EP-449 I “India Looks So Poor”: Manu Joseph on Broken Cities, Gen Z, Jobs, CM Vijay & PM Modi

Manu Joseph is a journalist, columnist, novelist and screenwriter known for his sharp and often provocative observations on Indian society. He is the author of 'Why the Poor Don’t Kill Us' and the creator of the Netflix series 'Decoupled'.

In this episode of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, he discusses India’s broken cities, the jobs crisis facing Gen Z, and the decline of civic sense. He also speaks about Noida versus Gurugram, Vijay’s rise in Tamil Nadu politics, freedom of expression, privilege, merit and why India “looks so poor”.

0:00 – Introduction

1:13 – Life in Gurugram

2:33 – Village–City Divide

3:55 – Civic Order vs Social Order

5:47 – Why India Looks So Poor

6:57 – Swanky Airports and Broken Cities

10:51 – India’s Obsession With Useless Issues

14:24 – Leaving Gurugram

18:22 – Bengaluru Has Become a Hellhole

19:36 – Why Indian Cities Are Unliveable

22:30 – Is Goa India’s Most Cosmopolitan Place?

29:30 – What’s Wrong With Kerala?

33:42 – Kerala’s Healthcare

35:58 – Kerala Mothers

40:06 – Indian Parents and Education

47:19 – North India vs South India

52:51 – Servility, Saluting and Class in India

55:10 – How Indians Treat Salespeople

55:48 – How Indians Treat Waiters

1:02:59 – Why the Poor Don’t Kill Us

1:03:22 – The Attention-Span Crisis

1:08:35 – Cockroach Janata Party

1:13:11 – Why Gen Z Is Screwed by Equality

1:13:52 – India’s Employability Crisis

1:26:53 – Unemployment Among Educated Women

1:31:54 – Exam Leaks and Student Protests

1:35:42 – Freedom of Expression in India

1:40:25 – “Vijay Was My Classmate”

1:42:57 – Mani Ratnam and Tamil Cinema

1:44:45 – Vijay’s Political Rise

1:55:13 – Caste and Public Toilets

1:59:46 – Manu Joseph’s Stand-Up Film

2:04:48 – Left-Wing vs Right-Wing Politics

2:09:11 – Why Ancient History Is Unreliable

2:12:43 – Leaving Journalism and Writing Fiction

2:15:50 – His Take on ‘Godi Media’