India vs Brazil: Is the spectacle worth the cost?

Joy Bhattacharjya discusses the scale and cost of organising the fixture, India’s decision to prioritise Brazil over the ASEAN Cup and the wider debate over the AIFF’s priorities Brazil are coming to India for a high-profile friendly in Kolkata, but what does the game really mean for Indian football? The high costs involved and India's decision to pull out of the inaugural ASEAN Cup to accommodate this fixture have sparked a debate on the merits of hosting star teams while India’s domestic football structure continues to face challenges. Does a marquee game against Brazil justify the investment, and should Indian football be focusing more on high-profile friendlies or strengthening its domestic leagues and grassroots structure? Guest: Joy Bhattacharjya, sports administrator, author and analyst Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology, and especially AI, are no longer just a tool for humans. Today they control our choices, shape our daily routines, and determine how we invest our energies. This is true at the level of the individual, and also at the level of the nation-state. While at the individual level, the key question concerns freedom, for the nation-state, it’s more about sovereignty – does India get to independently decide its own policies, or are they pre-decided for it by other geopolitical actors? A good example is how our banks do KYC. Thanks to a poorly designed framework, it has served as a blunt tool for mindless harassment and has failed to curb violations of sovereignty via money-laundering. If we can’t get a simple KYC right, how well is India placed to navigate the complex landscape of fast-evolving LLMs and AI models, which pose major challenges to freedom and sovereignty? A new book, titled ‘Power of Uncertainty: The Battle for Privacy, Identity and Sovereignty’ tries to answer these very questions. We speak to its authors, V. Anand, a cybersecurity expert, and Srinath Sridharan, corporate advisor and author. Host: G Sampath Producer: Shiksha Jural Camera: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special weekend bonus episode, we have a crossover with the Hindu's Rearview podcast. Common birds are no longer common. Rural landscapes now host fewer Black Drongos and Indian Rollers; Nightjars call less frequently from the edges of forests; Black-shouldered Kites perch less often on telegraph wires; Eagles are scarcer in the skies; and Harriers patrol protected grasslands in dwindling numbers as they search for insects. What is causing this disappearance? Renowned ornithologist and former Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) director Dr Asad Rahmani’s latest book, ‘Where Are the Birds Gone?’, investigates the alarming long-term decline of bird populations across the Indian subcontinent and the reasons behind it. Hosts: Sobhana K Nair & Jacob Koshy Producer and editor: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the beginning, civil society and section of political parties have questioned an exercise of such enormous scale, one that was presented as an effort to clean up the electoral rolls and identify suspected foreign nationals, but has already led to more than 13 crore names being deleted at the draft stage.Those concerns have now moved beyond the SIR, into the functioning of the Election Commission. A recent investigation report found that two of the three Election Commissioners raised formal objections 14 times in 10 months over decisions relating to electoral rolls and SIR, including the centralisation of the voter database.What do these objections reveal about the way SIR is being conducted, and about the institution overseeing it? Guest: Parakala Prabhakar, Economist and Author Host: Rishita Khanna Edited and published by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the ongoing session of the UN General Assembly, France has made a proposal to enhance the functioning of the UN, especially in dealing with the requirement for collective security and the use of veto. France has been advocating that the use of veto in the UN Security Council should be “regulated” when it comes to dealing with humanitarian criss, like in Sudan or in Lebanon or genocide. France believes that the use of veto is not a matter of “privilege” and that it is a matter of “responsibility”. Guests: Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, Dean of School of International Studies, JNU and Prof. Swaran Singh, former professor of the School of International Studies Host: Kallol Bhattacherjee moderated a conversation between Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tata Group is facing its most consequential governance crisis in decades. N. Chandrasekaran, who had announced his departure, has now been reappointed by the Tata Sons board, even as the Tata Trusts, which control 66% of the holding company, challenge that decision. At stake is more than a chairman or a listing: it is a contest over who controls India’s largest business house, how its governance model should work, and what happens to the values and public purpose that have defined the Tata name for generations. So, how does this end — and what has Tata meant to India? Guest: Lalatendu Mishra, Senior Deputy Editor, The Hindu Host: Kunal Shankar Edited by Sharmada venkatausbramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is India continuing to buy Russian crude despite growing pressure from the United States? And what happens if Washington imposes steep tariffs on Indian exports over those purchases? In this episode of The Hindu’s InFocus, we spoke to Professor Anuradha Chenoy, Adjunct Professor at the Jindal School of International Affairs and former Dean and Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of International Studies. We discussed India’s strategic autonomy and its dependence on Russian oil, the potential impact of secondary tariffs on Indian exports, and the unusual reversal in the oil trade after Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted Russian refining capacity. Host: Nitika Francis Producer: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special bonus episode at In Focus we have a special crossover episode featuring the Hindu's Global Faultlines podcast with Sharmada Venkatasubramanian and Stanly Johny. The UAE has emerged as one of the most influential powers in West Asia, using diplomacy, trade, investment and strategic partnerships to extend its influence far beyond the Gulf. But its relationships with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel have grown increasingly complex, while the Iran war has tested its carefully calibrated regional strategy. At the same time, Abu Dhabi is deepening its strategic partnership with India. In this episode, we examine the UAE’s rise, its regional ambitions and the changing alliances shaping its foreign policy. Expert: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu  Research, Editing and Production: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Camera: Shivaraj S Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of In Focus Weekend Podcast, we speak to Chandan Gowda, a noted sociologist. He is currently the Dean of School of Liberal Arts, Vidyashilp University, Bengaluru. He has formerly worked with National Law School of India University Bengaluru, Azim Premji University and Institute of Social and Economic Change. His recent book "Longing for an Elsewhere: Mysore and the making of India's Developmental State", traces the trajectory of the model of development free india adopted to one of its origins in the Mysore state during colonial times. It argues development is not just an economic argument, but deeply cultural. The book is also interesting in how it traces the rise of technocrats and experts in the administration and records contemporary dissent. The book while dealing with history surprisingly speaks to contemporary concerns. Host: Aditya Bharadwaj Producer: Shiksha Jural Video: Ravichandran N Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou saw India’s best ever performance – we came back with 107 medals, including 28 gold medals, and we finished fourth on the medals table, behind only China, Japan and South Korea. The 2026 Asian Games will officially kick off in from September 19, and the big question is: can improve on its performance? In this episode, we preview ’s prospects, and joining us is Uthra Ganesan from The Hindu’s Sports Bureau. Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Producer: Jude Weston Editor: Jude Weston and Shiksha Jural Video: Tayyab Hussain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices