Disturbed Afghanistan has always fascinated writers and journalists. Its history has drawn people in. The absence of Central control, the terrible civil war within, foreign intervention and a staging point for the cold war to defeat the Soviet Union. Afghanistan has seen it all. And you thought it might have ended. After the sudden withdrawal of American troops, Washington has left Afghanistan to the Taliban, a group that they were bombing after 9/11. Pakistan is back in focus along with its all...
Apr 07, 2022•30 min
The story of Covid could not be told sitting in the studio, says journalist, anchor, columnist and author Barkha Dutt. What began as daily reporting of going to Delhi border and returning to the studio to put out the story of India’s fight against COVID after the 21-day lockdown was announced during the first wave, Ms. Barkha realised the story of the pandemic was not about policies, announcements and statistics. It was about reaching out to human beings behind the numbers. Her people-connect st...
Mar 27, 2022•37 min
In this episode, we are joined by Nalin Mehta, author of ‘The New BJP: Modi and the Making of the World’s Largest Political Party’, a book that looks at the factors behind the rise of the BJP to a position of hegemony in Indian politics. How did India become a BJP-centric polity, from first being ruled mostly by the Congress, to a period of coalitions drawn from regional players and socialists and then a bipolar system? Mehta examines all these templates. Guest: Nalin Mehta, Political scientist,...
Mar 16, 2022•44 min
In this episode, we are joined by Isaac Stone Fish, author of America Second: How America's elites are making China stronger , a book that traces China’s growing influence on America’s elites and corporations — how this influence has grown, how Beijing wields it, and how America should respond, while not compromising on its values. From Henry Kissinger to the leading lights of Hollywood, the book explains how China cultivated key opinion shapers in the U.S. and traces the history of U.S.-China e...
Feb 28, 2022•24 min
In "Whole Numbers and Half Truths", data journalist Rukmini S delves deep into a range of numbers to answer some of the burning questions India is dealing with, from crime and how India votes to how India handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on on-the-ground reporting and backed with data, the book questions some of the most deeply-held conventional wisdoms about politics and society in India. Guest: Rukmini S, author, Whole Numbers and Half Truths Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, T...
Jan 04, 2022•27 min
"Phenomenal Woman" is about Kamala Harris, the Vice-President of the United States. Chidanand Rajghatta not only talks about Kamala Harris, her links with India, and how she evolved through the rough and tumble of U.S. politics, but also through that narrative, he touches upon some of the fascinating and tectonic shifts that have been happening in U.S. politics. Guest: Chidanand Rajghatta, U.S. Bureau Chief, The Times of India Host: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu Edited by: Reenu ...
Dec 23, 2021•33 min
Kavery Nambisan belongs to a rare breed of writers – the doctor who writes fiction. She is a general surgeon – a domain where women are uncommon. Another uncommon thing about her career is that she is a rural doctor, having practised for the most part of her career in rural India. She has published seven critically acclaimed novels. " A Luxury Called Health: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Art, the Science and the Trickery of Medicine ". A Luxury Called Health is her first book-length foray into ...
Dec 15, 2021•34 min
The 50 anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation takes place on December 16. Much has been written about the Indian role and Delhi’s assistance to the Mukti Bahini. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta , who served in India’s mission in Bangladesh soon after liberation, has provided a riveting, insider account of Delhi’s preparations for a free Bangladesh – by no means an agreed goal within the Indian establishment in the early part of March 1971 – in his new book “ India and the Bangladesh Liberation War ”. Bu...
Dec 14, 2021•31 min
Saumya Roy speaks to us on her latest book " Mountain Tales" . It is a gut-wrenching story of the poor and marginalised who work and live at Mumbai’s Deonar landfill to earn their daily bread. Journalist Saumya Roy, who spent eight years researching the impact of urbanisation, over-consumption and waste mismanagement in Maximum City, describes it as ‘discarded desires’ of the moneyed-people. Roy initially planned to write a magazine article but in 2016 after fire erupted in Deonar’s garbage moun...
