The Times Of India Podcast
Times Of India
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The Times of India podcast expands storytelling and reportage from India’s largest newsroom. We put the spotlight on ideas, people and stories that matter from Monday to Friday. To listen to more podcasts like this, please subscribe to TOI+ at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
1 day ago
Wanted: a CDS to reform India's military
Lt Gen (retd) DS Hooda and TOI's defence editor Rajat Pandit explain why India needs a new Chief of Defence Staff quickly and the reforms that are on hold.
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4 days ago
Ghosts of the second wave
Three people look back at their experiences during the most deadly wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, how they got through it and how it changed them.
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5 days ago
How cities create ghettos but politics sends bulldozers
Ghazala Jamil and Qudsiya Contractor explain the myths about Muslim-dominated colonies in cities and why they are easy targets for demolition drives.
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6 days ago
PM exits, what next for Sri Lanka?
As Mahinda Rajapaksa leaves amidst violence, TOI's Padma Rao Sundarji explains what his exit means for the beleaguered island nation
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May 8, 2022
Heat spoils India’s wheat dreams
TOI's Amitava Sanyal explains why India's bumper crop prediction was hit and agricultural economist Ashok Gulati explains the bigger problems facing India's wheat output.
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May 5, 2022
The original warrior against loudspeakers
In conversation with Sumaira Abdulali, who has been battling noise pollution and horribly loud loudspeakers before it became something for politicians to battle over.
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May 4, 2022
Why more car owners are losing their wheels
A car owner and two experts explain why more car owners are losing their vehicles to banks after failing to repay loans and the effect it's having on India's auto market.
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May 3, 2022
Locked down in Shanghai
A Shanghai resident talks about what it's like to live in a stringent Covid-19 lockdown in one of the world's biggest cities when most of the world has moved on.
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May 1, 2022
Learning to live with heatwaves
TOI's Sanjay Dutta explains why many states faced power cuts as temperatures rose and IIHS's Chandni Singh explains how we can deal with future heatwaves.
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Apr 28, 2022
King Kohli's struggle
Cricket analyst and commentator Ayaz Memon talks to TOI's K Shriniwas Rao about Virat Kohli's struggles and what it means for Team India
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Apr 27, 2022
What PK's no means for Congress
TOI's Subodh Ghildiyal and political analyst Rasheed Kidwai explain why Prashant Kishor-Congress talks fell through, what it means for the party and the Gandhi family.
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Apr 26, 2022
Getting the Covid-19 death count right
Rukmini S explains why India's Covid-19 death toll is definitely higher than the official figures and why we need greater transparency with data
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Apr 24, 2022
Policing communal violence
Former police officials LN Rao and VN Rai, and Common Cause's Radhika Jha explain the challenges police face in tackling communal violence and why their record isn't very good.
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Apr 21, 2022
Virus in the IPL
After two players test positive for Covid-19, TOI's K Shriniwas Rao explains how India's biggest cricket tournament is trying to deal with the virus and the challenges it faces
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Apr 20, 2022
What to expect from Shehbaz Sharif
TOI+ columnist Aneela Z Babar speaks with Pakistani commentator Mohammad Taqi about what could, and should, change under the new PM.
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Apr 19, 2022
Why Uttarakhand's forest fires are worrying
As the state witnesses a spike in forest fires earlier than usual this summer, TOI's Shivani Azad and ecologist SP Singh decode their impact and how things can be handled better.
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Apr 17, 2022
How much the Covid-19 spike should worry you
Dr Shahid Jameel talks to Rema Nagarajan about how to read a spike in cases in some states and how we can live with this virus.
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Apr 14, 2022
Bulldozer Justice
Lawyer Chitranshul Sinha explains the problems with using demolitions to mete out justice and political columnist Radhika Ramaseshan decodes why Shivraj Singh Chouhan wants to be seen as 'bulldozer mama'
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Apr 13, 2022
‘Precaution’ dose: all you need to know
Immunologist Dr Vineeta Bal and Indian Medical Association's Dr Rajeev Jayadevan explain everything you needed to know about taking an extra dose of Covid-19 vaccine
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Apr 12, 2022
Changing laws for order
Supreme Court lawyer Abhinav Sekhri and criminal law expert Mrinal Satish from NLSIU explain the risks that come with how criminal laws are being reformed
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Apr 10, 2022
Climate change now turbo-charged
CEEW's CEO Arunabha Ghosh and IIED's Aditya Bahadur help make sense of the latest IPCC report, what it means for us and what you can do.
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Apr 7, 2022
Diagnosing attacks on doctors
Dr Ashok Sharda in Kota, Dr Ravi Wankhedkar in Dhule and Dr Sanjay Nagral in Mumbai on how best to protect doctors after the suicide of a physician due to harassment over a patient's death
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Apr 6, 2022
Your food, my poison
Author Devdutt Pattanaik and food writer Vikram Doctor weigh in on the weaponisation of what we eat
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Apr 5, 2022
Fire in the neighbourhood
A constitutional crisis rocks Pakistan and Sri Lanka faces an economic collapse. A look at what the ramifications will be for South Asia, especially India.
