Shows / In Focus by The Hindu
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.
Episodes
- In Focus by The Hindu
Musk vs OpenAI: Why this case matters beyond the courtroom
Last week, OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the United States. With a valuation of more than $850 billion…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can the new U.S.-Iran deal hold?
After 100 days of conflict, the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war. But can the deal hold? We unpack the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
FIFA World Cup preview: Who will take home the trophy?
Journalist and author Sandeep Menon explores the tactics, form and what to expect from the top contenders and underdogs to watch at the 2026 FIFA World Cup…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Political stability, India ties, economic crisis: Where is Bangladesh headed under BNP?
Bangladesh is at a critical political turning point under a BNP-led government. In this episode, we explore what the return of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Should India incentivise bigger families?
For decades, Indian policymakers have encouraged population control, with the familiar slogan of ‘Hum Do, Humare Do’ (We two, our two). However, the recent…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Foreign Portfolio exodus: What does it mean for domestic investors?
Foreign portfolio investors have taken out more than ₹2.6 lakh crore from Indian equities since January 2026. Aggregate foreign ownership in Indian stocks has…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Falling fertility rate: Is India in danger of missing its demographic dividend?
India is going through a demographic transition. The proportion of its working age population is increasing, which means India has a great window of…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Making history at Norway Chess: When Pragg beat Carlsen twice in his own backyard
R. Praggnanandhaa scripted one of the finest victories of his young career by becoming the first Indian to win Norway Chess, one of the world’s most…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Malviya Nagar hotel fire tragedy: Behind Delhi’s endemic failure to enforce safety norms
On Wednesday, 21 people were killed in a massive fire at a south Delhi hotel. And the next day, five people perished in another fire in the ICU of a hospital…
- In Focus by The Hindu
India-Africa Summit and the lost decade: Can New Delhi catch up?
In this episode of In Focus, we speak with former diplomat Gurjit Singh about the evolution of India–Africa relations, China’s expanding footprint across the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What you need to know about the Ebola outbreak
If it’s not one infectious disease, then it’s another. This month, the world was rocked with reports of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Making sense of TVK's victory: What does Vijay's win mean for Tamil Nadu's politics? | Part 2
In part two of this two-part interview, Pon Vasanth B.A., senior assistant editor with The Hindu, discusses with V. Geetha, feminist historian, translator and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Making sense of TVK's victory: Why and how did Vijay win? | Part 1
In part one of this two-part interview, Pon Vasanth B.A., senior assistant editor with The Hindu, asks V. Geetha, feminist historian, translator and publisher…
- In Focus by The Hindu
IPL 2026 review: What defined a season of records, runs and repeat champions?
The 2026 Indian Premier League season ended with Royal Challengers Bengaluru becoming only the third team in tournament history to successfully defend their…
- In Focus by The Hindu
If you are a trauma survivor, what does it take to heal?
Do you have frequent panic attacks? Are there behaviour patterns that you know you need to change but you can’t? Is your day to day life ruled by fear? Then…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What can India's open prisons unlock that conventional jails never have?
"Prisoners do not cease to be bearers of constitutional rights upon incarceration." — The Supreme Court, in a February 2026 order, was pointed in its language…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is increasing the Supreme Court’s sanctioned strength an effective way to reduce pendency?
On May 17, the President promulgated an ordinance increasing the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38 judges. The ordinance is expected to be…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Meta's encryption rollback: what's the scope for privacy on Instagram and beyond now?
Meta has ended support for end-to-end encrypted messaging on Instagram, effective May 8, 2026. The policy reversal, citing low adoption, comes against a…
- In Focus by The Hindu
CBSE's On-Screen Marking fiasco: An evaluator and a parent explain how it unfolded
The CBSE has been facing flak for its re-evaluation process for Class 12 Board exams this year. Parents and students have complained of a dysfunctional…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Heat stress: Why are Indian cities the world's hottest?
According to a global heat map that recently went viral, almost 95 of the world’s 100 hottest places were in India. This summer, Indian cities are recording…
- In Focus by The Hindu
10 years of Disability Rights Act: Where does India stand on digital inclusion?
India has 30-35 million people with disabilities. It’s now ten years since the enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Yet…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Should the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) be decentralized?
The cancellation and retest of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026 has exposed deep cracks in India’s examination system. Allegations of…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Cockroach Janta Party: What does it mean to represent India’s ‘cockroaches’?
Abhijeet Dipke, a student of public relations in the US, woke up from uneasy dreams one morning and found himself transformed into a ‘gigantic cockroach’. He…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Is the IPL losing its appeal?
As the 2026 IPL heads toward its playoffs, questions are growing around whether the tournament still holds the same cultural grip it once did. While the league…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Why Trump is in a strategic gridlock over Iran?
President Trump’s latest remarks on Iran and the sudden shift in U.S. messaging have once again placed West Asia on edge. Reports suggest key Gulf allies…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can CBT prevent future NEET paper leaks?
India’s largest medical entrance examination, NEET, is once again at the centre of a national discussion. Conducted for more than 20 lakh aspirants in a single…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What were the biggest breakthroughs of the Trump-Xi Summit?
The two-day Trump–Xi summit in Beijing marked the first U.S. presidential visit to China in nearly nine years, bringing global attention to the future of…
- In Focus by The Hindu
How has India’s approach to FTAs evolved over the years?
After years of slow-moving negotiations, India’s trade policy has shifted gears. Over the past three and a half years, the country has signed a string of Free…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Is this the end of the road for the INDIA bloc?
Following the recent electoral setbacks faced by two of the largest constituents of the INDIA bloc, the DMK and the TMC, there is renewed debate over the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What's behind PM Narendra Modi's austerity call?