Nov 30, 2021•33 min
In his memoir, "Stories I Must Tell, The Emotional life of an Actor", actor Kabir Bedi details his unique life experiences. In the barely 300 pages of the book, Kabir speaks candidly of his great successes (Sandokan, Khoon Bhari Maang, Octopussy) as well as his failures and mistakes. Writing through the prism of his relationships, Kabir reveals the agony and ecstasy of being a husband, lover, parent and son to unique personalities. Host: Mini Anthikad Chibber
Nov 18, 2021•34 min
Amitav Ghosh speaks to us on his latest work of non-fiction “The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables For A Planet In Crisis” Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu
Nov 09, 2021•25 min
Syed Akbaruddin speaks to us on his latest book ‘India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win’ Syed Akbaruddin was India’s Permanent Representative to the UN when India scored an unprecedented diplomatic victory in 2017 by defeating UK for a seat on the International Court of Justice. India’s Dalveer Bhandari was elected a judge of the ICJ. Mr. Akbaruddin’s recent book ‘ India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win ’ is an account of the contest in which all five perman...
Oct 26, 2021•27 min
Prof Neera Chandhoke speaks to us on her new book, The Violence in Our Bones: Mapping The Deadly Faultlines Within Indian Society G. SampathOne of the big promises of democracy is that it would solve – to a substantial extent – the problem of violence. It is commonly held that one of the differences between barbarism and civilization is that barbarians tend to kill those they hate or disagree with, whereas civilized folks resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations – that is, by ...
Oct 18, 2021•35 min
In this episode of The Hindu on Books, Pallavi Aiyer speaks to us on her latest book ' Orienting: An Indian In Japan'. Through the book, Pallavi Aiyer draws a comparative image between the life in India and Japan. She draws a contrast between the way of life, environment and the general state of India and Japan. She also raises the issue of race, caste and other arbitrary societal norms which are posted in the minds of Indians where no such exist in Japan. One of the key difference she draws in ...
Oct 03, 2021•32 min
In this episode of The Hindu on Books, we are chatting with one the most acclaimed investigative journalist Josy Joseph where we talk about his new book " The Silent Coup ". The book answers the question "Is our democracy slowly being degraded?" He also talk about how people simply bend the rules of suits the wims of the ones in the power seats. Josy Joseph makes the reader ask where the democracy in India on the decline as the deep state uses the security apparatus for political ends? In what c...
Sep 12, 2021•33 min
In this episode, we are joined by Sanjaya Baru and Suhasini Haidar to talk about the new book " A New Cold War: Henry Kissinger and the Rise of China ” Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kissinger's historic 1971 visit that marked the start of the era of U.S.-China engagement, the book examines the legacies of the visit. We discuss in this podcast how the 1971 visit happened, its impact on the Cold War, and the evolution of U.S.-China relations in the years since. We particularly foc...
Sep 05, 2021•30 min
In this eposide of The Hindu on Books, we are sitting down for a chat with Nirupama Subramanian where she talks about her latest book " Murder on the Menu: The Sensational Story of the Tycoon who founded Saravana Bhavan " Twenty years ago, the murder case of Prince Santhakumar, a young tutor-turned-insurance agent, created a sensation in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere as it pointed to the involvement of P. Rajagopal, founder of what was once considered an empire in the field — Hotel Saravana Bhavan. T...
Aug 29, 2021•29 min
In their book, Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of The R.A.W and I.S.I , Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark make several explosive revelations, including about the Pulwama attack and alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. The two foreign journalists seem to have enjoyed an unprecedented level of access to the intelligence establishments on both sides, even working as back-channel diplomats after the Pulwama attack. In this book, the duo seeks to document the inner workings of the RAW and the I...
Aug 14, 2021•51 min
Malcom Gladwell says " The Bomber Mafia " marks a departure for him stylistically as a writer as he has never told a story before that was just one narrative with no social science. But there is a common thread across Gladwell’s books, which is his fascination with how the human psyche deals with conflict; and this book has that in spades. The Bomber Mafia follows the competition between the two men in “one of the grandest and consequential stages of the Second World War,” Gladwell says hoping t...
Aug 08, 2021•21 min
Kavitha Rao tells the stories of six women, who in the 19th and early 20th century challenged societal norms, fought gender and caste battles to tread an unconventional path and become doctors in her famous work " Lady Doctor: The Untold Stories of India's First Women in Medicine " The book helps us to see what it was like for these six women who defied every obstacle, balanced work and family lives, and left a lasting impression and impact on their peers and especially on women who joined the f...
