India A Story in the Making with Loveena Tandon

Hosted by Loveena Tandon

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Aug 2026

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About the show

The India story holds promise, but questions are raised too. We sift through the noise to discover how the diverse global voices view India. Every week, Loveena Tandon, a journalist and filmmaker with over twenty years of international experience, talks to influential people of diverse backgrounds about what fascinates them about India, also exploring how their personal journeys connects with that of India. If you're looking to engage or do business with India, tune in for insights from those who've successfully navigated its complexities.

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August 29, 20267 min

India: A Story in the Making | The World's Big India Question

If you were Trump today, who would you call first? And if you could listen in on a conversation between any two world leaders, who would they be? From Trump and Modi to Gandhi and Arafat, this High Five went from the playful to the profound rather quickly. But perhaps the ‘timeliest’ question was this: what is it about India that the world still doesn't quite understand? As India prepares to host BRICS next month, with Xi Jinping expected in New Delhi, India's ability to engage Washington, Beijing, Moscow and others without neatly choosing a camp is once again under the spotlight. Black or white? Ally or adversary? Perhaps India's answer is neither. As John Hemmings puts it here: “We don't call it grey. We call it silver.” For the extended conversation, watch Episode 52 of India: A Story in the Making: Can India Stay Neutral? Guests on the show: Dr John Hemmings: Geopolitical analyst specialising in the Indo-Pacific, global alliances and strategic competition in Asia, associated with the Henry Jackson Society. Azad Singh Rathore: Author and commentator on Indian foreign policy, strategic affairs and India’s evolving role in a multipolar world. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QYAvN6atQ4k?si=AbWZX5j_uwZefZni Listen on audio: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe 💬 Join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 14, 202641 min

Is it Cool To Be Indian Abroad | Ep 54

As India celebrates its 80th Independence Day, we ask a very different independence question: is it cool to be Indian abroad today? If so, when did India become cool, and what changed?   There was a time when being Indian abroad could mean trying to fit in, changing an accent, hiding your spirituality or keeping parts of your identity firmly at home.  Today, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, Indian food, music and culture have travelled far beyond India. But has the perception of Indians changed with them?  Shot at Ideas for India Week, organised by Bridge India, this episode of India: A Story in the Making brings together Raageshwari Loomba Swaroop, Singer, Author & Mindfulness Coach, and Mitesh Sheth MBE, CEO of the Dharma Endowment Foundation.  One hid part of his Indian identity. Another once thought being Western was cooler. Today, both tell a very different story!  So, what changed? India? The world’s perception of India? Or the confidence of Indians themselves?  In this conversation:  • When did being Indian abroad become “cool”? • Why some Indians once hid their identity, accent or spirituality • Yoga, mindfulness and India’s growing soft power • What the Bhagavad Gita can teach modern business and leadership • Why success, wealth and status do not necessarily bring happiness • Bollywood as soft power, and whether it is fulfilling its potential • Raising children with Indian roots abroad • What Britain can teach India, and India can teach Britain • The uncomfortable question: does India practise the values it promotes? • What should Brand India really stand for?  And perhaps the biggest question of all:  Has India become cool, or have Indians simply become more comfortable being themselves?  ▶️ LIVE NOW on India: A Story in the Making. Watch the full conversation on YouTube.  EPISODE #LIVE NOW  📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@loveenatandonproductions  🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe  💬 Join Our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d  #India #IndianDiaspora #BrandIndia #SoftPower #IndianIdentity #IndiaUK #Mindfulness #BhagavadGita #Yoga #IndiansAbroad        Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 13, 20260 min

Teaser | EP54: Do You Feel Being Indian Today?

There was a time when many Indians growing up abroad tried to lose the accent, shorten the name or play down where they came from. Has that changed? India now has the world’s largest diaspora, with around 18 million Indian-born people living abroad. And as India’s economic and cultural influence has grown, perhaps the way Indians abroad see themselves has shifted too. So when did the shift happen? Is it cool to be Indian abroad today? And what changed? Raageshwari Loomba Swaroop — Singer, Author & Mindfulness Coach Mitesh Sheth MBE — CEO, Dharma Endowment Foundation India: A Story in the Making explores identity, belonging and the changing idea of India through Indians who have made their lives around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 17, 20262 min

High Five India | India Decade by Decade | Vivek Desai, Co-Founder of iMeUsWe

India in one word? In this High Five India segment, Vivek Desai entrepreneur, co-founder of iMeUsWe, and the man who traced India’s name story through 1.6 billion public records answers some fun but revealing questions. Along the way, where does Chanakya one of the ancient world’s most influential thinkers on statecraft, economics and power figure in all this? But the full story begins in the main episode. Which names shaped India after Independence?Why are Ram and Lakshmi among India’s favourite names since 1947?How did Bollywood make Rahul unforgettable?And what do Indian names reveal about faith, family, aspiration and identity? Watch the full episode of India: A Story in the Making with Vivek Desai, co-founder of iMeUsWe. 📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/pvd1a3HjA2A?si=T2SXI9yqchrujWgG 🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast... 💬 Join Our Discord Community:   / discord   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 11, 202627 min

