The Eat, Watch and Binge Read Podcast

The Eat, Watch and Binge Read Podcast

By eatwatchbingereadSociety & Culture
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The Eat, Watch and Binge Read Podcast episodes

  • The Booker Shortlist special: Damon Galgut, Patricia Lockwood, Anuk Arudpragasam and Salman Rushdie
    Join Dhruv, Anisha and guest podcaster Bhargavi for Episode 24 of the EWBR podcast as they discuss their favs from the Booker shortlist. From Patricia Lockwood's No One Is Talking About This and social media to Anuk Arudpragasam's searing tale of Sri Lanka and war, A Passage North. And of course Anisha's eerily prescient guess re: the actual winner, Damon Galgut's The Promise.
    A slight detour into the old Booker favourite Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children, The Ground Beneath Her Feet and magical realism. Also 1997's game changing A God of Small Things by literary magician Arundhati Roy.
    Listen in today! On Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcast.
    25 min
  • The Booker Longlist episode: Sunjeev Sahota, Kazuo Ishiguro, Karen Jennings, Francis Spufford and more.

    Join Dhruv, Anisha and guests Vasanth and DJ for Episode 23 of the EWBR podcast. This week we’re talking about the glorious Booker longlist. 


    Sunjeev Sahota’s searing masterpiece China Room, with its duality and past/future narratives deserves its place on this list. Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and The Sun with its complicated questions on Sentience and Humanity. Karen Jennings’ succinct colonial/post colonial work, The Island. Francis Spufford’s World War II novel about second chances and what ifs and the fragility of life. There is a LOT happening in this episode - listen in now!

    And while we are at it, what/how much value should be truly be ascribing to literary prizes ?

    Oh, and for good measure, some eerily prescient predictions by Anisha re: the (now announced) winner of the 2021 Booker.

    36 min
  • Sex Education, Nine Perfect Strangers, Sally Rooney, Elif Shafak and Brunch

    Join Anisha & Dhruv for Episode 22 of the EWBR podcast. We discuss the new season of the smash Netflix hit, Sex Education, Nicole Kidman starrer Nine Perfect Strangers and Anisha's thoughts on Sally Rooney's delicious new masterpiece, Beautiful World, Where Are You? There's more - some astounding writing by Elif Shafak in her booker nominated 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange World.

    A little detour re: the joys of Brunch. And if all this wasn't juicy enough, we have a massive row on the merits of Orange Is the New Black. Tsk tsk.

    Listen in now!

    28 min
  • The White Lotus and Privilege, Marvel’s What If, Alternate Realities, Paul Auster and Kate Atkinson

    In Episode 21 of the podcast, Anisha and Dhruv discuss their favourite “What If” books and movies. From Paul Auster’s seminal 4 3 2 1 to Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life and companion piece, A God in Ruins to Sue Townsend’s lighter Queen Camilla to Curtis Sittenfeld’s alternative history novel, Rodham. Also, books we’ve struggled with: Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride for Anisha and Lincoln in the Bardot by George Saunders for Dhruv. There’s loads on the watch front too: Marvel’s What If and HBO’s latest prestige offering, The White Lotus, with razor sharp observations on privilege and class. We end with Anisha’s controversial admission on Pixar movies. Oh yes we do. 

    WATCH

    Marvel Studios What If / The Butterfly Effect / What is the butterfly effect? / That’s 70’s Show / Dude, Where’s My Car? / Sliding Doors / Grey’s Anatomy / Inglorious Bastards  / The White Lotus / American Pie / Our discussion on Netflix and its binge strategy / Shang-Chi  / Up  / Opening montage of Up

    BINGE READ

    4321 by Paul Auster / New York Trilogy by Paul Auster / Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld / Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend / Life After Life by Kate Atkinson  / A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson / Strange Hotel by Eimear McBride, also discussed in my latest blog post / A Girl in A Half Formed Thing by Eimear McBride  / Lincoln in the Bardot by George Saunders / Our short story episode / 

    Follow us on Instagram and listen to our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor and wherever you get your podcasts by typing EAT WATCH BINGE READ. 


    29 min
  • Pandemic Reading, Sunjeev Sahota, Indian Fiction, Modern Love, Ted Lasso and Why We Hate Riverdale


    In Episode 20 of the EWBR Podcast, Anisha & Dhruv discuss Anisha's latest foray into the saucy older woman/younger man trope, The Idea of You, by Robinne Lee (pure pandemic escapism, apparently).

    Then we have two solid Indian/origin works of contemporary fiction:

    (1) The Year of the Runaways, by Booker nominee Sunjeev Sahota (we can't wait to read China Room!), which deals with the plight of immigrant works in Sheffield. What happens when the English class system runs smack bang into the Indian caste system and its prejudices?