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Apr 3, 2022
EVs on fire douse demand
Autocar India's managing editor Sergius Barretto explains why electric scooters may be catching fire while JATO Dynamics India head Ravi Bhatia explains the action it should prompt
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Mar 31, 2022
Stirring the pot in Karnataka
Political analysts and TOI Plus columnists Sugata Srinivasaraju and Radhika Ramaseshan explain why communalism is being stoked in Karnataka and how it will shape politics in the state
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Mar 30, 2022
Long queues and rage in Sri Lanka
Journalist Aisha Nazim explains what it's like living through Sri Lanka's rolling power cuts and fuel shortages, while TISS's R Ramakumar explains the economic policies that have brought the island to this point
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Mar 29, 2022
New bill, new terror
As MPs debate the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, Access Now's Raman Jit Singh Chima and PRS's Chakshu Roy explain what's worrying about the proposed law.
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Mar 27, 2022
Super King of Chennai steps down
As Mahendra Singh Dhoni quits the last captaincy he holds, cricket analysts Bharat Sundaresan, Anand Vasu and Pradeep Magazine make sense of a remarkable career and legacy
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Mar 24, 2022
How Russia changed the world in 30 days
Tanvi Madan from Brookings Institution and Ananta Centre CEO Indrani Bagchi explain the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war and the effect on India
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Mar 23, 2022
Meet CUET
As a new entrance exam is rolled out, TOI's Shradha Chettri analyses the on-ground situation, ex-education secretary Anil Swarup says why it's needed and educationist Anita Rampal explains the problems it raises.
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Mar 22, 2022
Inning’s end for PM Imran?
Understanding the political tumult that’s gripped Pakistan with author and analyst Raza Rumi and journalist Munizae Jahangir
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Mar 20, 2022
In Congress, the centre cannot hold
As the Congress debates who should lead it and how, TOI's Subodh Ghildiyal and Sonia Gandhi's biographer Rasheed Kidwai explain what's happening and what to expect
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Mar 17, 2022
Allow the Pandits a moment of catharsis
Writer and journalist Rahul Pandita, who along with his family was forced to flee Kashmir in 1990, talks about the exodus and why 32 years on, it haunts Kashmir.
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Mar 16, 2022
The heat is on
As India reels under an spike in temperatures, Dr Dileep Mavalankar explains how heat kills and Chandni Singh, a lead author from the recent IPCC report, explains why there's no escaping the heat
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Mar 15, 2022
Godfather of movies turns 50
Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane and critic Jai Arjun Singh on why a film about an Italian mafia family remains relevant 50 years later and what its impact has been on Indian cinema
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Mar 13, 2022
The case of the runaway missile
Defence experts Manoj Joshi from the Observer Research Foundation and Sushant Singh from the Centre for Policy Research analyse the accidental firing of a missile to Pakistan
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Mar 10, 2022
Jhadoo sweeps away old-style politics
The Aam Aadmi Party’s emphatic win in Punjab creates new contours for 2024 and why opposition in India is now in the post-Congress phase. Journalist Shivam Vij and Panjab University’s Professor Ashutosh Kumar weigh in.
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Mar 9, 2022
Caution! Falling rupee ahead
Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, and The Economic Times' Sugata Ghosh explain the fallout of the rupee touching new lows against the dollar
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Mar 8, 2022
The exit poll surprises
Political scientist Neelanjan Sircar and political commentator Shivam Vij decode exit poll results and the implications of the predictions made
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Mar 6, 2022
What ails India’s medical education?
Surgeon Dr Sanjay Nagral and TOI's Rema Nagarajan explain what the Ukraine crisis exposed about medical education in India and why there are no easy fixes
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Mar 3, 2022
‘New India was an absurd fantasy’
Writer and essayist Pankaj Mishra talks about his new novel, Run and Hide, the struggle to find 'New India' between small towns and cities, and the crisis of masculinity
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Mar 2, 2022
Putin's miscalculations in Ukraine
Journalist and author Tim Judah is in Kyiv and decodes the many miscalculations that have been made in Russia's attack on Ukraine
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Mar 1, 2022
Trapped in Ukraine
Volunteer group Team SOS India's head Nitesh Singh explains what they're doing for trapped Indian students and CEO of Ananta Centre Indrani Bagchi explains how the war is changing the continent.
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Feb 27, 2022
How oil and gas could fuel a slowdown
A hike in petrol, diesel and LPG prices was imminent but the war in Ukraine means it could bite much deeper and longer than expected
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Feb 24, 2022
Opposition to Modi taking shape?
Political analysts Rasheed Kidwai and Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay discuss a new opposition front taking shape and whether it can exist without the Congress
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Feb 23, 2022
Thackeray cub on Mumbai infra
Ahead of crucial BMC polls, Aaditya Thackeray on the city’s mega projects and what awaits Mumbai
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Feb 22, 2022
Is war imminent?
Understanding what’s happening in the world’s biggest hotspot. Indrani Bagchi of Ananta Centre and Nandan Unnikrishnan of ORF decode how a war in Ukraine could impact India and the world.
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Feb 20, 2022
Why is Subroto Bagchi giving away so much?
Mindtree co-founder Subroto Bagchi on his philanthropy, the personal journey that brought him to it, and how big donations can lead to institution building.
