Shows / What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka Podcast
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka Podcast
The show that explores what makes Sri Lanka Sri Lankan.
Episodes
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastFugitive Philosophers I In the Sri Lankan Forest
Is there really a tree that can still the universe? And if so, where in Sri Lanka might you find it?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastFinding Gorgonzola | A Pilgrimage From Colombo
Rich, salty, earthy, savoury, sharp – gorgonzola is not a cheese common to Sri Lanka, and yet its mere anticipation calls to mind on the island the seven…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastPracticing Detachment With Ethel And Lord Buddha I How To Live A Better Life In Sri Lanka
What is it about planting modest herbs that can keep the busy world at bay in Sri Lanka?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastLove & Sex | In Arundel and Sri Lanka
What choices might Sri Lanka make to fortify its heart? And what choices were made long ago?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastIn Colombo & Xanadu | Fearing Something Will Survive
Does the future have a past in Colombo?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe Long Farewell | A Super Pod History of Sri Lanka’s Last Lambakanna Kings
Rescuing the nation from civil war and chaos, how was it that the returning Lankbranaka dynasty would then preside over the kingdom’s utter devastation, the…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe Bogeyman I Meeting Monsters in Sri Lanka
What might make you scream loudest in the lonesome depths of a long Sri Lankan night?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka Podcast2 Degrees of Separation I In Sri Lanka with The Lady of Shalott
How can a mysterious Arthurian heroine, remembered by a Victorian stay-at-home, ever bring Sri Lanka to mind?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastLove Bites and Brief Encounters I Pushing Boundaries in Sri Lanka
How can a simple shower in Sri Lanka lead to a hunt for animal truths, one leech at a time?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe Monk At The End Of The World | Waiting For The Barbarians In Sri Lanka
Despite all temptations, Sri Lanka has never been very good at merely waiting for the end of the world. But why is that, and what does it have to do with…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastAnd That's How It All Began | A Super Pod Pre-History Of Sri Lanka
Packing a punch quite out of proportion to its size, Sri Lanka is distinctive and magnificent in the most Byzantine of ways. But what is it that makes it so…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastA Jungle Spice Garden | A Super Pod Account Of Planting Paradise in Sri Lanka
Given Sri Lanka’s remarkable facility for naturalising anything it takes a fancy to, counting its spices is a sure way to stir debates about everything from…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Second Lambakanna Kings Part 5 | The Devastation
The destruction of the 1500-year-old Anuradhapuran kingdom fell due – but was it destroyed by problems of its own making – or by a force so overwhelming that…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Second Lambakanna Kings Part 4 | The Long Goodbye
The Lambakanna king, Sena II, pulled victory from disaster. Sri Lanka became one of the dominant powers in the Indian Ocean. So how did it get from there to…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Second Lambakanna Kings Part 3 | Walking on Air
How was it that, even as life seemed at its easiest, the plush and kind middle years of later Lambakanna rule almost came to an abrupt halt - courtesy of an…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Second Lambakanna Kings Part 2 | Redeemer Victorious
King Manavanna was to restore the fortunes of the returning Lankbranaka dynasty, and his succeeding sons were to rule as if the kingdom merited nothing but the…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Second Lambakanna Kings Part 1 | The Land Of Plenty
As the Lambakanna kings retook their throne for a second innings, how was it that rice, that most ordinary of all crops, was to power the last glorious golden…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastHoney, Homo Sapiens Balangodensis & The Honey Tree I A Journey Into Sri Lanka’s Real DNA
How the obvious is almost never true – at least on the surface in Sri Lanka.
