Today, I have a wild and freewheeling conversation with Vinamre Kasanaa who is an old friend and the host of Dostcast, India's fastest growing podcast - that recently hit 300,000 subscribers.
I've been a two-time guest on his show, where we spoke a lot about fiction, technology, Royal Enfield motorcycles and meditation. And in this episode, we cover topics like:
What I love about this conversation is that we get unapologetically lost in some far-flung ideas, yet find our way back to the present. Vinamre is a fascinating guy and a purist at heart - it's always a pleasure jamming with him.
I should also mention that this episode was recorded in-person at Vinamre's makeshift Airbnb studio, on a rainy Mumbai night. And it happened pretty impromptu. We were meeting just to catchup, and then somehow ended up hitting the record button.
I'd like to thank him and his team for setting up the space so cosily and for the delicious masala chai we sipped throughout.
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Say hi to Vinamre on Twitter: www.twitter.com/vinamrekasanaa
Say hi to Vinamre on Instagram: www.instagram.com/vinamrekasanaa
Say hi to Dhru on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dhrupadkarwa
Say hi to Dhru on Instagram: www.instagram.com/dkarwa
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Mentioned:
litvisions.substack.com - for essays, novel suggestions and more
David And Suzanne picture books
Biff, Chip and Kipper books
An American Prayer by Jim Morrison (album)
Chuck Palahniuk and 'Dangerous Writing'
Stoner by John Williams
Red Dead Redemption (game)
Monument Valley (game)
The Journey (game)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (movie)
Indian Art Fair
The Little Price by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil
Works of Khushwant Singh
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Show notes:
0:00 - Introduction
02:25 - What poetry and literature mean to him
06:13 - Tension between art and content
15:10 - Relationships and the soul
19:10 - Phones are attacking us
20:30 - Paperbacks as wellness tools
22:05 - Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
29:50 - Committing to empathy
32:10 - Chuck Palahniuk, Dangerous Writing and Nassim Nicholas Taleb
35:08 - Why we buy books
37:25 - Stoner by John Williams
41:35 - Video games: Red Dead Redemption, Monument Valley, The Journey
47:05 - Analogising Fantastic Mr. Fox
49:35 - Internet rabbit holes and novels as social contexts
55:50 - Being with an experience
59:20 - Cultures of reading and podcasting
01:10:45 - The future of fiction
01:17:30 - News2Novel and book discovery
01:26:43 - Novels by Jeet Thayil and Khushwant Singh
01:29:55 - Metaphors for podcast hosting