Journalist and writer George Packer’s Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century is an enduring account of the force behind the Dayton Accords which famously ended the Balkan wars. Packer’s sweeping diplomatic history is based on Holbrooke's diaries and papers and gives a peek into the life of man both equally admired and detested. Packer’s other works include The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq and Blood of the Liberals. I...
Mar 20, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 22
A timely session which brings together a cross section of voices and perspectives to understand feminism and its kaleidoscopic dimensions. Bee Rowlatt embarks on an extraordinary journey looking at the life and legacy of the first celebrity feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, in her latest book In Search of Mary . Mariam Khan in her anthology It’s Not About The Burqa, writes about why feminism needs to die. Both of these writers, alongside playwright, poet and editor of The Things I Would Tell You: B...
Mar 19, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Tom Stoppard, one of the greatest living playwrights, is a towering and beloved literary figure. Known for his dizzying narrative inventiveness and intense attention to language, he deftly deploys art, science, history, politics, and philosophy in works that span a remarkable spectrum of literary genres: theater, radio, film, TV, journalism and fiction. His most acclaimed creations, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Real Thing, Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia and Shakespeare in Love, remai...
Mar 19, 2021•45 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Drawing heavily from Roman Catholic theology and philosophy, Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is a long narrative poem divided into three parts: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The text and its imaginative vision of the afterlife is a masterpiece representing Dante’s journey from darkness to error to the final ascent to God in Paradise. Author and literary critic Piero Boitani is a Dante scholar and is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the Sapienza University in Rome. Academic and au...
Mar 18, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 19
A book charting an exceptional life and career, Unscripted by screenwriter, director and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi takes us on an extravagant journey through the life, mind, method and madness of perhaps one of the greatest filmmakers Bollywood has seen today. Over the past three decades, Chopra has seen it all, from putting together low budget student films to establishing the largest production house within the Indian film industry, he has presented the biggest...
Mar 18, 2021•43 min•Season 3Ep. 18
TM Krishna, public intellectual and acclaimed classical vocalist in the Carnatic tradition, is dedicated to working across the spectrum of music, society and culture. The Edict Project, in association with Ashoka University, is a creative collaboration that seeks to musically rediscover Emperor Ashoka’s ancient edicts -- philosophies that speak of a more humane society built on empathy and compassion created during the period of the lockdown, they convey Krishna’s conviction that the world can b...
Mar 17, 2021•43 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Tripurdaman Singh's latest book Sixteen Stormy Days: The Story of the First Amendment of the Constitution of India is a fascinating look into the turbulent history and contentious legacy of the First Amendment of the Constitution. Rooted in parliamentary debates, press reports, judicial pronouncements and existing scholarship, the book takes a deep dive into the series of events that led Prime Minister Nehru to make this sweeping amendment in a constitution he had so passionately championed. Sin...
Mar 17, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 16
The power of the ‘tweet’, the ‘like’ and the ‘share’, and other digital interventions has never been more evident as online avenues become increasingly viable sites of protest. They offer invaluable potential for raising awareness, engaging in structural critique, mobilising support and driving action while also allowing for a range of negative mirror activities. An urgent session on the positive power of digital activism as founders of virtual social justice platforms discuss the rise of new mo...
Mar 16, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 15
How do we understand culture? Does it stem from civilisational history or is it an evolving way of life? How do we reinterpret and regenerate its roots? In a pandemic ridden, constantly transforming world, how does innovation and creativity manifest in society, and how can they be promoted despite the difficulties of our times? Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is the President at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Director of the Public Policy Research Centre. Mugdha Sinha i...
Mar 16, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Celebrated American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic and political activist Noam Chomsky’s book Who Rules the World? questions the United States and its exercise of power throughout conflict areas in a post 9/11 world. Critically analysing claims of freedom and human rights, Chomsky in his celebrated style investigates the era of modern day imperial powers and their role in climate change, nuclear proliferation and the overall threat to human civilisation. In ...
Mar 15, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Jeremy Seal in conversation with Max Rodenbeck. A gripping and multi-layered political narrative, Jeremy Seal’s A Coup in Turkey: A Tale of Democracy, Despotism and Vengeance in a Divided Land unravels the events leading up to the coup that removed the traditionalist Prime Minister Adnan Menderes of Turkey in 1960. Through eye witness accounts, Seal lays bare the striking parallels between the past and the present and digs deep into the heart of the feud. Seal’s other books include The Wreck at ...
Mar 15, 2021•45 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Randeep Guleria, Chandrakant Lahariya and Gagandeep Kang in conversation with Maya Mirchandani. Will India win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? When can we expect a safe and effective vaccine? How should we respond to this 'new normal' as an individual and as a community? What is the way forward? Offering insights on how India continues to fight the pandemic, Till We Win is a must-read for everyone. A detailed, objective and hopeful account of our times, this is a book for the people, fo...
