The Oddcast Show

Is vaping safer than smoking? Can an oxygen bar cleanse yourlungs? Is weed harmless?

Pulmonologist Dr. Swapnil Kulkarni joins us to break downwhat cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes, hookah, shisha, gutka and weed do to your body, with no sugarcoating. He explains why "less harmful" is usually an excuse, what happens inside your lungs the moment you smoke, and what recovery looks like from 20 minutes after your last cigarette to 20 years later.

We also talk about:

- Why vapes are banned in India but cigarettes aren't

- The worst X-ray he has ever seen

- Whether exercise can cancel out smoking

- Lung transplant costs and success rates in India

- Passive smoking and third-hand smoke

- What actually works to quit, including his own story

Guest: Dr. Swapnil Kulkarni, Pulmonologist & Lung Health Advocate, Pune.
Follow The Oddcast Show for more such odd but relevant discussions. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Why do people go to the temple, and is it really necessary if God is everywhere?

In this episode of The Oddcast Show, father and son Kunal and Suved have an honest, unfiltered conversation about faith, rituals and the mandir. Suved asks the questions many of us are afraid to ask. Kunal answers with stories, science and personal experience.

In this episode:

- Temple or home: where does prayer actually work?

- The science, energy and architecture behind temples

- Transactional prayer: are we making deals with God

- Why temples were once the centre of education, community and sanskars

- VIP darshan, donations and the commercialization of faith

- What other religious gatherings can teach us about community

- Trekking to remote temples: Bijli Mahadev, Kedareshwar Caves and more

- A message for the next generation

Do you go to the temple regularly, or pray at home? Tell us your thoughts, and send us topic suggestions for future episodes.

New episodes of The Oddcast Show are out every Tuesday and Friday. Follow and share with someone who’d enjoy this conversation.

Is Diwali really just about Shri Ram’s homecoming? Dr.Vineet Aggarwal says there’s much more to it.

In this episode, we walk through the 5-6 days of Diwali andthe stories behind each one:

- Dussehra, Navratri and the Ravan debate: hero, scholar or villain? What does Valmiki’s Ramayana say?

- Dhanteras: Dhanvantari (health) and Lakshmi (wealth)

- Narak Chaturdashi: Krishna, Narakasura and the 16,108 women

- Lakshmi Puja, Govardhan Puja and Bali Pratipada

- Bhai Dooj: the tale of Yama and Yamuna

- The ancestor thread: Shraddh, Yama Deepak and Deep Vriksh

- Halloween, Shab-e-Barat and Pitru Paksh: ancestor traditions around the world

- Ayudh Pooja, and why we worship pens, books and tools

- Dev Deepawali and Shiva’s victory over Tripurasura

Listen before Diwali for a fresh look at the festival oflights. Follow for more off but relevant discussions. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

A Gen Z son sits down with his dad to ask a question many young Indians are asking: how do you judge a government fairly?

Starting from the Cockroach Janta Party protest and the NEET paper leak, they compare life before and after 2014. They cover UPI and digital payments, GST and the e-way bill (with a real trucking-business example), the 2G and Commonwealth Games scams, and how the role of the opposition has changed. They also talk about what changed on the ground: ration cards, toilets, digital certificates and complaint systems.

The episode ends with a rapid-fire round and one message: look at both sides, do your own research, and vote on your own choice.

In this episode:

- Why Gen Z and older generations see politics differently

- The NEET paper leak and the protest, in context

- Why a government’s “report card” can’t rest on one issue

- Rapid fire: 2G vs demonetization, UPI vs Aadhaar

New episodes every Tuesday & Friday. Follow so you never miss one.

Is your house really an asset? Is gold the wealth we think it is? And what does it actually take to become financially free in India?Financial advisor and author Sameer Machave joins The Oddcast Show for a no-nonsense masterclass on money, investing and time.In this episode:- Why the typical Indian family's "locker + gold + LIC" plan no longer fits modern life

- His take on what LIC's business really is

- 41 years of data: Gold vs Silver vs Sensex (1981–2026)

- The 3 steps to financial abundance: raise income, keep expenses low, invest the gap

- Rent vs own: the EMI math and why timing matters

- Car vs Uber, and why he buys second-hand

- The "mango tree" philosophy of building passive income

- Why you shouldn't stop your SIP when markets fall

- Saving ₹40 of every ₹100, and how he built up to investing 50%+ of his income

- Lifestyle inflation and the Gen Z comparison trap

- How he raised his daughter to build passive income early

- Rapid fire: SIP vs lump sum, real estate, gold, term insurance, crypto

- Why he favours mutual funds, and the 3 rules to invest in them

- His top 3 habits of rich people from his book "25 Habits of Rich People"

Whether you're just starting out or rethinking your portfolio, this one is packed with practical ideas.Disclaimer: For educational purposes only, not financial advice. Views are the guest's own. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please consult a SEBI-registered advisor before investing.Follow The Oddcast Show for more such odd but relevant conversations. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Is the newspaper a daily discipline or an outdated habit?

