The Openhouse Podcast

What really counts as bullying? There is no easy answer to this question, which is why discussing bullying is interesting. Our tenth episode is a student special with Saswato Ray and Kanishka Verma where we talk about how to stand up to bullies, the link between popularity and bullying and why bullies aren't always bad.

Sex isn't wrong or yucky or scary. It's the most natural thing ever and that is why we need sex education in schools. This episode, we talk to Meenakshi Nathani, a 17-year-old from Kolkata and Ellnaaz and Saanjali from Shhhout, a non-profit organization working to remove the stigma around sex education.

Last year was year zero for education and learning. We paused and thought about what education was meant to do and what learning should really be like. In this episode, we speak to Anisha Lakhmani, an Openhouse student and her father Harish Lakhmani about what their experiences have been like in the last year. 

Eating disorders aren't just about losing weight. Eating disorders are intertwined with a person's mental health and emotional well being. This episode, we talk to Anushka Srivatsan, a 15-year-old who struggled with an eating disorder and Dr. Samyak Tiwari, a psychiatrist based in Lucknow.

It's good to be aware of social issues, or as they say it "to be woke". But there is a darker side too. Teenagers feel immense pressure to keep up, say the right things and know everything that's happening in the world. Openhouse talks to Urvi Priyadarshi, an 11th grader from Bangalore and Gurmehar Kaur, author of Small Acts of Freedom about how they deal with this pressure and what it means to be woke.

Society is not comfortable talking about periods openly. In this episode with Anjali Surana and Subhiksha Manoj, we discuss how periods are perceived in school, the need for boys and men to be educated about menstruation and why we still talk about them in hushed tones. Anjali is in Class 12 and runs Fullstopp Organization to end period poverty. Subhiksha is from Boondh, a social enterprise working at the intersection of menstrual literacy, policy and sustainable products.

Relationships with parents are complicated. Especially when you have a single parent. In this candid conversation with Sharvesh Ravikumar and Ketaki Varma, we talk about feeling like the odd one out, people's reactions to single parent families and the importance of being financially independent. Sharvesh is a 15-year-old, but wise beyond his years and Ketaki is an arts administrator based in Delhi.

This Valentine's day, we talk about body positivity for boys and what beauty means. Openhouse talks to Srijan Bhattarcharyya, a 17-year-old from Kolkata and Anwesh Sahoo, a visual designer with HDFC, about the conversations in locker rooms, taunts and jibes about looks and how to cut the noise out.

Sexuality is central to our identity. Coming out to your friends and family can be a daunting idea. Openhouse talks to Eesha Gorti, a student at Greenwood High School in Bengaluru and Alex Mathew, a queer cis man who has been performing drag for seven years. They talk about their personal experiences, intersectionality in the LGBTQIA community and what they hope to hear from friends and family.

2020 has been the year of mental health. Did you ask yourself how you should support your friends if they're depressed? Or did you think about how you'd like to be supported? Openhouse talks to Parikshit Roychowdhury, a student at St. Xavier's Collegiate School and Kriti Jalan, a licensed counsellor and founder of MindTheGap.