Dr M G Manoj, a scientist at the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research in Cochin University of Science and Technology joins News Brake to discuss the intensity of the heatwave in Kerala and the reasons behind it.

The Union Commerce and Industry Ministry recently asked all e-commerce companies to remove these drinks from their platforms, saying there was no such thing as health drinks. Then what are they? In conversation with Dr Joseph A Pattani, paediatrics and neo-natology specialist in Mitera Hospital, Kottayam, for Onmanorama's News Brake.

From Covid cure claims to allopathy slurs: Why the Supreme Court is furious with Patanjali?India's leading FMCG firm Patanjali Ayurved Ltd has been taken to task by the supreme court for its tall claims including a cure for Covid-19. The court issued a contempt notice to company for disseminating misleading ads. This week's News brake looks at the case in detail.

Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, a classical dance teacher based in Kerala stirred up a storm last week with her remarks on 'ideal' beauty. In a separate incident, many singers from the Carnatic circle decided to boycott the Madras music academy for awarding a prize to TM Krishna. Celebrated dancer Dr Neena Prasad joins News Brake podcast to discuss the latest controversies in the world of classical dance and music.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement in the alleged liquor scam case has rocked the nation's capital. So is the ED's power being wielded fairly, or is it veering into political territory?

The Supreme Court has declared electoral bonds unconstitutional and ordered the State Bank of India to disclose all contributions to political parties from 2019 onwards, rejecting pleas for deadline extensions. Senior journalist and trustee of The Reporters Collective Trust Nitin Sethi joins News Brake this week to decode the mystery surrounding electoral bonds.

Just a few days before the International Women's Day 2024, a 28-year-old Spanish woman biker was gang raped in India. When a US writer pointed out on social media that India is unsafe for women, the chief of the National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, accused him of defaming the country. How can we address the problem of women's safety in India, if we silence the few who speak openly about it? Anju S Kunjumon joins Deepa Soman on News Brake to discuss the matter.

In this episode, News Brake explores the fascinating journey of electronic voting machines in India as the Lok Sabha Elections approach.

In recent months, Kerala has witnessed a concerning surge in human-animal conflicts, prompting discussions on wildlife conservation and habitat management. Prakriti Srivastava IFS, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in Kerala shares her views on matter in this week's News Brake.

The RBI has advised customers as well as merchants of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to shift their accounts to other banks by March 15. Here's what the RBI deadline means for Paytm users.

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal presented the state's budget for the financial year 2024-25 in the assembly amid a deepening fiscal crisis. Onmanorama's senior correspondent Ayyappan R joins News brake to decode the Kerala budget for News Brake's audience.

Deepa Soman, Vishnu Muraleedharan and Swathi Ajith join News Brake to discuss the recent controversy surrounding review bombing of movies.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present her sixth budget on February 1. Besides accommodating inflation worries and challenges of deficit financing, the finance minister will need to factor in all the key elements of GDP while drafting the budget- private consumption, gross private investment, government spending, net exports . 

With the Union Budget and Kerala Budget around the corner, former Finance Minister Dr Thomas Isaac and expert commentator on banking and finance S Adikesavan join News Brake to discuss the future prospects Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), infrastructure development and multiplier effect. 

Nayanthara's latest film 'Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food' was removed from Netflix almost 2 weeks after it began streaming on the OTT platform. Deepa Soman, senior journalist from Onmanorama's features team joins News Brake to discuss censorship, cuts and cinema.

A year after hundreds of wrestlers took to the streets to protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Singh, the issues within the WFI still remain unresolved. Senior Sports journalist Leslie Xavier joins News brake to discuss the issue.

From an Oscar win, a lunar exploration mission to unresolved violent ethnic clashes, India witnessed quite a few exhilarating highs and some debilitating lows in 2023. This week's News Brake provides a time capsule of the events that changed India in 2023. 

From the wild tusker Arikomban who took the state government for a toss to a series of tragedies and controversies, 2023 remained an eventful year for Kerala. This week's News Brake provides a time capsule of the events that changed Kerala in 2023. 

The Indian space programme, which began on November 21, 1963 with the launch of a Nike Apache rocket from Thumba, recently celebrated 60 years. Dr V R Lalithambika, distinguished scientist and former Director of the Directorate of the Human Spaceflight Programme at ISRO speaks about the journey of India's space programme in the past 60 years. 

In light of the recent floods in Chennai, Former Kerala Chief Secretary and chief architect of Thiruvananthapuram city's Operation Anantha Jiji Thomson IAS joins News Brake to discuss the problem of urban flooding and the need for better drainage systems and holistic town plans. 

After a tumultous week, the Open AI has finally reinstated Sam Altman as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Here's a look at the boardroom drama that led to Altman's ouster and return.

Expert virologist Dr Rajendra Pilankatta, Dean of School of Medicine and Public Health in Central University joins News Brake to give us some insight into the nature and severity of the new Covid-19 strains- JN.1 and HV.1

Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy has stirred up a little storm with his remarks that young people should work 70 hours a week to level up the country's productivity. News Brake catches up with Canada-based Employee Relations Specialist and former HR Lead in an Indian IT firm Athira Antony to know her thoughts on the work-life balance debate. Vishnu Muraleedharan, Anju Kunjumon and Deepa Soman joins in to share their views on the matter.

In a setback to gay rights activists, the Supreme Court has refused to accord legal recognition to same-sex marriage.   Kerala's first transgender lawyer Adv Padma Lakshmi; queer affirmative therapist Shibili Suhanah; and  Kerala-based non-binary couple Ponnu and Navya join News Brake podcast to share their disappointment and aspirations.

