We have with us Soumya Gupta who is the Editor of the Consumer Economy Bureau at Mint and has been a journalist for over 12 years reporting on consumer, retail, media and tech companies shaping India’s consumer internet economy.

She is the Author of Bharat Bluff a book on the cons of India’s internet revolution, and that’s our topic for today!

We discuss how people across generations are being scammed in an increasingly low-trust society by strangers and people we know. From "digital arrest" frauds and cryptocurrency schemes to misleading finfluencers and even phone numbers swapped on Google listings, scams have become pervasive, affecting individuals and families alike.

Yet there is remarkably little meaningful conversation about this growing problem. The book aims to change that. It seeks to start a broader dialogue, moving us away from the instinct to ridicule victims, a reaction all too common in India and towards understanding, empathy, and practical support. Because anyone can be vulnerable, and awareness is our first line of defence.

You can buy the book here - https://amzn.in/d/0aev1C9E & https://cmykbookstore.com/products/bharat-bluff 

You can read Soumya’s work in Mint here - https://www.livemint.com/authors/soumya-gupta 

Soumya’s piece on Scammers using Big Tech for Cons - https://restofworld.org/2026/tech-facebook-google-whatsapp-scams/ 

Megh from Desi Academia and MV and Sarthak from PCCI and BJPod join the esteemed Aakar Patel to talk about his new book and how he sees the new India shaping up in all her glory, understanding where we are and exploring where we can go from here.

Please reach out to us [email protected] for any comment or feedback and please like share and subscribe to spread the good word.

Buy the book here - https://amzn.in/d/08ELtP1x

Aakar’s chat with Priya Ramani at the Bangalore International Centre - https://youtu.be/11gQp8jR9Bg?si=Rzx9G68O1MSzl3XU

You can follow Aakar on Twitter - https://x.com/Aakar__Patel

You can follow PenPencilDraw on Twitter - https://x.com/penpencildraw

You can follow PenPencilDraw on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/penpencildraw/

Link to the Desi Academia pod- https://open.spotify.com/show/2v6ymNb9uoxMc9gaCKJYLp

Aditya and Raj are joined by Gaurav Sabnis @gauravsabnis to talk about the newfound global popularity of the Indian tourist. The reasons behind it and what could be done about it.

Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any love, hate or feedback for us.

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Gang gets together to talk about the Norwegian mood that the PM found himself into and then of course the whole Melody saga. The gang also talked about the Cockroach Janta Party phenomena.

Tune in to listen.

Like, share and subscribe please aapko mummu kasam.

Desi Academia Podcast and BhaJaPod team up for a look at the desi centric online magazine Juggernaut and their recent controversies. They also discuss the LifeofPuja creator Pujarini Pradhan and the discourse around her being an ‘industry plant’. 
Megh from the Desi Academia Podcast, Amrutha and Richa are joined by the effervescent Dr. Sumaira Nawaz who brings her perspective from teaching young adults into the discussion.
Tune in to listen to discussions about desi Kamala Harris discourse, Shilajit’s potential use by mountain goats, why people insist on using the word ‘decolonize’, authentic Nihari recipes and more.
The Desi Academia Podcast is available on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/2v6ymNb9uoxMc9gaCKJYLp?si=LirKa0bgTEyozX0mMzWtMw
The Desi Academia Podcast featuring Dr. Sumaira Nawaz @NaTurkNaHindu, S9E4: What is Islamic Studies? Wrong answers only, with Manan and Sumaira is available on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0p888RBXikbjbCTIGbgwgK?si=MS2wmbT_QDuzW3qmUgBlvQ

Gang talks about... well you know what they talk about.

At some point they also rank all the BJP CMs on looks so that is something and idhar udhar ki batein wagairah wagairah.

Some reflections on the times we live in.

Cheers!

Aditya and Richa from the Bhajapod interview Sushant Singh, eminent journalist, lecturer of South Asian studies at Yale and executive editor of the Caravan Magazine. They talk about the abstention of Indian leadership in the world, Jaishankar’s foreign policy philosophy, the domestic crisis and malaise in governance that informs recent moves toward internet censorship and attack on voting rights.

They also cover how independent media is covering important stories and fighting back. 

Sushant Singh’s Recent Articles: Pakistan's Iran Diplomacy Is Setback for India- https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/03/pakistan-iran-diplomacy-mediation-munir-india/

The US-Israel war on Iran marks the decline of the Modi era | The Caravan

Aditya is joined by Richa and first timer Sarthak (@devellix), as they spend time debunking what passes for historical and scientific analysis on the Indian internet. Tune in to hear about how ancient Egyptians were operating with batteries, why the Amazon could be a large garden and what happens when you use ChatGPT for all your research. That and many other artifacts from the absurdity that is considered as smart in our country.

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Aditya and Nishant are joined by the desi academia fame Vatsal to talk among other things the physics scientist extraordinaire Dr. A Chivda, they then talk about films, popular internet phenom, Laura Loomer, what is science etc etc.

Tune in, and like and share and then subscribe.