Aug 01, 2021•31 min
‘ The Braided River: A Journey Along the Brahmaputra ’ is journalist-turned-author and Shillong native Samrat Choudhur's ode to his immediate neighbourhood. While the book pitches itself as travel, memoir and history rolled into one, it is in the latter two that it sparkles most. The book is yet another in a long line of academic scholarship and non-fiction that make a fervent plea against damming up the Northeast, a push triggered primarily by a hydropower race with China and as yet unfounded f...
Jul 24, 2021•18 min
Journalist Rasheed Kidwai's latest book “ The House of Scindias - A Saga of Power, Politics and Intrigue ” looks at the long-running Scindia dynasty whose story encompasses the Mughals, the British and the Gandhi dynasty in India. Whether on the same side or on opposing ideological poles, the Scindias have enjoyed long stints in public service and have seamlessly traversed the distance between royalty and democratic politics. Kidwai’s book profiles the family , and speaks about the difficulty of...
Jul 17, 2021•26 min
In this episode, we are joined by Vijay Gokhale , a former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China, to talk about his new book “ The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India ”, which is being published on July 19, 2021. The book examines the history of how China has negotiated with India through the lens of six significant moments in the relationship, from India’s recognition of the PRC to the 1954 Tibet trade agreement to the Chinese recognition of Sikkim and the aftermath of the India...
Jul 11, 2021•35 min
We are joined by on this podcast by Manoj Kewalramani to talk about his new book " Smokeless War: China's Quest for Geopolitical Dominance ". Kewalramani, a fellow at The Takshashila Institution who studies China, provides perhaps the first detailed and granular account assessing China's strategic and political responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book focuses on Beijing's geopolitical strategies as it looked to turn around a crisis at home and criticism abroad into an opportunity for China. ...
Jul 02, 2021•35 min
In this episode, we are joined by Jairam Ramesh to discuss his new book, The Light of Asia: The Poem That Defined the Buddha. Ramesh, author, Member of Parliament, former Union Minister, and Congress leader, digs deep in his new book to bring out the fascinating story behind the epic 1879 poem, The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold, that took the world by storm and in some ways, brought the Buddha's storyto the world at the turn of the last century. Ramesh's book is a biography both of the poem ...
Jun 20, 2021•29 min
Our guest today on the podcast is Ghazala Wahab , who's recently released book, Born a Muslim: Some Truths about Islam and India has created quite a stir, particularly in our present times. In contemporary politics, the debates and discussions around Hindus and Muslims are getting vitriolic and polarised and at the same time becoming more relevant. The author explains what it is to be a Muslim, a member of the largest religious minority in India today, and why the community lives in fear as prej...
Jun 20, 2021•58 min
In this episode of The Hindu on Books, we are chating with Vijay Gokale who was the Former Foreign Secretary of India. In his last work ' Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest' , Vijay discuss the Tiananmen Square protest that shook the power seats of China. After 32 years, since the incident in Beijing, we are in conversation today with Vijay Gokhale, then a young diplomat serving in Beijing, who was a witness to the drama that unfolded. The events of that summer would not only set the cour...
Jun 05, 2021•47 min
In this episode of The Hindu On Books Podcast, we are joined by Vinod Kapri , filmmaker and author, who speaks about his new book ' 1232 km: The Long Journey Home' , published by HarperCollins. The book tells the story of the March 24, 2020 lockdown and its impact on the lives of millions, told through the stories of 7 young men. Left for themselves in Delhi, they undertake a perilous journey home - the distance they cover on bicycles gives the book its title - as they encounter incredible obsta...
Jun 04, 2021•21 min
In this episode, we are joined by Shivshankar Menon , former National Security Adviser, Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China, who traces the history and evolution of India’s foreign policy and place in the world in the new book, “India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present.” Going back into history, the book looks at the origins and evolution of India's foreign policy and view of the world, from how India's leaders, in the early years after Independence, crafted the foreign policy of a n...
Apr 29, 2021•32 min
In today’s episode we are in conversation with author Sanjaya Baru about his new book India’s Power Elite: Class, Caste and a Cultural Revolution . The ascent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national arena has disrupted politics as we knew it and the BJPs’ subsequent dominance over political discourse has led sociologists and political commentators to find new idioms through which to document the changes that this brought about on the political and social sphere. In his book, Mr. Baru, a ...
Apr 21, 2021•21 min
