With the country under lockdown for nearly three weeks, we are seeing an increasing number of Indians turn to podcasts to keep themselves entertained and up to date with current events.
Here’s a curated list of six podcasts covering different aspects of the pandemic:
1. The Coronavirus Pandemic: How Prepared is India? by CPR ThoughtSpace
As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian government has responded to the threat by imposing an unprecedented lockdown. The lockdown’s stated objective is to buy time to slow the spread of the disease and ‘flatten the curve’, a phrase that everyone is all too familiar with now. But what does flattening the curve mean for India? Is a complete lockdown the ideal way to go about it? And how can our already strained health systems prepare for a widespread outbreak, if we do experience one in the coming weeks?
Dr Jishnu Das answers some of these questions, in conversation with Yamini Aiyer of the Centre for Policy Research.
This is the first in a series of episodes on the unfolding coronavirus pandemic in India.
We are seeing an increasing number of Indians are turning to podcasts to keep themselves entertained and up to date with current events. | Photo courtesy: Pixabay
2. Tech in the Times of Corona in All Things Policy by The Takshashila Institution
Globally, a number of countries are leveraging technology solutions to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. This episode looks at what India can learn from these experiences and explores the implications of coronavirus from a technology perspective. How do we ensure that the systems we’re building now aren’t misused in the future? What does it mean for data privacy and surveillance?
Prateek Waghre, Rohan Seth, and Manoj Kewalramani discuss these questions and more.
Related article: Latest news and updates on COVID-19
3. Tackling COVID-19 during India’s lockdown by The Pragati Podcast
How can India make the most of the nation-wide lockdown to contain the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic? How can it rapidly ramp up testing and diagnostics? How can governments, the private sector, and civil society come together to halt the spread of this highly contagious disease in the country?
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw talks to V Ravichandar and Pavan Srinath about the need to reform India’s public healthcare system and the importance of public-private partnerships.
4. Policy in the shadow of COVID-19 by Ganatantra
In this episode of Ganatantra, Sarayu Natarajan and Alok Prasanna Kumar discuss the impact of the pandemic on public policy. They talk about the way different levels of government across India are tackling the COVID-19 crisis, and the political and policy issues, such as data privacy and migration, arising from these efforts.
5. The problems with extending the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 3 Things by The Indian Express
As the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country, the government has decided to extend the lockdown in order to curb the transmission of COVID-19. In this episode, Harish Damodaran talks about the impact that the lockdown has had on the rural economy, the steps that the government should be taking for factories and businesses, and the problems that people will face once the nationwide lockdown is extended.
Updated daily, this news series covers a number of important themes—from considerations around a post-lockdown exit strategy to the financial fallout of the pandemic.
6. Doctors’ Difficult Decisions in Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction by CNN
As COVID-19 cases continue to overwhelm hospitals across the world, resources such as ventilators are in short supply. In such a scenario, how do you decide who gets allocated beds, ventilators, and other limited resources?
Dr Sanjay Gupta speaks to NYU’s Director of Medical Ethics about some of the tough questions facing healthcare professionals on the frontlines.
