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The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

By: Amit Varma
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 The Seen and the Unseen, hosted by Amit Varma, features longform conversations that aim to give deep insights into the subjects being discussed. Timeless and bingeworthy.All Rights Reserved Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ep 428: The Solitary Writer Meets the Impossible Man

    Ep 428: The Solitary Writer Meets the Impossible Man
    Oct 6 2025
    Writing biographies is solitary and difficult -- even when the subject is way more interesting than anything you could make up. Narayani Basu joins Amit Varma in episode 428 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss writing, friendship, hustling, ageing, intentionality and the subject of her latest book, the impossible KM Panikkar. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Narayani Basu on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Amazon. 2. A Man For All Seasons: The Life Of KM Panikkar -- Narayani Basu. 3. VP Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India -- Narayani Basu. 4. Allegiance: Azaadi and the End of Empire -- Narayani Basu. 5. India’s Greatest Civil Servant — Episode 167 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Narayani Basu). 6. Kavitha Rao Chases Chatto and Roy -- Episode 416 of The Seen and the Unseen. 7. When Harry Met Sally -- Rob Reiner. 8. Can men and women be just friends? — The Economist. 9. Malini Goyal is the Curious One — Ep 377 of The Seen and the Unseen. 10. Unboxing Bengaluru — Malini Goyal & Prashanth Prakash. 11. Finding Love in Modern India — Ep 401 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Sanjana Ramachandran and Samarth Bansal). 12. Inside the Hearts of Men and Women -- Episode 118 of Everything is Everything. 13. Heart Tantrums: A Feminist's Memoir of Misogyny and Marriage -- Aisha Sarwari. 14. The Life and Times of Gurcharan Das -- Episode 425 of The Seen and the Unseen. 15. Ambassador -- Narayani Basu on CB Muthamma. 16. Five Epic Stories That Must Be Films -- Episode 29 of Everything is Everything. 17. The Cripps Version: The Life of Sir Stafford Cripps 1889-1952 -- Peter Clarke. 18. Lady Doctors : The Untold Stories Of India’s First Women In Medicine — Kavitha Rao. 19. Kavitha Rao and Our Lady Doctors — Episode 235 of The Seen and the Unseen. 20. The Heckman Equation — a website based on James Heckman’s work. 21. The Ferment of Our Founders — Episode 272 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Kapila). 22. Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity — Manu Pillai. 23. The Forces That Shaped Hinduism -- Episode 405 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Manu Pillai). 24. The First Assault on Our Constitution — Episode 194 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tripurdaman Singh). 25. The Surface Area of Serendipity -- Episode 39 of Everything is Everything. 26. Understanding India Through Its Languages — Episode 232 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Peggy Mohan). 27. Wanderers, Kings, Merchants: The Story of India through Its Languages — Peggy Mohan. 28. Impossible Germany — Wilco. 29. Coolie No 1 -- David Dhawan. 30. Anne de Courcy, Sonia Purnell and Ben Macintyre on Amazon. 31. Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill -- Sonia Purnell. 32. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of Virginia Hall, WWII's Most Dangerous Spy -- Sonia Purnell. 33. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Bookish and Department Q. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new course called Life Lessons, which aims to be a launchpad towards learning essential life skills all of you need. For more details, and to sign up, click here. Amit and Ajay also bring out a weekly YouTube show, Everything is Everything. Have you watched it yet? You must! And have you read Amit’s newsletter? Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It’s free! Also check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘Solitary and Impossible’ by Simahina.
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    4 hrs and 24 mins
  • Ep 427: The Boy Who Loved Cricket -- The Vijay Lokapally Story

