Latest Artiste Podcast Episodes
E55: Kumi Naidoo - How human rights and climate justice go hand in hand
Maharani Talks - March 31, 2024 07:07 - 1 hourMy guest this episode is the distinguished Kumi Naidoo - a human rights and climate justice activist. Naidoo first began his journey at the age of 15 fighting against the then apartheid government in South Africa by organising school boycotts. He was arrested several times for civil disobedience...
E54: Aashima Dogra, Nandita Jayaraj - How can women in Indian science no longer be the exception but the norm?
Maharani Talks - November 07, 2023 13:40 - 48 minutesWhat is it like to be a woman scientist in India? Why don’t we see enough of them? If you’re quick to point the superstar ones, sadly they’re not always the norm. In fact, research has shown that women in academia are expected to be much more competent than their male counterparts to be consider...
E53: Ankush Sabharwal - Are we ready for AI?
Maharani Talks - July 26, 2023 02:37 - 34 minutesArtificial intelligence or AI is quite the buzzword these days. Many of us would not have missed the news pouring in about AI - sometimes it is promising and at times, it isn’t reassuring. But Ankush Sabharwal, founder and CEO of CoRover, believes AI is more than a buzzword. It is here to stay -...
E52: Smish Designs - The Art of Protest
Maharani Talks - March 03, 2023 17:49 - 51 minutesHow often have you shared a digital artwork on social media to simply convey your thoughts on an issue? The power of digital art to convey dissent or to protest has grown to become one of the most preferred ways to vent frustration or show solidarity. Its creation is not intended to sell (may...
E51: Anjali Gopalan - The way forward for the Indian queer community
Maharani Talks - October 25, 2022 10:24 - 38 minutesIn many ways, Anjali Gopalan has been a torchbearer for the LGBTQIA+ community. She started Naz Foundation in 1994 to lead a dedicated fight against HIV/AIDS issues and defend those marginalised due to their sexuality. Naz Foundation is the original petitioner to challenge Section 377 criminalis...
E50: Chef Thomas Zacharias - Taking the #Indianfoodmovement back to its roots
Maharani Talks - July 18, 2022 10:26 - 50 minutesThe Bombay Canteen is considered as one of the most popular restaurants in the country and its food most sought out. It has been adjudged as The Best Restaurant in India in 2018 by Conde Nast Traveller and was also included in its list of 100 places in the world to eat. And as the restaurant’s f...
E49: Dr. Susmita Mohanty - Exploring space missions beyond NASA
Maharani Talks - March 06, 2022 16:43 - 1 hourAs someone who has a keen interest in space, I’m very excited to finally feature Dr. Susmita Mohanty, spaceship designer and a serial space entrepreneur, who started India’s first private space startup, Earth2Orbit - at a time when the Indian space industry didn’t welcome private players. She ha...
E48: Raksha Muthukumar - Tech unions keep Big Tech in check
Maharani Talks - February 03, 2022 18:17 - 42 minutesTech unions are considered a rarity in Silicon Valley. So, when Google employees announced the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), named after Google’s parent company, it ended up becoming a catalyst for white collar workers to stand up against injustices in the workplace. Raksha Muthukumar was one...
E47: Priyadharsini - Who are the voices behind our news?
Maharani Talks - November 27, 2021 12:42 - 55 minutesWho make up the Indian newsrooms? Do journalists cover diverse voices? Priyadharsini is the founder director of The Blue Club (TBC), a grassroots media organisation that amplifies stories of women from marginalised communities and the LGBTQIA. TBC is solely led by a team of members from such ...
E46: Dr. Anup Surendranath - Should we hang those who commit heinous crimes?
Maharani Talks - October 30, 2021 07:38 - 1 hourI’ve been of the opinion that death penalty is justified for those convicted of heinous crimes. But in doing so, am I completely isolating the perpetrator and their actions to this one crime? Does the onus of the death penalty fall majorly on those marginalised in our society? My guest this ep...
E45: Kutti Revathi - The potent mix of body politics and regional poetry
Maharani Talks - September 08, 2021 10:34 - 46 minutesDr. Revathi, or Kutti Revathi as she is often known as, is my first guest on the podcast that I’m talking to for the second time. The last time I spoke to her was a decade ago, and the issues that mattered to her then matter even today. She is a prominent Tamil poet, writer and lyricist whose wo...
E44: Jyotsna Siddharth - The politics of caste, love and discrimination
Maharani Talks - August 11, 2021 12:13 - 51 minutesCan you remember the time when the topic of love and marriage was discussed around you, the issue of caste was never brought up? A quick Google search on this issue will throw up a spate of news about inter-caste marriages and the incessant battles couples often face. The latest Pew Research f...
E43: Neelam Jain - Bringing the trans community to corporate India
Maharani Talks - July 30, 2021 08:28 - 43 minutesThere has been much talk about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, galvanised by the growing clout of social media.But how much of that translates for the transgender community? Recently, Karnataka became the first state government in India to reserve 1% of all government jobs for the tr...
E42: Deep Bajaj - The freedom for women to stand and pee
Maharani Talks - July 08, 2021 18:57 - 54 minutesIf you’re a person with a vagina, be it binary or non binary, using public toilets has always been an icky experience. So what do we do? We either go long hours not peeing, hover over the toilet or in the worst case scenario, try to wipe the toilet seat. When Deep Bajaj noticed how his wife a...
E41: Part 2 - Nikesh Murali - Attention economy and the Indian podcast industry
Maharani Talks - June 12, 2021 13:54 - 53 minutesThis episode is the second part of my conversation with Nikesh Murali, writer and creator of the acclaimed podcast, Indian Noir. Before you listen to this episode, hope you’ve already checked out the prequel to this conversation where Nikesh and I talk about Indian Noir becoming a Spotify excl...
