Misha Glenny
A globe-trotting journalist who maps the shadowy intersections of Balkan politics, international crime, and digital espionage for a worldwide audience.
Born 1958 (age 68)·English journalist and broadcaster (1958)·Birthday: April 25·Baby Boomers
Biography
Misha Glenny's career is a study in following the chaos. Starting as the BBC's Central Europe Correspondent during the collapse of communism, he found himself reporting from the front lines of the Yugoslav Wars, an experience that forged his deep expertise in the Balkans' tangled history. He soon realized that the region's conflicts were fueled by networks that extended far beyond borders—the world of organized crime. This insight launched his second act as an investigative author, producing meticulously researched books like 'McMafia' that traced the labyrinthine connections between local gangsters and global capitalism. Never one to stay still, Glenny pivoted again to dissect the new frontier of power: cyberspace, writing and broadcasting on hackers, digital black markets, and state-sponsored cyberwarfare. As a rector at Vienna's Institute for Human Sciences, he now shapes the conversation on these issues, acting as a translator between the dark corners of the world and the curious public.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Misha was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Misha Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Misha's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored 'McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld', which inspired a major BBC/AMC television series.
- Served as the BBC's Central Europe Correspondent during the fall of communism and the wars in Yugoslavia.
- Wrote the definitive history of the Balkans in the 20th century, 'The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers, 1804–2011'.
- Appointed Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna in 2022.
Did You Know?
He is a fluent speaker of German and Serbian/Croatian.
He initially studied philosophy and psychology at the University of Bristol before pursuing journalism.
His brother is the celebrated British actor and director Jamie Glover.
He presented a popular podcast series called 'How to Invent a Country' about the history of European nations.
“The internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand.”