    Ep 427: The Boy Who Loved Cricket -- The Vijay Lokapally Story
    Sep 22 2025
    Cricket isn't just what happens across 22 yards, and great cricket writers always go beyond the boundary. Vijay Lokapally joins Amit Varma in episode 427 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the joys and heartbreaks of a lifetime of writing about cricket -- and much else. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Vijay Lokapally on Amazon, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, The Hindu and Sportstar. 2. Pen, Paper and Podcast -- Vijay Lokapally's podcast. 3. The Virender Sehwag Story -- Vijay Lokapally. 4. The Hitman: The Rohit Sharma Story -- Vijay Lokapally. 5. Driven: The Virat Kohli Story -- Vijay Lokapally. 6. Speed Merchants: The Story of Indian Pace Bowling 1886 to 2019 -- Gulu Ezekiel and Vijay Lokapally. 7. Net Flicks: India’s Smashing Affair with the Shuttle -- Akshay Lokapally and Vijay Lokapally. 8. Housefull:The Golden Years Of Hindi Cinema -- Edited by Ziya Us Salam, with writing by Vijay Lokapally. 9. Vijay Lokapally's episodes on 81 All Out: 1, 2. 10. India vs Australia, 3rd Test at Delhi, Nov 28, 1969. 11. Bishan Singh Bedi's letter to Vijay Lokapally. 12. The Evolution of Cricket — Episode 97 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Harsha Bhogle). 13. Hatari -- Howard Hawks. 14. Roger Federer's commencement address at Dartmouth, 2024. 15. Pundits from Pakistan -- Rahul Bhattacharya. 16. The Fire Burns Blue: A History of Women's Cricket in India -- Sidhanta Patnaik and Karunya Keshav. 17. Triumph in Bombay: Travels during the Cricket World Cup -- Vaibhav Vats. 18. Wrist Assured -- Gundappa Vishwanath with R Kaushik. 19. Apradh -- Feroz Khan. 20. Kaagaz Ke Phool -- Guru Dutt. 21. Anand -- Hrishikesh Mukherjee. 22. Kala Bazar -- Vijay Anand. 23. Mackenna's Gold -- J Lee Thompson. 24. The Magnificent Seven -- Antoine Fuqua. 25. The Ten Commandments -- Cecil B DeMille. 26. Ben Hur -- William Wyler. 27. Safar -- Asit Sen. 28. Teesri Kasam -- Basu Bhattacharya. 29. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi -- Satyam Bose. This episode is sponsored by CTQ Compounds. Check out The Daily Reader and FutureStack. Use the code UNSEEN for Rs 2500 off. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new course called Life Lessons, which aims to be a launchpad towards learning essential life skills all of you need. For more details, and to sign up, click here. Amit and Ajay also bring out a weekly YouTube show, Everything is Everything. Have you watched it yet? You must! And have you read Amit’s newsletter? Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It’s free! Also check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘The Boy in the Stands’ by Simahina.
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    3 hrs and 41 mins
  • Ep 426: The Life and Music of Shubha Mudgal

    Ep 426: The Life and Music of Shubha Mudgal
    Sep 8 2025
    She's straddled the worlds of Hindustani classical and popular music, and is a legend in both spaces. Shubha Mudgal joins Amit Varma in episode 426 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss her life, her music and this changing world. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Shubha Mudgal on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, Wikipedia and her own website. 2. Looking for Miss Sargam: Stories of Music and Misadventure -- Shubha Mudgal. 3. Kavitha Rao and Our Lady Doctors — Episode 235 of The Seen and the Unseen. 4. Lady Doctors : The Untold Stories Of India’s First Women In Medicine — Kavitha Rao. 5. The Heckman Equation — a website based on James Heckman’s work. 6. The Disciple — Chaitanya Tamhane. 7. A Chess Story (previously published as The Royal Game) — Stefan Zweig. 8. The Light in Winter -- Episode 97 of Everything is Everything. 9. The Köln Concert (YouTube, Spotify) -- Keith Jarrett. 10. Danish Husain and the Multiverse of Culture — Episode 359 of The Seen and the Unseen. 11. Aneesh Pradhan on Scroll, Amazon, Instagram, Twitter and his own website. 12. Stories in a Song -- Sunil Shanbag, Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan. 13. Nothing Without You/Tery Bina -- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. 14. How Music Works -- David Byrne. 15. Acoustic analysis of two Hindu temples in Southern India -- Shashank Aswathanarayana & Braxton Boren. 16. Begum Akhtar on Spotify and YouTube. 17. Uzr Aane Mein Bhi Hai -- Begum Akhtar. 18. Woh Jo Ham Men Tum Men Qarar Tha -- Begum Akhtar. 19. Siddheshwari Devi on Spotify and YouTube. 20. Shayam Prem Gagariyaa Bhaari -- Siddheshwari Devi. 21. Latcho Drom -- Tony Gatlif. 22. Yeh Kothewaliya -- Amritlal Nagar. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new course called Life Lessons, which aims to be a launchpad towards learning essential life skills all of you need. For more details, and to sign up, click here. Amit and Ajay also bring out a weekly YouTube show, Everything is Everything. Have you watched it yet? You must! And have you read Amit’s newsletter? Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It’s free! Also check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘Song' by Simahina.
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    4 hrs and 46 mins
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