The Sandip Roy Show

In this episode, Sandip Roy speaks to Laura T Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery at Sheffield Hallam University. They speak about the people still living in modern day slavery, the role of violence in overthrowing oppression, and her new book, ‘Azad Nagar: The Story of a 21st-Century Slave Revolt’.

At a time when nationalism and patriotism are increasingly conflated, historian Ramachandra Guha's latest book, Rebels Against The Raj, tells the story of seven remarkable westerners who went to jail or were expelled from the country for rebelling against the British. They were in today's parlance 'anti-nationals'. In this episode, host Sandip Roy is joined by Ramachandra Guha to talk about the book, and discuss these magnificent seven.

Data scientist Dr Bhramar Mukherjee joins host Sandip Roy to talk about the challenges of estimating India's real Covid death toll.

The pandemic has been tough on many of us, but for those with mental health problems, it's been even tougher. Former CEO of BP Ergo, and columnist Aparna Piramal Raje has had to deal with Bipolar disorder during this time, and which she talks about in her book, Chemical Khichdi: How I Hacked My Mental Health. While it has been hailed as a brief coming out story, it is also a handbook for those struggling with mental health issues. In this episode, she joins host Sandip Roy to talk about it.

On this show’s 100th episode, host Sandip Roy is joined by the iconic pop singer Usha Ushup as she takes a trip down memory lane, remembering her unique musical journey so far, recounting her experience of working in the Indian film industry, giving us a peek at her talent for mimicry, and discussing her authorized biography, The Queen of Pop by Vikas Kumar Jha. Do stay with us till the end of the episode for a very special surprise for our listeners, from the legend herself!

After five weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine not going as planned, what end game does Vladimir Putin have in mind? How well can India continue to walk the tight diplomatic rope? And how will this crisis reshape the geo-political chess game? In this episode, host Sandip Roy is joined by retired diplomat, historian, and former Indian Foreign Secretary Krishnan Srinivasan to answer these questions and more.

In veteran journalist Saeed Naqvi’s play, The Muslim Vanishes, overnight everyone Muslim, and everyone thing deemed Muslim in the country, suddenly vanishes into thin air. This leads to consequences that no one could have foreseen, including problems for those who wanted Muslims to vanish from public life. In this episode, Naqvi joins Sandip Roy to talk about his sardonic play, why the hindutva project needs the Muslim community, the results of the UP elections, the recent Hijab ruling, and more.

Journalist Adrija Roychowdhury joins Sandip Roy to speak about her new book, 'Delhi in Thy Name' which traces the history of the capital city through the naming of its streets. She delves into six neighborhoods of Delhi to trace the different trajectories and expressions of the past. She identifies Mughal influences in Chandini Chowk, the remnants of British colonialism in Connaught Place, and migration and partition histories in CR Park and Pamposh enclave.

Shrayana Bhattacharya is trained in development economics and is currently working at a multilateral development bank. But, to the surprise of many around her, she spent the last 15 years interviewing women who are Shah Rukh Khan fans. And she did this, to understand the Indian economy. Her book, Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh, details her research and reveals an emotional map of the economy. In this episode, she joins Sandip Roy to discuss what she found, and what the SRK fandom can teach us about womanhood.

We often use data to understand India and its problems. Be it data about unemployment, how we vote, what crimes we commit, and even who we choose to love. But data journalist Rukmini S' new book, Whole Numbers and Half Truths, talks about how we use numbers to make sense of all this, without realising that data can be misleading or that we might be misreading it. In this episode, she joins host Sandip Roy to discuss India's problem with data.