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Feb 17, 2022
What's moving voters in Uttar Pradesh
Political commentator Radhika Ramaseshan and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research Neelanjan Sircar explain what's influencing voters in India's largest state
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Feb 16, 2022
The market-influencing 'yogi'
Revelations of a former National Stock Exchange CEO's emails with an alleged yogi raise questions of corporate governance and how a scandal was handled
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Feb 15, 2022
Beware the ‘psychopath’ CEO
R Gopalakrishnan and ET Tech editor Samidha Sharma explain the toxic culture that bedevils certain start ups, how to rein in egotistic CEOs and what lies ahead for BharatPe's Ashneer Grover
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Feb 13, 2022
Decoding the numbers and logic behind the IPL's mega auction
TOI's K Shriniwas Rao explains the cold numbers and logic behind the drama of the IPL mega auction.
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Feb 10, 2022
The Punjab Poll Puzzle
The Punjab elections have always been close but this year's polls could go down to the wire. Lokniti's Ashutosh Kumar and TOI's Chandigarh resident editor Sarju Kaul explain why.
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Feb 9, 2022
‘Protest movements are like monsoon rains’
Union minister and BJP national secretary Bhupender Yadav speaks on how the party welcomes dissent, unemployment and polarisation while his coauthor of a book on the BJP, economist Ila Patnaik, breaks down the party’s economic plank
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Feb 8, 2022
Pride and Prejudice roils Karnataka
Saba Hussain, author of Contemporary Muslim Girlhoods in India, senior advocate BT Venkatesh and TOI’s Deepthi Sanjiv on what the hijab controversy has unmasked about Karnataka.
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Feb 6, 2022
Her voice, our emotion
Celebrating Lata Mangeshkar’s glorious career and how she became the soundtrack of Indian lives.
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Feb 3, 2022
Delhi: on a wing and a prayer
A conversation with Shaunak Sen, whose new film All That Breathes, won the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Grand Jury prize for Documentary this week. The film explores two brothers' quest to save kites set against a city battling pollution and polarisation
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Feb 2, 2022
How the pandemic wrecked our sleep
Sleep specialist Dr Manvir Bhatia and psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty talk about the explosion of pandemic-hit sleep cycles and why the best solutions aren't pills or apps
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Feb 1, 2022
What crypto gained and lost in Budget 2022
Making sense of the Budget's proposal to grant legitimacy to cryptocurrency by taxing it and the plan to launch a digital rupee.
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Jan 30, 2022
Burning bogies, derailed dreams
Understanding the deeper malaise that led to the railway exam violence in Bihar and the role of popular coaching class teachers like Khan sir.
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Jan 27, 2022
In Goa, all bets are off
Author-journalist Sandesh Prabhudesai and Times of India's Goa editor Rajesh Menon explain why the Goa election will be closer than ever.
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Jan 26, 2022
History in the making
Ramachandra Guha on what it takes to write history, and how he sees his role in public life.
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Jan 25, 2022
A Russian standoff
As the standoff between Russia and the West over Ukraine continues, Tanvi Madan from Brookings Institution and TOI's diplomatic editor Indrani Bagchi explain its multiple geopolitical fallouts, including for India.
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Jan 23, 2022
Lighting another fire
Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Research Sushant Singh explains the issues that the merging of the flames of the Amar Jawan Jyoti and National War Memorial throw up
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Jan 20, 2022
Batting for Virat
Brand guru Santosh Desai and cricket writer Anand Vasu on why Kohli matters and how his stepping down will change the Indian team and Brand Virat.
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Jan 19, 2022
Ditch overmedication
Pulmonologist Dr Zarir Udwadia and immunologist Dr Vineeta Bal explain the dangers, and futility, of overmedicating against Omicron and the path ahead after this wave is over.
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Jan 18, 2022
The very special Pt Birju Maharaj
Dancers Shovana Narayan and Aditi Mangaldas and musicologist Yatindra Mishra talk about the life and times of 'Maharaj-ji', the doyen of the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak
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Jan 16, 2022
Aya Ram Gaya Ram in UP
Ahead of a crucial state election in Uttar Pradesh, multiple leaders from the ruling BJP have switched sides. Columnist Radhika Ramaseshan, veteran journalist Vasindra Mishra and Professor Badri Narayan decode what's happening.
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Jan 13, 2022
The ageless magic of a boy reporter
As the famous boy reporter from Brussels turns 93, Amitava Sanyal speaks with graphic novelist Orijit Sen and professor Abhijit Gupta on why the Tintin comics and its iconic characters still resonate with readers.
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Jan 12, 2022
Sister, I hear you
Actor Parvathy explains what changed - and what needs to - nearly five years after the shocking sexual assault of a Malayalam cinema star in 2017
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Jan 11, 2022
An artist of faith
Neil Nongkynrih, the founder of the Shillong Chamber Choir passed away earlier this month. We speak to his pupil William Richmond, TV impresario Siddhartha Basu and Shillong Times' editor Patricia Mukhim to understand his legacy.
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Jan 9, 2022
Is India’s booster plan the right one?
