Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
303 episodes listed below
Indian politics, patiently put in context.
Grand Tamasha treats Indian public life as a set of arguments worth slowing down for. Through interviews with guests, it connects elections, class pressure, technology, migration, and foreign policy to the deeper structures shaping India and its wider region.
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Grand Tamasha is a serious, interview-led show about Indian public life and the forces reshaping India and its wider region. It is comfortable with complexity. Episodes often begin with a large public question, then work through it by way of a book, report, election, policy shift, or political turning point. The result is a show that feels closer to a rigorous conversation than a news recap. Recent discussions have traced the strain on India’s middle class, including job disruption, wage pressure, household debt, and the employability crisis linked to higher education. Technology is treated as both promise and threat. India’s AI ambitions, for example, are framed through talent, data, diplomacy, investment, and the risk that a services-led economy may be disrupted by the tools it hopes to master. Foreign policy receives the same layered treatment. The show has examined Trump’s return, transactional diplomacy, tariffs, multilateral decline, and the consequences for India’s approach to the world. It has also looked at U.S.-India relations from inside Washington, including Congress, the Indian-American community, trade, immigration, the Middle East, and war powers. Grand Tamasha does not stay within India’s borders. Bangladesh’s political reset after mass protests becomes a question about institutions, elections, and democratic stability. Europe-India convergence becomes a way to ask why an old relationship has started to acquire strategic purpose. The show also uses literature to widen the frame. A conversation about The Complex turns family history, migration, Delhi, and political upheaval into material for understanding contemporary India. Its guests tend to bring academic, literary, policy, or political experience, and the host gives them room to build an argument. The tone is measured, direct, and analytic. It is best for listeners who want Indian politics connected to economics, society, history, and global power rather than reduced to slogans or breaking-news noise.
Made for: Grand Tamasha is for listeners who follow India, South Asia, and global politics with more interest in explanation than instant reaction. It suits policy-minded generalists, students, diaspora listeners, journalists, and readers of serious nonfiction.
What sets it apart: The show stands out for using books, reports, and expert conversations as scaffolding for broader political analysis. It gives guests time to define terms, test arguments, and connect India-specific developments to comparative and global patterns.
Each week, Milan Vaishnav and his guests from around the world break down the latest developments in Indian politics, economics, foreign policy, society, and culture for a global audience. Grand Tamasha is a co-production of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Hindustan Times.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Grand Tamasha uses rigorous author interviews to connect Indian politics with the historical and institutional forces shaping public life.
Grand Tamasha turns book-centered interviews into searching conversations about India's political development and its place in wider democratic debates. Milan Vaishnav gives guests room to establish an argument, then presses on its tensions and consequences.
From dams to Delhi homecomings, Milan Vaishnav keeps India's grand narratives under cross-examination.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Breakpoint is framed as a hard look at pressure on India's income-tax-paying middle class.
Grand Tamasha treats Breakpoint as a hard look at pressure on India's income-tax-paying middle class, not as a story about growth. It follows the book's argument through job disruption, wage stagnation, and rising debt, then turns to education, where rote learning and the…
A literary interview that uses one family's story to connect fiction with politics, migration, and belonging.
Granthamasha frames a live author conversation around the Chopra family, using Karan Mahajan's The Complex to trace family power, ambition, belonging, and the political and social turmoil of India from the 1970s into the early 1990s.
India's development story, traced through state-building, scarcity, and the costs of delay.
Grand Tamasha treats A Sixth of Humanity as a study of India trying to build a state, shape an economy, reform society, and define nationhood all at once.
A thoughtful look at K. M. Panikkar that uses his life to think about nationalism and inclusion.
Narayani Basu and Milind Vaishnav use K. M. Panikkar as a way into a bigger argument: why he still matters, and what his life says about Indian public life.
A measured look at democracy, reactionary politics, and what crosses borders.
