Reverb Radio: Recent Episodes
Reverb Radio
We are a student-run podcast from Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts. Write to us at reverbradio.ssla@gmail.com or @reverb.radio.ssla on Instagram! Share, follow and let us know your thoughts!
Three months after graduation, reverb radio brings to you an old tradition, Famous Last Words where you get to one last time listen to an anthology of goodbyes from batch 2023. Tune in to hear their wise words of advice and take a stroll down memory lane with them.
Tune in to hear Vatsal and Yashwardhan talk about all things finance. If you have ever scratched your head watching finance with Sharan reels, this is the right episode for you. In the pandemic, we all saw a rise of financial influencers who helped interest people in financial literacy in India. Yashwardhan and Vatsal explore themes such as the awareness of the stock market and its trends among people, financial influencers, and much more.
Lavanya and Arya discuss the representation of men and different male character tropes in Bollywood. Tune in to know their thoughts on the evolution of male characters across films like Kabir Singh, Dil Dhadakne Do, Thappad, etc, in Bollywood and how it impacts you as an audience. You can also hear more about how gender inclusivity on the side of makers and audiences impact various films in Bollywood today.
Are we socially engineered to make certain choices in life?
How much say do we really get in what we want, need, buy or invest in?
In the end, is there such a thing as ethical marketing or are we all just slaves to consumerism?
Arya and Aishwarya break down the idea of cradle-to-grave marketing and the ideologies & mechanisms behind it. In an era where we prize autonomy and the freedom to choose, we may still be stuck in a capitalist maze. Tune in to learn more about the effect of this phenomenon on our lives and the role it plays in defining the consumer and the market.
Three months after graduation, we bring you an anthology of goodbyes from batch 2022.
Here’s looking back at some of our favourite memories - and a few bittersweet farewells for a place that helped shape us, for better and for worse 😋, into the people we are today :) Thank you SSLA and thank you to all the people we’ve met over these past four years. See you, and keep the 3rd floor spirit alive!
- Team Reverb Radio/Batch 2022
Modern culture constantly encourages us to "embrace the grind", but how much is too much? Representing the SPA and Reverb Radio, Mihika and Aishwarya had a chat with Atiriya Narayan - a fellow SSLA student, experienced football player and a member of FC Goa. Tune in to listen to their thoughts on how motivation, effort, mental and physical health all come together to shape an athlete's performance on and off the field. They also discuss the cons of excessive hustling, how strategic breaks can help and identity challenges sportspersons may face.
Sara and Harini discuss the idea and execution of the "strong female protagonist" in popular media today. Tune in to know their thoughts on common tropes for female characters, the pressure to be/act/present a certain way, the predominant ideas surrounding the representation of women in mainstream media and the exploration of flawed and "real" characters.
Bonus recommendations: Fleabag, Gone Girl, The Lost Daughter
Mihika Bansal and Parth Kalia discuss hype as a social phenomenon, the psychology behind it, conspicuous consumption and monetizing hype. Hype culture has evolved over the years, and our speakers delve into how this phenomenon interacts with the concept of 'value', how it performs in the era of social media and what it means to be a bandwagoner.
This episode is a tribute to Batch 2021! Anoushka and Keshav talk about graduating online, the pressure of "what now?", shared fears, gap years, finding a little hope through solidarity and what they are going to miss the most about SSLA life. A few students also share their favourite memories and goodbyes. Thank you to all those who contributed. We're going to miss all of you, congratulations on your graduation. Enjoy and take care :)
- Student contributions begin at 27:45
Megha Nair : 27:46
Varad Godase : 29:23
Raghav Kochhar : 31:31
The past year has seen music change on a fundamental level, giving rise to new trends. Artists and the music industry were hit hard with the loss of platforms for live music, but they've bounced back with the help of new digital spaces for creating and performing. Not to mention the changes audience consumption patterns have undergone throughout 2020. Listen to the full episode to find out how Sara, Atreyi and Nikhil break down the impact of the pandemic on music, musicians and the industry as a whole.
We’re already three months into 2021, and the past year has felt like the strangest time warp we’ve ever experienced. Stuck in limbo for months on end, everyone’s perception of time was completely disrupted. Anoushka and Keshav share their personal takes on being forced into temporal purgatory and discuss phenomena like the oddball effect, tricking time, losing a sense of linearity and how the way we view our present and our future has been changed irreversibly.
This Valentine's Day, Harini and Rishabh sat down to talk about the complexities of relationships, navigating the modern dating scene and how to deal with the accompanying pressure, communication challenges, representations of love in popular media, and self-love and acceptance.
Yash Joglekar and Upasana Rangarajan discuss Model United Nations and the surrounding youth culture in depth. They share their experiences and thoughts on how MUNs have evolved, what goes into a quality debate, how it has contributed to their personality and sense of self, the social aspect of MUNs, privilege and power dynamics, the spirit of competition and much more.
