News channels move over, the Podcasters are here.

I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I have all but stopped watching the news bulletins on television, along with their noisy debates. As I am channel-agnostic, my disenchantment with the news as purveyed cuts across all television channels. There are two reasons for this cynical observation. The obvious one is the abysmal quality of the anchors (with a couple of notable exceptions) as well as their field correspondents, most of whom appear to have staggered fresh out of college. Wet behind the ears, as my English master in school had it. There is simply no gravitas in their reportage, whether they are standing in front of a Chief Minister’s palatial residence, gripping a microphone, hoping for a sound bite on some corruption charge, along with all the other rival channels, pushing and jostling, waiting for the gates to open and some unidentified limousine to drive out. Else you are likely to find them commenting from a disaster site where a building under construction has just collapsed slaying ten. On one occasion, a young girl correspondent gave frantic chase to a minister as he put his hand up and hurriedly dived into his car. ‘Sir, Sir, please. What do you have to say to the victims’ families?’ I could have told her it was a hopeless pursuit.

 Cut to the studio for the much-touted debate at prime time. Need I say more? Ten faces, including the redoubtable anchor’s mug, stare at you, and some of those faces don’t even get a chance to get a word in edgeways, given the cacophony of the combined voices in non-unison. If the anchor is unhappy with the line taken by the guest, he or she will not think twice about cutting him off just as the unfortunate panellist is gathering a nice head of steam. Some very distinguished commentators at times appear on these shows much to their everlasting regret. One must assume the appearance money is good.

Those are primarily the negative reasons why I have stopped watching news channels on television, and I am happy to state that I am in excellent company in this regard. The more positive reason as to why I have no more requirement to waste my time with the regular news channels is thanks to the new, improved YouTube offerings – Podcasts to accord its proper title. Forget about the entertainment choices, they are too numerous to mention and I have dwelt at length in the past about the joys of watching clips from sport, humour, interviews with the high and mighty and so much more. And when you add Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV to the cable smorgasbord, one’s cup truly runneth over. Not wishing to be sidetracked, let me confine myself to the main purpose of this contemplation, namely current affairs.

On YouTube, you get a multiplicity of choices, both Indian and foreign, where not more than one or two distinguished experts sit and discuss at length the important headlines of the day. For those with a keen interest in wishing to understand, in-depth, the issues bedevilling India’s politics or economics, the likes of Barkha Dutt, Palki Sharma, Smita Prakash and Karan Thapar, just to name a few, speak to knowledgeable experts on a variety of subjects. The anchor lays down a marker in terms of explaining and outlining the limits of the topic and the guests are given a free hand and more than ample time to elaborate on their points of view. One does not usually get the impression that the invited speakers come to the studio with a pre-determined agenda. The exchanges are marked by a ‘feast of reason and flow of soul’ and no animus is displayed. They make their points with refreshing candour and an injection of humour, a rarity on our screens. Some of these self-same participants, on our regular television channels, have often been seen tearing their hair out merely to make themselves heard. Ask Anand Ranganathan, J. Sai Deepak, Abhijit Iyer Mitra or the Poonawalla brothers, just to provide a soupçon. When you get firebrand Mani Shankar Aiyar firing on all cylinders or the suave and ever so sane former Foreign Secretary Krishnan Srinivasan eloquently elaborating his views, we are in for a treat. Shashi Tharoor is a perennial favourite when he is not beset with his own political challenges.

I cannot not mention the case of podcaster Ranveer ‘Beerbiceps’ Allahbadia, who got so carried away with his phenomenal success that he went overboard with a harebrained level of idiocy, asking a guest a highly tasteless and personal question about his parents. He can consider himself extremely lucky the Courts let him off with a stern rap on the knuckles. That he apologised profusely is neither here nor there.

Lest you get the wrong impression, it is not merely the English-speaking programmes that I am talking about that grab eyeballs. Some of the podcasts in Hindi like The Jaipur Dialogues with the laconic Sanjay Dixit at the helm, approaches sensitive subjects with a delightful sense of irony, tongue firmly in cheek as both he and his guests who are podcasters in their own right (Abhishek Tiwary, Sumit Peer, Aadi Achint along with a plethora of palmists, soothsayers and astrologers) treat viewers to an elevating and entertaining programme. My Hindi has greatly improved as a result, not that that is of much consequence to the powers-that-be in Tamil Nadu.

The same goes for Sree Iyer of PGurus, who runs his programme from Washington (The Capitol conspicuously projected behind him) while conducting his interviews with several experts from India. Special mention must be made of ‘Scoop Raja’ Rajagopal who commences all his observations with a sloka in Sanskrit from one of India’s religious texts prior to launching his diatribe against whoever may be in his crosshairs on a particular evening. They wear their religious caste marks prominently on their sleeves. Or rather, on their foreheads. These gentlemen do not hesitate to display their allegiance to the ruling party, but they do bring to the table an impressive bank of knowledge and experience along with their homespun philosophy. Those who espouse the cause of the opposition alliance have their own podcasting channels from which to denigrate the Prime Minister on a daily basis. In other words, battle is truly joined and provides infinitely more elevating viewing pleasure than your run-of-the mill news channels.

If you are interested in what is happening in the United States, Western Europe, Ukraine, Russia and so on, the choice of podcasts to watch on YouTube is humongous. You need look no further than the celebrated Joe Rogan whose incisive interviews had even Donald Trump sitting with him for hours. Probably the only Indian who had Rogan star struck (by his own admission) was our very own Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev! Search for Victor Davis Hanson or Bill O’Reilly and you are assured of a most erudite and reasoned discussion on the political turmoil in America, the convoluted and dangerous issues surrounding the Ukraine-Russia conflict, with bit players like Starmer, Macron, Vance and others in walk-on parts but always completely overshadowed by the all-encompassing, omniscient presence of Donald Trump.

Snippets from the US Senate hearings and the ensuing debates (these are real debates) provide us in India with a deep understanding, not to mention the entertainment value that people like Trump can give us. Have you ever heard a sitting President refer to a former President as a ‘stupid President?’ That is what Trump called Biden who, in turn, had earlier described Trump as an idiot. A slanging match for the ages! In short, a splendid time is guaranteed for all. It is worth bearing in mind that if Trump sneezes, India could get a severe cold. The unseemly spat involving Trump, Zelensky and Vance at the Oval Office continues to remain at the top of the hit parade. Viewers simply cannot get enough of it. What is more, several computer-generated ‘funnies’ have come out of this infamous incident taking pride of place on social media.

When all is said and done, one must determine for oneself if anything you watch on television should first and foremost be elevating and entertaining and the devil take the hindmost. I am inclined to veer in that direction. After all, if I wish to be seriously involved in matters of state, I can read from a variety of excellent sources. There are exceptions even on the telly, as I have pointed out earlier in this piece, but in the main, you want someone compelling to hold your attention. That is why I have turned my back on the conventional news channels where the quality of delivery traverses the bandwidth from silly to utterly unwatchable. It becomes increasingly clear why some wise sage dubbed it ‘the idiot box.’ If you are not careful, it makes idiots of us all.

Pulitzer Prize winner, American author and columnist Dave Barry, with delicious irony said this about the news on television, ‘I would not know how I am supposed to feel about many stories if not for the fact that TV news personalities make sad faces for sad stories and happy faces for happy stories.’ That pithy one-liner, more or less, puts the lid on it.