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New Books in South Asian Studies

New Books Network
India
Hinduism
Colonialism
Caste
South Asia
Mahabharata
Bangladesh
Yoga
Buddhism
Colonial India
British Empire
Pakistan
Sanskrit
Southeast Asia
Feminism
Bollywood
Sri Lanka
Dharma
Hindu Nationalism
Islam

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to ... more

PublishesDailyEpisodes1405Founded15 years ago
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Artwork for New Books in South Asian Studies

Latest Episodes

This episode features a conversation with Prachi and Ram, organizers with Savera, a multiracial, interfaith, anti-caste coalition of Indian Americans and partners standing together in the fight against the rise of the transnational far right. After l... more

Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969 (UCL Press, 2026) is a global history project that examines the diffusion of scientific

and environmental discourses from India to Britain and the US.

Ashok Malhotra exami... more

Dr. Shirley's monograph, Religion, Gender, and Politics in Medieval Sri Lanka: The Reconstruction of Buddhist Kingship, ca. 1070-1215 (ARC Humanities Press, 2026), is now available open access, thanks to the generous support of the Robert H. N. Ho Fa... more

Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh bring into English for the first time a long-inaccessible masterpiece of South Asian literature Baidehisha Bilasa: The Amorous Plays of Sita’s Husband (2025). Composed in the late seventeenth century by Upendra Bhanj... more

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Recent Guests

Ujaan Ghosh
Co-author/translator involved in translating the text
Episode: Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh trans., "Baidehisha Bilasa: The Amorous Plays of Sita’s Husband" (Wide Open Window Books, 2025)
Jane Vojj
Co-author, translator of Baidehisha Bilasa
Episode: Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh trans., "Baidehisha Bilasa: The Amorous Plays of Sita’s Husband" (Wide Open Window Books, 2025)
Amrita Chowdhury
Co-author, translator of Baidehisha Bilasa
Wide Open Window Press (publisher focus)
Episode: Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh trans., "Baidehisha Bilasa: The Amorous Plays of Sita’s Husband" (Wide Open Window Books, 2025)
Rahul Mukherjee
Associate Professor of TV and New Media, University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
Episode: Rahul Mukherjee, "Unlimited: Aspirational Politics and Mobile Media Distribution" (MIT Press, 2026)
Gilles Verniers
Political scientist focused on Indian politics and federalism
Centre for South Asia, Stanford University
Episode: India’s 2026 State Elections and Indian Democracy?
Yamini Aiyar
Visiting professor of practice at the Watson Institute, Brown University
Brown University
Episode: India’s 2026 State Elections and Indian Democracy?
Shefalee Vasudev
Journalist, cultural commentator, and narrative psychotherapist; editor-in-chief of The Voice of Fashion; founding editor of Marie Claire India
The Voice of Fashion; Marie Claire India
Episode: Shefalee Vasudev, "Stories We Wear: Status, Spectacle and the Politics of Appearance" (Westland Non-Fiction, 2025)
Patrick McCartney
Author of Sanskrit Speaking Villages, Linguistic Utopias, and the Metaphysics of Development
Routledge publication
Episode: Patrick S. D. McCartney, "Sanskrit-Speaking' Villages, Linguistic Utopias and the Metaphysics of Development" (Routledge, 2026)
Kanika Singh
Historian and public history practitioner, author of the book
Ashoka University
Episode: Kanika Singh, "The Story of a Sikh Museum: Heritage, Politics, Popular Culture" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

Hosts

Lilly Goren
Host of The New Books Network show
Raj Balkaran
Host of the podcast episode
Miranda Melcher
Host of The New Books Network interview series
Ajanta Subramanian
Host of The Cast Pod

Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars from 57 ratings
  • Breadth and depth in an underrepresented (podcast-wise) region

    The podcasts certainly have the format and flare of an academic 1-on-1, but do a major service to those interested in South Asia. There are very few other podcast sources on South Asia that cover the range of topics or dive into them as well as this does.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    cyrardwp21
    United States6 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The show combines rigorous academic 1-on-1 interviews with in-depth exploration of South Asian topics, adding depth to scholarly discussions.
Guests are prominent, credible scholars offering nuanced insights into history, culture, and politics.
Content is accessible to educated listeners beyond academia, useful for sponsorship and guest outreach.
The breadth of topics—from books on nonprofit reform to plant humanities—demonstrates versatility and strong scholarly rigor.

Chart Rankings

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Apple Podcasts
#196
India/Society & Culture

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Patrick S. D. McCartney, "Sanskrit-Speaking' Villages, Linguistic Utopias and the Metaphysics of Development" (Routledge, 2026)
Q: What is your book arguing about the power of Sanskrit?
The book argues that the phenomenon is more complex and dynamic than simple native-speaking narratives, highlighting how imagination and national development discourse shape the language's perceived power.
Patrick S. D. McCartney, "Sanskrit-Speaking' Villages, Linguistic Utopias and the Metaphysics of Development" (Routledge, 2026)
Q: Are there villages where people speak Sanskrit beyond ritual or philosophical use?
He describes finding some speakers but notes that everyday usage is limited and highly situational, with many people using Sanskrit only in ceremonial or high-register contexts.
Patrick S. D. McCartney, "Sanskrit-Speaking' Villages, Linguistic Utopias and the Metaphysics of Development" (Routledge, 2026)
Q: How did you get into this topic of study?
McCartney explains his initial fascination with Sanskrit, his fieldwork in Gujarat and the Shanti Mandir ashram, and how language revitalization and sociolinguistics drew him toward studying spoken Sanskrit.
Kanika Singh, "The Story of a Sikh Museum: Heritage, Politics, Popular Culture" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Q: How would you describe this museum and its place within the broader context of Indian museums?
Kanika explains that Bhai Mati Das Museum stands out for its two-level independent building with canvases narrating Sikh history, where modern visual history painting and a strong sense of sacred space converge, challenging conventional museum boundaries and prompting a rethinking of what a museum can be.
Shyam Ranganathan, "Moral Philosophy and De-Colonialism: The Irrationality of Oppression" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026)
Q: Why did you choose to focus on decolonialism in moral philosophy, and what is the main argument you want readers to take away?
The main takeaway is that reason-based inquiry must guide moral philosophy, and colonization represents a deviation from rational thinking that suppresses Indigenous perspectives; decolonizing is a rational obligation and a path to recovering Indigenous rationality by recognizing the earth and Indigenous epistemologies as central.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in South Asian Studies

What is New Books in South Asian Studies about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show centers scholarly interviews with authors and researchers who publish on South Asian studies, covering topics from nonprofit regulation in India to philosophy, plant humanities, publishing culture, caste and urbanism, archaeology, and music, ritual, and memory. Episodes emphasize rigorous, interdisciplinary inquiry, accessibility for a broader audience, and how new scholarship engages with politics, history, and society in South Asia and the diaspora. A notable strength is the consistent pairing of a seasoned host with leading academics to unpack complex books and ideas, often connecting theory to contemporary policy, culture, and social change. The format often includes deep dives into archival work, translation, and cross-cultur... more

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New Books in South Asian Studies launched 15 years ago and published 1405 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on New Books in South Asian Studies?

Recent guests on New Books in South Asian Studies include:

1. Ujaan Ghosh
2. Jane Vojj
3. Amrita Chowdhury
4. Rahul Mukherjee
5. Gilles Verniers
6. Yamini Aiyar
7. Shefalee Vasudev
8. Patrick McCartney

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