As India starts giving senior citizens and frontline workers booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines, Dr Ambarish Satwik and AccessIBSA's Achal Prabhala explain the issues at stake and how much it will help.
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Jan 6, 2022
Why I called Vajpayee a 'saffron Nehru'
TOI's Vaibhav Purandare speaks with senior journalist Sagarika Ghose on why she decided to write a biography of AB Vajpayee, and his relationship with Advani and RSS
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Jan 5, 2022
Out of Office
Will offices open this year or will waves of Covid-19 keep them shut? We look at how companies have tweaked how they expect their employees to work, perhaps for good.
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Jan 4, 2022
Bridge over the Pangong Tso
As China builds a bridge over the Pangong lake in Ladakh, defence and international affairs expert Manoj Joshi joins us to decode the latest developments on India's eastern front.
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Jan 2, 2022
Third wave is now upon us
2022 opens on a downer, with Covid-19 cases spiking across India. Epidemiologist and pulmonologist Dr Lancelot Pinto explains the risks the Omicron variant comes with and the precautions we need to take
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Dec 30, 2021
A look back at the year that was
As 2021 comes to a close, we take a look back at the year that's passed through some of the voices that featured on our show, making sense of a tumultuous time
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Dec 29, 2021
How ordering out is changing what India eats
As 2021 draws to a close, food writer Vikram Doctor and National Restaurant Association of India's Anurag Katriar decode food delivery trends and what it means for ghar ka khana
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Dec 28, 2021
‘Liberals have failed to capture Hinduism’s philosophical insights’
As the Hindu Vahini Sena’s Haridwar conclave casts its dark shadow over India, scholar Suhas Palshikar takes the political temperature and discusses the idea of a Hindu rashtra.
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Dec 26, 2021
Trauma of a COVID long-hauler
As the Omicron threat looms large, Padmapriya, one of the thousands of long-haulers, offers this harrowing account as a cautionary tale.
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Dec 23, 2021
Chill of the winter session
With Parliament concluding a day ahead of schedule, our two in-house political watchers Subodh Ghildiyal and Rajeev Deshpande weigh in on a session that saw Opposition protest, even though Lok Sabha clocked 82% productivity and Rajya Sabha 48%
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Dec 22, 2021
Con banega Crorepati
How industrialists, actors and politicians fell for conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's many schemes, the latest being a Rs 200 crore fraud orchestrated from inside a jail
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Dec 21, 2021
What’s behind the Aadhaar-voter id link?
Understanding the implications of the new Act that seeks to link Aadhaar to voter ids and how it impacts Indian democracy. Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, ADR's Maj Gen (retd) Anil Verma, and Access Now's Raman Jit Singh Chima weigh in.
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Dec 19, 2021
‘Kapil is still his team’s captain’
Director Kabir Khan on ‘83', Ranveer Singh’s transformation and fanboy moments with Kapil Dev.
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Dec 16, 2021
Preparing for Omicron
Dr Shashank Joshi in Mumbai explains what we need to worry about as the highly transmissible Omicron variant makes its presence felt, and Dr Rajeev Jayadevan explains why booster shots shouldn't be our biggest concern
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Dec 15, 2021
The man who split Pakistan
A conversation with biographer Syed Badrul Ahsan on the political legacy of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and how India contributed in shaping the newly-formed country.
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Dec 14, 2021
Test se T20 tak
Journalist and author Pradeep Magazine talks about why Virat Kohli's removal as ODI captain was a raw deal, the highs and lows of Indian cricket over the decades and about the original legends of the game.
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Dec 12, 2021
‘People have a gossip mindset’
The Vicktrina wedding kept paparazzis at bay. How are Mumbai’s paps coping as more and more stars control access and narrative.
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Dec 9, 2021
Parag Agrawal and the global Indian CEO
TOI's Chidanand Rajghatta, journalist Snigdha Sur and author-journalist Anita Raghavan weigh in on what Parag Agrawal's elevation to Twitter CEO reveals about Indians in the US and in the world of tech.
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Dec 8, 2021
Tragedy in the skies
Retired Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur and defence analyst Rahul Bedi weigh in on the chopper crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others and the tenure of India's highest-ranking military official.
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Dec 7, 2021
To Russia, with love and caution
TOI diplomatic editor Indrani Bagchi explains the significance of Vladimir Putin's visit at a time when India is moving closer to US and Russia to China, and why India-Russia relations need nurturing.
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Dec 5, 2021
How December 6 changed Indian politics
Nearly three decades after the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, journalist and author Nilanjan Mukhopadhay explains how the event shaped the BJP's politics and why the building of the Ram temple won't alter its course.
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Dec 2, 2021
Band, baaja, baraat
The pandemic crushed India's multi-crore wedding industry in 2020, but this year it's back with a bang. But the big Indian weddings have changed, perhaps forever
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Dec 1, 2021
How to be a mentor, the Gopichand way
Badminton legend Pullela Gopichand on what it takes to create winners and how he overcame his own challenges as a player and coach
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Nov 30, 2021
The Omicron factor
What does a new, possibly highly transmissible variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 mean for India just as it opens up? Eminent virologist Dr Shahid Jameel explains what to worry about and what we need to do.
