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My week in podcasting/September 24, 2019


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Each Monday, I round up some of my favorite listening moments from the week and present them here—suggestions and feedback welcome!

Young people never cease to amaze me with the things they do, the courage they have to pursue what matters to them, creating waves that carry the rest of us, like foam, towards a shore we can only imagine. This past year, and particularly this past week, has belonged to Greta Thunberg, with her calm face and forceful words that tell us we need to act, now. We sit on the wisdom of our years accepting that the earth will revolt, but she sees the possibility of change simply because her generation will be the one to live through the horror of what will happen if it is business as usual. Her passion and belief that change is possible through collective action makes me wonder why we never thought of it. Or more correctly, when we stopped believing it all the way inside ourselves and instead started acting like we believed it—carrying candles or painting placards in a sort of numbed habit. Protest and mobilization were things to be done because we know no other way, not because we really—really—believed they would achieve anything.

But Greta. And all those hopeful, committed faces, too young for either the state (they can’t vote) or the market (they don’t earn) to take seriously. Yet making us all stop and take them seriously. Her voyage across the Atlantic in a solar-powered boat caused the Financial Times to ask “Should we turn our backs on flying?” NPR explores how she sparked off the movement in their daily show UpFirst on September 20, a few days ahead of her (what can only be described as historic) speeches first in Battery Park in front of a sea of young people and some older ones, and later in front of the United Nations (which if you missed, you can find here.) where she told the assembly (and us) that we would not be forgiven for inaction on climate change. As she said, the science has been “crystal clear” for the past three decades, something that was made clear by an eye-opening New York Times magazine piece earlier this year.

But this week I also discovered another young voice in the podcast universe, 13-year-old Arushi Gupta who turned 14 this week, and her show, “When I was 13”. The show has Arushi getting into a time machine with a guest and asking them to go back to when they were at the start of their own teens. A 50-year-old reminisces about being captivated by Madonna’s “Material Girl” and watching Hum Log on a Dyanora television set while a 40-something speaks of growing up in the Mandal years. With 16 episodes under her belt and a second season underway, Arushi has already developed a seasoned podcaster’s voice. While the guests are all in the Gurgaon area, their stories go back to towns across the country, from Bhopal to Bangalore. There are better known achievers, like ad-world leader Ambi Parameswaran, as well as lesser known professionals pursuing unusual careers, and Arushi handles the interviews like a pro.

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Arushi with a guest/Courtesy www.hindustantimes.com 


It’s funny how simple conversations between total strangers can hold one’s attention, if they are laced with intelligence and have a ring of sincerity. I must confess that I was completely prepared to be unimpressed and ended up listening to three episodes in a row without even noticing that the traffic was worse than usual!

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