The Big Story

Cyclones are a characteristic feature of the Indian coastline and every year we see a few cyclones create severe damage to the east as well as the west coast. As we deal with the havoc left by Cyclone Biparjoy, on this episode of The Big Story, we want to understand what happens to the communities, people, and their livelihoods once they are rehabilitated. What does that process look like? What kind of mental health problems can come up? Are the long-term effects of cyclones properly understood and worked on?  We also delve into the patterns of cyclones in India and their relation to climate change. We are joined by two guests on the chat - Ruhie Kumar and Surabhi Gajbhiye. Ruhie Kumar is an independent climate strategist, who has worked on breaking down the technical jargon and simplifying climate change for various audiences. Surabhi Gajbhiye currently works as Program Director - consultant at SAAD (a Nagpur-based NGO). She has been working in the humanitarian sector for the past decade on thematic areas of rural development, DRR, child safety, mental health climate change, and sustainable development.

Are AI apps the future of mental health support? Can these applications truly understand and address the complexities of our emotional well-being? What can a user expect when they get on such an application? And perhaps the most provocative question of all—can AI truly replace human therapists? Join us as we unravel the captivating potential of AI apps in mental health, guided by the expertise of Dr. Samir Parikh, a renowned psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital, and Dr. Megha Gupta, the head of AI at Wysa, a pioneering mental healthcare app.

 We discuss the technology, potential, ethical and privacy concerns, and offer a peek in the future of AI in mental health support.

Heatwaves. Literally and metaphorically the “hottest” topic in climate change research. While heatwaves are becoming more and more common in India, are they still dismissed without proper knowledge? More than what we can as individuals do to save ourselves, what is being done at national and international levels? Have we understood it enough and are our plans actionable? On this episode of The Big Story, our hosts Prateek and Anoushka are joined by Aditya Pillai, fellow with the Initiative for Climate, Energy, and Environment (ICEE) at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) to answer these questions.  Aditya Pillai reviewed 37 Heat Action Plans across the country and shares his findings through this chat. He sheds light on what we mean by heatwaves, their detrimental effects, and addresses Heat Action Plans around India while also giving a global perspective, taking into account HAPs all over the world.  Tune in for an engaging conversation!   . . . . . Chapters: 0:00- Intro 4:14- Alarming Heat Effects and What We Can Do about Them 6:15- Slow Desensitisation to Rising Temperature 13:21- Aditya Talks about his Amazing Smartwatch 17:03- Heatwaves: Undeniable yet Ignored 19:28- Rural Infrastructure Trends and Urban Heat Island Effects 25:52- Contextual Approach to Understanding Heatwaves 27:46- What are Heat Action Plans? 29:10- Encouraging Climate Adaptive Lifestyle Changes 30:15- Oiling the Public Machinery: Is Academic Research Leading to Institutional Impact? 35:20- On-Ground Heat Management 37:43- Behavioural Change to Tackle Heat  39:40- Which State has India’s Best Heat Action Plan? 42:50- The Funding and the Legal Foundation of Climate Policy  46:40- Drawing Inspiration from the Global Scenario 49:12- Why does Delhi NOT have a Heat Action plan? 53:33- Can Climate Change Swing Elections? 1:03:59-  The 3 Influential People who should Listen to this Podcast. 1:09:31- Learnings from COVID-19 1:13:03- Why Heat Action Plans need to be Hyper Local? 1:15:01- Suggesting Heat Action Plans for every School and Office

What will be the consequence of Congress’ victory in the Karnataka elections? What are the prominent factors that lead to BJP’s setback in the south? What issues mattered to the voters? We are joined by Fatima Khan, principal correspondent with The Quint who was on the ground in the run-up to the elections, and Aditya Menon, our political editor to discuss what actually happened that lead to this result. In this podcast, we closely examine what issues mattered in this election, what strategies worked, and what this election means for future polls.

