During the Cold War, the US sought allies to support it during the war against the Soviets. Pakistan was one of those allies. In exchange, Pakistan received financial aid and military support from the US. How did the state of Jammu and Kashmir become an unintended recipient of trouble during this cold war? Source material for my research 1. 'India after Gandhi' by Ramachandra Guha 2. Sarah Paine's lectures on the 'War for India ' 3. How to constrain the Pakistani Jihadi Complex - research piec...
Jun 26, 2025•25 min
When the British left India in 1947, they decided to leave one lasting impression - divide the lands between two factions that had different views of the world. The partition of India and Pakistan had a large impact on the hills and valleys of Jammu and Kashmir. The most recent massacre in Pahalgam in Apr 2025 has left many of us wondering - why a conflict that began in 1947 still remains unresolved? I went back to the pages of Ramachandra Guha's 'India after Gandhi' to find answers to some of m...
Jun 03, 2025•32 min
Pope Francis , a man who embraced the need for environmental protection, a man who sought to undo some of the past damages done to indigenous tribes across the world, a man who tried hard to help immigrant refugees, recently passed away. The 1.4 billion Roman Catholics across the world now need a new leader. How will they elect their next leader? 11-yr old Dheer from Surat, India tries to find out more about this. Explore more 1. Listen to the episode recommended by Dheer - about refugee Olympic...
May 16, 2025•15 min•Season 3Ep. 8
If you ever wondered if there was any place on earth without mosquitoes, or about how big the largest library on earth looked like, or about where you would bump into the most number of English speakers in the world - you have landed upon the right podcast episode. This summer special features a quiz between two sixth graders (Advik and Devansh). More things to check out 1. Listen to the episode on Captain Underpants and its author 2. Listen to the episode on wheat and lemon in Yemen 3. To join ...
May 12, 2025•27 min
In this episode, we review a book ‘the Immortals of Meluha’ by Amish Tripathi. This is the first book in a 3-part series, and is based on Lord Shiva. Earlier this month, a group of kids signed up to read this book along with me, and we got together at the end of the month, to discuss what we felt about the stories, the characters, the author’s writing style and the opinions of some critics. Co-hosts: Prakriti (11 yrs), Agastya (12 yrs), Smyan (10 yrs), Shambhavi (15 yrs) Additional info 1. More ...
Apr 30, 2025•20 min
A photo with sled dogs of Greenland wading through knee-deep water, surrounded by pristine glaciers and mountains, has gone viral. The scientist who took this photo realised that most people who saw it on social media found the picture scenic, but he realised that something about the picture was scary. If the same place were photographed year after year, we would notice all that is unusual. Aesthetics aside, these photos would show us a changing trend in many corners of the earth. Climate change...
Apr 23, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Darjeeling's zoo recently got a rare upgrade. Its zoo will serve two purposes: on one side, it will house creatures that tourists can visit and watch as they stroll around; on the other side there will be something rare and new housed in these premises. This makes it the first of its kind in India. This episode is along the lines of a 20-questions game, where 13-year old Sathwik joins the host Sangeetha, asks a series of questions and finds out what is rare and new in this zoo. Explore More 1. T...
Apr 09, 2025•11 min•Season 3Ep. 4
India's SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) mission, led by ISRO, aims to demonstrate autonomous docking between two spacecraft. It is sort of like a hug in an orbit in space. This skill is critical for future lunar bases, satellite servicing, and space stations. Think of it like high-tech Lego in space—snapping parts together perfectly! A big step for India's space adventures, given India's ambitions for deep-space exploration. Other interesting things 1. We write a weekly newsletter on current e...
Mar 28, 2025•14 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Captain Underpants is a super popular book series that has sold more than 80 million copies all around the world. Kids love its funny jokes and surprising story twists. The author, Dav Pilkey, wasn’t always great at reading or sitting still—he had something called dyslexia (a reading disorder) and ADHD (which makes it hard to focus). But as a kid, he used his time while he was sent out of class to draw funny pictures and tell stories to his friends. Instead of letting challenges stop him, he tur...
Mar 21, 2025•35 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Project Tiger was launched in the 1970s in India. There was much fanfare, wildlife reserves were created and tiger protection became important to the Indian government. While Project Tiger stopped the killing of tigers, these big cats did not grow in numbers that much. But that trend changed in 2010. For the first time, between 2010 and 2022, tiger numbers nearly doubled, from ~1700 to over 3600. This has happened despite a rise in India's human population and a decline in forest area. How did I...
