Who Gets to Tell Vietnam’s Story? Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai on Dust Child, The Mountains Sing and Reclaiming the Narrative

Vietnamese author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai writes about war through the lives of those forever altered by it. In this conversation, she reflects on The Mountains Sing and Dust Child, the women and children caught in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, and the enduring impact of trauma across generations. …

Alka Joshi on The Henna Artist and The Love Letter That Became a Trilogy

Alka Joshi, author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Henna Artist, reflects on a body of work that feels like a personal tribute to her heritage. She opens up about the circumstances that led to her beloved trilogy and gives us a glimpse into what’s next for the author whose writing has become …

Markus Zusak On The Book Thief and Why He Chose Death to Tell a Story About Life

What happens when Death tells a story about life? Twenty years after the publication of The Book Thief, Markus Zusak revisits the novel that transformed his career and became one of the defining works of contemporary fiction. He reflects on language, imagination, history, and the unlikely creative …

Trailer Season 2

Host Mallika Kapur sits down with some of the world’s most celebrated storytellers to revisit the works that define them. They return to abandoned drafts, imagine alternate endings, and explore one enduring question: If you could do it again, what would the next edition hold? Because a story is n…

Jeet Thayil: on 'Narcopolis', Bombay and the pull of 'elsewhere'

Author and poet Jeet Thayil’s work moves fluidly between fiction, poetry and memoir. He reflects on the Booker-prize shortlisted Narcopolis years after its release, the emotional intensity of writing it, and how his latest book The Elsewhereans marks a shift—from stories of addiction and survival t…

Deepa Mehta and Lisa Ray: on Water and women shaping the narrative

When Deepa Mehta began filming Water in Varanasi, India, protesters burned the sets and forced production to a halt. The film, the final chapter in her trilogy exploring fire, earth, and water as metaphors for social realities across the Indian subcontinent, was eventually made in Sri Lanka. Twenty…

Lara Love Hardin on Mama Love: on addiction, healing and writing her way back

Lara Love Hardin lost everything. Writing helped her find her way back. In this conversation, the author of the New York Times bestseller  and Oprah’s book club pick reflects on The Many Lives of Mama Love, a memoir of addiction, incarceration, motherhood, and recovery. She talks  about reading as …

Shrabani Basu: on Victoria & Abdul, forgotten stories and an unlikely friendship

Indian journalist, historian and bestselling author Shrabani Basu has spent her career rescuing stories that history forgot. She talks about uncovering the extraordinary bond between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim, bringing spy and SOE agent Noor Inayat Khan into the light, and why these stories ma…

Lynsey Addario: on documenting reality: the bold, the brutal and the beautiful

Pulitzer winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario has spent her career documenting war and covering conflict. She discusses her commitment to capturing hard truths and opens up about what happens when she puts the camera down and steps back into life as a wife and mother.    Aperture: She captured …

Elif Shafak: on The Island of Missing Trees, roots and belonging

Award-winning British-Turkish novelist, political scientist and activist Elif Shafak discusses  her bestselling novel The Island of Missing Trees, her multicultural upbringing and the fragile bond between humans and nature. Prologue: Elif opens with a daring narrative choice: choosing a fig tree a…