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Nov 28, 2021
Mamata’s challenge
After the recent defection of 12 MLAs in Meghalaya to TMC — a look at how the party in Bengal is expanding its footprint. In this episode, editor Patricia Mukhim, political analyst Neelanjan Sircar and TOI's Sunando Sarkar weigh in.
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Nov 25, 2021
Fake influencers are harming you
Two deeply-researched reports reveal exactly how the narrative was influenced and controlled by social media on the farmers' protest and the Aryan Khan case
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Nov 24, 2021
Opportunities the ‘71 war still offers
Former diplomat Chandrashekhar Dasgupta attempts to set the record straight on what drove India's push to liberate Bangladesh in 1971.
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Nov 23, 2021
Working out your heart
How much is the right exercise for your heart? Professor of cardiology at AIIMS Dr G Karthikeyan and Preventive cardiology & rehabilitation specialist Dr Aashish Contractor explain.
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Nov 21, 2021
A step back to move forward
The repeal of three farm laws opens up new political spaces. We analyse them and who benefits.
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Nov 18, 2021
COP, coal and a pushback
India came out of COP26 accused of watering down a provision on power generated from coal. Decoding India's stand on emissions and how developed nations got off relatively easy.
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Nov 17, 2021
How to police crypto
The government seems set to come up with rules for reining in the booming cryptocurrency market. But what can it do and what does the industry want?
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Nov 16, 2021
The Shiv Shahir departs
Understanding the legacy of Maharashtra’s cultural icon Babasaheb Purandare, also known as Shivaji’s bard.
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Nov 14, 2021
Don't give your property to kids before you die
Industrialist Vijaypat Singhania reflects on his life as an aviator, and a family squabble that landed him outside the company he ran and cut off from his grandchildren.
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Nov 11, 2021
Fish as bait in Goa politics
With Mamata Banerjee’s high-decibel campaign in Goa, Vikram Doctor discovers foods that unite East and West.
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Nov 10, 2021
Kite running on Afghanistan
Understanding why India and Pakistan are holding different international summits on Afghanistan and what they hope to achieve.
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Nov 9, 2021
A Chinese tycoon tells all
A conversation with Desmond Shum about wealth, power, corruption and vengeance in today’s China.
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Nov 7, 2021
What became of demonetisation?
It’s been five years since that fateful night when 85% of India’s currency was made invalid. We weigh in on the impact of that shock move.
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Nov 4, 2021
Can fiction take on fake news?
In this episode, writer Amitava Kumar talks about his new book, A Time Outside This Time, and the role of the novelist in the post-truth world.
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Nov 2, 2021
India's big climate promise
India made headlines by promising to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2070. What does this mean for India and how can this be achieved?
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Oct 31, 2021
The dragon draws its borders
How China's new law gives it power to take different actions under the guise of defending its borders and what it means for India. Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran breaks it down.
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Oct 28, 2021
Diwali - best without a bang?
As states opt for a fireworks ban ahead of the festival of lights, we look at the environmental and financial fallout underpinned with serious health concerns
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Oct 27, 2021
Will the real Sameer Wankhede stand up?
Decoding the many facets of India’s most-discussed investigator.
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Oct 26, 2021
Riot in the neighbourhood, how worried should we be?
TOI's diplomatic editor Indrani Bagchi and Dhaka Tribune's Asif Islam weigh in on the rise in incidents of majoritarian violence against the minority community in Bangladesh during Durga Puja and how it affects ties between both countries.
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Oct 24, 2021
Rethinking pandemics
Prize-winning writer Sonia Shah talks about how we've dealt with Covid-19, why exterminating a pathogen isn't the best strategy to take on a pandemic and how to prevent the next pandemic.
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Oct 21, 2021
Can trolls kill brands?
In these hyper-polarised times, social media has become a fierce arena, where opinion can make or break a company. Futurebrands CEO and TOI columnist Santosh Desai weighs in
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Oct 20, 2021
Who watches the watchmen?
In today's episode, constitutional expert Gautam Bhatia and investigative journalist Josy Joseph on the role of investigative agencies and judiciary in the upkeep of democracy
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Oct 19, 2021
Back to The Wall
Picking the Indian men's cricket team coach is always a contentious affair, which might explain why the BCCI is pushing for its safest option. But Rahul Dravid won't have it easy if he takes the job.
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Oct 17, 2021
Covaxin’s needling issues
Over 10 crore doses later, why is India's indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin still off the WHO's list and what's wrong with the data revealed so far?
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Oct 14, 2021
How to take on a dictator
An exclusive interview with this year’s Nobel peace laureate, Maria Ressa.
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Oct 13, 2021
Sid wakes up
Sidhartha Mallya confronts depression and OCD. In his new book he also speaks about his complicated relationship with his father and life in a gilded cage.
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Oct 12, 2021
Running on fumes
Petrol and diesel prices have hit new highs and states are warning of power blackouts over coal supply. How deep is the crisis and how long will it last?
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Oct 10, 2021
Why Jim Corbett still matters
Following a debate over renaming India's oldest national park, a look at the life and times of India's most well-known huntsman-turned-conservationist.