In this episode, Gen Z son goes head-to-head with his millennial father on print vs digital news, short reels vs long reads, and whether being more informed just makes us more anxious.

We cover screen time, memory, algorithms, fake news andAI-generated content, why local news still matters, and why Indian homes never throw a newspaper away.

There’s even a rapid-fire round at the end: newspaper or notifications? Information or paranoia?

There’s no right answer, so listen in and tell us which sideyou’re on.
If you enjoyed this episode, rate, follow and share The Oddcast Show! New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Why does Navratri come four times a year? Was Holi originally a festival of love? And what did Karwa Chauth and Raksha Bandhan really mean before centuries of “lost in translation”

In this episode, Kunal is joined by Dr. Vineet Aggarwal todecode India’s festivals, from the luni-solar Panchang and Adhik Maas to Samudra Manthan, the Mahakumbh and Ganesh Ji’s origin story. They explore how seasons, nature, science and mythology are woven into the celebrations we know, and how some traditions got distorted over time.

In this episode:

- How the Hindu calendar works and why it’s soprecise

- Why our new year begins in spring

- Holi, Holika Dahan and the story of Prahlad

- Mahashivratri, Mahakumbh and Samudra Manthan

- The story of Ganesh Ji and why he is worshipped first

- Navratri’s four seasons and the science of fasting

- The real origins of Raksha Bandhan, Bhai Dooj and Karwa Chauth

- Janmashtami, Ram Navami, Dussehra and Diwali

New episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Followand share with someone who loves Indian culture!

A father is worried about what his 21-year-old son will doafter graduation, so he does what any parent would: he puts him on a podcast and asks.

In this episode of The Oddcast Show, the two debate government jobs, corporate jobs and startups. Is a Sarkari Naukri just a desk job, or can it offer adventure, from the army to the civil services? Are corporate jobs really full of travel, or are you on a leash?

Why does the son, who spent half the episode defending government jobs, pick a startup in the rapid-fire round?

Along the way, they cover:
- Job security vs high risk, high reward

- The myth of the corporate lifestyle

- Army bonds, pensions and purpose

- ESOPs and startup upside

- How career choices have changed in 30 years

By the end, the father concedes the debate and admits Gen Zis more rational and has more choices than his generation did.

The Oddcast Show is a podcast by a father and son aboutthings that are odd but relevant. New episodes are out regularly.

If you enjoyed it, follow the show, rate it and tell us what topic a father and son should tackle next.

New episodes every Tuesday and Friday

Is Shakti the same as feminism, or just a graceful word thatpatriarchy uses to keep women in their place?

Author and speaker Shefali Vaidya, our very first guest,returns to The Oddcast Show to unpack Shakti, Western feminism and the positionof women in Indian thought.

In this conversation:

- Purusha & Prakriti: equality and complementarity vs a fight against patriarchy

- Duty-based Indian philosophy vs rights-based Western thought

- What the scriptures and epics actually say about sati

- Purdah, invasions and how history shaped women’s lives

- The saree vs suit test and who we call “empowered”

- Savitri, Maitreyi and the Indian tradition of questioning

- Karwa Chauth, the bindi, and the “Lakshmi has come” reel

- Financial independence, choices and agency

- Rapid fire round

Her message to young Indians: understand before you reject.

Shefali’s historical claims draw on the research of Dr. Meenakshi Jain and others, and they reflect her own views. Tell us what you think.

Follow The Oddcast Show and share this episode with someone who’d enjoy the debate. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Our house runs on solar and the electricity bill is zero. Sodoes it matter if the light and fan stay on all day?

One of us says no. The other says absolutely yes.

In this episode of The Oddcast Show, a father and his Gen Zson debate whether free electricity means free to waste. Along the way they ask: Is solar really free? Is the sun truly unlimited? And what do 40 potatoes, a free hotel breakfast, an unlimited internet plan and a five-star coffee have to do with any of it?

In this episode:

- Why free solar isn’t as “free” as it seems

- The AC vs fan debate

- The Gen Z “climate warrior” roast

- The potato theory of resource management

- Why discipline matters more than the bill

- A science reminder: even the sun burns out someday

The Oddcast Show is a podcast started by a father and son to talk about stuff that’s odd but relevant. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.