The husky whisper that bookends all the podcasts on Audiomatic invites you to stop and listen. Depending on your preference, you could sample Samanth Subramanian and Padmaparna Ghosh exploring the interfaces between science, history and culture in The Intersection, or Vikram Doctor unpacking the “fables at our table”, or Devdutt Pattanaik and Jerry Johnson talking about mythology in contemporary culture. But for now, let’s listen to the first.
I came across The Intersection when looking for something that would give me a window into science in India. Despite the recent resurgence of good science writing in the popular press, there’s always room for stories that go beyond the usual forays into the laboratories and boardrooms of the big scientific establishments. Even for those of us who love popular science, it can be a quite tedious to drag one’s eyes through the ton of detail that often disguises the excitement of discovery and ingenious lateral connections that make science work.
Incorrigible puns
Listening to those stories, however — if well told — can make those connections clearer and the science a bit more intelligible, even if it’s quite a challenge for producers to find sources who are good storytellers. As Subramanian notes, “When you’re writing for print, the tenor and narrative of the piece is in your hands; you control everything. A source may have a dull voice or a way of explanation, but that doesn’t matter in print. It does in audio. So even our skills of selecting and handling interviewees had to be sharpened in a particular way for this format.”
Over several episodes , Subramanian and Ghosh traverse a large territory. Chatty and informal, the hosts explore a range of questions with a serious sense of fun and open-mindedness, peppering their conversation and commentary with some incorrigible punning. Subramanian credits his co-host for most of the story ideas, saying, “She keeps tabs on all sorts of science developments, and so was able to unearth nuggets of new research or new angles to scientific topics. We’re particularly keen to find stories that incorporate interesting audio effects… once, for instance, we had Jeet Thayil read a poem about neutrinos to introduce a podcast about the [then] upcoming neutrino observatory in Tamil Nadu.”
The fault in our Taj
Two of my favourite episodes sit firmly at the conjunction of culture, art and science. The first is about a new blue, the first new hue to be “discovered” in 200 years, called YinMn Blue . Ghosh teases out the details of this accidental discovery from Oregon State University researcher Prof. Mas Subramanian, and complements it with interviews of commercial varnish-makers who describe how colour works in products like packaging and paints — and in human perception. The second, provocatively titled ‘ The fault in our Taj ’ follows the journey of a holidaying energy scientist who noticed an anomaly in the structure of the icon Taj Mahal.
It’s both the nature of the questions pursued and the manner in which they are explored that keeps you listening. Subramanian and Ghosh don’t pretend to be scientists; they’re just the ones asking the questions, and doing this in a way that neither insults our intelligence not makes assumptions about what we know — or don’t know.
The topics explored are out of the ordinary — except for the occasional (and perhaps necessary) returning focus on themes such as vanishing languages or climate change — and yet closely connected to our ideas of self, identity and community, and how all of this relates to the material world in which we live. After all, many of us find no meaning in science unless it can lead us to these connections.
The podcast is now in its second season, after a hiatus of nearly a year. With over 56 episodes and counting, there’s plenty to listen to, from the science of stampedes to India’s dog breeds to, yes, looking for Martians on earth!
The Hyderabad-based writer and academic is a neatnik fighting a losing battle with the clutter in her head.
