We recommend: Our fav podcast episodes
Editor’s Note: We’re giving playlists a break this week—and tuning into podcasts. News editors Aarthi Ramnath and Nirmal Bhansali list their favourite podcast episodes. Listen up for these narrative and informative episodes about blue jeans, love commandos and filmmakers. We hope you’ll discover something new, have a less boring commute, or just enjoy the banter.
Articles of Interest: This is a critically acclaimed mini-series on fashion which breaks down the articles of clothing—in terms of concept, history and socio-cultural trends around it—taking one garment or fashion product at a time. Produced by Avery Trufelman, it first started under the banner of ‘99% Invisible’—a podcast on architecture and design. It has recently become an independent series and currently has three seasons.
The first season dives into specific concepts such as ‘Blue Jeans’ and ‘Pockets’—both of which we highly recommend. The second season focuses more on luxury fashion, discussing ‘Diamonds’, ‘Perfume’ and the trend of the white ‘Wedding Dresses’! There is a seven-part series dedicated to American fashion and the newest season features more practical and inclusive topics like ‘How to Dress’ and ‘Plus Sizes’.
‘Love Commandos’ by Rough Translation: In 2012, the classic show Satyamev Jayate introduced us to Sanjoy Sachdev and Love Commandos, a revolutionary group that offered shelter and aid to young people who are facing threats due to the circumstances of their marriage (inter-caste, different social groups etc.). This five-part series investigates some allegations that the Love Commandos may not be what they seem. Do they actually offer protection or are they exploitative? We find out.
This series is a tale of the risks of living in India, and the many struggles some couples face to love outside of societal expectations. The show is carefully edited, the interview subjects share harrowing stories and the hosts Lauren Frayer and Gregory Warren along with Mansi Choksi do a great job of navigating the nimble realities of marriage in India. Definitely a must listen.
‘Poetry Unbound: If you are trying to listen and read more poetry, then this podcast is the best place to do that. Poetry Unbound by Pádraig Ó Tuama is a meditation on poetry. Padraig starts each episode by reading out a poem, and then welcomes you into his world of reflections on that particular poem. He shares his personal stories associated with the poem, and guides you to see the poem the way he does. It is a beautiful experience, you’ll be in awe by the end of each episode.
Here are a few episodes to start off with: ‘How Friendship Endures’, ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Ode to Buttoning and Unbuttoning My Shirt’ and ‘Artist’. Bonus: each episode is less than 15 minutes.
‘Tamasha’ by Urdunama: Another really good poetry podcast is ‘Urdunama’ (this one’s in Hindi / Urdu), where Fabeha Syed explored one Urdu word for the day. She does a deep dive into how that word has been used and evolved in ghazals, lyrics of songs, shayaris and other poems over the years. ‘Tamasha’ is a great place to start this podcast. You can also check out the episode on RD Burman & Gulzar, which looks at how their friendship defined an entire generation of music in India.
Script Apart: This is a fantastic podcast for film buffs out there. The podcast series is hosted by writer Al Horner and produced by filmmaker Kamil Dymek. Since 2020, they have been putting out interviews with directors and scriptwriters of some of critics’ and fan favourite movies and TV shows—discussing films from the first draft to the end product that we all love.
The best way to get into it is picking your favourite movie title from the episodes. But if that is too overwhelming, you can check out David Keopp’s interviews for the new Mission: Impossible and also this Jurassic Park episode which came out for its 30th anniversary or this episode on ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once with Daniels’. These are Aarthi’s personal favourites: ‘The Trial Of The Chicago 7 with Aaron Sorkin’ and ‘10 Things I Hate About You with Karen McCullah and Kiwi Smith’.