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Oct 7, 2021
Highs and lows of India’s war on drugs
After actor Shah Rukh Khan's son and others are accused of drug use, we take a look at why the NCB is being accused of foul play, the consequences and what's wrong India's war against drugs.
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Oct 6, 2021
Indian Ocean is the chief theatre of climate change: Amitav Ghosh
The writer and the winner of the Jnanpith award talks about his new book which looks at climate change and the pandemic, and how it traces back to the history of colonialism.
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Oct 5, 2021
A hit job
The death of 8 persons in Lakhimpur Kheri reveals the deep fault lines in Uttar Pradesh, what’s fueling the farmers’ anger and the political fallout.
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Oct 3, 2021
Getting schooled
As schools across India slowly reopen their doors to students, we look at how safe it is for children to fill classrooms again and why we need to reconsider how we teach them.
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Sep 30, 2021
Running with the bulls
The Indian stock markets are at all-time highs even as the economy struggles to get on its feet. Decoding the Indian economy's predicament and how it's affecting how we save money.
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Sep 29, 2021
First the captain, now the ship?
First Capt Amarinder Singh, then Navjot Singh Sidhu. What does the massive churn in the Congress mean months ahead of an election in Punjab. Also, what does it say about the Gandhis?
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Sep 28, 2021
A seer’s death prompts rot review
The controversial death of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad chief Swami Narendra Giri also opens the lid on murky land deals, succession battles and the deal making that plague many religious akharas.
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Sep 26, 2021
The Indra Nooyi Interview: Silence is a weapon, use it
One of the world’s most respected CEOs on how women can be heard better, her wish to create high quality child care inspired by anganwadis, and that mad dash she made to catch Sachin’s last match.
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Sep 23, 2021
The dying hills of Uttarakhand
Experts explain why Uttarakhand has been witnessing a number of landslides and other natural disasters.
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Sep 22, 2021
Quad goals
Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the US with the Quad and newly-formed AUKUS in the spotlight. What to expect from the visit.
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Sep 21, 2021
T-20/20 Vision
Virat Kohli and a turn in the affairs of Indian cricket. Understanding what’s going on.
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Sep 19, 2021
‘Most people won’t even notice the changes on Central Vista’
Bimal Patel is the man executing architecturally PM Modi’s new Idea of India. In this rare interview, he says Central Vista will preserve Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker’s vision but inverse the iconography of power.
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Sep 16, 2021
A Curious Case At Calcutta Club
Writer Nirad C Chaudhuri’s son alleges memorabilia worth crores which he gave to the Calcutta Club has gone missing.
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Sep 15, 2021
Why we can't plug off social media
Randima Fernando, co-founder at the Centre for Humane Technology, talks about the impact of the film, Social Dilemma, and why well-being is not at the heart of Big Tech.
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Sep 14, 2021
All the PM’s men
Understanding the larger political manoeuvering behind four BJP chief ministers being axed in the last six months
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Sep 12, 2021
Beyond Hindutva
Author and former diplomat Pavan Varma explains why his new book is a counter to those who claim to protect Hinduism and to liberal scholars who he says have airbrushed history.
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Sep 9, 2021
20 years after 9/11: Is the world any safer?
US moves on after two wars lost in Afghanistan and Iraq; Bin Laden is dead but the ISIS is around and South Asia has just become inflammable. How will it all play out?
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Sep 8, 2021
Jihad is big business, and thrives in chaos
Journalist and author Adrian Levy on Afghanistan’s new government, New Delhi’s tight embrace of the US, Pakistan’s dilemmas, and what Ajit Doval might be thinking.
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Sep 7, 2021
The Indie film is dead
What awaits us at the movies once theatres reopen? Vikramaditya Motwane and PVR CEO Kamal Gianchandani weigh in.
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Sep 5, 2021
Understanding the farmers mahapanchayat
The protest against the farm laws completes a year, and takes a sharp political turn with Sunday’s mahapanchayat. What are its implications?
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Sep 2, 2021
A hawk flies off
A page has turned with the death of Kashmir’s top separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. What comes next?
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Sep 1, 2021
History redecorated
Why the move to redo Jallianwala bagh has stirred such passion and controversy. The man who’s tweet sparked it, weighs in.
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Aug 31, 2021
Congress in distress
Rebellion is running rife through Congress ranks while its top leadership is in abeyance. What’s in store next for India’s grand old party?
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Aug 29, 2021
Kerala: India’s COVID outlier or outperformer?
Understanding Kerala’s huge COVID surge—what’s causing it, and why the rest of the country needn’t worry about it. Yet.
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Aug 26, 2021
Season 2: Anil Deshmukh vs Parambir Singh
Breathless political theatre is hurting Mumbai. Former home minister Anil Deshmukh and former police commissioner Parambir Singh are both on the run from investigators. What happens when they surrender?
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Aug 25, 2021
A revolt in dispute
With the Indian Council of Historical Research planning to exclude those who participated in the 1921 Malabar Rebellion against colonial rule from the list of freedom fighters, a look at how the 100-year-old incident has polarised the state.
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Aug 24, 2021
Caste takes the stage
What’s behind the rising clamour for a caste-based census? Can it affect the reservation policy? Is it going to be a political game changer or another hot potato? All your questions answered here.
