Podcasts · ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash

EP-418 | Desi Nostalgia, Truck Shayari, Politics & Friendship | ANI Podcast with Teen Taal

27 May 2026 · 3 h 07 min · Episode 418

In the latest edition of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, we are joined by Kuldeep Mishra, better known as Sardar, the Executive Editor of The Lallantop; Asif Khan, fondly known as Khancha, the Executive Editor of India Today Group Digital; and Kamlesh Singh, or Tau, a senior journalist and columnist. Together, the trio host Teen Taal, one of India’s most popular Hindi podcasts.

From hostel tales and small-town stories to politics and friendship, the guests explain why sometimes the most meaningful conversations come from what they call “therapeutic bullsh*t.” Don’t miss this “most useless podcast ever.”

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

04:06 – Melodi Trend

05:48 – How Teen Taal Team Met

09:26 – School Life: Then vs Now

17:46 – Political Ideologies

26:38 – Teen Taal's Show Format

28:37 – How Teen Taal Started

33:33 – The Lallantop & Teen Taal

37:57 – How Kamlesh Tau Entered Journalism

43:58 – Truck Wali Shayari

47:06 – Kamlesh Tau's Childhood Stories

49:08 – Original Idea Behind Teen Taal

56:51 – Photography: Then vs Smartphone Era

1:03:47 – Teachers & Schooling

1:18:22 – Story Behind Teen Taal Characters

1:26:08 – Journalism: Then vs Now

1:32:17 – Weird Food Combinations

1:36:16 – Culture & Tradition of Eating Paan

1:43:18 – Urbanisation

1:55:02 – India's Stray Dog Issue

2:08:38 – India's Urban-Rural Divide

2:11:40 – Two-Wheelers in India

2:17:35 – NEET Paper Leak

2:27:18 – Aditi Rao Hydari's Cannes Look

2:34:51 – Incentives for Having More Children

2:39:40 – Migration Within India

2:58:36 – Criticism of Teen Taal

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)