My Podcast List - 4. Kit Patrick’s “History of India”

I have finally caught up with the current season of Kit Patrick’s “History of India” podcast. This podcast is a treat for anyone who is interested in India’s history.

A confession is in order. I almost gave up listening after its 1st episode. Kit fumbled a lot. There were lots of pauses. The Indian names got mangled & each episode was 40-45 minutes long. But I decided to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Kit’s presentation improved significantly right from the 2nd episode. No fumbling. No pauses. The narrative became crisper. The length stayed the same, the names were still mispronounced but by then I was hooked.

Kit makes it clear that the focus will mostly be on the city of Patliputra as it moves through the ages - the Mauryas (S1), the Kushanas (S2), the Guptas (S3) & King Harsha (S4). But we also hear about the Huns, the Chinese & Persian empires, the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Shilaharas & Pratiharas. There are bonus episodes on topics like the Southern kings (e.g. the Cholas), life in ancient India, literature, music, architecture & food. He reads from ancient sources at the end of each episode. And all this is delivered with a healthy dose of humor.

Now I am learning about the kingdoms of Nepal, Tibet & Kashmir (S5). My History teacher would be so proud :-)

My Podcast List - 3. Barbara Corcoran’s ‘Business Unu$ual’

The story of how I came across Barbara Corcoran’s ‘Business Unu$ual’ podcast is more interesting than the Arabian nights. Or not. But here it is. I heard about the podcast ‘Business As Usual’. When I checked it out, after a day or two, I looked for ‘Business Unusual’ instead!

I realized my mistake but the name ‘Barbara Corcoran’ sounded familiar. I had seen her in Shark Tank a few years ago. After a few episodes I couldn’t watch the panel grilling the entrepreneurs, eventually turning some down, & had tuned out. Though my chances of starting a business are slimmer than that of a snowflake in hell, this podcast in which she advises entrepreneurs sounded interesting – because the advice isn’t just for the entrepreneurs. Yes, she answers queries on how to start a business, how to increase sales, how to hire (& fire!) etc. but she also shares wisdom inherited from her parents & accumulated during her career. A lot of it is applicable to salaried folks. A lot of it is about life.

And she does it with so much of energy & warmth that if you listen at the end of the day, you feel charged enough to run a marathon. If I end up having even half of her energy & chirpiness at her age I would consider myself very lucky.

So every time she says ‘Listen in’, that’s exactly what I do.

My Podcast List - 2. BBC World Service’s ’13 Minutes To The Moon’

‘It’s rocket science’ I said to myself on hearing about BBC World Service’s ’13 Minutes To The Moon’ podcast.

I needn’t have feared. The science in this 12-part podcast about the 1969’s moon landing is easy to digest. The series begins with President Kennedy’s ‘We choose to go to the moon’ speech. We hear about Apollo 1 tragedy, about how Apollo 8 went ‘where no one has gone before’ and about Apollo 11’s planning & execution (the computers that seem primitive by today’s standards ran software on the moon for the 1st time!). Episode 11 contains the actual exchange between mission control & the astronauts during the final 13 minutes of the landing.

There are many ‘Houston, we have a problem’ moments – alarms from on-board computers, the Eagle moving too fast, Armstrong taking control, choosing a clearer site to land & landing with a few seconds’ worth of fuel to spare. Besides the astronauts, we hear about & from, others in mission control (their average age - 26-27!).

I hadn’t seen the Earth Rise photo taken from Apollo 8. It’s hard not to fall in love with the blue marble rising across the moon. That’s Home! Jim Lovell said it best – God has given us a stage on which to perform, how the play turns out is up to us.

Do take a listen. Trust me - it’s not rocket science!

My Podcast List - 1. BBC’s Witness History

Since childhood I have loved history, and hated it. I loved to read about people & events but hated memorizing the dates. History slipped out of mind after getting into college, it wasn’t part of the curriculum.

Lately I became re- interested in history. Reading has always been a passion but it is hard to find time to read, and harder to find history related books in the library (not to mention finding a library!). Then I discovered Podcasts. My phone didn’t have memory for an additional app so I used to listen to downloaded episodes while commuting.

One such podcast was BBC’s Witness History (as it’s called now). Every week (Mon-Fri) a separate historic event (political, religious, cultural, medical etc.) is covered in each episode, which is about 10 minutes long – easy to consume when you have a few moments to spare. The narrative is crisp, to-the-point and yet, manages to be full of details. The cherry on the cake is that we get to hear original recordings & opinions of those who witnessed these events (hence the name!).

My new phone is big enough to store a herd of dinosaurs & more. Though I listen to a lot of podcasts on an app, Witness History remains the favorite.

I have fallen in love with History. All it took was one podcast. And the rest, as they say, is history :-)