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Aug 22, 2021
Being Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter
Vidhie Mukerjea speaks about the five years that followed the shock discovery of her sister Sheena Bora’s sensational murder, her parents arrest, and her own descent into anxiety.
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Aug 19, 2021
Turning over a new leaf
After a grim report on climate change, experts explain how we can lead more sustainable lives and actually make a difference.
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Aug 18, 2021
Punjabi by nature
British Asian author Sunjeev Sahota, long-listed for the Booker Prize, on his new book, his Indian roots and the role Mathematics has played in his writing
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Aug 17, 2021
When lions get Covid
The heartwarming story of what happened after thirteen lions at Chennai zoo contracted Covid.
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Aug 15, 2021
Rise of Taliban and the fall of Kabul
Afghanistan is plunged into political strife and a humanitarian crisis. What are the implications of this Pakistan-backed regime change for India?
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Aug 12, 2021
The worst place to live in the city of dreams
Forced to live in a toxic hellhole, why thousands of people fought to move out of Mahul and what their struggle says about our cities
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Aug 11, 2021
After 100 days…
…It’s been that long since the fiercely contested elections in West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu. How the new governments have scored, and what it tells us about Indian politics shaping up for 2024.
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Aug 10, 2021
Climate is the future, And it’s looking bleak
Be worried. Very worried. A new global report by top climate scientists sounds the alarm.
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Aug 8, 2021
Mettle detector
All that went into the making of India’s Olympics campaign in Tokyo and what that remains to be done.
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Aug 5, 2021
Art of purpose over profit
Marico founder Harsh Mariwala explains why he actively participates in philanthropic efforts. Plus some tips for aspiring entrepreneurs.
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Aug 4, 2021
The fire sticks
India's hockey teams at the Tokyo Olympics have the nation's attention after stellar runs. Decoding the rise of the men's and women's teams.
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Aug 3, 2021
Honey, we failed the kids!
A never-before number of Class 12 students may have scored over 90 per cent marks, but educationists are saying the crisis of learning is real
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Aug 1, 2021
Mind games
The withdrawal of top stars from sporting events has put the focus on mental health in sports. Top coaches explain why mental toughness doesn't matter if an athlete's life lacks balance.
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Jul 29, 2021
Moving the needle
India planned to vaccinate all its citizens against Covid-19 by the end of 2021, but that increasingly seems unlikely. What went wrong and what can be done to protect the most vulnerable against the pandemic?
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Jul 28, 2021
Water woes in Cherrapunji
How did the world’s wettest place end up with acute water scarcity?
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Jul 27, 2021
Diary of a social economist
Kaushik Basu, who's out with a new book, on what it was like to get a ringside view of New Delhi politics when he served as the Chief Economic Adviser during UPA-2 government.
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Jul 25, 2021
Two pandemics and the medicine men of Mumbai
A century divides the bubonic plague and Covid that hit Mumbai. This is the story of how the city’s finest doctors saw the challenge then and now, and how the past is linked with what we are experiencing today.
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Jul 22, 2021
Out but not over
A reluctant BS Yediyurappa is being nudged to step down as CM of Karnataka on Monday. What does this mean for the state and the BJP.
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Jul 22, 2021
‘It’s our loss that filmmakers are embarrassed by songs’
A conversation with Javed Akhtar about the loss of songs in movies, how the pandemic will change Bollywood and the star power of Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.
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Jul 20, 2021
Following Big Brother
Is the Pegasus snooping scandal the tipping point of government overreach?
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Jul 18, 2021
‘Americans have the watches, but we have the time’
The Taliban is on the march again in Afghanistan after a 20 year gap. The US has left without brokering peace, and now the country is plunged in chaos and civil war. We unpack and explain what’s going on in Afghanistan and why India should worry.
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Jul 15, 2021
A strategist gets his hands dirty
Will Prashant Kishor join the Congress for the biggest political challenge of his life?
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Jul 14, 2021
The House is sitting
Parliament’s Monsoon session begins Monday—why you should be paying attention to it.
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Jul 13, 2021
Not kidding around
A law proposed in Uttar Pradesh to curb population growth plays into entirely inaccurate and deeply held notions on population. Is it a diversionary tactic or preventing a demographic disaster?
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Jul 11, 2021
General in the labyrinth
India’s most ambitious plan to transform its military under new CDS General Rawat has run into controversy. Defence expert Manoj Joshi decodes what’s going on and what’s at stake.
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Jul 8, 2021
State and the lost art of conversation
Stan Swamy’s death and the continued incarceration of Bhima Koregaon 15 suggests that political negotiations with inconvenient opponents is no longer an option.
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Jul 7, 2021
Thespian exits
Dilip Kumar’s death marks not just the passing of an actor extraordinaire but also that of an icon who spoke for a shared Hindu-Muslim south Asian heritage.
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Jul 6, 2021
‘We haven’t discarded our Hindutva ideology’
Shiv Sena leader and spokesperson Sanjay Raut addresses the rumours of split that dog the Maharashtra government and also the Sena’s very ambiguous feelings for the BJP.