In this episode of The Big Story, our hosts Anjali and Prateek talk about money. Now, we don't have a lot of money, but we do have a lot of questions about money. About UPI, precisely. Are we spending more money because of UPI? How does UPI make money? And is UPI just another startup that'll eventually flop? Because it used to give us so many freebies at one point, but now there's a conversation about charging for payments.To answer these questions, we have Ateesh Tankha, founder and CEO of ALSOWISE Content Solutions, India’s first comprehensive English proficiency and communications training app. He has extensive experience in payments and banking, and was, till 2016, the Head of Citi Merchant Services, North America.   0:00 - Intro10:19 - What is UPI? How does it even work? 15:50 - Creation myths around UPI17:37 - Costs attached to UPI payments21:55 - Why are Indian banks not interested in UPI?24:35 - The massive growth of UPI in India26:09 - How did UPI grow so much, but PayTM couldn't29:52 - The business model of Google Pay, PhonePe, etc. 32:00 - How does NPCI make money?34:45 - Are we spending more money because of UPI?41:55 - Who should be paying for UPI transactions?48:24 - How involved is the government in regulating UPI? 52:00 - CBDC and how UPI can be used to reduce our dollar dependence54:45 - E-Rupee and how money works55:54 - UPI and its privacy concerns1:04:50 - Is UPI just a failing startup?1:15:26 - Outro

Do you sometimes look back at your schooling years and wonder if its changed at all? Do you wish you were taught differently? Have you ever considered the role a child’s environment plays in their education? And how different really are government schools from a private school? We know, education has become such a dynamic phenomenon that it’s hard to keep up sometimes, but we’ve got you!  On the Big Story, catch us while we discuss education with Neeti Bhalla Saini, a consultant with the International Baccalaureate and a principal, and Ratna Vishwanathan from Reach to Teach which is a social impact organization that works with state governments to help improve the standard of education. While our guests come from two different sectors of the education industry, it’s interesting to see how their views differ and mirror. Tune in! 

Did you know microplastics are intentionally added in our products? Or the fact that neither non- vegetarians nor vegetarians are safe from microplastics being found in their food? And why did we discuss Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants? We bet you’re curious! So, on this episode of The Big Story, we attempt to uncover the truth about microplastics. We sit down in conversation with Shreya Sharma, a researcher pursuing her masters from Imperial College, London and Sadhika Tiwari, an ex-Quintee who is currently a freelance climate journalist, to know whether we are taking the micro aspect a little too seriously or is this a macro problem we are not focusing on especially since research has already found microplastics in our blood. 

Have you been wondering if you should switch from white sugar to jaggery? Is fast food actually harmful? Do diets like Keto and Paleo work? In this episode of The Big Story, we try to find the answers.  We discuss the changing food habits of young people in India with special guests Krish Ashok, a food influencer and author of 'Masala Lab', and Dr. Priyanka Rohatgi, chief nutritionist at Apollo Hospitals. They talk about the rise of fast food culture and their impact on eating habits, while stressing the importance of maintaining a balanced and healthy diet. We also have Kriti Ghai, an intern at The Quint Podcasts, who reps the Gen-Z food patterns and behaviour.  They provide tips and advice on adopting a healthier lifestyle, debunk common myths about dieting, and highlight the benefits of traditional Indian food. The podcast is a must-listen to understand the changing food habits of young India. They don't tell you what to eat and what not to eat, but rather tell you how to come to this decision for yourself. Tune in and listen till the end to find out if you should continue using your air fryer.

In the second episode of The Big Story, our hosts, Anjali and Prateek discuss media trials with Manisha Pande, the Executive Editor of Newslaundry, and Satish Maneshinde, a lawyer with more than forty years of experience. Media trials involve using the press and television to create a public opinion about an accused individual, which may influence the outcome of their court case. In the last 3-4 years, the media has been said to run 'kangaroo courts' and hamper the due judicial process. Satish sheds light on the effects of a media trial in the courtroom and how the famous saying, ‘judges live in an ivory tower’ is irrelevant today. He also talks about his high-profile cases involving celebrities like Aryan Khan and Rhea Chakraborty, and his game plan for handling the media hype around them. Whereas, Manisha discusses the relationship between media and the judiciary, the two pillars of our democracy. She goes into the good, bad, and ugly aspects of media trials, and elaborates on what she feels is the intent behind malicious reporting. Tune in for an insightful chat.