In our first episode of 2021 (!) Mihika chats with Nandini Agarwal - a Politics, Philosophy and Economics student at University College London (UCL) about the major trends of 2020 and their far-reaching impact. Listen to the episode to find out what they have to say about using social media to build a sense of community, the bandwagon effect, creativity & productivity during a pandemic, the boom of small local businesses, new content creation fads like Reels and Tiktok, internet niches, self discovery and authenticity in virtual spaces.
Host Mihika Bansal talks to guest speaker Dhruv Tikka, the head of the English department at Indus International (Pune) about what it's like being a young citizen of modern India. They discuss their personal definitions of cultural identity, owning and asserting it and differences in perspectives. The conversation then drifts towards the ground reality in our country, performative activism, the importance of dialogue and challenging the status quo, achieving a balance between respect and criticism, and how influential social media can be.
Content/trigger warning: episode mentions mental illness, abuse and rape.
What to say when you've got nothing to say? This episode attempts to untangle the mess 2020 has left our mental health in. Host Harini Rao talks to guests Siddhant Sanghavi and psychologist and researcher Dr. Gayatri Kotbagi about the pressure to be productive during a global crisis (and the immense guilt when we're not), news fatigue, loneliness, struggling to stay connected to each other, crumbling mental health, and how the less fortunate are bearing the brunt of these conditions. But there is hope! With healthy boundaries, a few meaningful anchor points and above all else - empathy, we'll all pull through this together :)
Content/trigger warning:
The episode talks about body dysmorphia, body shaming, eating disorders, body disorders, and ableism.
Struggling with body image issues is a shared experience for most of us, and ever since the body positivity movement stepped into the limelight, discussions around these themes have been gaining more traction. In this episode we break down the history and evolution of this movement, how popular media as well as social media twist our perception, gender-specific struggles, inclusivity, body neutrality and self-acceptance. We'd just like to say this to all our listeners: you're seen, you're you, and we'd love for you to be proud of it :)
Our ninth episode as a podcast and first episode of our new show Drop the Mic, is the SSLA 101 episode you never knew you needed. In part 2, Yash and Eva talk about finding a place in the SSLA community, friendships and relationships in college, self-care and avoiding burnout, their growth as individuals and finding one's own identity. They also share some super essential tips for surviving college life, so don't miss out!
Our ninth episode as a podcast and first episode of our new show Drop the Mic, is the SSLA 101 episode you never knew you needed. In part 1, host Yash and guest speaker Eva discuss the transition from high school to college, the challenges they faced along the way, adjusting to the interdisciplinary nature of academics at SSLA, and the stark differences between their expectations and their reality.
Our first episode this semester is something the team has always been fascinated by: conspiracy theories! In this episode, our hosts break down conspiracy culture, its influence on the human psyche, and a few famous theories surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death, a certain enigmatic musician, UFOs, MKUltra, Covid-19 and more! Let us know your thoughts and enjoy listening :) (Music creds : Prod. Riddiman)
This episode is a tribute to Batch 2020! Thank you to all those who contributed. We're going to miss all of you, congratulations on your graduation. Enjoy, take care :) PS: The speaker of the tape starting at 05:30 is Meghana Kodamarti, and the tape starting at 09:27 is by Roshni Raheja and Simran Hora.
This episode is about physical media that we have used and seen our parents use in the last decade or so. The episode also talks about the present day where the digital medium is largely in use, how physical media has evolved and other aspects pertaining to this. The duration of the episode is 46:55 minutes.
This episode is Part II of Episode 5, and here we have stories from the corridor. Stories from students about their exams, what happened during it and after it and also about exam results! This episode is 12:44 minutes.
This episode is all about exams, what kept you going during those times, how exam time might or might not be different in school and in college and much more. This is Part I of Episode 5 , where the hosts recount their exam time stories. There is a Part II so be sure to listen to that as well. The duration of the episode is 28:34 minutes.
Astrology has been practiced since ancient times and it has resurfaced in today’s age of social media. Why has it gained the popularity that it has today? What about astrology is coming back in a big way? How has technology helped in furthering this foray into astrology? The duration of this episode is 13:50 minutes.
The general narrative around fashion today is around ethical concerns of its workers and the environment. We were left wondering, how did this even happen in the first place? Why does everything have to be this fast? And why do clothes today not last as long as they used to? Can our social media engagement have anything to do with this? The duration of this episode is 14:01 minutes.
Do you think memes affect the way you think, act and feel?
Trigger Warning: in this episode, we discuss depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, domestic violence and rape. Please skip this episode if you're uncomfortable with discussing these topics.