms and chasing numbers and back towards something much simpler: a microphone, a story and somebody listening somewhere else.

I also talk about the kind of stories I now enjoy sharing from Bosnia and Herzegovina — walks through the village, conversations in cafés, journeys into the mountains, bits of history, and sometimes simply the sounds of everyday life.

Because perhaps podcasting doesn’t need to shout.

Perhaps it can simply be one person speaking, another person listening, and somewhere between the two, a connection.

A question for you:

What podcast genuinely means something to you?

Not necessarily the biggest or most famous one. Just the one you really look forward to hearing.

Happy International Podcast Day 2026 — and thank you, as always, for listening.

An Englishman in the Balkans

Stories of the people, places and everyday life of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

An Englishman in the Balkans is a weekly podcast about the people, places and everyday life of Bosnia and Herzegovina, told by David Bailey, who has lived here for more than 25 years. New episodes arrive every Tuesday.

Thanks for listening. If this episode was worth your time, the best thing you can do is pass it on to someone who'd enjoy it.

Every episode, and more about my life here, is at anenglishmaninthebalkans.com.

I also write a short, free weekly newsletter, The Sunday Edition, a recap of my week in Bosnia. If you're not already receiving it, you can join here:

https://anenglishmaninthebalkanspodcast.substack.com

Already a subscriber?

If you don’t want to receive everything I publish, you don’t have to unsubscribe completely.

Use the unsubscribe or preferences link at the bottom of any email and you can choose which of my newsletters and sections you’d like to receive.

That way, you can keep the Sunday Edition, for example, while switching off emails from sections you’re less interested in.

I’d much rather you received only the things you enjoy than felt I was filling up your inbox.