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Jul 4, 2021
The Accidental Prisoner
A conversation with Mohamedou Slahi whom the Americans detained, interrogated and tortured for 14 years at Guantanamo Bay without ever charging him. His heartbreaking story is now a major motion picture.
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Jul 1, 2021
NFT and the reimagining of art
We put the spotlight on a series of high-value digital acquisitions that are revolutionising art world and indeed our notion of what art really is.
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Jun 30, 2021
Let’s make babies
Staring at a precipitous population decline, the Parsi community’s efforts to add to their numbers is bearing fruit.
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Jun 28, 2021
Only half-remembered
This June marks 30 years of India’s liberalisation and its architect PV Narasimha Rao’s 100th birth anniversary. We piece together the legacy of India’s first PM from the south, whom the Congress chose to forget
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Jun 24, 2021
Diamonds and rust
From covert ops to vaccine diplomacy, it takes all sorts of stratagem to catch an artful dodger. How India is closing in on Mehul Choksi
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Jun 23, 2021
Future of work: it's in progress
What will our office life look like going forward? HR bosses and head hunters weigh in
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Jun 20, 2021
Third wave and a variant of interest
Shahid Jameel, one of India’s most prominent virologists, on entering the age of pandemics and why virus surveillance is the future of health.
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Jun 17, 2021
How not to do Covid tests
An LIC salesman in Punjab breaks the country's biggest coronavirus fake test scam at this year's Kumbh Mela
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Jun 15, 2021
Will India ever get an openly queer judge?
A conversation with lawyer Saurabh Kirpal on why sexual orientation matters when it comes to getting on the bench and why SC must necessarily be a counter-majoritarian institution.
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Jun 13, 2021
A hound and blight show
What we have learnt about the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
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Jun 10, 2021
Protest as a muse
Carnatic singer TM Krishna on what it means to be an artist, whether politics and art are inseparable and what are the fears that keep him up at night
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Jun 8, 2021
Single, can’t mingle
The Times of India podcast will put the spotlight on ideas, people and stories that matter from Monday to Friday.
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Jun 6, 2021
Wrestling Hero On The Mat
Olympic star Sushil Kumar’s strange descent into gangsterism and crime.
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Jun 3, 2021
A Writer In Translation
Jhumpa Lahiri who has just translated her own Italian novel into English talks about moving deftly between multiple languages, and how Hindustani classical music helps to cope with the recent loss of her mother.
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Jun 1, 2021
Vaccine policy: A boaster dose
For a country, which was being hailed as the world's answer to get everyone vaccinated, is today struggling to jab its own. TOI's diplomatic editor Indrani Bagchi weighs in.
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May 30, 2021
Top virus hunter says brace for more pandemics
Peter Piot, one of the world’s foremost public health experts and the man who co-discovered Ebola, on the roadmap ahead.
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May 28, 2021
Death in the Ganges
The river becomes the theatre for a morality play on Pandemic, politics and Hinduism. Uma Bharti and Hinduism scholar Wendy Doniger weigh in.
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May 25, 2021
‘Disciplining children right now isn’t the best move’
Leading child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Amit Sen on how to help kids grappling with difficult emotions in the pandemic.
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May 24, 2021
‘We also need hope-scrolling, not just doom-scrolling’
Leading clinical psychologist Sonali Gupta on how to build resilience and how to acknowledge difficult emotions in the time of a deadly second wave.
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Apr 30, 2021
CJI Bodbe's tenure: Mixed Opportunities, Mixed Messaging
For a tenure that coincided with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Justice SA Bobde's term as CJI may not have been a remarkable one, but it was most certainly eventful. Migrants, Sabarimala, Habeus Corpus petitions, and constitutional matters were not heard but a Prashant Bhushan’s tweet was adjudged with alacrity...We take the temperature on the tenure of the 47th Chief Justice of India
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Apr 29, 2021
The curious case of the missing tigers of Ranthambore
Earlier this year, four tigers from one family went missing from the Ranthambore National Park. A tiger (T-64) tigress (T-73) and their two cubs, have not been spotted by forest officials for nearly a year, and are now thought to be confirmed missing. In this episode, we explain how and why tigers go missing, and what it says about conservation efforts in the country.
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Apr 29, 2021
Shivshankar Menon on how India's hyper-nationalism could backfire
Former National Security Advisor, and unarguably one of India's finest thinkers on international affairs, Shivshankar Menon is just out with a new book called "India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present". In our interview of the week, Menon speaks to The Times of India's diplomatic affairs editor Indrani Bagchi about the implications of China's increasingly militarised politics and how India's own hyper nationalism will play out on the global stage.
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Apr 27, 2021
A doctor in the 'world's most distraught' city
Dr Ambarish Satwik a vascular surgeon at Delhi's Ganga Ram Hospital, calls the Indian capital the world's most distraught city at present. In this interview, he tells us what we to expect over the next few weeks, why one must mask even while indoors and to vaccinate urgently for the pandemic has left no safe spaces.
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Apr 27, 2021
The Bhadralok: The political force or just spent force?
Bengal’s Bhadralok wields a disproportionately large clout in the Indian imagination. But as Kolkata, the bastion of this elite section goes to the polls today, find out who these Bhadraloks are, their rich legacy, and whether they still matter.
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