So what was the ESL, why did it fail, what has been the fallout of that failure and is the idea now dead or could it rear its head again in the future? We discuss with Ashwin Achal

Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Did India miss data that pointed to what was coming? We ask Dr. Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of epidemiology and chair of biostatistics at the University of Michigan

A discussion on how India will be affected by the U.S withdrawing troops from Afghanistan

India-China relations stand at a crossroads after the border crisis in 2020.

Guest: Sandeep Phukan, Deputy Editor, The Hindu

Guest: S Anandan, Kochi Chief of Bureau, The Hindu

Guest: Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor, The Hindu

We are joined today by our correspondent on the ground in Kolkata Shiv Sahay Singh .

Over the course of this week and the next we begin our detailed analysis of the assembly elections in four states and one union territory where voting has already begun in some cases and some where it is just around the corner. Before we look in some detail at each state going to the polls though and break down the flavour of each contest we thought we would use this episode to take a broader perspective on these elections as a whole and try and give you a sense of what they mean from national level politics, for the BJP which is trying to make inroads into areas not considered its traditional strongholds and for the opposition parties which are trying to stop its rise.Guest: Varghese George, Associate Editor, The Hindu

A discussion on the bilateral issues on the agenda for PM Modi's visit to Bangladesh and the broader significance of the trip

In today’s episode, we give you some immediate reactions and then a larger grounding to understand today’s decision by the Supreme Court not to stay the sale of electoral bonds before Assembly elections in five States. The judgment by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said that since the scheme began in 2018 and continued in 2019 and 2020 without any impediments, the court said it found no reason to stall the sale of electoral bonds now. In the course of this episode we’ll go over exactly what the Supreme Court’s reasoning was. We will also go over what the different sides argued in a hearing on this issue that took place just a couple of days back, when a stay was sought on the sale of electoral bonds. We will also discuss where we stand on the issue and the various talking points that have come up around it in the preceding three or four years. Guest: Suhrith Parthasarathy, advocate, Madras High Court

What factors could go into India’s vote and what ramifications will it have for the geopolitics of the region

Guests: Tanvi Madan, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, Washington, author of Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped U.S.-India Relations during the Cold War , and Sriram Lakshman, U.S. Correspondent, The Hindu .

Guests: Suhasini Haidar, National and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu . Ananth Krishnan, China Correspondent, The Hindu