BIC TALKS

Bangalore International Centre
  • 4.8 (25)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED TWICE WEEKLY

Bangalore International Centre (BIC) is a non profit, public institution which serves as an inclusive platform for informed conversations, arts and culture. BIC TALKS aims to be a regular bi-weekly podcast that will foster discussions, dialogue, ideas, cultural enterprise and more.

  1. 419. Science, Stewardship and Solidarity

    2 DAYS AGO

    419. Science, Stewardship and Solidarity

    Madhav Gadgil (1942-2026) was the country's pre-eminent ecologist, whose work and writing had a profound influence in shaping environmental policy and action in India. Educated in Pune, Mumbai and Harvard, Professor Gadgil spent more than three decades at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, where he founded the Centre for Ecological Sciences. In the course of his rich and varied career Professor Gadgil conducted fieldwork in most of India's states, acquiring an unparalleled knowledge of the country's cultural and ecological diversity. He authored numerous scientific papers that became 'citation classics', and pioneering books on environmental history that are still discussed decades after their publication. He was widely known for the report of a committee on the Western Ghats that he chaired, which presciently warned of the ecological disasters that would follow unregulated mining, tourism and road construction in this vital mountain ecosystem. The Bangalore International Centre shall celebrate Madhav Gadgil's life and legacy in a special memorial meeting held on 26th January. The date is appropriate; for Professor Gadgil himself had a deeply democratic sensibility, and embodied in his person the finest values of the Indian Republic. The speakers are two scientists, two economists, a journalist and a historian, all of whom knew Professor Gadgil and his work well. In this episode of BIC Talks, Harini Nagendra, Gurudas Nulkar, John Kurien, Nagesh Hegde, Uma Ramakrishnan will be in conversation with Ramachandra Guha. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jan 2026. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    1hr 39min
  2. Ghost-Eye

    19 MAY

    Ghost-Eye

    Narratives illuminate what often lies just out of sight. In this exciting conversation, Amitav Ghosh discusses his latest book, Ghost-Eye, with writer Anjum Hasan, tracing the hidden histories and environmental undercurrents that shape human lives. Moving between folklore and the contemporary world, the discussion explores how landscapes remember, how ecological forces linger beneath the visible, and how storytelling can recover what modern life trains us to ignore. Hasan's thoughtful questioning bring out the novel's deeper concerns: the fragile relationship between people and place, the quiet violence of erasure, and the role of curiosity in resisting indifference. Together, they reflect on how narrative can sharpen our awareness of a planet in flux, and why attentiveness to history, to ecology, and to the unseen, matters now more than ever. A chance to hear directly from one of the most compelling literary voices about the inspirations behind his work and the urgent questions it raises. Presented by: Bangalore Literature Festival, Harper Collins In this episode of BIC Talks, Amitav Ghosh in conversation with Anjum Hasan. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jan 2026. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    46 min
  3. Who Owns India's Past?

    12 MAY

    Who Owns India's Past?

    Just outside Madurai, beneath the scorching southern sun, the excavations at Keeladi have unsettled long-held ideas about India's ancient history. Since its discovery in 2014, the site has emerged as one of the country's most contested digs: celebrated by some as evidence of a thriving urban civilisation in South India, and questioned by others as political mythmaking. In her book The Dig, journalist and author Sowmiya Ashok traces this journey from serendipitous find to cultural flashpoint, traveling from Iron Age Tamil Nadu to Harappan Rakhigarhi, revealing how battles over the past shape our understanding of India's layered identity today. Sowmiya will be joined by archaeometallurgist Dr. Sharada Srinivasan whose pioneering work has brought to light insights into ancient mining and metallurgy, having also worked on Iron Age-Early Historic sites especially in Tamil Nadu. They will be in conversation with Pooja Prasanna, of The News Minute. Together they will explore how archaeology, science, and power intersect: revealing an ancient diversity that continues to shape contemporary India. In this episode of BIC Talks, Sowmiya Ashok and Sharada Srinivasan will be in conversation with Pooja Prasanna. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jan 2026. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    51 min
  4. 416. The Trial that Shook Britain

    5 MAY

    416. The Trial that Shook Britain

    A courtroom drama that shook an empire. In 1945, three Indian National Army officers stood trial for treason against the British Crown. Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Sahgal and Gurbaksh Dhillon were convicted. Then something unexpected happened; events that would accelerate the transfer of power and expose cracks in both British authority and Congress strategy. While Congress built its reputation on passive resistance, at this critical moment it applauded and capitalized on the INA's use of force. What does this contradiction reveal about the final phase of India's independence struggle? How did a legal proceeding meant to assert British control instead demonstrate its fragility? Ashis Ray will discuss his latest book, The Trial that Shook Britain, which uncovers how this court martial became a catalyst for independence. Ray's research unearths material that historians have largely overlooked, throwing new light on a decisive juncture where courtroom drama became political dynamite. Following the talk, Ray will be in conversation with Siddharth Raja. In this episode of BIC Talks, Ray will be in conversation with Siddharth Raja.. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jan 2026. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    57 min
  5. Why Doesn't Patriarchy Die?

