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PODCAST

In Focus by The Hindu

A podcast from The Hindu that delves deep into current developments with subject experts, and brings in context, history, perspective and analysis.

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All Episodes

25:31

Is climate change increasing the levels of toxic...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/05/08

When it comes to food, most Indians cannot imagine a day without rice. Lunch is rice, and rice is lunch – and rice is also sometimes breakfast or dinner or just part of a number of other food items we consume. But how healthy is the rice we are eating? Scientists have known for a while now that a lot of rice contains some amount of arsenic. A new study that was published in The Lancet Planetary Health last month, however, had some newer, more worrying findings: it found that with rising carbon

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49:52

What does it mean for India to conduct a caste census?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/05/07

The Union cabinet has announced that the next population Census will also include questions on caste. This is a sharp departure from the ruling BJP’s long-standing opposition to a caste census.How do we understand this U-turn? How would this caste census differ from the last one, conducted in 1931? Given the massive scale and logistics involved, what are the challenges involved, and how do we ensure the integrity of the exercise and the data collection process? Guest: Satish Deshpande,

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28:26

Are the extinct dire wolves really back?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/05/05

The world of science was rocked early last month when U.S. company Colossal Biosciences announced that it had resurrected the dire wolf—a species that went extinct more than 10,000 years ago. Three pups, named Remus, Romulus, and Khaleesi are now living on a 2,000-acre enclosure in a secret location. Videos of the wolf pups howling went viral across the internet, as did photographs of their snowy white fur.How did Colossal achieve this? Through genetic editing. After first extracting DNA from an

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29:18

Is a candidate winning an election ‘unopposed’...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/05/02

According to Section 53 (2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, if there is only candidate contesting an election, then she can be declared elected unopposed. Now a legal think tank, the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of this provision. It cites the 2013 order of the Supreme Court which held that the right to cast a negative vote by choosing ‘NOTA’ was protected under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. It

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43:51

Aamir Aziz-Anita Dube controversy: What does the...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/29

In a controversy that seems to have divided the art world in India, Mumbai-based poet-activist Aamir Aziz has accused well known artist Anita Dube of using his poem without his consent, and profiting from it without giving him credit or compensation.The poem in question is ‘Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega’, which became an anthem of the anti-CAA protests and later a global phenomenon after English rock musician Roger Waters read it out at an event in London. While Dube has admitted to an “ethical

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62:31

How can India strengthen the foundations of its...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/28

Recently, a debate about appointing judges has gained momentum in light of cash allegedly being found in the house of a Delhi High Court judge. What began as a discussion about transparency in judicial appointments has widened into a broader conversation about the functioning of India’s justice system, which is already strained by millions of pending cases. But concerns run deeper than just courtrooms. A recent report, called the India Justice Report 2025, flags critical issues across four pillars

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38:48

What can we expect from the US-Iran nuclear talks?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/23

For the first time since 2018, the United States and Iran are holding high level negotiations. What Iran wants is clear: an end to US sanctions, and resumption of economic engagement. But the US has been speaking in different voices, ranging from a maximalist position of complete dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program, to a more moderate goal of capping the weaponistion of it. President Donald Trump has also given a two-month deadline to Iran to make a deal. If it doesn’t, he has threatened

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24:04

What is Type 5 diabetes and why is it of concern in...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/22

Even as India grapples with its estimated 101 million cases of Type 2 diabetes, a new type of diabetes has recently hit the headlines – Type 5. At the International Diabetes Federation’s meeting held recently, an announcement was made: a working group is to be formed to develop criteria and guidelines for Type 5 diabetes. Estimates indicate that this form of diabetes affects 25 million people across the world, primarily in Asia and Africa. Though this form of diabetes was first recorded over 75

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40:07

What are the concerns with the Income Tax Bill, 2025?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/21

The Income Tax Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha recently. It seeks to modernise and simplify the Income Tax Act, 1961. While the Bill is indeed shorter in length than the original Act it seeks to replace, there is one major concern: privacy experts believe it institutes a regime of tax surveillance, in complete violation of the Supreme Court judgement in the landmark Justice Puttasamy case where it ruled that privacy is a fundamental right. Tax experts hold that under the provisions of

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45:04

What are the factors at play in content moderation

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/17

Every day, millions of posts are made online — tweets, videos, memes, reels. Some content is violent, misleading, or even dangerous. This is where content moderation comes in. However, deciding what stays up and what comes down isn't as simple as it sounds. In fact, X has sued the Union government in the Karnataka High Court for the SAHYOG portal, which it says is a “censorship portal” that allows local police and different parts of the government to demand takedowns. The Karnataka High Court did