On the occassion of International Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Arunima Poulose, Consultant Surgeon at the Breast And Endocrine Surgery Unit at Believer's Church Medical College Hospital, Tiruvalla talks about the taboos surrounding breast cancer, its symptoms and treatment.

Onmanorama's Kannan V joins Haritha Benjamin to discuss why government employees are hitting the streets demanding a reintroduction of the Old Pension Scheme.

Former Indian diplomat TP Sreenivasan joins News Brake to shed light on the escalating diplomatic war between India and Canada.

Onmanorama's Deepa Soman joins Haritha Benjamin to discuss the provisions of the Women's Reservation Bill  and the controversies surrounding it.

The Nipah virus infection has once again reared its ugly head in Kerala's Kozhikode. Dr AS Anoop Kumar, Director of Critical Care Medicine at Aster MIMS hospital in Kozhikode, who helped in identifying the infection first in 2018, and expert virologist Dr Rajendra Pilankatta, Dean of School of Medicine and Public Health in Central University speaks on News Brake about the deadly virus.

Former Kerala MP and legal expert Sebastian Paul joins News Brake as it examines the new proposed electoral scheme and the plausibility of simultaneous polls.

The Puthuppally constituency which has been a UDF fortress for the past 53 years is all set to choose its next MLA. Onmanorama correspondents Ayyappan R, George Poikayil and Ragesh G join News Brake to discuss the prospects of UDF candidate Chandy Oommen and LDF candidate Jaick C Thomas in Puthuppally.

In this episode of News Brake, Digital Lending and Fintech Expert Mr Parijat Garg decodes RBI's rationale for launching a Central Bank Digital Currency and spells out the difference between e-Rupee, UPI and cryptocurrency.

The Kerala government is contemplating electricity usage restrictions including load shedding and power tariff hikes to tackle the power crisis in the state. In this episode, Onmanorama correspondent Ayyappan R answers some vital questions on electricity production, consumption and distribution in Kerala.

Advocate Prasanth Sugathan, Legal Director of Software Freedom Law Center, Delhi and practising lawyer at Kerala High Court joins News Brake to talk about the implications of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023.

Reports of meek rainfall in Kerala, and unexpected surplus in other parts of India, comes amidst massive heatwaves that wrecked life in the Middle East. Kerala has reported a 37% deficient rainfall since June. Dr Sivananda Pai, scientist at the Environmental Monitoring and Research Centre, India Meteorological Department and Dr Sabin T P, scientist from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune join this episode discuss the rain pattern in the state. 

As the last date for filing income tax returns approaches, Subin VR, a chartered accountant specialised in taxation, joins News Brake to discuss the rights and wrongs of claiming exemptions like HRA and housing loan interest.

Today's News Brake walks the audience through the life and times of veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Dr M Parameswaran, an Associate Professor, from the Centre for Development Studies joins News Brake to discuss retail inflation and soaring vegetable prices in India.

Gopika Gopakumar, a senior banking journalist at financial daily Mint joins Haritha Benjamin on News Brake to discuss the HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank merger, its impact on stock markets, customers and other Indian banks.

After Nandini vs Amul debate took the centrestage in Karnataka's election battle, another milk war is brewing in Kerala- Milma vs Nandini. KS Mani, Milma's chairman joins News Brake to discuss Kerala's concerns with us. 

Two weeks after the collision of three trains in Odisha's Balasore which resulted in the  death of 290 passengers, News Brake takes a look at KAVACH, an Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System meant to provide protection to trains against danger signals, excessive speed and collisions. 

Dr Vinoj Abraham, a Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram joins News Brake to discuss the latest unemployment figures released by the World Bank.

Dr Sivananda Pai, Scientist at Environmental Monitoring and Research Centre of India Meteorological Department joins News Brake to discuss the onset of the southwest monsoon, its distribution and the El Nino effect. 

The decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes is different from demonetisation which involves eliminating the lawful acceptance status of a monetary unit in an economy. Onmanorama catches up with S Adikesavan to know more about RBI's latest move.

Know all about Siddaramaiah, the seasoned politician who beat the shrewd and powerful D K Shivakumar to the post of Karnataka Chief Minister.

Former chairman Kerala Maritime Board VJ Mathew joins News Brake to discuss the fatal boat mishap that claimed 22 lives in Kerala's Tanur, and the checks and balances in place to ensure passenger safety. 

Kerala's former Chief Forest Veterinary Officer Dr EK Eswaran joins News Brake to discuss the wild tusker that has Kerala hooked- Arikomban, and the rising number of man-animal conflicts in the state.

Will AI surveillance help enforce road discipline in Kerala? How is the compliance rate for offences flagged? Will accident rates drop with better monitoring of roads? Kerala's Transport Commissioner ADGP S Sreejith joins News Brake this week to discuss the efficacy of AI surveillance. Dr MA Saleem, the Special Traffic Police Commissioner in Bengaluru, discusses how the city used the AI system effectively to battle its notorious traffic.

Shailaja Chandra, Former Executive Director, National Population Stabilisation Fund and former Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare joins News Brake to discuss India's population growth and the missing links in demographic dividend.

The BJP's carefully calculated moves to appease the Christian community is  being widely discussed by political observers. From Anil Antony's induction and Alphons Kannanthanam's membership in the party core committee to Prime Minister Modi's visit to Delhi's Sacred Heart Church on Easter Day- Ayyappan R and Ragesh G join News Brake to analyse the likely efforts of the BJP to woo Christians ahead of the general elections.