The home page of FindyourB's web site. An oil engineer by day, at night Kazakhstan native Kairzhan Albazarov turns into a podcaster. Kairzhan, who is in his 30s and based in Denmark, launched his show, FindyourB, three years ago. Most of his guests are Kazakh millennials experiencing an early mid-life crisis, who are questioning their life path as well as the values imposed on them by Kazakh society and traditions. Some of them have made unusual U-turns in their careers. All have one thing in common: they value their individual freedom highly, and dream of an alternative model for Kazakh society. Recently FindyourB has welcomed guests from nearby Kyrgyzstan, and produced episodes in the Kazakh language. The following is an abridged transcript of an audio interview I did with Kairzhan in Russian in February 2019. Filip Noubel: Through your podcast, FindyourB, you have become what seems to me a sort of ‘doctor of the Kazakhstani soul’. One should add that podcasts are a rather new phenomenon in Kazakhstani culture. How did you switch from the oil industry to podcast production? People in Kazakhstan usually consider that if you work in the oil industry you have really made it. Kairzhan Albazarov: I still work in the oil industry, in fact. It started when I moved to Denmark in 2016, and went through a period of adjustment which was far from easy. I understood that I needed a hobby, even though I was very successful in my profession as an engineer of international standard. There was a larger part of myself I still couldn’t express. For introverts like me, podcasts represent much more than content—they’re like friends, and I understood I wanted to produce podcasts for people who live in Kazakhstan, and who have many problems. We have many social issues that are not discussed. I started podcasting first inviting friends, and then more well-known people on the show. You’re right, people who work in the oil industry in Kazakhstan make good money, and tend to be upwardly mobile. My parents didn’t understand at first. My grandmother to this day believes this is a waste of time. But in reality, podcasting saved me from depression, from losing my moral grounding. Now my life feels quite balanced. FN: Can you explain the specifics of your podcast, and where the name, ‘FindyourB’, comes from? KA: Two or three years ago, the only thing people talked about in Kazakhstan was success, how to be strong, beautiful, but this [discourse] doesn’t reflect at all the level of suicides there are, the tension in society. On the podcast, we discuss real-life issues: depression, failure. We talk honestly about family, corruption, pain, and we heal as we let emotions come out. Regarding the name, I wanted to call the podcast Open Yourself Up, or Authentic Self, since the main idea is about discovering the true self. In all courses about how to make a podcast you are told that, before you name your podcast, you should find a free domain. But the names I had in mind were taken, and I decided to give it a name with local characteristics. The letter ‘B’ comes from the Kazakh name Batyr, which recurs in many Turkic eposes: he is a hero, a superhero, but not necessarily a male fighter. Rather, Batyr describes a human being, regardless of gender or ethnicity, who tries to find out who they are to get rid of stereotypes, of peer pressure imposed by society, culture and family. FN: How do find your guests, and convince them to take part in your show? KA: I started with people from the industry I work in. Then I thought of the people I know personally and who could serve as prototypes for Batyr. I found a woman who had studied with me very successfully to become an oil engineer, who started a Master’s in Europe, and then, to everyone’s surprise, decided to take up dance and to teach dance in Italy. I am lucky to know people like this, who were following a very predictable and stable path but who suddenly did a U-turn and moved to something different, and yet became successful in their new pastime. It was very difficult to reach out to media celebrities. I would send ten invitations a day, but no one knew me, they didn't even know what podcasting was. My breakthrough happened in February 2018 when I spoke with an expert in political science, a local influencer, and since then I have no problem — people accept readily because I am not politically affiliated. Graphic from a FindyourB episode featuring one of the very few out member of Kazakhstan's LGBTQ+ community. FN: Who listens to your show? KA: My audience is quite unique: it is made of people who like to think, to develop their critical thinking. My guests agree to come to the show because they liked one of the previous interviews, thanks to word of mouth.