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44:04

Why are health insurance premiums so high in India?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/15

Customers of private health insurance policies in India have noticed a worrying trend – their premium costs are shooting up, and, going by the many stories on social media, rejection of claims is also on the rise. Add to this the 18% GST that is charged on premiums, and it is no wonder that many say they are choosing to not renew their policies altogether.Healthcare remains one of those most expensive aspects of an individual’s life in India – with medical inflation rates at 14% and about 60% of

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42:42

Why is torture prevalent in Indian policing even...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/14

A new report by the NGO Common Cause and Lokniti- Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) has surveyed the attitudes towards torture by policemen across India. ‘The Status of Policing in India Report 2025: Police Torture and (Un) Accountability’ has, for the first time, produced empirical data on the justifications for torture that permeates the Indian police. Uniquely, this report approaches torture not from the perspective of human rights activists, but from the standpoint of the most

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51:45

What does Generative AI mean for the working classes?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/10

The internet has been flooded with AI-generated images in the style of Studio Ghibli, the animation studio founded by the famous Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. What made Studio Ghibli’s work so special was not only its distinctive style but also the fact that the images were all hand-drawn.The contrast between the high skill and hard labour of the original Studio Ghibli images and the Ghibli-style pictures churned out by ChatGPT-4o couldn’t be starker. The easy proliferation of Studio Ghibli

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46:01

How can India counter Trump's tariffs?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/09

On April 2, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new set of tariffs against countries that, according to him, charged high tariffs and imposed barriers that made products made in the USA more expensive. These tariffs are essential to Trump’s plan to reduce trade deficits and increase domestic manufacturing. The “baseline” tariff of 10% on imports from all countries came into effect on April 5, 2025. A new set of tariffs would come into effect on April 9. The Trump administration imposed a

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45:47

How does Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act weaken the RTI?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/04/03

The Right to Information Act was a historic piece of legislation that gave ordinary citizens a legally enforceable means to seek information about the government’s functioning – a small step towards accountability.But over the years, governments have progressively diluted the provisions of this law. The latest blow to the RTI is in the form of Section 44 (3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. This law will come into force once the Rules under it are notified, which is expected to

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54:53

Understanding the concerns over EPIC-Aadhaar linkage

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/03/31

On March 18, 2025, the Election Commission of India announced that its officials will hold talks with UIDAI experts for linking the Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) with Aadhaar. This linking is supposed to be voluntary, but there is some confusion as to whether the voter will really have any choice in the matter. There are also concerns that linking EPIC with Aadhaar could lead to voter profiling, selective disenfranchisement, targeted campaigns, data privacy violations, and possibly

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32:51

Could environmental pollution be behind the rise in...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/03/28

Cancers are rising and rising fast in India. The Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Cancer Registry Programme estimated a 12% increase between 2020 and 2025. This year, cancer numbers were estimated to hit 15.7 lakh. A worrying trend in this rise, is the spike in cancer cases among young persons. We know of and we are battling risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption and obesity and while these are still responsible for a significant chunk of cancers in India, other factors

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45:22

Kunal Kamra incident: Is vandalism as a response to...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/03/26

India is up in arms again, over the words of a stand-up comedian known forpolitical jokes. Kunal Kamra’s remarks on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were not liked by the latter’s supporters, who responded with violence – vandalising the venue where Kamra had performed, with the police not intervening to protect private property. Kamra has been inundated with threat calls. The Maharashtra government has also threatened to freeze Kamra’s bank accounts, and has demanded an apology

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48:35

Unpacking the PTPA’s class action lawsuit against...

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/03/25

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) and 22 players havefiled a class action lawsuit against the sport’s governing bodies in a US court. The case has been filed against the ATP, the WTA, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). The lawsuit alleges that professional tennis players are being exploited and abused by the unfair business practices of the sport’s governing bodies. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the ATP, WTA

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23:10

Why does India not have a national emergency helpline?

In Focus by The Hindu ·

2025/03/22

Blinkit, a quick commerce company was recently in the news after it announced the launch of its 10-minute ambulance service, to be rolled out, beginning in Gurugaon and with plans to expand to other cities over two years. The launch, while praised in some quarters and criticised in others has thrown into focus a larger question: why does India not have a national emergency service helpline and an adequate number of ambulances to cater to its population? Considering that we are a country with one of

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1,123 results

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