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The Myth and Culture Podcast revisits ancient myths, once treated as irrelevant to modern life, and demonstrates their interconnectedness with contemporary culture, business, politics, and society. Join renowned mythologist and author Devdutt Pattanaik in conversation with Jerry Johnson, a writer & speaker on Western Philosophy, as they skillfully reframe the hot-button issues of our times to uncover the myths that drive our lives.  

Picture Ke Peechhe is a 10-episode series from Audible Suno, created and hosted by Rajeev Masand. This series reveals the untold making-of stories of the most enduring Hindi films of the past two decades, featuring their directors and stars. These are the films that have cast the biggest shadows, left the biggest footprints and are the ones we’re still talking about years after they were made. Each film’s director sits down with Rajeev to recollect their personal memories from the sets.

Karan Johar is synonymous with success, panache, quick wit, and outspokenness, which sometimes inadvertently creates controversy and makes headlines. KJo, as he is popularly called, has been a much-loved Bollywood film director, producer, actor, and discoverer of new talent. But who is the man behind the icon we all know? Honest, heart-warming and insightful, An Unsuitable Boy is both the story of the life of an exceptional filmmaker at the peak of his powers and of an equally extraordinary human being who shows you how to survive and succeed in life. 

We believe that anger validates us; it helps show us as passionate, involved and even becomes integral to our identity. But to believe that if you do not argue you submit, if you don’t fight then you are indifferent or complacent, is a limited binary worldview that is not reflective of a more complex reality. In this episode Devdutt Pattanaik speaks to Jerry Johnson about how eastern mythology teaches us to accept things as they are rather than constantly attempt to mould them to our expectations.

The feminine and a masculine instinct, the aggressive nature and the nurturing nature have always co-existed and a balance of these two forces is essential for harmony in society. But are masculine instincts becoming more desirable and is femininity seen as a sign of weakness? In this episode, Devdutt Pattanaik and Jerry Johnson talk about the conflicting instincts and the consequent fall-out of male dominance.

Talk of money is in the air, what with demonetisation affecting us all in our daily lives. Devdutt and Jerry use this opportunity to talk about the philosophical, mythical and cultural meaning and significance of money. Money, says Devdutt, is also a myth in which both the giver and receiver have to believe in the value of what is being transacted. But myth is not fiction; it is a reality lived by the people who believe in it.

In the 1920s, Alfred Hitchcock, the son of a shopkeeper, embarked on a career in the fledgling movie industry, and things were never the same again. From silence to sound, from monochrome to colour, from cinema to television, no other film director would stake such a large claim to entertainment in the twentieth century. In this special series of episodes, hear all about Hitchcock's beginnings, his triumphs and failures, the battles that raged behind the scenes, the people that helped him become the most iconic director of all time, and the darkness inside him that emerged from time to time to cause damage to himself and to those closest to him....

Is Liberty is primarily a western notion? No, says Devdutt, as he reminds us of the deeply libertarian nature of the Shramanic Parampara or the hermit tradition in Indian philosophy, from which Buddhism and Jainism also originate. But unlike the western notion of absolute liberty, the Indian notion of liberty is counterbalanced by the shravaka or the householder traditions, which emphasize the importance of duties and responsibilities.

“Be proud of who you are” is flashed across ads, motivational posters and self-help books. We have all heard of people who claim to be proud of their nation, their gender, their sexuality, their caste, etc. While some of these ideas such as gay pride and dalit pride have led to progressive movements and empowerment, other ideas of identity based pride boost regressive social formations. In this episode, Devdutt Pattanaik and Jerry Johnson explore the different contexts in which the concept of pride can be deployed.

In this new episode Devdutt Pattanaik speaks to Jerry Johnson about different ways in which people express nationalism. Is patriotism merely one’s love for country? Or does it need to have a more legal and political definition? They discuss the birth of patriotism and nationalism approximately 300 years ago as a means to bind societies together over boundaries and the urgent current need for healthy patriotism.

We think Bollywood is very hero-centric but Devdutt Pattanaik argues that in Bollywood heroes do not undergo a journey and a transformation in the classic sense, but essentially stay the same (many also mainly play themselves in every film, but that’s another story). In this episode, Devdutt Pattanaik and Jerry Johnson talk about heroes, hermits and martyrs and what makes them who they are.

Picture Ke Peechhe is a 10-episode series from Audible Suno, created and hosted by Rajeev Masand. This series reveals the untold making-of stories of the most enduring Hindi films of the past two decades, featuring their directors and stars. These are the films that have cast the biggest shadows, left the biggest footprints and are the ones we’re still talking about years after they were made. Each film’s director sits down with Rajeev to recollect their personal memories from the sets.

Picture Ke Peechhe is a 10-episode series from Audible Suno, created and hosted by Rajeev Masand. This series reveals the untold making-of stories of the most enduring Hindi films of the past two decades, featuring their directors and stars. These are the films that have cast the biggest shadows, left the biggest footprints and are the ones we’re still talking about years after they were made. Each film’s director sits down with Rajeev to recollect their personal memories from the sets.

Do societies really believe in equality as they preach or are there undercurrents of authoritarianism (and inequality) underlying the democratic facade? In this episode, Devdutt Pattanaik and Jerry Johnson talk about the history of democratic society and how the world has seen a shift in ideologies over the years. The duo also discusses how the right and left both use authoritarianism to subdue individualism.

Here's what started the phenomenon: This book has been a best seller for over 15 years and has been used by screenwriters around the world! Blake Snyder tells all in this fast, funny, and candid look inside the movie business. Save the Cat is just one of many ironclad rules for making your ideas more marketable and your script more satisfying. 

Picture Ke Peechhe is a 10-episode series from Audible Suno, created and hosted by Rajeev Masand. This series reveals the untold making-of stories of the most enduring Hindi films of the past two decades, featuring their directors and stars. These are the films that have cast the biggest shadows, left the biggest footprints and are the ones we’re still talking about years after they were made. Each film’s director sits down with Rajeev to recollect their personal memories from the sets.

Picture Ke Peechhe is a 10-episode series from Audible Suno, created and hosted by Rajeev Masand. This series reveals the untold making-of stories of the most enduring Hindi films of the past two decades, featuring their directors and stars. These are the films that have cast the biggest shadows, left the biggest footprints and are the ones we’re still talking about years after they were made. Each film’s director sits down with Rajeev to recollect their personal memories from the sets.

Our constitution was under attack (from natural elements). Protecting this historic document from deterioration was critical. When two boxes hooked up to nitrogen and oxygen cylinders were delivered to the Indian parliament in 1995, it was significant moment in the preservation of the Indian constitution. Padmaparna and Samanth investigate the science that ensures the protection of the very foundation of this country.

Understanding a large nation’s ancient culture is difficult, but a few habits, when traced to their origins, can help explain how we lived then. Food is one of them; from communal eating – the famed “thali” – to why we sometimes do not eat, Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik throws light on the eating habits of ancient India. 

Picture Ke Peechhe is a 10-episode series from Audible Suno, created and hosted by Rajeev Masand. This series reveals the untold making-of stories of the most enduring Hindi films of the past two decades, featuring their directors and stars. These are the films that have cast the biggest shadows, left the biggest footprints and are the ones we’re still talking about years after they were made. Each film’s director sits down with Rajeev to recollect their personal memories from the sets.