James Thomson has a degree in modern history from Oxford University. He has worked as a journalist in Britain, New Zealand, Slovakia and Austria, for a United Nations specialized agency, and (very briefly and unsuccessfully) as a Persian carpet salesman in the Australian outback. He teaches courses at BISLA on news and information and on modern China. James has authored a travel guide to Slovakia and writes a column for the Slovak Spectator newspaper. In early 2020 he completed a 3,000-kilometre bikepacking event in New Zealand.