Mar 07, 2025•21 min
What does it take to write well? Is it about acquiring better language skills or is there a secret recipe for developing intriguing plots, or does it come from consistent writing practice? Sonia Mehta, a children's author with more than 170 published titles to her credit, shares stories from her writing journey. She has authored both fiction and non-fiction books for children as young as five, and for young adults as well. More about our guest in this episode 1. Sonia Mehta on Instagram 2. About...
Feb 28, 2025•32 min
There are startups that solve problems for people - like the ones that help people rent a pet for their Instagram photos. And then, there are startups that solve real problems - like bringing light into people's homes. Soma Bags is doing just that. This episode carries the story of how its founder Innocent James got the spark of an idea from one of his professors in university. He had seen him sew a small solar panel onto the pocket of his jacket and this had help him keep his smartphone charged...
Feb 13, 2025•12 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Story narrators are the voices that brings stories and characters to life on stage. Both children and adults often stay mesmerised and get a very different perspective to both the plot and the characters, compared to what they get when they read the story. Story narrations help readers think of different plot twists, story endings and even appreciate characters with grey tones. In this episode, Antara Goswami, a story narrator shares how she goes about putting together her narrations, what props...
Feb 10, 2025•22 min
Ten young readers from India (aged 8-15) recommend one book from amongst all the books they read in 2024. If you thought all recommendations would hover around the fantasy and adventure genre, be prepared to be surprised. I have listed below the books they recommended. If you want to hear the whys and the whats of the book, give the episode a listen. Books recommended 1. Atomic habits by James Clear 2. The Midnight Gang by David Walliams 3. The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi 4. Sherlock H...
Jan 30, 2025•25 min
2024 was a year that marked some interesting achievements in the field of space. Missions to moon have been relaunched by NASA, the International Space Station's ending days have been charted and India's defense systems just tested new missiles. To speak about the space stories that inspired them the most, four primary schoolers joined us to share their views. 1. Order your copy of our book for kids ' Bag of stories from 2024' by clicking here. Each copy costs INR 399/- (we are able to fulfil ...
Jan 24, 2025•19 min
Paleontologists uncovered that the T-Rex was quite likely way bigger than they had originally thought it was. Based on recent fossil finds and some intelligent computer simulation, it turns out that if we remade Jurassic Park today, we would have had to create a much larger version of the T-Rex. Apart from this scientific discovery, there were lots of other interesting news stories in science and wildlife this year. To speak about these, four primary schoolers shared their picks of the best stor...
Dec 17, 2024•29 min
Children come up with ideas and stories like magicians pulling rabbits out of hats—nobody knows how, but it’s endlessly entertaining. It’s a mix of imagination (and maybe a little too much candy). But how can they turn their ideas into a well-written story? Menaka Raman, an award-winning children’s author, joins us in this episode. She chats with five young, budding authors about the tricks in her bag for writing great stories. 1. More about Menaka Raman on her website 2. Follow Menaka on Instag...
Dec 07, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 112
Neeraj Chopra's gold medal was India's first ever gold medal won by an athlete in Olympics. There was much adulation and rejoicing in the country. Sumit Antil also won a gold for India at the Tokyo Paralympics and successfully defended his title at the Paris Paralympics. For all his deeds, he went unnoticed relatively. This episode captures the story of his journey and challenges. Most importantly, the story captures the essence of what an 8-year old perceives as important / interesting in Sumit...
Nov 29, 2024•17 min•Season 2Ep. 111
One of the earliest children's book series that took young readers into magical lands was the 'Chronicles of Narnia' by C.S.Lewis. In this podcast episode, two young readers (10-yr olds Darsh and Prakriti) share what they think of this book's plot, the writing style and how they would change the book (if they had authored it). 1. More on books that we recommend for young readers 2. Support our show by buying us a cup of coffee 3. Feature in our podcasts (for kids aged 7-15), regis...
Nov 21, 2024•11 min•Season 2Ep. 110
More people in S.Korea bought strollers for dogs than they did for children (i.e. human babies). The S.Korean government has been alarmed by this trend. While people who have been observing changes in S.Korea over the past twenty years are not really surprised, they still are worried. Why are people not happy with dogs getting more strollers than human babies? What next? Listen to the full episode to find out why. Co-host: Smyan Shetty (10-yrs old) 1. Where idlis came from 2. Support our show ...