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastWicked Monarchs | A Super Pod Account of Sri Lanka’s Most Notorious Rulers
Sri Lanka was ruled by hundreds of kings and a handful of queens for over 2,000 years. But which of them were among its six most egregious baddies – and why?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastWhat Sets You Free | Why May Days Matter In Sri Lanka
Is May the moment to forsake madness and put aside all but the best supporting gods?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastManifest Mammals I In Pursuit Of Sri Lanka’s Jackals, Hares, Porcupines, Pangolins & Otters
Forget elephants and even leopards. What are the five great mammals of Sri Lanka that most people overlook to their eternal cost, and what story do they have…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastNow Thank We All Our God I Sunday in the Sri Lankan Jungle
Is it possible to reverse-engineer the last 5 decades and make Sundays special again? Perhaps. srilankapodcast.com
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastOn Being Absolutely Still | Learning New Tricks In Sri Lanka
Is life really what you best hear when you're absolutely still? And if so, does knowing the names of different trees help at all?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastTrincomalee | Finding Secret Gods And Ghosts
Who are the gods and ghosts that can still be heard whispering in this little-visited town on Sri Lanka’s eastern seaboard?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSun Kings | The Story of Sri Lanka's Icarus Dynasty
Like the cavalry of old, they raced on to rescue a stricken kingdom from itself. But what did the Lambakanna dynasty really achieve – and why were they…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastAmbling in the Inner Gardens | A Walk at Sri Lanka’s Flame Tree Estate & Hotel
What might you find as you amble gently around a home garden, wrapped in green and red, at Sri Lanka’s The Flame Tree Estate & Hotel? srilankapodcast.com
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastRiver Tales | Journeys Down Sri Lanka’s Great Rivers
Sri Lanka’s 14 great rivers describe, along their winding courses, the whole history of the island, throughfares crammed with remembered journeys, feasts…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastHoney, I'm Home | Encounters with Sri Lanka’s Endemic Land Mammals
Scientists - and most especially fastidious taxonomists – are giddily divided about quite how many of Sri Lanka's mammals are endemic: 19? 40? But as their…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastBejewelled I Sri Lanka’s Greatest Sapphires
Sri Lanka may be Sapphire Centre as far as the world is concerned – but where exactly might you now find its greatest stones, and what stories have they to…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Owls | In Search Of The Devil Bird
“A series of dreadful shrieks as if coming from a soul in great agony of torment,” wrote an anguished twitcher of the Sri Lankan Spot-bellied Eagle Owl. But is…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastGrief And Memory In Sri Lanka | The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended
In Sri Lanka, grief is as public as traffic lights, but does it help to believe in impossible things?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe Cat’s Pyjamas I The Story Of Sri Lanka’s Wild Cats
There's more to Sri Lankan cats than their famous leopard. What happened to its lions, and which beast breaks such wind as to call to mind Jean Patou’s famous…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastShop | Retail Therapy in a Tuk-Tuk
Despite its understated fame, Galagedera’s high street, like those of most Sri Lankan towns and villages, is booming. As high streets die all around the world…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe 7 Wonders of Ancient Lanka | Part 3
Sri Lanka’s seven greatest wonders from ancient times include a palace to escape death, a dish, a book, and a fortress. But what made them so fundamental – to…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe 7 Wonders of Ancient Lanka | Part 2
A tree – and a trio of stupas are among ancient Sri Lanka’s greatest wonders. But why are any of these so important – not just to the island, but to the world?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe 7 Wonders of Ancient Lanka | Part 1
Despite their iconic status, the original seven wonders of the ancient world pale in comparison to the seven wonders of ancient Lanka, the subject of the next…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSigiriya I The Party That Lasted For 22 Years
When King Kashyapa took up residence in Sigiriya, he triggered a party that, like the ancient world itself, raced to its corporeal end with all the aplomb of…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Bats | Ordered Disorder
Though occupying barely 1% of the world's total landmass, Sri Lanka hosts well over 2% of its recognised bat species. But are there 28 species here? Or 29? Or…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastCinnamon Peeling | Finding The True Spice With Michael Ondaatje
No other thing, except perhaps Buddhism itself, water technology or Sri Lanka’s island status, has had so marked an impact on the country as cinnamon. But what…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastDeer Friends I On Safari with Sri Lanka's Deer, Ponies & Donkeys
