We recommend: An excellent list of podcasts
Build the Advisory you need: Much like the news, we are buried in lifestyle content—and yet it seems impossible to find what to cook, watch, read, listen to, or buy. How can we be your trusted guide who helps you figure that out? Please take 10-15 minutes to fill out our survey to help us find the right answers.
Editor’s Note: The splainer team recommends their favourite pods and vods—with an emphasis on the entertainment biz. We consulted our friend, former colleague and podcast nerd Nirmal Bhansali for some of these excellent picks.
The Streaming Show by Suchin Mehrotra: This is the second season of film writer and journalist Suchin Mehrotra’s podcast, which tries to understand the developing landscape of OTT and streaming platforms in India, and the people who make the shows and films that populate them. His enthusiastic but nuanced questions bring out the best insights from producers like Siddharth Roy Kapur, reticent editors like Nitin Baid and Antara Lahiri, or even comedian Vir Das. Aakriti recommends listening to the episode featuring Sudip Sharma—the showrunner and creator behind shows like ‘Paatal Lok’ and Kohrra’. You can listen to the episodes on Spotify, or watch them in video form on YouTube.
Crew Cut by Jim Sarbh and Zoya Hussain: Another video-based podcast about the movies, this one was created by actors Jim Sarbh and Zoya Hussain, who bring their friends and colleagues together to create engaging episodes that explain the various arts and processes behind filmmaking—from cinematography to costume design—through interviews of celebrated crew members that practise these artforms. Aakriti recommends the episode on Film Composing, featuring Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor as interviewed by Sarbh. You can watch the show on YouTube.
Afghan Star by John Legend: This 8-episode podcast chronicles the rise and fall of a reality talent show in Afghanistan that launched four years after the initial fall of the Taliban, and ran for 15 seasons. Given that the show was first halted by the pandemic and then died permanently due to the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, this podcast is a sobering listen about how revolutionary such a talent show was—for the country’s participants and fans alike—this century. Raghav recommends starting from the beginning, with the short introduction followed by the first full-length episode—‘Lights, Camera, Action’.
Black Box by The Guardian: This one’s for the AI enthusiasts and as well as sceptics, straight from Nirmal’s roster. The series, hosted by the podcast team at The Guardian, started in February and is already one of the Apple Podcasts Favourites of 2024. There are deep dives about AI and its role in cancer detection and companionship. It also discusses the negatives of AI, specifically deepfakes. The best bit: There are only six episodes in the whole show.
In Land of the Giants by Vulture. Jointly produced by Vulture and Vox media, this podcast looks at the top businesses and names in the entertainment and tech industry. Nirmal suggests their latest segment which is a series of six episodes which looks at the successes and failures of Disney and its theme parks. The series is hosted by Vuture journalists Joe Adalian, Rebecca Alter, Bilge Ebiri, and Chris Lee.
PS: We've compiled our picks that are available on Spotify into a handy playlist for your convenience. Check it out on the Splainer Spotify account here.
