{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in South Asian Studies","slug":"new-books-in-south-asian-studies-313341","podcast_index_feed_id":313341,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LIT2660294853","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/ce63f172-ee9f-11e8-9c82-9fa3a8de8305/image/27e3068860a1d01d7bc195aa869ebc16.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":1412,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies","last_synced_at":"2026-07-01T18:21:58.994390+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-south-asian-studies-313341"},"episode":{"title":"Shefalee Vasudev, \"Stories We Wear: Status, Spectacle and the Politics of Appearance\" (Westland Non-Fiction, 2025)","slug":"shefalee-vasudev-stories-we-wear-status-spectacle-and-the-politics-of-appearance-westland-non-fiction-2025","published_at":"2026-05-28T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-south-asian-studies-313341/shefalee-vasudev-stories-we-wear-status-spectacle-and-the-politics-of-appearance-westland-non-fiction-2025","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-south-asian-studies-313341","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK3466188100.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK3466188100.mp3","summary":"Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, is known for his outfits. Since rising to become India’s head of government in 2014, photographers and journalists have long followed his clothing styles, each saying something about India. It’s part of a long tradition of using clothing to make a statement about India—and about defining a political brand. Nor is it unique to India–remember Obama’s tan suit, or now the MAGA red cap? That observation is part of Shefalee Vasudev’s recent book Stories We Wear: Status, Spectacle and The Politics of Appearance (Westland Non-Fiction, 2025), where she dives into how clothing, appearance, politics and social change are intertwined, covering topics like streaming dramas, influencers, and “the airport look.” Shefalee Vasudev is a journalist, cultural commentator, and narrative psychotherapist. The editor-in-chief of The Voice of Fashion for the last nine years and the founding editor of Marie Claire India, she has spent three decades working across news and lifestyle media. Her first non-fiction work, Powder Room: The Untold Story of Indian Fashion, was published in 2012. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Stories We Wear. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies","meta_description":"Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, is known for his outfits. Since rising to become India’s head of government in 2014, photographers and journalists…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2547,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-south-asian-studies-313341/episodes/shefalee-vasudev-stories-we-wear-status-spectacle-and-the-politics-of-appearance-westland-non-fiction-2025/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-south-asian-studies-313341/shefalee-vasudev-stories-we-wear-status-spectacle-and-the-politics-of-appearance-westland-non-fiction-2025.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}