A lot of the podcasts we listen to tend to be made exclusively in the United States and some of the times the content doesn’t travel as well to this side of the world. Here are five podcasts that are currently popular in India.
The Intersection
Every fortnight, The Intersection narrates stories that meld culture, science and history in India. Fans of podcasts like Radiolab and 99% Invisible, but who might also be looking for stories coming from the Indian subcontinent, will be particularly interested in exploring the 40+ episodes of this podcast, hosted by Samanth Subramanian (author of excellent nonfiction books such as This Divided Island and Following Fish) and Padmapurna Ghosh. Made keeping in mind science and culture geeks, the podcast is also extremely accessible for laypeople who want to absorb some useful trivia on a lazy weekday.
Kaan Masti
If you spend a lot of your time in the black hole that is YouTube, chances are that you’ve come across Hoezaay’s (Jose Covaco) hilarious misheard lyrics videos. He’s also a popular VJ/RJ and runs Kaan Masti along with co-host Suresh Menon. The two record stream-of-consciousness banter on all things life and use anecdotes from their personal day-to-day affairs to create laugh-out-loud comedy like no other. If you’re looking for pure, unadulterated, NSFW fun, put Kaan Masti on your queue now.
Maed in India
Wondering what indie music from India sounds like? Tune in to Maed in India, hosted by Mae Thomas, who not only talks about the hottest new tunes, but also does intensive interviews with independent artists and records acoustic shows by them. The weekly show has seen artists like Suraj Mani, Ankur and the Ghalat Family, Euphoria, Warren Mendosa, The F16s and Bombay Basement. Especially interesting was a Ladies Special series done in March, where Thomas spoke to some of the more interesting women in the indie space, including Sandunes and Mali, and also featured her own little mixtape of music by female musicians.
The Indian StartUp Show
In cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai, you can’t throw a stone without hitting someone who works at a start-up. So it’s no wonder that Indian StartUp Show is a popular podcast. Hosted by Neil Patel, the show talks to various people in the start-up space, from CEOs to designers, engineers and the marketing guys. There are more than 50 episodes already, and they are all super useful for those who are looking to start their own venture, whether in India or anywhere else in the world, or those who are looking to fine-tune their companies and are looking for troubleshooting answers.
SynTalk
In July 2014, Mumbai-based Jyoti Narula Ranjan started SynTalk (short for Synthesis Talk) — a “freewheeling interdisciplinary talk show with a philosophical approach to understanding the world from a long-term perspective”. Now in its third season, the show follows a strict format, where they invite three to four people from various professional or academic backgrounds to discuss a loosely defined topic. The show is completely unscripted, but the episodes themselves are produced beautifully and with a lot of detail. Topics range from the disciplines of molecular biology, literature and astronomy to neuroscience, history and sociology, all used to better understand the planet that we live in and the meaning behind human beings’ existence.
