News and Views

In this podcast, we spoke to Norris Pritam, a veteran sports journalist, about his new book, 'The Man Who Made History: The Neeraj Chopra Story', a biography of Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra. The book chronicles his early life, exposure to athletics, and his eventual moment of glory when he won the Gold Medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In addition to talking about the athlete, Pritam also sheds light on some systemic issues plaguing Indian athletics, his resentment for cricket, and some anecdotes from his vast career as a sports journalist. Watch till the end for some untold stories about Indian sports.

From Shami's fifers to Virat Kohli breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record, this podcast will make you revisit the last 45 days of the Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. Amrit Mathur, who has served as an author, and manager of the Indian men's cricket team, shares his insights into the tournament's defining moments, from thrilling matches to record-breaking performances.

Partner | The COVID-19 vaccination drive in India exemplified as a model for routine immunization, achieved over 97% population coverage. It also amplified the need for timely immunization to prevent a global pandemic. In this podcast, Dr. Sanjay Kapur, from John Snow India (JSI) sheds his expert insights from the MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation & Equity project supported by USAID. We are also joined by Dr. Anuradha Sunil from the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) who emphasized the challenges of vaccine hesitancy, combated through community involvement and awareness.

There is a debate going on from social media to offices on the statement of Infosys founder Narayan Murthy that he works 70 hours a week. Narayana Murthy had said in an interview that the youth of India should say that this is our country and we will work for 70 hours. Everyone from the youth to elders gave different reactions to this statement of Murthy. Can India really progress with 70 hours of work and the productivity of the country's youth will increase? There are many aspects to this 70 hours of work and many related questions.

Ravish Kumar is one of India's most accomplished journalists, known for his stint with NDTV India. But what is it like to be inside his mind? In this vodcast interview, filmmaker Vinay Shukla talks about his experience filming Kumar in intimate spaces, the YouTube leak of the documentary, and the state of Indian media and NDTV. Shukla's documentary, 'While We Watched', is a fly-on-the-wall look at Kumar's life and work. The film follows Ravish as he battles the external threats of violence in an ever-polarized national climate, and an internal dilemma between what the market wants, and what his brand of journalism stands for. In this interview, Shukla talks about the challenges of filming a complex portrait of a public figure. He also discusses the YouTube leak of the documentary, which happened after it was aired on American television. He offers his own insights into the state of Indian media and NDTV, the news channel where Kumar has worked for over two decades.

In this podcast, Pratikshya is talking to the two angry men of the Indian television industry - Raghu Ram and Rajiv Lakshman. They are here to talk about their new men's wellness podcast 'Mencyclopedia'. By their own admission, this podcast is 'only for men, no women allowed'. They also talk about their stint at MTV's superhit reality show Roadies, their journey in the world of TV media, and why Raghu thinks people like Andrew Tate are a bad influence on young boys and men. Listen till the end!

After the resounding success of SRK's January release 'Pathaan', King Khan is back with his big-budget maas entertainer 'Jawan', directed by one of the massiest Indian directors, Atlee. In this video podcast, Prateek Lidhoo is talking to some of our in-house film buffs, Himanshi Dahiya, Aditya Menon, and Varsha Sriram about the politics of Shah Rukh Khan's social vigilante thriller. They also delve into some spoilers and talk about the good, the bad, and the absurd about this blockbuster. Listen till the end. And of course, SPOILERS ALERT!

If one thing Author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is known for is her ability to scout through timelines and transport her readers to another world with ease and poignancy. If 'The Palace of Illusions' and 'The Forest of Enchantment' enabled Draupadi and Sita to break out of their moulds, with her novel 'Independence', she charted a territory that marks, perhaps, yet another milestone in India's partition writings by women. Tune into this episode of News and Views to listen!

Mohammad Muneem urf Alif is a singer, songwriter, scriptwriter, professor... the list goes on. In this special podcast, Alif and Prateek talk about his journey so far, his Coke Studio song "Kya Karie Korimol", and more, but not without some of Alif's singing. Tune in for a music journey through Alif's career.

This episode is a part of Think.NXT with Raghav - a peek into the future through India's eyes! On this podcast, our editor-in-chief, Raghav Bahl, chats about CBDCs which are one of the misunderstood and lesser know financial instruments in the world today. But Raghav's got a fundamental question - How are Central Bank Digital Currencies different from Cryptocurrencies? Will these be able to lend us the security that crypto so notoriously cannot? What government intervention means for open blockchains? He sits down with some amazing experts like Tanvi Ratna, the Founder & CEO of Policy 4.0; Siddharth Menon, the Co-founder of WazirX; Punit Agarwal, the Founder of KoinX; and Praveen Chakravarty, who is not only a politician but also a public intellectual. Some really interesting questions and insights were raised throughout the episode. Let us know your thoughts on this episode.

On 10 June 2022, protests against BJP leader Nupur Sharma broke out across the country for the derogatory remarks she made about the Prophet. Javed Muhammad was named the orchestrator of these protests. Post this their house was demolished. It has been a year since that day. Was this demolition a political statement? Was it a warning to discourage potential dissent? I spoke to Afreen Fatima, prominent activist, and Javed Muhammad’s daughter to unravel the price this family paid. Tune in!

We recently saw a movie that completely baffled us. A film, that, without pointing fingers, talks about a menace that we all are dealing with. One rumour, one 'afwaah' that can change your life. It is caste and religion agnostic and can even harm the people who spread it. In our studio today we have writer and satirist Sanjay Rajoura, along with Somya Lakhani, Senior Editor at The Quint, and we will be talking about Sudhir Mishra's latest offering 'Afwaah', starring Sumeet Vyas, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Bhumi Pednekar in lead roles. We also talk about the problem of fake news, and self-censorship, and how the film exposes the hypocrisy of 'liberal elites' through a powerful climactic twist. Towards the end, Sanjay urges all young people to call out bigotry in their families to achieve true 'vaichaarik azaadi'.

This episode is a part of Think.NXT with Raghav - an awesome peek into the future through India's eyes! On this podcast, our editor-in-chief, Raghav Bahl, chats about cryptocurrencies, which are one of the hottest fintech buzzwords in the world today. But Raghav's got a fundamental question - How in the world does crypto get its value? Is it just a funky math problem? Can we seriously create any real value by solving equations? He sits down with some amazing experts like Tanvi Ratna, the Founder & CEO of Policy 4.0; Siddharth Menon, the Co-founder of WazirX; Punit Agarwal, the Founder of KoinX; and Praveen Chakravarty, who is not only a politician but also a public intellectual. What do you think? Would it be possible to buy a piping hot pizza using crypto in the future? Let us know your thoughts on this episode.

On World Dance Day, eminent performer Dr Anita Ratnam gets candid on outlook towards classical dance, music & if institutes are sites of reprieve.

In the last few years, perhaps because of the internet, and also because of the COVID pandemic itself, we've seen a barrage of misinformation in the realm of health like never before - whether it's home remedies, easy immunity boosters, or even unscientific use of medication like Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine. But, through the pandemic years, some people have been fighting against this barrage, particularly online. On this episode of News and Views, we speak to Hepatologists Dr Abby, Phillip, known online as TheLiverDoc, and YouTuber and science communicator, Pranav Radhakrishnan (ScienceIsDope) about the trials of debunking health misinformation online, facing trolls, and why it's so important to tackle them head on.

The UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act was passed in November 2020. Since then, several people have been arrested for forceful conversions. But Fatima Khan's investigation of various districts in UP has revealed a major loophole. Many of the FIRs and subsequent arrests in cases of forceful religious conversion go against the very law that they are based on. In this episode of News and Views, Fatima Khan and her senior editor, Aditya Menon talk about some behind the scenes anecdotes, and the story behind this story. Tune in!

Why is India seeing another COVID wave now after months of a lull? Should you be worried about the rising number of cases? Will XBB 1.16 cause more severe disease? Past President, Public Health Foundation of India, Dr K Srinath Reddy, explains. Tune in!

In this episode, we sit in conversation with Supriya Sobti Gupta, the director of Caught Out, Netflix’s latest sports documentary. Gupta reveals interesting trivia from the making of the documentary as well as her revelations while investigating India’s biggest match-fixing scandal. She also talks about the moral obligation she felt to dedicate the core of her story to the unsung heroes who dug deep into delivering the truth to the world yet remain unnamed and unnoticed. Listen till the end to find out some questions she would ask people like Mohammed Azharuddin and MK Gupta

In this special podcast, we talked to Vivaan Shah, an actor, playwright, and novelist about his new book 'The Forsaken Wilderness'. He also talked about the relationship between his father Naseeruddin Shah and Shah Rukh Khan, his love for theatre, and why he stopped drawing comic books. Listen to the full podcast to find insights from Vivaan's life and art.

After spending over 28 months in jail, Siddique Kappan, who was slapped with a UAPA case, finally walked out on 3 February. The Quint's Fatima Khan sat down with him to talk about this entire ordeal. They talk about the events that led to his arrest, what were the conditions he was kept in by the UP Police, how he managed to stay hopeful throughout this time and whether he sees a future for journalism in India. Tune in!