To have a hoof in Sri Lanka is a privilege given to just a handful of species. But what are they, and where might you find them? srilankapodcast.com
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastInside Kandy | A Super Pod Guide for Curious Visitors to Sri Lanka
Kandy guards its remarkable story so well that it is all too easy to miss. Yet squirrelled away behind its traffic jams and shop hoardings, history is not…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastRambling in the Outer Gardens | A Walk at Sri Lanka’s Flame Tree Estate & Hotel
What might you discover within the sprawling plantation gardens that disappear off into the jungle around Sri Lanka’s Flame Tree Estate & Hotel?…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Moriyan Kings Part 5 | A Royal Ruination
What was it in the fatal combination of new money, old suspicions, religious strife, mercenaries and regicide that brought the last Moriyan kings to ruin?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Moriyan Kings Part 4 | The Infernal Inheritance
Family dramas nearly unsettled the first Moriyan kings until King Moggallana took over. Or so it seemed. What was it about the choices he made that so brutally…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Moriyan Kings Part 3 | Oedipus Lanka
Famed for building the 8th wonder of the ancient world in Asia, what drove the great Moriyan king, Kashyapa, to plunge a sword into his own body?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Moriyan Kings Part 2 | The Return Of The King
After decades of occupation and state madness, a great new Anuradhapura king set about putting things right. But how did he end up as the poster boy of the…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s Moriyan Kings Part 1 | The Lion’s Paws
What is it about Sri Lanka’s lion – cherished by the Moriyan kings at Sigiriya and elsewhere – that so perfectly captures one of the country's most critical…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe Pride Owl | Flying High in Sri Lanka
He hooted when least expected and claimed his rightful place in Sri Lanka. But who was he, and what made him proud?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe Jungle Hotel I A Look Behind The Doors At Sri Lanka’s Flame Tree Estate & Hotel
Whatever else is happening in the world, here there is a cake for tea, and birdsong from dawn to dusk. But what else might you find? srilankapodcast.com
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastMongooses | On Patrol With Sri Lanka’s Guardian Beasts
When sleeping rough in the jungle, keep a mongoose by your feet. Guarantors of safety, the little beast is the most overlooked contender for being Man’s Best…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastLosing One's Head | Seeking Non-Self In Sri Lanka
“To be or not to be,” is the refrain of several Sri Lankan government departments – but how can they – or that - free you from suffering? From cravings? From…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastChinta | The Lady and the Loris
Who was Chinta | And why does her death – and life – matter quite so much?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastGalagedera | A Super Pod Guide To The First Village in Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands
A hiding place for kings, a turning point for invaders: what is it about this lofty hilltop jungle village that makes the ordinary quite so beautiful?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSylvan Swingers I Scaling The Monkeys & Lorises of Sri Lanka
Die-hard individualists fail to fault the remarkable variation among Sri Lanka’s different species of monkeys and lorises. So what are their arboreal secrets?…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastAncient Lanka | A Super Pod Guide to Sri Lanka’s Seven Ancient Wonders
Unlike the classical world, Sri Lanka's ancient wonders are not merely buildings, including as they do a painting, a monastery, a book, technology, a shrine…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastAt The Barbers With Dikrek | Unexpected Compensation
Why is it always better to have your hair cut under frangipani trees?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastAll About Eve | Separating Serpents In Sri Lanka
Unlikely though it sounds, there is a Perehera still grander than that of the annual Kandy Perehera – but what has it got to do with Eve and her serpents?
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastThe Art of Hermiting I Checking In At Some Sri Lankan Hotels
Hotels nurture hermiting - as Diane von Furstenberg, Ravi Shankar, or Coco Chanel might tell you. But which ones should you select when planning your Sri…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s First Lambakanna Kings Part 4 | Last Chance Saloon
Water flowed, and the kingdom functioned as the long, late Indian summer of Lambakarna rule drew to its end. Or did it? What drove the dynasty to destruction…
What’s the Story: The Sri Lanka PodcastSri Lanka’s First Lambakanna Kings Part 3 | The Time of Ruin
Regicide vied with restitution as the Lambakanna dynasty moved into its middle age – but just how well did the state survive these years of make-do, mayhem and…