The Times Of India Podcast

The Times of India's Shivani Azad explains the worrying spread of forest fires in Uttarakhand this year and what experts say are the bigger lessons to be learned from such calamities.

Journalist and author of 'H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars' Kunal Purohit explained the emergence and rise of a popular subculture, and its political implications.

Neelanjan Sircar, senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research, explains why turnouts may be low this election and why the political parties' campaigns feel more low-energy. He also explains the implications of this for the results of this election.

Two actors have already filed cases over fake videos of them endorsing a party during the ongoing elections. Karen Rebelo, deputy editor at fact-checking organisation Boom Live, had decoded how misinformation has evolved over the years in India and why artificial intelligence tools will make it so much harder to detect misinformation.

It turns out packaged baby food and 'health' drinks may have the same problem. Dr Arun Gupta from Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest explains how we can regulate our packaged food better so that we're not just eating sugar

Retired diplomat and expert on the Middle East, Talmiz Ahmad decodes the attacks by Iran and Israel and how to read into the pause of hostilities that the two countries seem to have settled for.

Author and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik explains why the attempts to make faith and rituals scientific are unnecessary and why being scientific shouldn't mean a discarding of faith.

Vikram Doctor, one of India's best chroniclers of the food industry, explains why we may pay more for chocolate-based treats this year and whether we are going to face a chocolate apocalypse.

Zeba Sikora from Project 39A at the National Law University in Delhi explains the concerns with the three new criminal law bills that are expected to be implemented later this year and how much they really reform the criminal justice system

Dr Jayesh Lele, honorary secretary general of the Indian Medical Association, talks about why a petition was filed against Ramdev and Patanjali and what action the case should have prompted.

The screening of 'Kerala Story' has prompted a political furore ahead of elections. Kabir Taneja, who's an author and Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, had explained why Islamic State failed to gain ground in India

Defence minister Rajnath Singh has said India will target its enemies on foreign soil if needed. Professor Rory Cormac from the University of Nottingham, who specialises in the study of covert action, and Ajai Sahni, who is Executive Director of the Institute of Conflict Management, explain the fallout of operations that take place outside India.

Policy analyst and commentator N Sathiya Moorthy explains why the agreement on Katchatheevu island was arrived at between India and Sri Lanka and why the campaign over the island isn't a great political or diplomatic strategy.

Author and journalist Sudheendra Kulkarni, who worked closely with LK Advani, talks about the lessons the former deputy prime minister's career offers for Indian democracy today.

Advocate Ramprasad Gupta, whose 18-year-long legal battle over his brother's killing resulted in the conviction of Mumbai 'encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma, talks to TOI's Sunil Baghel about the challenges he faced.

Trade unionist and human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case in Maharashtra, talks to TOI Plus's Alka Dhupkar about her new book (that just won an award), life in jail and why she's still an optimist.

Eminent political scientist Suhas Palshikar explains what worries him about Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, what the opposition hasn't done right and what it could mean beyond the national elections.

Dr Zahid Badroodien who works in the city administration of Cape Town talks about how they dealt with the worry of 'Day Zero' and dry taps, and the lessons other water-stressed cities like Bengaluru can take from them.

The Godfather released on March 24, 1972, inspiring films everywhere since. Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane and critic Jai Arjun Singh talk about why a film about an Italian mafia family remains relevant over 50 years later and why it remains an inspiration to filmmakers

Rama Bijapurkar, one of India's most respected voices on consumer behaviour, talks about what firms continue to get wrong about the Indian consumer and her worries about the Indian economy