What is the actual state of elephants in India? How many of them are currently in captivity, and what are the reasons for that? And what challenges do conservationists face in trying to help them? After the recent Oscar win of The Elephant Whisperers, Vivek Menon and Alok Hisarwala Gupta join Sandip Roy to answer these questions, and talk about the extent to which a documentary like this helps the conservation cause.

Vivek Menon is the Founder Trustee & Executive Director, Wildlife Trust of India. Alok Hisarwala Gupta is a lawyer and founder of the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

The literary world may know him as the author of books like The Death of Vishnu, and The Age of Shiva, but Manil Suri is also a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. And in his latest book, The Big Bang of Numbers, he writes about creating the universe in seven days using only maths. In this episode, he joins Sandip Roy to talk about the book, how maths helped save his life, why it is hard to teach it, and the time he danced to 'Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja'.

Also, listen till the end for an audio postcard about the 150th anniversary of Calcutta's trams.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed bby Abhishek Kumar


(Manil Suri's photograph by José Villarrubia)

Why did Pathaan become such a success? Is it just an action film or a 'daring act of subversion'? And what does it say about the role of Muslims in Hindi films? In this episode, host Sandip Roy talks to Professor Ira Bhaskar, and author Ghazala Wahab about the depiction of Muslims in Hindi cinema, and how it changed over the years according to the changing politics of the country.

Ira Bhaskar is Professor, Cinema Studies, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University. And Ghazala Wahab is executive editor, FORCE, and the author of the award winning book, 'Born A Muslim: Some Truths About Islam In India'.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Utsa Sarmin
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In this episode, host Sandip Roy talks to the novelist and columnist Shobhaa De about her recently released memoir 'Insatiable' — from her early modelling career and how she developed her writing style, to her past controversies and her reaction to Pathaan.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Who is taking care of India’s elderly? UN statistics project that 48 million Indians will be over the age of 80 by 2050. That’s more than the population of California. But is India ready for that? In this episode, host Sandip Roy speaks to Himanshu Rath and Indira Jayaprakash about the lack of elderly care facilities in the country, the issue of accessibility and the impact of Covid, changing family dynamics, and economic concerns.

Himanshu Rath is the founder and chairman of Agewell Foundation Himanshu Rath, and Indira Jai Prakash is the former Professor of Post Graduate Department of Psychology, Bangalore University, who has researched ageing for years in India.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Utsa Sarmin
Edited and mixed by Abhishek Kumar and Suresh Pawar

In this episode, Sandip is joined by veteran journalist and the founding editor of People’s Archives of Rural India (PARI) to talk about his book, The Last Heroes: Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom, which tells the incredible stories of freedom fighters who still have not been recognized for their contribution and struggle.

Episode image credit: Bharat Tiwari

Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Utsa Sarmin
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

In a new anthology titled, Indian Christmas, writers Jerry Pinto and Madhulika Liddle bring together essays that capture the many unique flavors of an Indian Christmas — from a village in Nagaland, to Bow Barrack in Kolkata, and from churches to Goa to even rural Jharkhand. In this episode, they join host Sandip Roy to talk about what is really unique about Christmas in India.

(Cover image of Jerry Pinto by Ashima Narain)

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

What makes Indian languages different from other ones? We all know about a mother tongue, but is there also a father tongue? Why did invaders from Uzbekistan bring us Persian? And will English cannibalise every other language or is the future of Indian languages something like Hinglish or Nagamese? In this episode, host Sandip Roy talks to Peggy Mohan about her book, 'Wanderers, Kings, Merchants', which tells the story of India by digging into India's languages.

Peggy Mohan has taught linguistics at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia, and is the author of three novels.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

When it comes to sex education, there are many questions that don't have easy answers. Like, who should do it? Should it be parents or schools? And when should you do it? And should it just be about the reproductive system or infections or abstinence? Or should it also include pleasure? In this episode, host Sandip Roy talks to Reema Ahmed and Ramya Anand who have been trying to figure out the answers to these questions in the Indian context.

Reema Ahmad is a life coach, sexuality educator, and the author of 'Unparenting: Sharing Awkward Truths with Curious Kids'. And Ramya Anand is a Senior Programme Officer with Tarshi (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues), a not-for-profit organisation that works on issues of sexuality.

Produced by Shashank Bhargava

Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar