Society & Culture

What's your ism?

by Sudipto Mondal, The News Minute

Society & Culture

Is this your show? Claim it

Listen on Apple Podcasts RSS feed

Recently ranked · United States

Last recorded placements from this show’s chart history. These are not current rankings.

Not on the United States charts we track today.

If you like What's your ism?, try…

Conscious Caracal

Also in Society & Culture

Policy Center for the New South Podcasts

Also in Society & Culture

Present & Promoted

Also in Society & Culture

Big Feelings with Brooke Schofield

Also in Society & Culture

The Joe Walker Podcast

Also in Society & Culture

Buffalo Intellectual Podcast

Also in Society & Culture

Latest episodes

From Ambedkar to Modi: The many lives of Buddhism in India | Douglas Ober on Seeking Sangha #1 | WYI

October 14, 2026 · 2 hr 27 min

Buddhism has become an important part of conversations around caste and Brahminism in the decades following B R Ambedkar’s conversion in 1956. But how did Buddhism evolve from an ancient tradition into a modern political and intellectual…
Who will lead India’s next student movement? | What's Your Ism? EP 54

August 24, 2026 · 1 hr 54 min

Student politics is returning to the centre of India’s political conversation. But what does this new wave of student activism stand for, and can it grow into a broader political movement? In this episode of What's Your ISM?, The News…
A Changing World Order, the Collapse of Maoism, Congress in south India | What’s Your Ism

July 28, 2026 · 1 hr 53 min

The global order is shifting. American dominance is being challenged, China is reshaping the balance of power, and the world is entering a period of political and economic uncertainty. But what does this mean for India, and what kind of…
From Umar Khalid to Sharjeel Imam: Being Muslim in Modi’s India

July 1, 2026 · 2 hr 17 min

Jailed student activist Umar Khalid’s friends and mentor Banojyotsna Lahiri, Anirban Bhattacharya, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta join TNM Executive Editor Sudipto Mondal to discuss their book ‘Umar Khalid and His World’. The guests read…
The Bengali Muslim and the Bangladeshi Dalit | Dr Navine Murshid and Sudipto Mondal | WYI

June 2, 2026 · 2 hr 22 min

In the final episode of the special What’s Your Ism sub series titled “Epar Opar Hahakaar”, TNM Executive Editor Sudipto Mondal sits down with political scientist Dr Navine Murshid, who authored the book “India’s Bangladesh Problem”. In an…

Show 7 more episodesShow fewer episodes

Who Picks Bengaluru’s Garbage? R Khaleemulah on Migrant Workers & Hate Politics | WYI EP 50

May 24, 2026 · 1 hr 35 min

Who picks Bengaluru’s garbage? And why are Bengali Muslim workers among the most vulnerable labourers in Indian cities today? In this episode of What's Your Ism?, Sudipto Mondal speaks with trade unionist and human rights activist R…
Census, Hunter, Eaton: Essential reading on the Bengali Muslim | What's Your Ism EP 49

May 12, 2026 · 1 hr 59 min

One of West Bengal’s most controversial poll seasons just concluded, with the Bharatiya Janata Party defeating the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government. This election season was different than usual because of the special…
Land, Labour, and Liberation ft. Lawyer & CPIML Leader Clifton D’Rozario | What's Your Ism EP 48

August 20, 2025 · 1 hr 33 min

What does justice really look like for India’s working class and oppressed communities? This week on What’s Your Ism?, Clifton D’Rozario, lawyer, CPIML leader, and long-time grassroots activist, joins host Sudipto Mondal to talk about…
Mamdani’s rise, Trump’s threat, and South Africa’s post-apartheid warning: Journalist Nic Dawes

July 9, 2025 · 1 hr 37 min

From Mandela to Mamdani, and from Trump to Malema, this is a global story of resistance, betrayal, and unfinished revolutions. In Episode 47 of What’s Your Ism?, journalist Nic Dawes speaks with Sudipto Mondal about the promises of…
Dalit Labour, Muslim Migrants, and the City: What’s Your Ism? Reflections

July 3, 2025 · 9 min

Who are the real hands behind India’s clean cities? Sudipto reflects on the civic workers we rarely see, Dalit and migrant labourers who segregate waste, drive garbage trucks, and often live without rights or recognition. This episode…
“We Are the Broom People”: Caste, Labor and Love | What’s Your Ism? with Du Saraswathi

June 25, 2025 · 1 hr 50 min

What happens when movements don’t speak to each other? In Episode 45 of What’s Your Ism?, Sudipto Mondal is joined by Du Saraswathi — who has spent decades bridging Ambedkarism, Marxism, and feminism. A conversation about caste, cleaning…
Guns, Peace, and Power: What’s Your Ism? Reflections | Maoists vs the Indian State

June 16, 2025 · 19 min

In this Reflections episode, we return to Dandakaranya — a region where governments change, but the war stays the same. From banned militias reborn in uniform, to Maoist martyrdom that costs young Adivasi lives, this episode unpacks the…

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

What's your ism is a podcast about ideas and ideologies that claim to liberate the world and somehow always fall short. TNM's Sudipto Mondal and his guests grapple with impressive sounding isms -- Marxism, Feminism, Ambedkarism, religious systems -- and their inherent contradictions. An attempt to understand academics, activists, politicians, artists, rebels and wannabe revolutionaries who are in search of grand unified theories to solve the problems of the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.