{"podcast":{"title":"3 Things","slug":"3-things-69930","podcast_index_feed_id":69930,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5008053/episodes/feed","website_url":"http://www.indianexpress.com/audio/","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/18099ab0c9fbecbaffd70725b164d186.jpg","author":"Express Audio","episode_count":1000,"summary":"Our flagship daily news show, where we talk to in-house experts about what is going on and why you need to care about it.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/3-things-69930"},"episode":{"title":"VFS Global under scanner, Quad meets again, and Annamalai to quit BJP","slug":"vfs-global-under-scanner-quad-meets-again-and-annamalai-to-quit-bjp","published_at":"2026-06-02T00:30:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/3-things-69930/vfs-global-under-scanner-quad-meets-again-and-annamalai-to-quit-bjp","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/3-things-69930","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/vfs-global-under-scanner-quad-meets-again-and-annamalai-to-quit-bjp--72283847","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72283847/3_things_2026_june_2_v1.mp3","summary":"First, we speak to The Indian Express’ Chief of National Bureau Sandeep Singh and investigative journalist Ritu Sarin about a global investigation into VFS Global, the visa services giant that processes millions of Schengen visa applications, and the concerns raised over optional paid services, privacy, and data protection practices. Next, we talk to The Indian Express’ Diplomatic Affairs Editor Shubhajit Roy about the Quad’s latest initiatives on maritime surveillance, critical minerals, energy security, and port infrastructure, and how the grouping is seeking to reduce dependence on China while strengthening coordination in the Indo-Pacific. (13:40) And in the end, we look at K Annamalai’s decision to step down from the BJP, and what his exit could mean for Tamil Nadu politics at a time when actor-turned-politician Vijay is reshaping the opposition landscape. (24:10) Hosted by Ichha Sharma Produced and written by Shashank Bhargava and Ichha Sharma Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar","meta_description":"First, we speak to The Indian Express’ Chief of National Bureau Sandeep Singh and investigative journalist Ritu Sarin about a global investigation into VF…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1626,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/3-things-69930/episodes/vfs-global-under-scanner-quad-meets-again-and-annamalai-to-quit-bjp/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/3-things-69930/vfs-global-under-scanner-quad-meets-again-and-annamalai-to-quit-bjp.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}