    (2) Neel Mukherjee's devastatingly beautiful "The Lives of Others", which follows the decline of the previously well off Ghosh family. Calcutta, Marxism, Politics, Family Ties and Changing the World.

    On the watch front we both have a bit of a (therapeutic) rant about the travesty that is Riverdale (UGH). A bit of love for Modern Love, especially the season 1 episode titled "At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity". Some beautiful Richard Linklater-esque vibes there - so, so lovely. Finally, views on Ted Lasso season 2 as well as a throwback to our short stories episode.

    Listen in now!

    29 min
  • Mindy Kaling, Never Have I Ever, The Green Knight, Historical Fiction, Diverse Stories and Brunch Recos
    In Episode 19 of the EWBR podcast, Anisha & Dhruv discuss Mindy Kaling’s smash hit, Never Have I Ever and the importance of diverse story telling and casting. Re: diverse casting and "irrelevant ethnicity", see also Priyanka Chopra starrer Quantico and the upcoming Dev Patel medieval adventure, The Green Knight. Naturally all this talk of colour blind casting is incomplete without Armando Iannuccio's charming movie, The Personal History of David Copperfield and erm, Shonda Rhimes' Bridgerton.
    On the books front, there’s Antonia Hodgson's cracking thriller about life in an 18th century debtors prison, The Devil in The Marshalsea. Anisha's top record for this week is Zakiya Dalila Harris’ joyous work, The Other Black Girl.
    Also, uh, we talk about The Bold Type (Dhruv: "again?!" Anisha: "why not, eh?")
    Anisha’s been painting the town red and tells us about her foray to "Pali Hill". Dhruv’s not doing too badly himself and has been brunching at Milk Beach (oh Brunch, how we love you and everything that you represent).
    Listen in now !
    27 min
  • Cat Person, Art, Life, Big Little Lies, Marriage Story and Reese Witherspoon
    In Episode 18 of the EWBR podcast, Anisha & Dhruv talk about Art borrowing from real life – what are the boundaries and when does “borrowing’ becoming “stealing” from someone else? We talk through the controversy around the now viral New Yorker story “Cat Person”, recommend Joe Swanberg’s super chilled hipster-esque show Easy and agree to disagree on the prestige television juggernaut that was Big Little Lies. Then, a little segway to Noah Baumbach’s work, most notably the Adam Driver/Scarlett Johansson starrer Marriage Story i.e. the modern day successor to Kramer vs Kramer. Finally, an oldie but a goodie from 1999 – Alex Payne’s razor sharp satire, Election, with a career best Reese Witherspoon performance.
    Listen in now!
    26 min
  • Featuring MasterChef India finalist Sadaf Hussain, Butter Chicken, Kebabs, Food Science and the Cultural Appropriation of Food
    Our first guest! We're absolutely thrilled to have author, chef, food enthusiast, Masterchef India 2016 finalist and one half of the epic Naan Curry podcast, Sadaf Hussain join us for Episode 17 of the EWBR podcast this week.
    We discuss food and cultural appropriation, the dominance of North Indian food outside India, food science, slow cooking vs new fangled quick hacks and some great food books, including the works of Marryam Reshii, K T Achaya, Madhur Jaffrey, Claudia Roden and Nigella Lawson.
    Plus, some great anecdotes around food history involving spices, heritage rice and using 12th century recipes in 2021.
    ONLY EAT FOR TODAY
    Sadaf Hussain's and Archit Puri’s Naan Curry Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/naan-curry-with-sadaf-and-archit/id1536365543
    Sadaf's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/sadaf_hussain/
    Sadaf's writing in the Mint: https://lifestyle.livemint.com/author/sadaf-hussain
    Sadaf's book, Daastan-e-Dastarkhan https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sadaf-Hussain/e/B08KGPJK6L%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
    Episode with Krish of Masala Lab https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/ep-31-when-science-evolution-met-food-ft-krish-ashok/id1536365543?i=1000526550925
    Our discussion on turmeric lattes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/turmeric-lattes-rick-stein-and-how-we-read/id1543659210?i=1000503855217
    Where does Tamarind come from? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarind
    The myth of Noor Jahan and the 'paan' lipstick: https://www.prithiman.com.np/2021/04/do-you-know-story-of.html
    Balloon bread: https://tastyhomerecipes.wordpress.com/2017/05/29/how-to-make-turkish-balloon-bread/
    Our discussion on biryani: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/biryani-the-crown-jhumpa-lahiri-etc/id1543659210?i=1000501806819
    Cook books
    KT Achaya, read more: https://caravanmagazine.in/reviews-essays/kt-achaya-pioneering-scholarship-indian-food
    Marryan Reshii https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Flavour-of-Spice/dp/935009908X
    Madhur Jaffrey https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780091949938
    Julia Child https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780241956465
    Nigella Lawson https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9781784874865
    Claudia Roden https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780140466096
