In this burgeoning Indian podcast ecosystem, which has grown a significant 58% in the year 2022 according to PwC's Global Entertainment & Media Outlook report, one niche yet significant category that has emerged is podcasts dedicated to meandering issues of the global economy. More promising this trend appears to be, yet a close look at the offerings throws up a mixed bag with several commendable efforts and glaring shortcomings. "The Seen and the Unseen," hosted by the erudite Amit Varma, stands out as a colossus in this space: more than 5 million downloads since it launched in 2017. The podcast also excels at marathon discussions and fearlessly tackles Byzantine topics on global economics. A case in point is their sharp 3-hour programme on the volatile US-China trade war, which Varma and his guest, noted economist Ajay Shah, delivered with a labyrinthine analysis of its ripples across the Indian economy, projecting a possible 1 per cent dent in India's GDP growth. However, because the podcast runs more than 150 minutes-long, it is Herculean for a time-strapped listener wanting a pithy insight and circumscribes this reach to a wider audience. Instead, "Global Economic Outlook" by CRISIL provides a laser approach with succinct analyses of global economic trends running barely 20 minutes. Episode 1 was surprisingly prescient regarding the economic implications of Brexit, which it published just days after the vote. Unquestionably, this was a propitious release for insight into the effects on Indian IT firms, predicting a 3-5% loss through pound depreciation. Though it does a great job in staying concise, sometimes complexity and nuance are sacrificed, leaving smarter listeners wanting a fuller, richer analysis. "The India Chatter," which has a modest but growing monthly listenership of 50,000, tried to balance depth with accessibility.
Discussion about disruptions of global supply chains and its implications on Indian manufacturing allowed for balanced views with a mix of opinion from experts and concrete examples from the automobile sector where production declined by 30% in response to shortages of semiconductors. Though the podcast sometimes stumbles into the quicksand of oversimplification, it is misleading listeners on nuanced economic concepts - like quantitative easing or negative interest rates.
"The Core Report" is distinguished by its academic rigor; often heard are heavyweight economists and policymakers. I liked their more in-depth discussion about a global minimum corporate tax rate. This will raise India's tax policy and foreign investment to an estimated $20 billion tax revenue. Yet, involvement in obscurantist terms and the assumption of prior knowledge make it inaccessible for neophyte listeners, which may exclude a great fraction of its potential audience and contribute to the podcast's relatively small but attentive listenership of some 20,000 per episode.
"Economics Made Easy" of IVM Podcasts, a website that claims to have racked up over 100 million downloads across its different shows, approaches this from the angle of countering inexperience in economics among presenters to trying to make sense of global economic theory for mere mortals. Intelligently planned, the podcast often simplifies to an edge, risking misinformation. For instance, when they speak of the carryover and effect of quantitative easing in the global scenario, there was an obvious lack of essence as it failed to address the inflationary risks or rising wealth disparities that might be exacerbated by such policies.
"All Things Policy" from Takshashila Institution is another blog with a robust flavour of policy in its discourse on global economic issues. It claims more than 1 million downloads. Their show on India's place in international trade negotiations has been insightful into the complexities of international economic diplomacy and has presented the position of India vis-à-vis the WTO negotiations. At other times, though, a focus on policy leaves the economics behind those policy decisions, maybe frustrating some listeners as they try to understand what's at play.
One pervasive thread throughout these podcasts is their tendency to look at the global economic issues primarily through an Indian lens. While this view undoubtedly has value and relevance for the authors' target audience, it often results in viewing global issues through rather to narrow a prism. It is a bit conspicuous that there is a lacuna in the coverage of economic developments in Africa and South America, which can prove to be invaluable lessons and insights for the Indian economy. For instance, nearly by and large, these podcasts glossed over the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, that is, the largest free trade area by number of participating countries in the world, which may be ripe for insights into India's trade policies.
Besides, most of these podcasts rely much on small coteries of expert opinions, which are obviously valuable but sometimes create an echo chamber effect. There is a quite glaring lack of diversity, mainly among young economists, women in economics, or heterodox voices, which can add new flavours to discuss global challenges in economics. The underrepresentation is also reflected in the guest lists on these podcasts’ sites, with fewer than 20% of featured experts being women and significantly fewer having minority or marginalized backgrounds.
Indian podcasts on global economic issues have taken great strides; however, they still have room to evolve. Ideally, one would wish the podcasting space to be one that offers ideal balance in the depth and accessibility wherein a global point of view is anchored to relevance for an Indian audience, and a diverse array of voices and viewpoints is included. It is in this hope that one looks forward to seeing offerings that can face challenges squarely and provide listeners with comprehensive, nuanced, and engaging content on global economic issues. As much as the current scenario is promising, it still falls short of being a world-class product which can compete with international heavyweights in terms of economic analysis.