Thinking People

We talk about conversations, specifically the evolving nature of the interview and talk show in the algorithm age—how has the format changed, what makes it endure, and why do we love to watch people talk? 

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Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Photo: SubwayTakes via YouTube

Stray Thoughts is an ongoing series in which we explore the pop culture and technology news and trends we’ve been obsessing over, but because life moves fast, haven’t shared with each other yet. In this episode, we talk about what makes Apple TV originals distinct from other streaming shows, the rise of algospeak, and react to Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore.’

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

We talk about romance in popular culture in a time of profound romantic dissatisfaction and technological isolation—how are our stories and favourite cultural products responding? Has pop culture, like life, decentred romance? 

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

We talk about what it means to be in your 30s, a decade that is more celebrated than ever before, but arrives without a script. When the old markers of adulthood don’t apply anymore, how do thirty-somethings today see themselves and imagine their futures?

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

We talk about ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ and the film’s engagement with ideas of ambition, work, and the changing nature of the media industry. We ask: does the film justify a sequel twenty years after the much-loved original?

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

We talk about Dua Lipa—not the disco-revivalist pop artist, but the 21st century celebrity whose career is forging an alternative path to stardom. Who is she, where does she stand in the pop music landscape, and what does she tell us about fame and life in the 2020s?

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Photo Credit: @dualipa on IG

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

In this episode, we’re joined by our producer, Sourav Das, to explore how AI is weaving itself into our lives—shaping how we work, what we consume, and increasingly, how we think.

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

We talk about cricket—the sport, the religion, the institution. We trace its position in India’s history, politics, and collective imagination and ask: what does cricket really tell us about India?

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Photo Credit: Srinu.Mallampalli (Wikimedia Commons)

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

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Follow us on social media:⁠ Twitter⁠⁠⁠ | Instagram⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠

Write to us at [email protected]

We talk about what it means to live and work in Mumbai—its contradictions, much-discussed “spirit,” and the struggles and ambitions that underpin life in the city. This episode is a part of our ongoing “Living in” series in which we explore how life is changing across India’s cities.

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

We end the year with the movies, books, and tech that stayed with us in 2025. Our producer Sourav Das joins this wide-ranging conversation about our year-end recommendations, from our favourite movies—90s’ classics with undeniable onscreen chemistry and other hyper-specific genres—to the desk worker’s perfect mouse.

Hosts:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ketaki Sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sanaya Chandar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Production:⁠ ⁠Sourav Das⁠⁠

Music: Aksheya Chandar (aka⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Multiverse Concept⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Follow us on social media:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠ Twitter

Write to us at [email protected]

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References:

• Logitech MX Master 4
• 'The Great Enshittening' from The Gray Area with Sean Illing