If you've spoken to a friend or a colleague for over an hour in the past month, it is highly likely that the words Artificial Intelligence (AI) have come up. While we have been hearing about these technologies for a while, there are some new AI tools which have blown up in the social media world. Cases in point – Chat GPT, DALL-E, Mid Journey and more. So, we got together with Shamim Mokles, a graphic designer and YouTuber who recently did some interesting experiments with AI, and Dr. Anupam Guha, who works with AI policy and is a professor at IIT Bombay. In this podcast, we will talk all about how threatening these AI tools are for creatives, if we need an AI policy and what it should look like, and ultimately we discover some non-popular AI uses that are the real threat. And no, it is not Frankenstein or Chitti.  Tune in to the first episode of The Big Story! (Disclaimer: The views expressed are the speakers' own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

The Big Story is back with a second season! The news culture of our times is noisy, crowded, and honestly so confusing. This is why we are coming every fortnight on your podcast platforms to help you make sense of the new and now. With two new hosts, Anjali and Prateek, the second season of The Big Story will feature longer and well-rounded discussions with experts across science, culture, technology, politics, and more. Tune in on your preferred podcast platform!

After the marvelous Thomas cup win, India has another reason to celebrate as Telangana-born boxer Nikhat Zareen bagged the gold medal in the 52-kg category at the Women's World Boxing Championship after defeating Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas in the fly-weight final in Istanbul. With this, the 25-year-old became only the fifth Indian woman to bag a gold at the World Boxing Championships after six-time champion MC Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL, and Lekha KC. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi, boxer Vijender Singh, women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal, cricketer Robin Utthapa and others congratulated her for this incredible feat, in a press conference after the win, Zareen asked “Am I trending on Twitter? It was always my dream to trend on Twitter.” In today’s episode, we’ll trace Nikhat’s journey in the world of boxing in her own voice as she tells the story of her trials and tribulations and how she fought them back. We will also talk to sports writer Anand Datla about what this achievement means for Nikhat and Indian boxing. Tune in! Host and Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha Scripting: Shorbori, Mendra Dorjey Guest: Anand Datla, Sports Writer Editor: Abhimanyu Sen Music: Big Bang Fuzz References: Nikhat Zareen – The Girl Who Fought Back Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

On 18 May, Hardik Patel who gained popularity during the Patidar agitation, quit the party. Taking swipes at senior leaders, he accused the party of lacking strong leadership both at the state and central levels. He said that Congress only plays the role of a “roadblock” when it comes to serious issues — be it about Ram Mandir, abrogation of Article 370 or GST. While it’s not yet clear where Hardik will be headed next, resignations within the Congress party have been on the rise. There have been brazen expressions of discontentment over party leadership and the party's functioning from Congress leaders themselves.  Besides Hardik, many prominent and senior leaders – some of whom had decades-long association with the Congress – quit the party and switched over to opposition parties over the last few year. In fact, earlier in the day a former senior leader of Congress from Punjab — Sunil Jakhar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, merely days after quitting Congress. But what doesn't make for good optics is that Hardik's resignation comes just days after the Congress wrapped up their 3-day 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur, where the party got together to chart out a plan for its revival. Jakhar, in fact, resigned while the Shivir was still underway. So, we’ll look at two things in this episode: firstly, how does Hardik Patel and Sunil Jakhar’s exit stand to impact the Congress at a time when its fast losing its grip over its voters? Secondly, what are the big takeaways from the Chintan Shivir? Is the Congress acknowledging the shortcomings that has been costing it so dearly? Host and Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha Guest: Aditya Menon, Political Editor, The Quint Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

After enforcing a ban on wheat exports, India announced some relaxations on 18 May. The surprise decision had led to a lot of chaos as hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wheat were reportedly left stranded at Gujarat’s Kandla Port after the ban was announced. But the new notification from the Ministry of Commerce has said, "It has been decided that wherever wheat consignments have been handed over to Customs for examination and have been registered into their systems on or prior to 13.5.2022, such consignments would be allowed to be exported." Explaining its rationale behind prohibiting the export of wheat, the central government had said that it was committed to providing for the food security of India as well as other vulnerable countries that had been adversely affected by sudden disruptions in the global market for wheat. But in the aftermath of the ban, as the wheat prices soared to a record high, the ban drew criticism from G7 nations, which said that such moves would "worsen the crisis" of rising commodity prices. But even back at home the jury is divided. While some are of the opinion that such a ban can impact India’s credibility and is also harsh on farmers who could profit from the higher export prices, others say that it is needed to curb the rising prices in the country as severe heatwaves have damaged crops. But to better understand the rationale behind the export ban and its likely implications on domestic and foreign markets, I spoke to Deepanshu Mohan, Associate Professor and Director at the Centre for New Economics Studies at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities. Host: Sakshat Chandok Guest: Deepanshu Mohan, Associate Professor and Director at the Centre for New Economics Studies at the Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities Editor: Shelly Walia Producer: Shorbori Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