E40: Part 1 - Nikesh Murali - The evolving audio boom
Maharani Talks - June 04, 2021 11:23 - 51 minutesI’m thrilled to share with you all that Maharani Talks has completed a year! And one of the first podcasters I reached out to is Nikesh Murali, who has been supportive from day one. So I'm really excited that I finally got to sit down with him and have a wonderful discussion about his incredib...
E40: Part 1 - Nikesh Murali - The evolving audio boom and creator economy
Maharani Talks - June 04, 2021 11:23 - 51 minutesI’m thrilled to share with you all that Maharani Talks has completed a year! And one of the first podcasters I reached out to is Nikesh Murali, who has been supportive from day one. So I'm really excited that I finally got to sit down with him and have a wonderful discussion about his incredib...
E39: Apoorva Bakshi - The power of local stories to go global
Maharani Talks - May 29, 2021 12:51 - 1 hourI remember when I watched Delhi Crime, it was gut wrenching, and took me back to the time when news reports were trickling in about Jyoti Singh’s gruesome rape and death. The show gave me a chance to understand how the Delhi Police went about nabbing all those involved. The hard hitting docu-...
E38: Arjun Bahl, Thanish Thomas - Thought-provoking street art can spark change
Maharani Talks - May 21, 2021 06:41 - 1 hourIn 2014, Arjun Bahl and Thanish Thomas along with three of their co-founders, Hanif Kureshi, Giulia Ambrogi and Akshat Nauriyal, went to Shahpur Jat in New Delhi with a few artists and decided to paint the walls with art that was both vibrant and relayed a story or a message. With that, St+art...
E37: Amrita Samant - Capturing the world of families
Maharani Talks - May 12, 2021 09:23 - 1 hourWhen Amrita Samant decided to pursue her passion and take up maternity and child photography back in 2013, little did she realise she would help open up a whole new industry in India, paving the way for many more such photographers. Over the years, Amrita has done over 1400 shoots spread acros...
E36: Varun Sheth - Amplifying every small act of giving through crowdfunding
Maharani Talks - April 18, 2021 13:54 - 34 minutesWhen Varun Sheth was keen to go abroad after his graduation, he tried to raise funds for his education through crowdsourcing from his relatives and thereby, did his first ever crowdfunding campaign. And this was even years before he co-founded Ketto, along with his co-founders Zaheer Adenwala an...
E35: Dr. Varuna Srinivasan - Time to dismantle gender constructs and caste heirarchy
Maharani Talks - April 09, 2021 12:24 - 51 minutesIt’s not easy to reveal to the world that you’re a sexual minority. Now imagine you’re an Indian. The stakes are that much higher. Dr. Varuna Srinivasan’s decision to come out as a bisexual woman shows that she is not afraid to take a stand & voice her opinion. Her inability to find safe spaces ...
E34: Special Ep - Anitha M Lakshmi - Redefining work culture during Covid
Maharani Talks - March 25, 2021 19:14 - 22 minutesIt’s been a year since work from home became a norm across all companies. A recent survey by Microsoft revealed that 40% of global workers are considering leaving their employers this year based on how leaders managed this new challenge. The pandemic has completely overhauled our idea of work ...
E33: Arman Sood - Brewing a niche coffee space
Maharani Talks - March 18, 2021 12:32 - 51 minutesCoffee culture is a big part of our lives. But most of us know it as either instant, espresso or filter coffee. Step in: cold brew - the art of steeping ground coffee beans in cold temperature, bringing out a more intense flavour. And this is where Arman Sood and his two co-founders, Ashwajee...
E32: Natasha Sharma - The joy of writing for children
Maharani Talks - February 28, 2021 06:21 - 53 minutesAs a parent, you’re always in search of heartfelt books that you can uncover for your children. For me, that search has also been to balance the storytelling not just by international authors, but equally by Indian authors. It’s this curiosity that has led me to have this wonderful conversation ...
E31: Francesc Miralles - It's normal for your Ikigai to change with time
Maharani Talks - February 12, 2021 10:06 - 47 minutesBy now, most of you would’ve heard, if not read already, this lovely book called Ikigai by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia. What was initially thought to be a book that might interest a certain section of people caught the attention of the world. Ikigai has gone on to sell millions of copi...
E30: Neha Bagaria - Women should flaunt their career break
Maharani Talks - February 08, 2021 11:17 - 29 minutesDid you know that about 50% of all Indian women take a break within three years of starting work. And 80% of them cannot find a way back to work.That’s an alarming drain of women talent in the workforce right? It’s exactly this issue that I have a chat with Neha Bagaria, who started JobsForHer...
E29: Special Ep - Dr. Pavithra Venkatagopalan - All about COVID vaccines
Maharani Talks - February 01, 2021 09:33 - 28 minutesIt’s been about two weeks since India rolled out its Covid vaccination drive against the ongoing pandemic. While the current priority is to provide these vaccines to health professionals and other front line workers, many regular folk are either awaiting to take the shot or would like to delay i...
E28: Upasana Makati - A magazine for the blind
Maharani Talks - January 11, 2021 11:38 - 49 minutesWhen we want to catch up on news, there are countless sources at our disposal. But what about those who’re visually impaired? India is home to over 20% of the world’s blind population, yet other than the radio, there are no newspapers or magazines that can inform them about current affairs. ...
E27: Ram Devineni - The power of comics to drive a social message
Maharani Talks - December 23, 2020 11:50 - 37 minutesMeet Ram Devineni, the creator of India’s first female superhero - Priya’s Shakti. When Ram published the first comic book in 2014 at the Mumbai Comic Con, he didn’t expect his protagonist - a gangrape survivor, who overcomes her fear and stigma, to become such a viral hit, not just in India but...