Reactionary politics is treated as a cross-border anti-democratic style that starts in the United States and then shows up elsewhere in different forms, which gives the discussion a strong line to follow.
Calm reporting for complicated public questions.
Libertarian politics with the filter off.
Ireland’s front pages, sorted before breakfast.
Grand Tamasha opens by framing Breakpoint as an argument about India's middle class under pressure.
Granthamasha goes live from Carnegie HQ in Washington, D.C.
This episode examines how India's foreign policy is adapting to the unpredictable global changes brought by Donald Trump's second administration.
Host Milan Vaishnav interviews Congressman Ami Bera about the shifting U.S.-India relationship, covering topics like geopolitical tensions, trade, and the impact of U.S.
This episode analyzes Bangladesh's political transition after mass protests ended Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's long tenure, bringing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party back to power and reshaping the country's democratic landscape.
A discussion about India's AI Impact Summit and its implications for the country's economy and global standing.
Interview with scholar Sandra Destradi about her book on populism and foreign policy, focusing on India and other countries.
An interview discussing the recent convergence and strategic partnership between Europe and India.
Milan Vaishnav interviews trade expert Mark Linscott about India's recent shift towards signing trade agreements with the EU, US, and other partners.
Discussion of a Foreign Affairs essay arguing that India's illiberal hegemony has destabilized South Asia and created openings for China.
This episode discusses the strained U.S.-India relationship, exploring trade disputes, strategic implications, and the importance of salvaging ties to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Analysis of the 2025 Bihar state assembly election results and the resilience of the JDU-BJP alliance.
An interview with journalist Ruhi Tewari about her book on the rise of the female voter in modern India.
Interview with historian Sam Dalrymple about his book on the five partitions that dismantled the Indian Empire.
Milan Vaishnav introduces A Sixth of Humanity, Independent India's Development Odyssey as an argument about how India tried to build a state, grow an economy, change society, and forge nationhood all at once.
This episode features an interview with former Chief Justice of India D.Y.
This episode discusses the impact of the Trump administration's $100,000 fee on H-1B visas on India and the US innovation ecosystem.
This episode discusses the surprising thaw in US-Pakistan relations, including a White House meeting and a trade deal, with expert Uzair Younis.
Milan Vaishnav interviews Ashley Tellis about the crisis in U.S.-India relations under Trump's tariff policies.
Milind Vaishnav speaks with historian and foreign-policy analyst Narayani Basu.
Host Milan Vaishnav interviews author Abhishek Choudhury about his biography of former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
This episode analyzes the US executive order imposing a 25% tariff on Indian imports and its implications for US-India strategic partnership.
Host Milan Vaishnav interviews historian Edward Anderson about his book on the rise of Hindu nationalism among the Indian diaspora.
Host Milan Vaishnav interviews historian Srinath Raghavan about his new book on Indira Gandhi's political career and legacy.
Host Milan Vaishnav interviews scholar Sandipto Dasgupta about his book on India's constitution and decolonization.
An interview with scholar Joshua White analyzing the recent India-Pakistan conflict and its implications.
Milan Vaishnav interviews Christopher Clary about the India-Pakistan ceasefire and the broader implications of their recent conflict.
This episode discusses a recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, U.S.
This episode discusses the impact of US tariff hikes on India and India's global economic strategy, featuring an interview with economist Shomitra Chatterjee.
Milan Beshov opens with Zach Beecham's book.
Host Milind Vaishnav interviews diplomat Kishore Mahbubani about his memoir 'Living the Asian Century,' exploring his life journey and Singapore's transformation.
This episode analyzes recent political developments in India, including the BJP's victory in Delhi state elections and Prime Minister Modi's meeting with President Trump, with insights from experts Tanvi Madan and Sadanand Dume.
This episode discusses the life, murder, and legacy of journalist Gauri Lankesh, featuring an interview with author Rallo Romig about his book on the topic and its connection to rising autocracy in India.