Brown Pundits

Four stars for the host and the few episodes I have listened to. But the audio quality is poor. For example, in the September 13th ‘A Maratha on Sri Lankan Genetics …’ the guest portions were not at all clear nor even entirely audible. One thing I did hear and agree with is the guest’s observation on Tom Holland. Why, oh why, is TH, otherwise brilliant, so much taken with “Willy” Dalrymple !! The latter along with other so called Western experts (pronouncers, really) on India proves the adage, “in the land of the blind…”

First off, this review is mostly for the episodes that Razib hosts/leads. I often don’t have enough background to understand the South Asia-centric episodes unless they are pitched at Americans so I don’t want to judge those. Razib is brilliant and I could basically listen to him expound on anything (I also love his genetics podcast The Insight). He gets some of the most interesting guests from the heterodox-Twittersphere, with a variety of interests and political perspectives. However, the actual discussions are not always the most engaging — the questions are sometimes pretty generic or it doesn’t feel like Razib is actually interacting with the guest all that much. The ones with a focus on world history or cultural dynamics are generally more interesting than the ones about contemporary politics. Also the audio quality often fluctuates, fading in or out seemingly at random. Not a big annoyance, just pointing it out.

This podcast explores dimensions not found on other channels by inviting unique set of guests

I just listened to an episode from May, 2020 on Tibetan empire and Buddhism. Emperor Songsten Gampo (who had a Chinese consort, Princess WengCheng) was the 33rd emperor, not the first! It was Atisha/Atisa not “Himsha” who was the Bengali teacher/master that influenced current day Tibetan Buddhism. I wonder if you are confusing the word “Ahimsa” which is derived from Buddhism that principally means to not cause harm to living beings, basically non violent ethics. I understand that this is something you are reviewing from the book but still, I would as a new listener appreciate it if you went in depth to do proper research to give out facts to your listeners. Spouting out things that you aren’t even sure of yourself makes your hard work go to waste. Thank you!