I left university without any clear idea of what I wanted to do. At first I wanted to be a novelist, but soon discovered that I found sitting by myself all day with my thoughts far too lonely. Armed only with the knowledge that I liked writing and languages, I moved from the UK, where I’d grown up with a Czech mother and Slovak father, to Prague, the city my mother hails from, to teach English. I quickly discovered teaching was not for me, but at a loss as to what else I could do with my degree and experience, I carried on.
In my mid-twenties I discovered podcasts and started consuming them in large quantities, finding that they combined my love of fascinating stories, sound and the spoken word with an intimate, personal medium that I could consume while still looking at the world around me. It took me a while to realise that journalism was about a lot more than just news and politics, but once I did, I knew that radio journalism was where I wanted to go. Eventually I got some freelance work with Radio Prague, and after writing a few pieces, I was lucky enough to be offered a job here. I’ve never looked back.
articles by the author
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Jazz Dock Orchestra releases live album
Jazz Dock, one of Prague’s most popular jazz clubs thanks to its cool location and programme variety, also has its own house band, which recently released its first album.
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Czech Prima Donnas at the Met Opera
A new exhibition opens on Wednesday evening at the Czech Center New York presenting Czech female opera singers whose careers brought them onto the stage of the Met Opera.
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Book World Prague 2024 has more to offer non-Czech readers than ever before
Book World Prague usually mostly targets a Czech audience. But this year is different – largely thanks to the Frankfurt Book Fair naming Czechia its 2026 Guest of Honour.
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Hundreds of tickets sold for Hockey World Championships turn out to be fakes
The police have so far uncovered hundreds of cases of forged or resold tickets at this year's IIHF World Championship in Czechia and one person is being prosecuted.
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Siřem: the real inspiration for Kafka’s ‘The Castle’?
In the last episode of ‘In Kafka’s Footsteps’, we visited Frýdlant, believed to have inspired his novel ‘The Castle’. But there is another contender to be reckoned with.
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The infamous nine percent: Czech firm tests new plastic recycling technology
What happens to the plastic you put in the recycling container? Rather than being recycled, it likely ends up in landfill — or worse. But a new technology may provide hope.
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The Sudetenland town believed to have inspired Kafka’s ‘The Castle’
Frýdlant, a town of about 7,400 inhabitants, certainly has a Kafkaesque feeling about it – and its castle is thought by some to be the inspiration for his last novel.
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One of last two surviving WWII Czechoslovak RAF veterans turns 100
One of the final two Czechoslovak RAF veterans still alive today, Jiří Pavel Kafka, celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday.
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Czech zoologists get involved in efforts to save Tanzanian elephant population
Zoologists from Dvůr Králové have started researching elephants in Tanzania's Mkomazi National Park to try to help protect them. The species faces several threats.
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Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas tree gets second life
Ever wondered what happens to your Christmas tree after the festive season is over? In the case of one particular Christmas tree, it won’t end up on a scrapheap.