by Ivana Strbac Alfonso
Balkan Sis is a podcast rooted in truth, depth, and real conversation. Hosted by Ivana, this is a space where culture, identity, motherhood, relationships, trauma, mental health, wellness, ambition, power, business, and politics are explored honestly and without filters. Through intimate conversations and lived experience, Balkan Sis is a place to reflect, heal, and feel less alone. Here, stories are honoured, voices are heard, and nothing is off limits. Pull up a chair. You belong here.
Language
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Publishing Since
9/2/2022
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June 25, 2026
<p>In this episode, Ivana sits down with migration lawyer, author, and former refugee Adam Khaze for a wide ranging conversation about his own story, his family, and the realities of Australia's immigration system.</p><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><ul><li>Adam's family's escape from Iran as Bahá'ís facing religious persecution, the journey through Pakistan, and resettling in Perth as refugees</li><li>Growing up between cultures, losing his mother to cancer in his early twenties, and how that shaped his path into migration law</li><li>Meeting and marrying his wife, Dr Nina Markovic, who came to Australia from Belgrade, Serbia, as a teenager, and building a household across two cultures and two faiths</li><li>Raising multicultural kids and balancing safety, independence, and identity as parents</li><li>Breaking down the real legal definitions of emigrant, immigrant, migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker</li><li>How Australia's permanent migration program actually works, including skilled, partner, student, and humanitarian pathways, and the legal hurdles applicants face</li><li>Common myths around migration, housing costs, crime statistics, and government support, examined through Adam's professional experience</li><li>A candid discussion of the current political climate around immigration in Australia, including differing views within migrant communities themselves</li><li>Reflections on antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the importance of looking at issues individually rather than through a single lens</li><li>Adam's advice for migrant and refugee families, and his closing message on empathy, self-reflection, and putting children first</li></ul><p><strong>A note on this episode:</strong> This conversation covers contested political topics, including immigration policy, Australian politics, and the war in Gaza. These are presented as Adam's professional views and lived experience; we encourage listeners to keep exploring these topics from multiple sources.</p><p><strong>Website:</strong> solvemigration.com</p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong> @adamkhaze (personal) · @solvemigration (firm)</p><p><strong>LinkedIn:</strong> linkedin.com/in/adam-khaze</p><p><strong>Book:</strong> Australian Migration Files (2025)</p><p><strong>Upcoming book:</strong> on migrant scapegoating, expected February 2027</p><p><strong>Research paper:</strong> "Fleeing Communism: Yugoslav and Vietnamese Post-war Migration to Australia and Changes to Immigration Policy," co-authored with Dr Nina Markovic — https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nina-Markovic-4/publication/338474391_'Fleeing_Communism'_Yugoslav_and_Vietnamese_Post-war_Migration_to_Australia_and_Changes_to_Immigration_Policy/links/60b2438b45851557baa78f83/Fleeing-Communism-Yugoslav-and-Vietnamese-Post-war-Migration-to-Australia-and-Changes-to-Immigration-Policy.pdf</p><p><strong>Podcast:</strong> Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts</p><p><strong>Everything else:</strong> linktr.ee/ivanaalfonso<strong>Instagram:</strong> @balkansispodcast · @ivanastrbacalfonso</p><p><strong>Contact:</strong> ivana.alfonso@hotmail.com</p><p><strong>Got a question for a future episode?</strong> DM Ivana or email ivana.alfonso@hotmail.com</p><p>Guest: Adam Khaze </p><p>Host: Ivana Strbac Alfonso Balkan Sis</p>
June 4, 2026
<p>Today's episode is a full one. life has been full.</p><p>we open with a birthday. sretan rođendan mama. 67 years old, a pensioner at last, and the most selfless woman i know. this episode is dedicated to you.</p><p>but it's been a mixed bag since we last spoke, and i wanted to come on and share all of it with you. the joy, the grief, and everything in between.</p><p>we talk about little Tessa, who lost her battle with cancer at only six years old. we talk about a family friend who passed, and what it means to be trusted with someone's final moments. we talk about how you carry two things at once. pain and love. and why you have to keep dancing anyway.</p><p>i recapped Bosanski Vitez, the Bosnian film doing the rounds in Australia right now. go watch it. type it in wherever you are. it's important.</p><p>shout out to my cousin Vlad. Macedonian Aussie comedian, absolute legend. go find his podcast This That and give it a listen.</p><p>then i tell you about recording with my Strina Slavica. she's turning 80 in July and she is one of the most extraordinary women i have ever sat across from. part of the recording was lost and i am devastated about it, but we will do it again. ask your elders questions. record them. write it down. you will not regret it.</p><p>and then the wedding. my cousin Daniel married his Laticia. East Timorese and Croatian cultures in the same room, and it was nothing short of magic. the tea ceremony, the kolo, the dragon dancers, the rakia, my son Vito holding his third cousin's hand on the dance floor. three generations. pure joy. don't wait. go to the wedding.