Mar 14, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 11
To mark Pandit Ravi Shankar’s birth centenary, Oliver Craske has penned a comprehensive biography of the sitar maestro. Ravi Shankar excelled in Indian classical music and played a leading role in its post-independence revival within India, before becoming its pioneering global ambassador. A childhood immersed in dance and music with his older brother Uday Shankar, and the rigorous discipline of learning the sitar under the tutelage of the legendary Allauddin Khan, prepared him for transforming ...
Mar 14, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 10
The Himalayan forests determine the well-being of India’s Northern Plains. Scholar, traveller, and activist Shekhar Pathak’s important book T he Chipko Movement: A People’s History has been rendered in English by translator and publisher Manisha Chaudhry. It tells the story of how local communities in Kumaon and Garhwal, especially the women, resisted forest felling by loggers. Relying on extensive research and primary sources, it documents the antecedents, the inspiration and the impact of this...
Mar 13, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Anish Kapoor has succeeded in transforming the cool, conceptual, and minimal approach to sculpture by adding lyricism, metaphor, and the heat of the primordial. Objects spill out from their own parameters, yet they also stand serenely as in meditative focus as if for ritual. Typically, the sculptures appear abstract, with Kapoor's intention to promote self-reflection made most obvious when using mirrored surfaces. He does not wish to present a prescriptive idea, but instead to create an environm...
Mar 13, 2021•47 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Scholar and author Daniel Simpson’s recent book The Truth of Yoga takes us on a journey through the origins, development and concept of Yoga. Cutting through myth and misinformation, the text provides a comprehensive overview of this age-old discipline which is celebrated worldwide for its mental, physical and spiritual benefits. Simpson teaches courses on yoga philosophy at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and at Triyoga in London. He draws on his experience as a journalist to make the subje...
Mar 12, 2021•40 min•Season 3Ep. 7
With the growing friction between China and the world, exacerbated in the wake of the pandemic, the need to understand the political legacy of Mao is urgent and growing. In Maoism: A Global History , eminent British scholar, author and translator Julia Lovell takes on the ambitious and challenging task of covering the sweeping and turbulent history of Maoism in one accessible text, bringing attention to Mao and his ideas in a new light. Through a series of interviews, archival references and eth...
Mar 12, 2021•40 min•Season 3Ep. 6
The concept of Dharma is unique to Indian philosophy and difficult to translate as it implies different things in different contexts. Hindu narratives are ambiguous and avoid prescriptive moralities. The Dharma and duties of different individuals face conflicts of ethical and human dimensions. Distinguished economist, writer, scholar and translator Bibek Debroy speaks of these dilemmas and the ethical and karmic choices inherent in them. Debroy heads the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Counci...
Mar 11, 2021•39 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Acclaimed author and historian Vincent Brown's groundbreaking geopolitical thriller Tacky′s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War takes on the Atlantic slave trade with a subversive and powerful reconstruction of the history of insurgency, rebellion, victory and defeat. With a keen emphasis on the seminal uprising that upended the dominant imperial rule of the British Atlantic world, eventually becoming known as the Tacky’s Revolt and ultimately leading the way for abolition, the book explo...
Mar 11, 2021•40 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Academic and paleontologist Steve Brusatte’s book The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World is a stunning narrative covering more than 200 million years. Showcasing a new and complete history of these magnificent creatures it draws from cutting-edge science dramatically bringing to life their lost world and enigmatic origins. Academic and writer Lisa Randall's book Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe takes us on a journey acros...
Mar 10, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Patrick Radden Keefe has always had a way with his words, powerfully laying out stories that illuminate a much larger picture. An award-winning staff writer for The New Yorker , Radden Keefe’s recent literary escapes include an eight-part podcast called Wind of Change, which investigates the strange confluence of espionage and pop music during the Cold War. His other recent work includes the book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland , which follows the story of a mi...
Mar 10, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 2
What does it mean to be Indian? Politician and celebrated author Shashi Tharoor's latest book, The Battle Of Belonging: On Nationalism, Patriotism, And What It Means To Be Indian , evaluates the historical and current political trends impacting the “idea of India.” Tharoor explores these changing interpretations of nationalism, patriotism, citizenship and belonging as well as the nature and future of nationhood. In an important conversation with journalist Faye D’Souza, he discusses these themes...
Mar 09, 2021•40 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Purushottam Agrawal in conversation with Kavita Sharma. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 13, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 88
His Eminence Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche in conversation with Puneeta Roy. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 12, 2021•38 min•Season 2Ep. 87
Michael Williams, John Varghese, Margaret Alva and Paul Swarup in conversation with Deepak Mukarji. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 11, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 86
Joshua Pollock in conversation Rishabh C. Kothar. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 10, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Rana Safvi in conversation with Manimugdha S. Sharma. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 09, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 84
Madan Gopal Singh and Navtej Sarna in conversation interspersed with music. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 08, 2021•46 min•Season 2Ep. 83
Pavan K. Varma in conversation with Malashri Lal. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 07, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 82
Pavan K. Varma and Philip A. Lutgendorf in conversation with Harish Trivedi. This episode is part of the Voices of Faith series for JLF Brave New World, presented by the Kamini and Vindi Banga Family Trust.
Feb 06, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 81