For the second time in a couple of days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the public to take some austerity measures: reduce fuel consumption, defer…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Do India’s badminton stars deserve more recognition after Thomas Cup bronze?
Former India coach and Olympian U. Vimal Kumar joins the podcast to discuss India’s Thomas Cup campaign, player recognition, squad depth concerns and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Hantavirus explained: The science behind the scare
A new health scare made headlines this week, after three persons died and several others fell sick aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. The infection in this…
- In Focus by The Hindu
India-UK FTA: Does it pack enough to increase bilateral trade?
In this episode of In Focus podcast, London’s Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley speaks with The Hindu’s Maharashtra Chief of Bureau Vinaya Deshpande about her…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Do abortion laws in India need overhauling?
The Supreme Court of India recently asked the Central government to amend the abortion law to remove the time limit on medical terminations of unwanted…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Tamil Nadu Election Results 2026: Can TVK break the DMK–AIADMK Duopoly?
The 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election has delivered a verdict few anticipated. A political landscape long defined by the alternating dominance of the Dravida…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Assembly poll results: How do they alter the political calculus in India?
The assembly election results have sharply changed the political landscape in India, with the BJP set to form a government on its own for the first time in…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Why are negotiations between the U.S. and Iran stalled?
Negotiations between the United States and Iran have stalled due to deep disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program, economic sanctions, and regional influence…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can high temperatures influence the sex of your baby?
We know by now that extreme heat can impact pregnancies in many ways. And with climate change contributing to extreme heat in India – and with parts of the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Weekend | What do tech disruption and stagnant wages mean for India’s middle class?
Is India’s middle class facing an economic crisis? A new book, ‘Breakpoint: The Crisis of the Middle Class and the Future of Work’ by Saurabh Mukherjea says…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What are the political implications of 7 AAP MPs ‘merging’ with BJP?
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is facing a crisis. Seven of its 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, led by Raghav Chadha, have joined the BJP. Mr Chadha has framed this move…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Does the PIL jurisdiction need to be reconsidered?
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) emerged in the 1970s as a transformative judicial innovation aimed at widening access to justice for the poor and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
India’s temporal inequality: Why the poorer you are, longer the queue
We all know that India is one of the most unequal societies on the planet. But most debates around inequality are focussed on wealth and income inequality. But…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What are the key challenges in PoSH reporting and implementation?
The recent allegations of sexual harassment by eight female employees in Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS) office in Nashik has brought renewed attention to…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Why are Haryana's farmers resisting the new digital verification rules at mandis?
By the time farmers in Haryana were ready to head to the anaj mandis (grain markets) to sell their Rabi harvest, the rules of entry had been revised. The…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Weekend | How AI could reshape the future of species
In this weekender episode, Adrian Wolfson talks us about his new book titled On the Future of Species. Artificial intelligence, he says, one day, could surpass…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Noida protest: Why do labour disputes get treated as ‘law and order’ issue?
Workers in the industrial belts of the NCR region and beyond have been agitating for better wages since February 2026 On April 13, a protest in Noida over…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus-Parley | Has a weakening of unionisation hurt workers?
Since March, the country has witnessed a number of agitations by workers, particularly by those in manufacturing sector. In the background of these protests…
- In Focus by The Hindu
How to make India's metro systems serve our cities better?
India now operates the third-largest metro network in the world by length. But can scale alone make a transit system transformative? This episode explores…
- In Focus by The Hindu
How will 'Indian Ozempics' change treatment for diabetes and obesity?
On March 20 this year, the patent for semaglutide, which is the active ingredient of blockbuster drug Ozempic, expired in India. The country was ready: nearly…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can a cancer therapy help treat autoimmune diseases?
CAR-T cell therapy, a breakthrough treatment that has transformed certain cancer outcomes, is now showing early promise in tackling autoimmune diseases. In a…
- In Focus by The Hindu
As polls near, how is Tamil Nadu's economy doing?
Tamil Nadu is often seen as one of India’s strongest economic performers, recording 7.4% growth in 2025-26, with manufacturing registering real growth rate of…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire: Will it hold?
As 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect from midnight of April 16, 2026. The truce, announced by US President Donald Trump, could offer…
- In Focus by The Hindu
In Focus Parley | Should the Mythos AI model raise cybersecurity alarms at governments and companies?
On April 7, the AI firm Anthropic, which makes the popular Claude product, said that a new model it’s been working on, Mythos, is so powerful at finding…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Justice Kurian Joseph Committee Report explained: what are its recommendations?
Ashok Vardhan Shetty is one of the three members of the Justice Kurian Joseph Committee, appointed by the DMK government headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin…
- In Focus by The Hindu
US-Iran war: Why did the Islamabad peace talks fail?
The Islamabad peace talks between the US and Iran failed to yield a peace deal after 21 hours of negotiations. Both the sides have blamed each other for the…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Why are Central banks not raising interest rates despite rising oil prices?
Traditionally, higher inflation leads to interest rate hikes to slow demand. This approach was used after the pandemic, when prices surged across major…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections: Can DMK retain power amid BJP’s push, AIADMK’s challenge, and Vijay’s TVK entry?
Tamil Nadu is heading into a crucial election, with the DMK government led by M. K. Stalin completing its first full term in office. While the party continues…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Can Cuba weather its worst crisis in decades?
Cuba is facing its worst crisis since the Soviet collapse. The Trump administration has imposed a de facto naval blockade, cutting off oil supplies for three…
- In Focus by The Hindu
Have elections in India become plutocratic?
As Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry head to the polls, India's vibrant democracy is on full display once again. But behind the rallies and…
- In Focus by The Hindu
What is behind U.S.- Iran ceasefire?
After a dramatic 24 hours that saw U.S. President Donald Trump shift from a stark warning of mass destruction to announcing a two-week pause in military…