    Mansoolasa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasollasa, read here: https://ia601607.us.archive.org/31/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.208789/2015.208789.Manasollasa-Of.pdf
    Follow the Eat Watch Binge Read Podcast at https://www.instagram.com/eatwatchbingeread/
    You can listen to all our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor and wherever you get your podcasts. Just type EAT WATCH BINGE READ in the search bar.
    You can read Anisha's blog at http://www.fashionandfrappes.com and can follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fashionandfrappes/ and contact Dhruv on https://www.instagram.com/eatwatchbingeread/
    31 min
  • The Bold Type, The Devil Wears Prada and Women Bosses, Kamila Shamsie and Favourite Sandwiches
    In Episode 16 of the EWBR podcast, Anisha and Dhruv discuss that iconic institution, the (possibly not so humble) sandwich. Coronation chicken, bacon, salmon and cream cheese, egg mayo, with a sneak inclusion of the Dishoom naan roll by Dhruv. How do different cultures perceive this iconic masterpiece - light lunch, fun snack, boring stomach filler or all of the above? Then a drastic change in tone as we talk about Kamila Shamsie’s increasingly relevant book "Home Fire" - a modern day retelling (of sorts) of Antigone, set against the contemporary British political climate.
    On to telly/movies then -what is it with older women bosses being portrayed as horrible people? Anisha's been watching The Bold Type, which avoids the ye olde "Bitch Boss" stereotype and manages to do with nuance and skill what The Devil Wears Prada never did.
    All this and more - listen in now! EAT
    Dishoom bacon nan roll https://store.dishoom.com/?_ga=2.40199138.1360945484.1625834741-1503315731.1601583530
    The story of the packaged sandwich https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain
    Marks & Spencer Farmhouse Chedder sandwich
    BINGE READ
    Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9781408886793
    WATCH
    The Bold Type https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bold_Type
    Devil Wears Prada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_Wears_Prada_%28film%29
    Follow the Eat Watch Binge Read Podcast at https://www.instagram.com/eatwatchbingeread/
    You can listen to all our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor and wherever you get your podcasts. Just type EAT WATCH BINGE READ in the search bar.
    You can read Anisha's blog at http://www.fashionandfrappes.com and can follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fashionandfrappes/ and contact Dhruv on https://www.instagram.com/eatwatchbingeread/
    26 min
  • Batman, Killing Eve, Grey’s Anatomy, Ice Cream and Masala Thumb-up
    In Episode 15 of the EWBR podcast, Anisha & Dhruv (finally) meet and after a ridiculously sized lunch decide to talk all things Batman: from the game changing graphic novels Batman: Year One and The Killing Joke to the movies, which range from seminal to frankly, dumb (yes George Clooney, we’re looking at you). Moving on from the caped crusader, Anisha dishes on her latest reads, Other People’s Marriages by Kerry Fisher and The Pretenders, by Agatha Zaza. A little detour back to our recommendation from last week, Mare of Easttown and our binge watch obsession with Grey’s Anatomy (far more cerebral that it gets credited for), which naturally lead us to Sandra Oh/Jodie Comer and the ground-breaking season 1 of Killing Eve. Bonus: a super quick recipe (if we can even call it that) for Masala Coke. Finally, what is up with Anisha’s strawberry ice-cream fixation?!
    BINGE READ The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9781401294052 Other People's Marriages by Kerry Fisher (out on 16/7/2021, thanks to Netgalley for a ARC) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57841258-other-people-s-marriages The Pretenders by Agatha Zsazsa (thanks to Netgalley for the ARC) https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9781913099565 My May Reads 2021 https://fashionandfrappes.com/may-reads-everything-i-read-in-may/ EAT Strawberry gelato/ sorbet from Venci 
    WATCH (watch or not) Batman vs Superman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_v_Superman:_Dawn_of_Justice Vanilla Sky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_Sky From Dusk till Dawn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Dusk_till_Dawn Mare of Easttown https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_of_Easttown Grey's Anatomy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey%27s_Anatomy Sex and the City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_the_City Killing Eve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Eve.
    Follow the Eat Watch Binge Read Podcast at https://www.instagram.com/eatwatchbingeread/
    You can listen to all our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Anchor and wherever you get your podcasts. Just type EAT WATCH BINGE READ in the search bar.
    You can read Anisha's blog at http://www.fashionandfrappes.com and can follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fashionandfrappes/ and Dhruv on https://www.instagram.com/eatwatchbingeread/
    24 min

About The Eat, Watch and Binge Read Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Weekly conversation between Dhruv and Anisha covering food, TV, movies, books and more. Come for the recos, stay for the bantz.