Forming a parasocial relationship with podcasters led people to experience a heightened sense of social engagement.

"A man may be respectful towards women he knows, because of class and caste solidarities, but would treat women who are not from his class and caste in a completely different way."

"When you don't leave your house and are by yourself, you practically think about... who the performance of beauty is really for?"

"When so many fringe conspiracy theories are becoming mainstream and getting so much attention, it becomes even more important for news media to do its job well, and put out verified information only."

"I hope this experiment translates to employers being more accepting of people who can't come into office, and giving more opportunities to people who have disabilities that makes work from home a compulsion."

"In India, we haven't seen the kind of backlash to celeb lockdown content as we have in the west. And I think that comes from this kind of devotion and worship towards them that we see here."

"Strangely, we're seeing this tendency to blame the individual more than the state. Like we grant the state the benefit of the doubt that they're trying their best, but are harsher towards individuals."

"Catfishing is about human nature-- people have always chosen to hide the things that they're embarrassed by. The internet has just facilitated it to a whole new level."

"It's definitely important, especially as proof of state brutality. But I shudder when I think of the person in that violent image, and how dehumanizing it is."

"The idea around power is central to conspiracy theories -- you don't trust what the powerful are telling you, and you have another explanation for it."

"There's definitely a gender divide in the performance of romance -- if a man does it, then he's seen as being considerate and caring. But if a woman politician were to do it, we'd see her as being weak and subservient."

"I think in India, considering the sort of crackdown on the festival by extremist right-wing groups, and the taboo in general around premarital love and sex, choosing to go out and celebrate Valentine's Day in public is, in many cases, a revolutionary act."

"Heckling shouldn't be legitimized for everyone. It's only valid when it's punching up, and in most cases, dissent against the State is punching up."

"I think cancel culture is important, because it's one of the few ways in which the marginalized can express rage online when they've been wronged."

"The way we gossip about something tells us a lot about where we're at as a society."

"Whether it's polyamory or monogamy, the main thing is to do away with the idea of jealousy. We need to redefine what it means to be secure in a relationship."

"I can't think of a single protest movement in the past decade that hasn't relied on social media. At the same time, I'm skeptical of being so heavily dependent on a medium primarily controlled by a few white men in the U.S."

“I don’t think the rom com as we know it is dead. In fact in Bollywood, every third film is still a RomCom.”