Indicast - All Podcasts

The last time we were on air, Sania had won her first doubles Grand Slam title with Martina Hingis. In this episode we talk about her winning her third. But before that we get into Indias urban development minister announcing the first batch of 20 cities to be converted in to smart cities, Delhi's "Odd-Even" policy to counter being world's most polluted city, and the man who almost conquered Antar...

Sania Mirza and Leander Paes win Wimbledon titles by pairing with Martina Hingis. In cricket, Bangladesh is on a high and so is match fixing in the IPL. Old Monk, the iconic Indian rum needs some reviving. Iran and US ink a historic nuclear deal. And El Shorty Chapo, the most wanted man in Mexico escapes the countrys most secure prison.

The monsoons are back and Mumbai shuts down for a day or two. And then comes a lull. India and Bangladesh agree to swap pieces of land that will redraw the borders of both countries. Myanmar, our tiny neighbor has one of the worlds most persecuted minority known as the Rohingyas. They are circling about in the oceans on creaking ferries knocking on doors of countries to let them in.

More than 2500 people have died in India this summer from the murderous heat. Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA steps down after several top officials from his team were arrested on charges of corruption. The Indian ice hockey team crowdsources its way into a tournament in Kuwait.

Iran and America push for a nuclear deal in which Iran will agree to shun its ambitions to make a nuclear bomb. In return, America and other countries will lift a bunch of sanctions imposed on Iran. Chaos in Yemen reaches a new low as the Indian government completes one of its greatest evacuation programmes. Uber launches a rickshaw hailing app and monkeys disrupt internet in Gujarat.

The legendary Australian cricketer and commentator, Richie Benaud passes away. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Owners of NSE listed Indian companies appoint their wives, daughters and stepmothers as board members. And Ecommerce in India is on steroids.

Indias splendid run in the cricket world cup comes to an end in the semifinals. We recorded this on the eve of the finals and we root for New Zealand, a tiny country of 4.4 million. Saina Nehwal is now world number 1 in womens badminton. Rajendra Singh wins the Stockholm Water prize, the equivalent of the Nobel proze for water. More than 750 students have been expelled and 300 people arrested for...

In this world cup, Indian cricket teams dug dug medium pacers and so so spinners have far outclassed our star batsmen. We reach the last leg of the tournament and will play Australia at Sydney in the semi-finals. BBC hires a guy who fakes his way into a panel discussion claiming to be a former Pakistani Test batsman. In other sports news, Indian badminton rising star, Srikant Kidambi wins the Swis...

BJP bans BBCs documentary on Indias daughter. In other news, it bans beef in Maharashtra. A solar powered plane takes off for a trip around the world. An in-form Indian team advance in the world cup. With the knock out stages of the competition round the corner, there are no clear favourites to win the cup.

For more than 50 years R K Laxmans You Said It made people laugh and squirm at Indian politics. In this episode, we talk a bit about his work ethic. In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party bags more than half of all votes in the state elections and yet continues to remain on thin ice. The cricket World Cup is on and India has won all their matches in the group stages so far. Arun Jaitley announces the much...

From what depths of his soul would Robin Williams have scrapped out all the laughter and pleasantries for us, said a Tweet summarising for us the man who spent most of his life spreading happiness through his quirks. RIP Robin Williams. Ebola has swept large parts of Liberia, Sierra Leone and New Guinea. There is no cure, 90 per cent of those afflicted die and the WHO has described it as a public...

The theme remains the same. For centuries, countries have gone to war in the name of politics or religion. Innocent people have died. They continue to die. The latest on the list is Malaysian Airlines MH17 which was shot down from 33,000 feet in Eastern Ukraine, killing everyone on board. In the Arab world, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria marches ahead with barbaric ferocity. Israel and Palest...

Now that Narendra Modi and his ministers have taken oath, India will hope for some action. While the cabinet may not hit the ground running, Modi has asked all his lieutenants to submit a 100 day plan of action for each of their ministries. The venerable Ambassador car calls it a day. Madhav Mantri, Indias oldest test cricketer dies. Two Indian Americans make history in the annual Scripps national...