</p><p>huge thank you to Martina, my last guest. a Macedonian woman who works for NASA. i am so proud she came on and shared her story with us.</p><p>and a massive thank you to our first ever sponsor. Mark, the Burek Guy, based in Liverpool Sydney. an absolutely incredible family-run business and an even better human. if you want to collaborate or sponsor Balkan Sis, reach out. this is completely bootstrapped and your support keeps it alive.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>COMING UP:</strong></p><p>next weekend. <strong>Burek on Wheels and Baba's Milk</strong> are hosting a <strong>pita workshop on the Gold Coast</strong> at Enzo's Cucina, Surfers Paradise, right on the Esplanade. there will be music, food, goodie bags and good people. tickets are limited so reach out to Lepa directly. i will be there shooting content and i would love to see you.</p><p>also coming up. <strong>Seljačka Večer at the Croatian Club in Rocklea, Brisbane</strong>. 13th of June, starting from 3pm. Stona Sat will be there. there is talk of a bus running from the Gold Coast. get in, get your dose of good music and rakia, and support your local club.</p><p>huge shout out to <strong>Prva Liga</strong>, the band who played at Daniel and Leticia's wedding on Saturday and Sunday. Steven, Marco and the boys. if you need a band for your next event, reach out to them. talented, warm-hearted men keeping our culture alive in the most beautiful way.</p><p>we close with a reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, 12:31 to 13:8a. and then a song for Mum.</p><p>love does not come to an end. živjeli.</p><p>cheers to being different, cheers to not being mainstream, živjeli.</p><p><br></p><p>find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. follow @balkansispodcast and @ivanastrbacalfonso.</p><p><br></p>
May 27, 2026
<p><strong>BALKAN SIS PODCAST</strong>@balkansispodcast | @ivanastrbacalfonso</p><p><strong>Martina Dimoska:</strong>The Girl Who Was Never Asked What She Wanted to Be</p><p><strong>EPISODE DESCRIPTION</strong></p><p>This week Ivana sits down with Martina Dimoska, a Macedonian from Kicevo in North Macedonia who became the first female Balkan analog astronaut in the world. She has commanded missions simulating life on the Moon and Mars, run operations inside subsurface caves with no GPS or natural light, founded the International Space Alliance, and today works at NASA's Johnson Space Center ensuring astronaut health and safety for the xEVA spacesuit, the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, and the Pressurized Rover.</p><p>This conversation goes all the way back. To a city where nobody asked little girls what they wanted to be. To a family caring for a daughter with a disability while the community looked away. To a woman who built everything from nothing, with no funding and no one who had done it before her.</p><p><strong>This episode is dedicated to Jovana.</strong></p><p><strong>IN THIS EPISODE</strong></p><ul><li>Growing up in Kicevo and what dreams looked like for girls in the Balkans</li><li>Her sister Jovana and how caring for her built resilience and problem-solving from a young age</li><li>Her mum putting planets on her bedroom wall and a baba who made her lie in the dark and think</li><li>Losing Jovana during college while navigating a world where peers saw her as competition</li><li>The US State Department scholarship to Kent State and finally belonging somewhere</li><li>What an analog astronaut actually is, explained for the Balkan barbeque table</li><li>The APICES cave mission in Spain: no GPS, no sunlight, only emergency bars to eat</li><li>Commanding TERRA NOVA in parallel with the Axiom-4 mission on the International Space Station</li><li>The burnout nobody talks about when you re-enter real life after a mission</li><li>Founding the International Space Alliance bootstrapped and self-funded from nothing</li><li>Inat. The Balkan word for doing it anyway, despite everything.</li></ul><p><strong>SPONSORED BY THE BUREK GUY</strong></p><p>Thank you to Mark Delevski and the family behind The Burek Guy. Award-winning Balkan bakery in Sydney. Fresh burek plus a frozen range for busy families. </p><p>instagram.com/the_burek_guyfacebook.com/156543917205Suite 3/1 Redman Rd, Dee Why NSW 2099 | (02) 8054 9174 | Open daily until 3pm</p><p><strong>CONNECT WITH MARTINA</strong></p><p>instagram.com/astrosmartalinkedin.com/in/martinadimoskafacebook.com/AstrosMartainternationalspacealliance.orgen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martina_Dimoska</p><p><strong>FOLLOW BALKAN SIS</strong></p><p>instagram.com/balkansispodcastinstagram.com/ivanastrbacalfonsoSpotify and Apple Podcasts</p><p>Share this with a Balkan woman who needs to hear it. Rate and review wherever you listen.</p><p><br></p>
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Balkan Sis is a podcast rooted in truth, depth, and real conversation.
Hosted by Ivana, this is a space where culture, identity, motherhood, relationships, trauma, mental health, wellness, ambition, power, business, and politics are explored honestly and without filters. Through intimate conversations and lived experience, Balkan Sis is a place to reflect, heal, and feel less alone.
Here, stories are honoured, voices are heard, and nothing is off limits.
Pull up a chair. You belong here.
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