From The Marginlands
From The Marginlands
Podcast Description
In From The Marginlands, we -- Prem Panicker and Arati Kumar Rao-- explore storytelling and making sense of the elemental connections between us and the world around us. We converse with carefully curated guests on the art of telling stories about the environment and on climate change as it manifests around the world.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast centers around themes of storytelling, environmental awareness, and the impacts of climate change, with episodes covering a range of topics such as the effects of pollution on water bodies like the Yamuna, the ecological studies involving fishing cats, and the exploration of narratives through the works of acclaimed journalists like Paul Salopek. Each episode delves into personal and collective stories that connect listeners to pressing global environmental challenges.
In From The Marginlands, we — Prem Panicker and Arati Kumar Rao– explore storytelling and making sense of the elemental connections between us and the world around us. We converse with carefully curated guests on the art of telling stories about the environment and on climate change as it manifests around the world.
On May 23, 2025, the MSC Elsa 3, a 28-year-old container ship, left Vizhinjam Port for Kochi, carrying 640 containers—13 of them packed with hazardous cargo, including calcium carbide, a chemical that can ignite with a spark. Less than 24 hours later, 38 nautical miles off Kerala’s coast, it sent out a distress call after developing a 26-degree list to starboard and flooding in a cargo hold. By dawn on May 25, the ship had sunk 50 meters below the Arabian Sea, taking with it over 450 tonnes of fuel and a trail of debris that’s now choking Kerala’s shores. All 24 crew were saved. But for the fishing communities of Alappuzha, Kollam, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram, the real disaster is just beginning.
Sunday, June 8 was World Oceans Day — a sombre occasion for Kerala's coastline and its beleaguered fishing community. Prem and Arati tease apart the issues in this ongoing, unfolding story in a bid to understand what is at stake for Kerala's coast, the fishers, the port and shipping, and the biodiversity. See show notes below for links to specific chapters, and further reading.
Contact us:
Arati Kumar-Rao on Instagram: / aratikumarr. .
Prem Panicker on X (Twitter): https://x.com/prempanicker and https://prempanicker.substack.com/
Our email: marginlands@gmail.com
Podcast Instagram: / fromthemarginlands
Sections:
5:06: What Kerala State Disaster Management Agency member secretary Stephen Kuriakose said
6.40: Interview with Sreekala S, chairperson, Kerala State Pollution Control Board
Kerala Pollution Control Board website: https://keralapcbonline.com/pcb/welcome
32:09: Interview with Dr Biju Kumar, Professor and Head of the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Trivandrum
43:36: In Season Fish:
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