Few policy ideas in India have generated as much political heat as the caste census. From television studios to opinion pages, the argument is no longer just whether a caste census should be conducted, but what it is meant to achieve.

Is the exercise simply about collecting data? Does it focus only on historically marginalised communities? And can the act of counting caste alter social identities themselves?

In this episode, host Sandip Roy asks these questions to social activist and writer Anand Teltumbde, author of The Caste Census, and Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India, who also serves as the national convenor of the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The mountains are often imagined as an escape from city life. A place to visit, slow down, and leave behind. But for writer Anuradha Roy, they are something else entirely. The hills near Ranikhet are where she and her husband chose to move, turning a neglected cottage into a home over more than two decades, shared with family, animals, and a carefully tended garden.

In Called by the Hills, Roy reflects on a life lived close to nature but never apart from its pressures, documenting both its quiet rewards and the damage caused by climate change and unchecked development in the Himalaya.

This week on the podcast, Anuradha Roy joins host Sandip Roy to talk about what it means to make a home in the mountains.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

June is Pride Month around the world but does India need to march to that calendar? More Indian cities now hold Pride in winter, when it’s cooler and the streets are fuller. And that practical shift opens a bigger question, why has India so often taken its cues from the West when our own queer histories run deep?

And this week host Sandip Roy is joined by writer Sindhu Rajasekaran, whose new book traces how the British reformed and silenced India’s queer futures, to take a look at erased lineages and what they mean for Pride in India.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Fine dining in India has shifted dramatically. What once meant dressing up for a five-star hotel is now shaped by standalone restaurants that are bolder, more experimental, and at the centre of culinary buzz. And in an unexpected twist, some of the most talked-about spots today are tiny,  intimate 10 to 18 seaters, like Naar in Kasauli or Papa’s in Mumbai — where chefs are reimagining what a dining experience can be.In this episode of our occasional series on Indulgence, host Sandip Roy speaks to three restaurateurs featured in this year’s Condé Nast Traveller Top 50:

Gauri Devidayal, entrepreneur and restaurateur, co-founded The Table in Mumbai, as well as brands like Mag St. Bread Co., Iktara, and Magazine St. Kitchen. 

Shuli Ghosh, co-founder and creative force behind Sienna Calcutta. 

Yash Bhanage, founder and COO of Hunger Inc. Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., the company behind restaurants such as The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro, Bombay Sweet Shop, Veronica’s, and Papa’s.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

When people from upper castes talk about caste, it’s often through headlines — about atrocities or reservations — stories reduced to data, distant and impersonal. And even when caste violence is discussed, it’s usually set in faraway villages, rarely finding a place in books written in English.

That’s what makes Rakshit Sonawane’s novel The Scum of the Earth stand out. Drawing from his own life as a first-generation learner from a family that once faced untouchability and later embraced Buddhism, Sonawane tells a deeply personal story of caste and identity.

A graduate in English literature who has worked with media houses like The Indian Express, Mid-Day, and The Free Press Journal, he joins Sandip this week to talk about his journey and why he chose fiction to tell his truth.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Even though many of us in India immediately think of an eraser when we hear the word rubber, the material has long become an inseparable part of our lives. Yet, like many indispensable everyday items, its history is deeply tied to colonialism and slave labour.

With growing concerns about whether we have enough rubber to sustain our future needs, host Sandip Roy speaks with Vidya Rajan about her book Rubber: The Social and Natural History of an Indispensable Substance.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

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