The decades-old Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath dispute has sprung back in the news once again. While there are several chapters to this long-drawn dispute, which goes back as far as 1991, let's look at the recent developments first. On Monday, 16 May, a Varanasi court directed for a spot within the mosque complex to be sealed after a court-appointed advocate commissioner, Ajay Kumar Mishra, made a sensational claim that a shivlinga was found in a pond during a videography survey. This video assessment was ordered by the Varanasi civil court after a group of five women petitioners had sought a round-the-year access to pray at “a shrine behind the western wall of the mosque complex”. But the Committee of Management of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid has been contending this order arguing that the court's directions are contrary to the provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 which specifically states that except for Ram Janmabhoomi–Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the nature of all places of worship shall be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947. As the matter came up before Supreme Court bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud on 17 May, the apex court order passed an interim order directing the District Magistrate to protect the area where the shivling was allegedly found but to not stop namaz. But as the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Viswanath issue flares up once again, the crucial legal questions around this dispute now are: Firstly, can the Varanasi court order sealing of a spot within the mosque before the video assessment report was filed? Secondly, does such a videography survey go against the Places of Worship Act? The Quint's Legal Editor Vakasha Sachdev will be analysing these questions for us. And in this episode we'll also look at the timeline of the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Viswanath dispute and where the matter stands so far. Host and Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha Guest: Vakasha Sachdev, Legal Editor, The Quint Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

15th May was not just any Sunday, it was a historic Sunday for Indian sports as the Indian men's Badminton team defeated 14-time winners – Indonesia, to clinch their first ever Thomas Cup title in Bangkok. Praise is still pouring in for the players who together helped India win the prestigious tournament for the first time in its 73 year history.  Senior stalwarts Kidami Srikanth and HS Prannoy remained unbeaten in the tournament, despite playing higher ranked opponents at times. 20-year-old Lakshya Sen fought off a  bout of food poisoning earlier in the week, to win the first match in Sunday’s final against 14-time winners Indonesia.  Chirag and Satwik – the magical doubles pair brought out their best at crunch situations and defeated an Indonesian team comprising only player from the world number one doubles team, and the second from the number two placed team. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra to top cricketers like Virat Kohli and VVS Laxman – this win drew ecstatic reactions from everybody. But how did this team achieve this dream against several odds?  Tune in! Host and Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha Guest: Abhijeet Kulkarni Scripting: Mendra Dorjey & Shorbori Purkayastha Editor: Mendra Dorjey Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

The RBI’s unscheduled hike in repo rates on 5 May confirmed that the central bank was behind the curve in controlling inflation and now new data released by the National Statistical Office on 12 May shows exactly how behind. Retail inflation in India soared to its highest since May 2014 to 7.79 percent in April, almost double the RBI’s mandate of 4 percent and above the bank's estimates for the fourth straight month. Here are a few numbers to indicate the current state of inflation: food price inflation is at a 17-month high of 8.38 percent, rural inflation is at a staggering 8-year high at 8.38 percent and urban inflation at 7.09 percent is at its highest in 18-months. While the war in Ukraine and consequent rise in fuel prices is a significant factor in the spike, April's high inflation, according to media reports, is not one-off. So what is driving this inflation? who will be pinched the most, and what corrective measures can the central bank implement to control inflation? To understand this, I spoke to Pallavi Nahata, Associate Editor of Economy at BQ Prime. Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram Editor: Shorbori Purkayastha Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

On the long-standing question of criminalising marital rape, the Delhi High Court on 11 May delivered a split verdict in a batch of petitions challenging the exception provided to marital rape in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Justice Rajiv Shakdher of the two-judge bench held that Exception 2 under Section 375, which says that any sexual acts by a husband with his wife are not rape, is unconstitutional, while Justice C Hari Shankar held that the provision is valid and that there's no ground for the court to strike the exception down. While this section has undergone a series of amendments over the years, emphasising the importance of consent, this pre-colonial exception of marital rape continues to exist even in the 21st century. Essentially, this exception allows marital rights to a husband who can, with legal sanction, exercise his right to consensual or non-consensual sex with his wife. But what happens next, and what does this verdict mean for the conversation on marital rape? And where does the case go from here? To understand the verdict and its significance, I'm joined today by The Quint's Legal Editor Vakasha Sachdev, and Radhika Roy, an advocate based in Delhi and former Associate Editor at LiveLaw. Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram Editor: Vakasha Sachdev Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

Are we as a society practicing inclusivity and showing sensitivity towards people with disabilities? A video from Ranchi airport that went viral on social media platforms recently is raising this question. This said video captured an incident where a teenage boy with disability was purportedly mistreated by IndiGo airlines. This incident took place on 7 May.  In the video, several passengers in the airport are seen asking the IndiGo staff to let the boy and his family board the flight after they were denied from doing so. The ground staff allegedly said that the child was in a state of panic and would be a threat to other passengers' safety if he was allowed to board. As the incident caused a furore with many tagging Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to take action in response to the outrage , the airlines said in a statement that "the ground staff waited for the child to calm down till the last minute, but to no avail". Soon after, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta also released a statement expressing "sincere regrets over this unfortunate experience" and offered to purchase an electric wheelchair for the boy as a token of appreciation.  He also said that "Having reviewed all aspects of this incident, we as an organisation are of the view that we made the best possible decision under difficult circumstances." But many felt that while this incident showed an example of the many difficulties that people with disabilities face in navigating a society that is largely driven by an ableist approach, it was also heartwarming to see how common citizens showed awareness and sensitivity in this particular incident and stood up for this teen and his family. In this episode, you will hear from Dr Sumit Ray, a senior consultant in critical care medicine, who was waiting at the Ranchi airport when the incident took place, witnessing it first hand. He was also seen intervening with the staff on video footage. We will hear from him what exactly happened at the airport that day. And we also spoke to Prachi Deo, founder of Nayi Disha, an organisation that provides families and primary caregivers of children affected by autism and other developmental disabilities with counselling and guidance. We talk to her about how public spaces and airport staff can be sensitised towards children and adults with disabilities. Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram Scripting: Shorbori Purkayastha Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur

This time around marks a year to the deadly second wave of Covid. While  officially 5.42 lakh people lost their lives to the virus in India since 2020, there have been many repercussions of the pandemic. This episode of The Big Story is not going to be about the headline making news, it's going to be about an issue which is very close to us here at The Quint. Two years since the onset of Covid, India's schools have almost re-opened, but millions of underprivileged students aren't going to be returning to schools anytime soon. We at The Quint, wanted to look into this long-term impact of Covid on girls' education through our video series — Ladki Hoon Padhna Chahti Hoon – India's Girls Out of School. If you look at the data, according to UNESCO, almost 1.8 billion students globally have been affected by school closures in the pandemic. Around 320 million of them are in India alone, and out of this at least 158 million are female students. And it's not just this UNESCO data alone. Ever since India started relying on digital classes for school students from 2020, there have been several parallel surveys and analysis to shed light on who have been impacted the most by the school closures during Covid and how. Most of these surveys and data point to the one fact that girls especially from caste and economic minorities became the bigger casualties of the pandemic. So we decided to go to the faces behind these numbers and meet the girls whose dreams have been shattered and who childhoods have been lost. Tune in to The Big Story! Host and Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha Editor: Shelly Walia Interviews: Sadhika Tiwari and Mythreyee Ramesh Music: Big Bang Fuzz Listen to The Big Story podcast on: Apple: https://apple.co/2AYdLIl Saavn: http://bit.ly/2oix78C Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2ntMV7S Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2IyLAUQ Deezer: http://bit.ly/2Vrf5Ng Castbox: http://bit.ly/2VqZ9ur