This is one of the top 10 podcasts from India. This weekly podcast aims to examine both the seen and the unseen effects of our actions. Presented by journalist Amit Varma (winner of the prestigious Bastiat Prize for journalism in 2007 and 2015), it highlights a specific public or economic policy, delves deeper into politics or behavioral science and neuroscience, and in every episode dissects the seen and unseen effects.
It’s a podcast where the host usually has one speaker or a panel of experts, to discuss a variety of disciplines. The subjects covered are as diverse as the ‘History of Desire in India’ to ‘India’s Supreme Court’. The weekly podcast, which was started in 2016, has 184 episodes till date. Some of its episodes are as long as over two hours while some are only 15-minutes. Take for example, episode 169, ‘Taking Stock of Covid-19’ where Varma takes us through how the world has changed post the pandemic, what the lockdown meant for the world and India and how the future may turn out to be.
One of the latest episodes is ‘Finding Dara Shukoh’ (Episode 184) on the rivalry between Dara Shukoh and Aurangzeb, which is often considered a foundation stone for Islam, in India. It’s an interesting episode where historian Supriya Gandhi joins Varma to delve into the whole narrative of how Islam originated in our country. The episode is almost two-hours long, but at no point do you feel like its dragging. If your interest lies in Indian history and religion or are a fan of podcasts, this is one show which isn’t to be missed.