Indicast - All Podcasts

Charlie English is the author of "The CIA Book Club: The Best Kept Secret of the Cold War". In this episode he talks about a little-known chapter in Cold War history where the CIA smuggled banned books into the Eastern Bloc in an effort to challenge communist ideology. Charlie shares how the CIA ran this literary operation for over three decades, why even detective novels had political weight in Soviet-ruled countries, and what it meant to grow up under state censorship so tight you needed permission to buy a sheet of paper.

Ludwig Siegele, senior editor AI Initiatives at The Economist talks about how Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek and Alibaba are disrupting the status quo. They are building high-performing models at lower costs and releasing some of them as open source. How did they manage to pull this off and what does this mean for the global AI race? Ludwig joined The Economist as a US technology correspondent in 1998 and has covered the Silicon Valley since the Internet, as we know it, was born.

Investigative journalist Charles Piller unravels one of the biggest scientific scandals in recent history. Drawing from his book "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's", Charles reveals how falsified data propped up a dominant theory in Alzheimer’s research, diverting billions in funding and delaying real progress. With over 30 million people affected worldwide, Charles talks about the human toll of the disease, the scientific misconduct that shook the field and the faint but growing signs of hope.

John Dykes has worn many hats: from features writer to one of the world’s most sought-after sports presenters. In this podcast, he shares insights and anecdotes from his three-decade career, helping individuals and organisations to master storytelling, craft compelling pitches, create high-performance teams and manage crises in his new innings as a solopreneur. Reflecting on iconic moments, from covering cricket, football, tennis, Formula 1, MotoGP and golf to interviewing legends like Thierry Henry and Serena Williams, John emphasises the power of preparation over “winging it”. He also explores the value of embracing discomfort for long-term growth, a mindset he embodies at 60, while busting many myths about aging.

In this episode, Simon Parkin unravels an extraordinary tale of courage and sacrifice during World War II. His latest book, The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City Under Siege, chronicles the heroic botanists who risked, and in some cases, gave their lives to safeguard a priceless seed collection during the longest blockade in recorded history. They chose starvation over consuming the very seeds that could prevent future famines. Simon shares the story of visionary scientist Nikolai Vavilov and his dedicated team, who preserved the world’s first seed bank under unimaginable conditions.

Sarah Thornton is a sociologist known for her writing on art, design, and society. Sarah’s latest book, Tits Up: What Our Beliefs About Breasts Reveal About Life, Love, Sex, and Society, is a fascinating account of the cultural, social and personal significance of breasts, an organ we think we understand but actually know surprisingly little about. In this podcast Sarah takes us on a fascinating journey from the neon-lit stages of strip clubs to the quiet halls of milk banks, from plastic surgery operating rooms to the boardrooms of lingerie designers. Along the way, Sarah unpacks the role of breasts in feminism, religion, fashion and media, revealing how they have been shaped and reshaped by history and society, debunking an age-old lopsided view.

Why do we behave the way we do? What is going on in our brains when we take certain decisions? How hardwired are we and what are the odds that we can change our core behaviour for the better? In this podcast neurologist Dr Guy Leschziner tries to answer some of these questions. His latest book, “Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human” explores the complex interplay between our brain, biology and the behaviors we often attribute to morality, choice or personality.

President Trump and President Zeleksky, in front of the world media, had a go at each other when they met on February 28th. The shouting match is not what the world needed to see. It could have dire consequences. In India the world of quick commerce has shaken up the kiranas and is now a part of our daily lives. Aditya launches Beacon, a superapp purpose-built for immigrants to Canada. Indicast listeners will get preferential treatment. Listen to find out more.

Ever wondered how a dictator survives for decades? If you think he does so without a care in the world, as I did, you are in for a surprise. Tyrants are probably amongst the most paranoid people in the world. Their single-minded determination to stay in power makes them do crazy things. They need to manage those who are close to them, bodyguards and palace elites included. Citizens can go to hell. But that doesn’t make their job any easier, says Dr Marcel Dirsus, the author of his latest book, “How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive”. Some like Saddam Hussain and Yasser Arafat were known to micromanage and were often more worried about internal coups than external foes. How can adversaries deal with them? How can data and analytics help countries to deal with madmen? Marcel himself had a scare when he worked in a brewery in Congo where he decided to entrench himself in the subject. In this podcast he talks about the fascinating, if depressing world of these dictators, and what can be done about it.

Sunitha Krishnan has dedicated her life to rescuing and rehabilitating victims of human trafficking. Since 1996, her outfit, Prajwala, Asia’s largest institution combating sex trafficking and sex crime, has made a difference to the lives of over 30,100 survivors. Sunitha’s book, "I am what I am" is an outstanding account of her life. In this podcast she talks about moments that shaped her mission, including her experiences when she was jailed as an activist and her time spent in a Hyderabad slum, living “like a queen”. In 2016 Sunitha was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award.