    23 APR

    Why Doesn't Patriarchy Die?

    This conversation will shift your understanding of power, and of possibility. In this session Rahila Gupta will examine how male dominance persists across radically different societies from theocracies to democracies, dictatorships to socialist states. Her co-authored book Planet Patriarchy asks what makes patriarchy so resilient, and where feminism is not just surviving but genuinely thriving. In conversation with Ashwini Jaisim, content strategist and editor, the session centres on a revelation: a little-known women's revolution in Rojava, Northeast Syria. Here, women are building a bottom-up democracy rooted in multi-ethnic inclusivity and ecological sustainability. It's a radical reimagining of power that challenges everything we think we know about governance and gender. Concluding with an audience Q&A, this session invites you to rethink power, resilience, and the possibilities of feminist futures, one where gender equality isn't an afterthought but the foundation. In this episode of BIC Talks, Rahila Gupta is in conversation with Ashwini Jaisim. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Dec 2025. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    1hr 4min
  6. 414. Queer Journeys

    21 APR

    414. Queer Journeys

    Some histories vanish not by accident, but by design. In the wake of colonial rule, Forbidden Desire unspools a compelling narrative of how British imperial power erased India's far-reaching traditions of gender and sexual diversity. The book draws from feminist historiography, anthropology, South Asian queer theory, decolonial studies and the history of medicine and legislation to map the transformation of lives once lived in fluid, expressive spaces. Author Sindhu Rajasekaran invites us into archive after archive where nautch dancers, courtesans, trans and queer persons, ascetics and masculine women once existed beyond the binaries that later came to dominate. In conversation with Arundhati Ghosh, this discussion will trace how colonial authorities turned indigenous multiplicities into "criminals", folding ancient codes of desire into Victorian moral order: think of Section 377, the Contagious Diseases Act, and the Criminal Tribes Act. More than a simple critique, the evening offers a chance to reimagine our futures by reclaiming what we were taught to forget. In this episode of BIC Talks, Sindhu Rajasekaran is in conversation with Arundhati Ghosh. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Dec 2025. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    41 min
  7. 413. Election Commission – A Guardian of Democracy

    4 APR

    413. Election Commission – A Guardian of Democracy

    At a moment when democratic legitimacy rests on public trust, the role of the Election Commission demands urgent, sober reflection. This Constitution Day session examines the institution at the heart of India's electoral democracy: one tasked with ensuring free and fair elections for over 900 million voters. Yet recent concerns over voter-roll preparation, election scheduling, enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, and responses to hate speech raise critical questions about its autonomy and constitutional resilience. Grounded in the original vision of an independent referee, the discussion considers whether today's political pressures and structural vulnerabilities call for renewed safeguards or a deeper reimagining of the Commission itself. An essential conversation for anyone seeking to understand how democratic institutions endure, and what it takes to protect them. In collaboration with: Daksh In this episode of BIC Talks, S Y Quraishi delivers a talk. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Nov 2025. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    1hr 14min
  8. 412. The Women No Longer Wait

    26 MAR

    412. The Women No Longer Wait

    A wobbling world tries to find its axis: fabrics tear, lands splinter, loved ones vanish, names fade. This session intertwines conversation and poetry, inviting audiences into the bold, shimmering world of Arundhathi Subramaniam's luminous new collection. The session will trace the arc through the sacred and the feminine, culminating in this celebration of fierce, unruly womanhood. Sumbramaniam's collection takes us through shifting landscapes, following the strides of extraordinary women. Women who vault over borders, stroll naked through history, tilt sideways into the unexpected, and sometimes walk entirely upside down. They blur the boundaries between the mundane and the magical, the remembered and the imagined, revealing a world waiting quietly within the old one. Welcome a world that demands new ways of being, new acts of courage, new freedoms! In this episode of BIC Talks, Arundhathi Subramaniam takes us through her book and her process. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Nov 2025. Subscribe to the BIC Talks Podcast on your favourite podcast app! BIC Talks is available everywhere, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Audible, and Amazon Music.

    45 min
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4.8
out of 5
25 Ratings

About

Bangalore International Centre (BIC) is a non profit, public institution which serves as an inclusive platform for informed conversations, arts and culture. BIC TALKS aims to be a regular bi-weekly podcast that will foster discussions, dialogue, ideas, cultural enterprise and more.

Information

  • Creator
    Bangalore International Centre
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    416
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    BIC TALKS

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