The Modi melodrama continues and it need not necessarily be a bad thing. A few months from now, he will be judged on different parameters. For now, his speeches are drawing applauses and tears. At about this time, last month, miles away in another continent, Iraq, too, conducted what was a mostly peaceful national elections. Hats off to people who came out to vote in a country where walking on the...

In arguably the biggest day in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party, after spending a decade in opposition, has swept into power. The margin of victory is so huge that it has reduced Congress to a negligible force in the parliament. Most of India has welcomed the long awaited change. And yet a sizable chunk, views his appointment with scepticism, and some, even with fear. They, rightly, poi...

While the general elections in India was marred by violence at two venues, Afghanistan conducted a peaceful elections earlier in April. Capital punishment in Egypt reached new heights when one of its courts condemned more than six hundred people to death penalty. A new earthlike plant has been discovered, but it is still many light years away. Rajeev Suri will head the new Nokia. Chinese schools f...

The death toll of this podcast runs in hundreds. An avalanche has killed sixteen Sherpas on Mount Everest. Russia continues to flex its muscles to scare tiny Ukraine as the West and the EU watch on. In South Korea a ferry capsizes killing more than 300 onboard. The country also faces a suicide epidemic. In Syria, four French journalists have been freed after ten months of captivity. And RIP Gabrie...

Once in five years India breaks its own record of successfully conducting the worlds biggest general elections. In this one we doff our topis to Indias election commission. In related news, two new books on Congress give us a glimpse of what Dr Manmohan Singh went through in his two terms. We talk a bit about where he will go from now. Aditya narrates a list of interesting candidates that the elec...

The case of the missing plane gets mysterious by the day. Twenty six countries including India are involved in search operations. Subrata Roy, owner of Sahara Parivar pulls off a multi-crore scam which lands him in jail. The general election voting season kicks off soon and IPL, which is scheduled around the elections will be played in two countries. Before signing off, Aditya regales us with upda...

Arvind Kejriwals life in the fast lane came to an abrupt end when he resigned as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Friday. Another star who stole the show a few weeks back was Rahul Gandhi. His impeccably eventful performance on his first big TV interview baffled one and all. In sports, we have the Sochi Olympics, IPL auctions, England cricket woes and Indias tours New Zealand. And oh Aditya is now a...

Edward Carr, Foreign editor of The Economist takes us through his brilliant special report on US foreign policy. He argues that inspite of a dreadful decade abroad, Americans are unduly pessimistic about their place in the world. The rise of China as a formidable player in world affairs is undisputed, but its economic heft does not yet qualify it to be a geopolitical influence that America wields....

In sports, everyone loves a good contest. And when Magnus Carlsen, the 22 year old Norwegian prodigy beat Vishy Anand, chess entered a new era. In this podcast we talk about how these giants of the game prepare to get there. Another prodigy, Prithvi Shaw smashed 546 in the 2013 Harris Shield tournament. This week also marks the 50th anniversary of Indias first rocket launch from Thumba, a small ha...

Statisticians love to debate about whether Sachin Tendulkar is indeed the best batsmen that the game has ever seen. Perhaps not. He ranks 29th according to one analysis. But Sachin has captured the imaginations of world cricket like no other player. In India he is revered for his performances on and off the field. As he calls curtains on a glorious career, we look back at his exploits with the bat...

In this podcast, we talk about Manna Dey, one of the greatest singers known to us. In sports, Ajit Agarkar retires. Aditya talks about his experience of watching Sachin get out in the 90s at the Wankhede stadium as he prepares to play his last two Tests. In Australia, tree leaves can offer clues for spotting gold deposits and why voting cannot us any good, says an MP.

With Telangana fast tracked into another state, we found an excuse to talk a bit about the history of Indias princely states and how the country was formed as an amalgamation of more than 500 mini states ruled by princes. In cricket, India whitewashes Zimbabwe while the IPL runs into further mess.