What Powers India’s Next Growth Chapter? | Ep 53

Millions of young Indians are walking into a workforce that AI is quietly rewriting.  India is growing faster than almost every major economy on earth, 6.4%, says the IMF, even as the rest of the world wobbles. That's the dichotomy we sit in today, the rules are being rewritten as we speak.  So how does India sustain this growth when its greatest asset, its demographic dividend, sits on such uncertain ground? Episode 53 of India: A Story in the Making goes straight at itwith the question: What Powers India’s Next Growth Chapter? In conversation:  Recorded during Idea for India Week. Thank you, Bridge India, for making the conversation possible. Episode 53: What Powers India’s Next Growth Chapter?  LIVE NOW 📺 YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@loveenatandonproductions 🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link:https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe 💬 Join Our Discord Community:https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d  • Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Visiting Professor at King's College London and former British diplomat.• Vee Bharkhada, Insolvency Expert at NBR, London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 10, 20260 min

India's Next Growth Chapter? | Teaser Ep 53

6.4% growth. That's the IMF's number for India this year, enough to keep it among the fastest-growing major economies on earth, even as the rest of the world wobbles through uncertainty. But growth numbers don't tell you who's working. And that's where the story gets complicated. Unemployment is rising. AI is rewriting the rules of what a job even is. So, the question isn't whether India will grow it's what will power that growth, and who gets to be part of it. Episode 53 of India: A Story in the Making goes looking for answers. Is AI the opportunity of a generation for India or the disruption that arrives before the safety nets do? Which sectors carry the next phase of growth and which ones just look good on paper? And can India's young population still be called its greatest asset, or does that story need rewriting too? In conversation: · Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Visiting Professor at King's College London and former British diplomat. · Vee Bharkhada, Insolvency Expert at NBR, London. Recorded during Idea for India Week. With thanks to Bridge India for making the conversation possible. Episode 53 out tomorrow. 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@loveenatandonproductions 🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe 💬 Join Our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 3, 202615 min

High Five India | Why Are We Anxious?

In this High Five India, two leading psychiatrists step away from the clinic to talk about the people they turn to when life gets tough, the healing power of friendship, running, migrant identity, what India still teaches them, and, of course, the great debate over the ultimate comfort food! For the full conversation on anxiety, loneliness, mental health, social media, culture, and practical tools to cope, watch the full episode of Why Are We Anxious? on India: A Story in the Making. 📺 Full episode LINKS: 📺 YouTube:https://youtu.be/LxuavGMFS9Q?si=d0ZCkXdheZDO11Wa 🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe 💬 Join Our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 20, 202624 min

CAN INDIA STAY NEUTRAL? | Ep 52

Hopes and deals aside, the US–Iran crisis continues and so does the global reshuffling of alliances. In a fragmented world, where rivals compete but still depend on each other, countries are having to rethink where they stand. India has chosen its own path from non-alignment to multi-alignment. But can it continue to balance competing powers while protecting its own interests? On India: A Story in the Making, we explore the new world order with two perspectives: Dr John Hemmings, looking from the outside in, as a geopolitical and security expert. And Azad Singh Rathore author and politician from Rajasthan, bringing a view from within India. Can India stay neutral in a world asking everyone to choose? EPISODE 52 – CAN INDIA STAY NEUTRAL? NOW LIVE ON: 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@loveenatandonproductions 🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe 💬 Join Our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d We thank Bridge India for facilitating this conversation in their Ideas for India event in London Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 19, 20260 min

India Must Choose | Teaser Ep 52

Deal. Then no deal. As the US-Iran crisis continues with no clear end, the world is recalculating old alliances and new partnerships. In this fragmented world, India is walking its own path from non-alignment to multi-alignment. But can it continue to balance all sides? India: A Story in the Making asks: Can India stay neutral? FULL EPISODE LIVE ON the 20th of JUNE 2026 ON: 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@loveenatandonproductions 🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe 💬 Join Our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d We thank Bridge India for facilitating this conversation in their 'Ideas For India' event in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 13, 20262 min

High Five | India A Story in the Making | The Last Princesses of Punjab

What does a 150-year-old story of princesses tell us about identity today? When Indian, Ethiopian, European and British worlds meet, is identity something we inherit, or something we create? In this High Five India from Ep 49 of India: A Story in the Making, we explore The Last Princesses of Punjab, a story of resilience, resistance and authenticity. An India story that travelled the world and refused to fit into just one box. Full Episode: 📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/0h7EEetg9f8?is=tnQgI5GgD6UkbXZV 🎙️ Podcast – Smart Link: https://bingepods.com/podcast/podcast-rn7moe 💬 Join Our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/p2UYt9uV5d Thanks for watching. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices