The Advantage of Being an Outsider

She's been a journalist for half a century, wrote the definitive book on the Emergency, and is revered for her political insight. Coomi Kapoor joins Amit Varma in episode 305 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss her life, Indian politics and the state of our media. (For full linked show notes, go to SeenUnseen.in.) Also check out: 1. Inside Track -- Coomi Kapoor's column in the Indian Express. 2. The Emergency: A Personal History -- Coomi Kapoor. 3. The Tatas, Freddie Mercury & Other Bawas: An Intimate History of the Parsis -- Coomi Kapoor. 4. Population Is Not a Problem, but Our Greatest Strength -- Amit Varma. 5. Dance Dance For the Halva Waala — Episode 294 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Jai Arjun Singh and Subrat Mohanty). 6. Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From — Tony Joseph. 7. Early Indians — Episode 112 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tony Joseph). 8. The Reflections of Samarth Bansal — Episode 299 of The Seen and the Unseen. 9. Maharashtra Politics Unscrambled — Episode 151 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Sujatha Anandan). 10. Men Must Step Up Now — Amit Varma. 11. The #MeToo Movement — Episode 90 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Supriya Nair & Nikita Saxena). 12. Arun Shourie,on Amazon and Wikipedia. 13. Kuldip Nayar on Amazon and Wikipedia. 14. The Nagarwala Case. 15. The Life and Times of Mrinal Pande — Episode 263 of The Seen and the Unseen. 16. Vinod Mehta on Amazon and Wikipedia. 17. The Lost Decade — Puja Mehra. 18. India’s Lost Decade — Episode 116 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Puja Mehra). 19. The Turkman Gate Massacre (but read Kapoor's book for the full details!) 20. An Incomplete Life -- Vijaypat Singhania. 21. The Decline of the Congress — Episode 248 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rahul Verma). 22. The Rooted Cosmopolitanism of Sugata Srinivasaraju — Episode 277 of The Seen and the Unseen. 23. The Forgotten Greatness of PV Narasimha Rao -- Episode 283 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vinay Sitapati). 24. Emergency Chronicles — Gyan Prakash. 25. Gyan Prakash on the Emergency — Episode 103 of The Seen and the Unseen. 26. All the Light We Cannot See -- Anthony Doerr. 27. Gangubai Kathiawadi and Darlings. 28. Panchayat. Check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing. And subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It’s free! Episode art: ‘The Inside Track’ by Simahina.