In this enriching conversation, Gurnaaz Kaur engages with Ms. Nancy Hollander, an internationally recognised American criminal defence lawyer and human rights activist, best known for representing two detainees from Guantanamo Bay for being allegedly involved in the 9/11 attack. She was portrayed by actress Jodie Foster in the 2021 film The Mauritanian about the case of her client Mohamedou Ould Slahi. She won Ms. Manning’s release in 2017 when President Obama commuted her sentence, as for more than four decades she has been representing individuals involved in national security issues.

This episode dwells into the intricacies of the case of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, the detainee captured for his alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks and Al Qaeda as he was held captive for 14 years without charge. We discuss the repercussions of the Guantanamo Bay prison on US Foreign Relations and its impact on diplomatic relations along with the horrifying human right violations taking place at the conflict arena. Ms. Hollander imparts her expert views on global security and counterterrorism effects.

Para-diplomacy, defined as the engagement of sub-national actors in international relations, has gained significant traction in India, reflecting a broader trend towards decentralized foreign policy. This discussion aims to critically analyze the recent developments in para-diplomacy within India, assess their significance, and explore how these changes are reshaping India's foreign policy and global engagement.

The quadrennial Olympic Games is the most prestigious event in the sporting world. Hosting the games was once considered a national ambition among many governments. However, in recent decades, it seems that the economic repercussions of hosting the Olympics seem to outweigh the benefits. Many countries like Greece, Brazil and Canada went into debt crises after the games and experienced huge protests and dissent during the Olympics. Coupled with this, the revenue generated from the Olympics rarely covers even half the budget require to organise them. In this discussion, we seek to analyse what has changed in the economics of the Olympics and why nations are not as enthusiastic about hosting the games as they were before.

In this Interview, a part of our Samvaad series, we unveil how geopolitical shifts and economic policies impact gendered consumerism, creating disparities that ripple through markets worldwide. Advertising, a powerful cultural mirror, often perpetuates traditional gender roles, yet it also holds the potential to challenge and redefine them. By examining case studies from diverse regions and integrating insights from pop culture phenomena like the feminist movement in fashion, we delve into how gender identities are constructed and contested in the marketplace. This exploration offers a nuanced understanding of the global economic fabric, where every purchase is political, and every ad, a statement.

In this edition of Vichaar, we explore the theme of empowering women through reproductive health including menstrual health, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. The interview delves into common concerns, and challenges regarding access to reproductive healthcare in urban and rural settings as well as the broader societal implications. Dr. Smriti Agrawal is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. She is currently a professor at King George's Medical University. She has membership in several professional bodies like the Indian Fertility Society and the PCOS Society of India.

The 21st century can be characterized by the rise of technology, and therefore the human race has started the sociological processes of adapting itself  to this variable which has gotten added on to the equation termed as human life. Like every time period which has witnessed momentous political, sociological or economic changes, this era too will, and has already started to create novice laws, economic relationships, and human reactions, to accommodate the digital realm. 

However, one significant difference between today’s digital age and previous years of change, is that the current era is changing at a pace faster than ever seen before, and therefore the clock of adaptation is ticking at too fast a pace for an equal distribution of benefits, mitigative strategies and positive behavioral modification to homogeneously occur. 

Hence, this podcast aims to unravel and educate viewers on important terms like Privacy, Big Data and Surveillance Capitalism, which are steadily becoming the cornerstones of human society. Technology's relationship with law and an analysis of the preparedness of global legal systems to tackle the digital realm will also be done, in order to spread awareness about crucial characteristics of the coming ages.