Every election season, attention turns to India’s Hindi heartland,  a region central to the country’s politics and identity. It has produced most of India’s prime ministers and a large share of its parliamentarians, while also witnessing some of the most intense communal clashes and temple–mosque disputes. Yet, it also remains the cradle of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, a culture rooted in coexistence and shared traditions.

This week on the show, host Sandip Roy speaks with Ghazala Wahab, whose new book, The Hindi Heartland, traces the region’s complex history and examines its continuing influence on India’s politics and society.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

When we think of cheese, names like Brie, Gouda, or Cheddar usually come to mind — but nothing much from India. Yet India, home to the world’s largest dairy herd, is now witnessing a quiet but remarkable cheese revolution. At farmer’s markets, artisanal producers are offering everything from creamy classics to inventive varieties infused with Tellicherry peppercorns or curry leaves. This week, as part of our series on Indian indulgences, we explore how local terroir is shaping India’s cheese story. Joining host Sandip Roy are two pioneers redefining what Indian cheese can be — Namrata Sundaresan, cofounder of Käse Cheese, and Mansi Jasani of The Cheese Collective.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Many of us grew up with only a patchy knowledge of Bhutan. And these days, most stories about the country in India tend to focus on tourism. But what was it like to grow up in Bhutan in the 1950s and 60s? Kunzang Choden, who grew up in a landed household, explores this in her memoir, Telling Me My Stories, which paints a complex portrait of a country caught in the winds of change.

This week on the show, Sandip speaks to Choden about her childhood in Bhutan, the transformations she witnessed, and how they continue to shape the country today.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this episode, host Sandip Roy discusses India’s national sleep crisis, a problem that affects all ages, from anxious teenagers to overworked professionals, with Dr. G.C. Khilnani, a renowned pulmonologist and chairman of the PSRI Institute of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, to understand why sleeplessness has become such a widespread concern.

They discuss everything from sleep hygiene and circadian rhythm disruptions to insomnia, sleep apnea, and how modern lifestyles, screen addiction, and late-night habits are quietly eroding the quality of our sleep and our health.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In recent years, online retail has transformed how we shop—bringing everything from food to taxis to our doorstep. The convenience is undeniable, but the gig economy behind it remains largely unexamined. How does this system impact those who work in it, use it, or build it? This week on the show, host Sandip Roy speaks to social science researcher Vandana Vasudevan, author of OTP Please: Online Buyers, Sellers and Gig Workers in South Asia, to explore the hidden human stories behind the apps and algorithms that power our everyday lives.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Summer in India brings with it the irresistible charm of mangoes, and the predictable flood of mango themed stories. These usually blend nostalgia, tales of nawabi indulgence, exotic varieties, and the timeless Alphonso-versus-the-rest debate. But journalist Sopan Joshi, in his book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango, peels back that sugary surface to explore the mango’s deeper story—its fossil records, its genetics, its place in ecology, our culture, and the pressures of modern agriculture. 

So, as the mango season nears its end, host Sandip Roy speaks to Joshi to discuss the real state of the mango today.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Long relegated to the footnotes of history, Lal Bahadur Shastri is often overshadowed by the towering legacies of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. But what if Shastri hadn’t died suddenly after signing the Tashkent Agreement with Pakistan? Would Indira Gandhi still have become Prime Minister? And how might India’s political trajectory have changed?

In this episode, host Sandip Roy speaks to Sanjeev Chopra, author of The Great Conciliator, a new biography of Shastri. Chopra, a former IAS officer and former director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, traces Shastri’s rise to power and explores why India’s second Prime Minister deserves a closer look today.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

On June 25, 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of Emergency in India—an era marked by censorship, arrests, and a suspension of civil liberties. While the resistance within India is well-documented, far less is known about how Indians abroad responded. In this episode, on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, host Sandip Roy speaks with journalist Sugata Srinivasaraju, author of The Conscience Network, and Professor Anand Kumar, who helped form the group Indians for Democracy in the US. Together, they reflect on how the diaspora stood up to authoritarianism from afar—challenging the narrative, organizing protests, and showing that the fight for democracy crossed national borders.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this episode, host Sandip Roy Show is joined by author Ruchir Joshi who takes us back to Calcutta in the early 1940s, an era charged with political upheaval, global war, and cultural ferment. Set against the backdrop of Tagore’s death, Subhash Bose’s escape, the Quit India Movement, and the looming Bengal Famine, Joshi’s novel Great Eastern Hotel captures a city on the brink of transformation. Sandip and Ruchir discuss why the years 1941–1943 were pivotal, how Calcutta became a crossroads of empire and resistance, and how a diverse cast of characters from elite Bengalis to British expatriates and street pickpockets bring this moment alive.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

To what extent has gay representation in Indian popular culture evolved? Is it now simply trendy to include gay characters, or are these portrayals also becoming deeper and more meaningful? This week, to kick off Pride Month, we explore how the portrayal of gay lives in Indian popular culture has changed over the decades. Host Sandip Roy speaks to three queer voices from different generations to understand this shift.

Sridhar Rangayan is a filmmaker and activist who, along with his partner Sagar Gupta, founded the Kashish Pride Film Festival in Mumbai — the first queer film festival in India to be held in a mainstream movie theatre.

Santanu Bhattacharya is a novelist whose book Deviants follows three generations of gay men in a single family.

Rohin Bhatt is a queer non-binary lawyer practicing in the Supreme Court and the author of The Urban Elite v. Union of India.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar