Mumbaiwale: Plug into these cool podcasts

From history to local beer bars, indie music to queer life, find a podcast you like, and your ears will open up for more

For those who’ve never tried them, podcasts take a little getting used to. Years of church sermons have made me auto-block any voice that drones on for longer than 3 minutes. I have no patience for slow talkers. Plus, I retain information better by reading than listening.

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You need to find just one to change your mind. For me, it was BBC Radio 4’s A History Of The World in 100 Objects (hear it here) based on the eponymous book that I’d already read and loved. Neil MacGregor, former British Museum curator, used 100 museum artefacts to tell an unforgettable tale of humanity.

Podcasts, it turns out, are perfect for geeks like me. I’ve cooked dinner, laughing into the soup, with NPR’s comedy quiz, Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! Radiolab had one episode about the colour blue that I played on loop for days. And I dip randomly into 117 episodes of the History Of English shows when I’m too keyed up to sleep. Full disclaimer: I have my own podcast, Wordy Wordpecker, which looks at the extraordinary stories of ordinary words. And it’s under three minutes!

Of course, you don’t have to be a geek to enjoy podcasts. Here are some from India or about India that might keep you company through a traffic jam, a plane ride, at a waiting room or a rare quiet evening.

The Night Shift

Journalist Kunal Purohit’s series looks at Indian women who go to work after dark – taxi drivers, bar dancers, bouncers, home guards and the like. The stories aren’t just about the attendant danger – they look at how men and women perceive power. Think of it as an engaging audio documentary – Purohit’s narration is intercut with voices of the unexpectedly powerful women. The taxi driver, alas, sleeps in the very radio cab she drives. The bouncer, you’ll be glad to know, loves her job, hates stags and even works the bar. But she does have to walk home alone at 4am.

Maed In India by Mae Thomas

There’s a reason Mae Thomas consistently shows up on best-podcast lists. She’s so much fun to listen to – and I don’t just mean her UK-Malayali accent. Thomas looks at indie bands from India and elsewhere, is part-critic, part-fangirl, and, rare for a host, lets her guest musicians speak. Lots of music samples, lots of acoustic on-the-fly performances, lots of backstories of how music is produced. So this is where you may find your next new favourite band, after The Yellow Diary, of course.

Keeping it Queer

Comedian Navin Noronha and his roster of guests have looked at every colour of the LGBT rainbow over two seasons. Incels and the threats they pose to women’s rights – check. Sex toys and whether they’re designed for Indian women – check. Porn addiction – yes, yes oh yes. Being gay and religious – oh heavens, yes. Being an Indian gay man in America and in India – check. Dealing with an over-inquisitive extended family – ssh, of course! Jump into an episode at random to get a sense of what everyday life’s like when you’re queer.

The Adventures of Cheap Beer

Best title, ever! And the show reviewing Mumbai’s beer bars and local dives is a whole lot of fun as well. I’m no beer fan, but beer-loving guys Suyash Barve, Karan Agarwal and Siddhant Mehta, plus other beer-loving guests have a sense of casual camaraderie that is welcoming and easy to listen to. “Is it episode 43?” one asks. “Shaddap, it’s episode 44,” another supplies. There’s generous swearing. A buzzing haze hangs over each episode. It also reveals that The Camp, near the Mumbai University in Kalina, is a surprise gem. Clean, “nonsense-ly cheap” (the crispy chicken is Rs 215), well lit, down the road from Imbiss (which is always a good thing) and possibly the most woman friendly they’ve seen yet.

Ask Aakaar Anything

You know why I like Ask Aakaar Anything? Because it’s short. Journalist Aakaar Patel crowdsources questions big and small and answers them fairly and succinctly in a low, clear timbre. So what makes people consider Mumbai the city of dreams? Ahmedabad-born Aakaar delves into Mumbai’s business-first attitude, its openness to change and how little it cares for who your father is. But he also points out that Mumbai is by no means unique in these qualities and is losing out to faster-growing cities across India. People really ask him anything: about Twinkle Khanna, robots taking our jobs, Tinder, online shopping and the high-heels rule at Cannes.

The Podcast History Of Our World

Historians love podcasts. Many of them break away from dates and deaths (see Sunil Khilnani’s Incarnations on BBC4). I love social studies teacher Rob Monaco’s show because it’s ambitious – covering creation myths to present day – but so conversationally told that you never feel dumb listening to it. Episodes 49 to 55 cover Ancient India, from the Harappan Civilisation (and the controversial question of where Aryans came from) to the Kushans and their legacy. But the genius is in listening to the other episodes, where Monaco makes connections across cultures and periods, throws in a joke from another episode and presents history as a long series of people doing new, interesting things. Which is how it should be.