Nov 15, 2024•15 min•Season 2Ep. 109
One street that is often used by cyclists and pedestrians in Prague has been renamed as Nicholas Winton street. He was no Olympic athlete but had accomplished something else of Olympian proportions. During 1939, he had helped hundreds of Jewish children flee from Nazi persecution and gain safe entrance into Britain. For over 50 years, his actions went unremarked until a British TV show brought them into common memory. As we see ever more wars and conflicts, and refugees fleeing these zones, this...
Nov 05, 2024•9 min•Season 2Ep. 108
Earth is wonderful, but one day we might need more space to live, especially as our world changes. If we could travel to Mars and build homes there, that would solve a lot of our problems right? SpaceX just launched a giant rocket that has taken one step closer to getting to Mars. Before you get excited about booking your next summer vacation in Mars, hold onto that thought for a few years more. Listen to Darsh (10 yr old, Chennai) and Rohan (10 yr old, Chennai) to find out about why the SpaceX ...
Oct 25, 2024•18 min•Season 2Ep. 107
Just like the tale of the old man whose three sons used their silver coins differently, this episode explores how two countries used their pots of liquid gold differently. This episode is styled like a 'Discovery Game'. We drop new information about what happens in each country every few years, as the game goes on. The cohost (Devansh, 5th grader from Kolkata) makes guesses about what happens to each of these countries. Devansh also gets to decide where he would like to live in (and is allowed t...
Oct 18, 2024•26 min•Season 2Ep. 106
Stephen Hawking and his daughter Lucy Hawking forayed into writing a science-fiction book series for young kids. This book (George's secret key to the universe) is the first of the series. The plot involves two young children traveling in space involving a mixed bag of adventures. The authors have also incorporated many images from NASA's repository to bring real science into the hands of the young. In this episode, four primary schoolers joined us to share their opinions of the book as well as ...
Sep 20, 2024•24 min•Season 2Ep. 105
When sixth grader Sophia came home with a sullen face from school, her mother Pilar Schiavo was busy contesting California's State Assembly elections . Sophia was so overwhelmed by the volume of work expected of her that she requested her mum to ban all homework if she got elected. Pilar did win the election. She also remembered her daughter's trauma. Keeping these in mind, she has formulated a bill for the State to pass - a bill that mandates limiting homework or altogether banning it, in certa...
Sep 17, 2024•9 min•Season 2Ep. 104
Food technologist and communications expert Sarika Singh speaks with Nayra (5th grader) and Shambhavi (10th grader) about foods that help kids gain height, improve their immune system, and whether having junk food is all that bad in childhood. Resources 1. Book - Eat Right 4 Your type 2. Sarika's website - communications101 3. Listen - why bournvita and complan are unhealthy for kids 4. Indian Academy of Paediatrics - height and weight chart for children 5. National Library of Medicine -...
Sep 05, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 103
A food blogger on Instagram raised alarm bells about the so called 'health' claims made by drinks aimed towards the young. Following this, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India directed these companies to remove these claims from their labels. Joining us in this episode is Sarika Singh , a communications expert to discuss what's wrong with their health claims. Child guests: Nayra (5th grader, Mumbai) and Shambhavi (10th Grader, Delhi) Additional references 1) Read: Article in Eco...
Aug 29, 2024•24 min•Season 2Ep. 102
Exactly one year ago, on this day, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission landed its Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover on the South pole of the moon. To commemorate this historic event, India declared that it would celebrate National Space Day every year, on Aug 23rd. When the lander and the rover touched down on the moon, India held the distinction of being the ONLY country ever to have achieved landing on the moon’s south pole. This was a far cry from its early days when India's space scientists bega...
Aug 22, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 101
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped foot on the moon. 2024 marks 55 years since this achievement. A forgotten astronaut was a part of this mission and we speak about his role and contribution to this mission. Since the 1970s, there has been a lull in space missions - the kind that sends more people to the moon. However, things have started getting hotter again and NASA is working towards resuming moon-landing missions. We speak about what has prompted this change of heart. C...
Aug 16, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 100
China's taken a giant leap in the world of electric cars, racing far ahead of most countries. More than half of the cars on its roads run on electric batteries, not on petrol or diesel. US does not want any electric cars from China entering its country. Why? Cohosts: Primary schoolers Advik (Chennai) and Smyan (USA) try to find the answer to this question. Recommended listens by Advik and Smyan 1. Wheat and Lemon - why are their prices hard to reckon? 2. Harry Potter book review 3. Queens who ru...
Aug 09, 2024•12 min•Season 2Ep. 99
