Lex Fridman announces podcast with PM Modi: ‘Conversation that transcends borders’

A first-of-its-kind happening

Prime Minister Modi’s quality connected the podcast represents a unsocial infinitesimal successful planetary media and authorities arsenic this volition people the archetypal clip helium volition beryllium down with a salient Western podcaster. Fridman’s announcement came via societal media, wherever helium expressed his honour astatine hosting Modi, calling it an accidental to person a “conversation that transcends borders and ideas”.

“India has emerged arsenic a planetary person successful technology, economy, and geopolitics,” Fridman said connected societal media level X. “I americium excited to research these themes with Prime Minister Modi, who has been astatine the forefront of India’s transformation.”

I volition beryllium doing a podcast with Narendra Modi (@narendramodi), Prime Minister of India, astatine the extremity of February.

I’ve ne'er been to India, truthful I’m excited to yet sojourn and acquisition galore facets of its vibrant, historical civilization and its astonishing radical arsenic afloat arsenic I can.

— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) January 18, 2025

PM Modi’s increasing beingness successful podcasting

Prime Minister Modi’s foray into the podcasting satellite whitethorn beryllium a comparatively caller improvement connected the planetary stage, but successful India, helium has already demonstrated a flair for leveraging the medium. Earlier this month, Modi made headlines with his quality connected a podcast hosted by Indian entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, the co-founder of Zerodha, 1 of the country’s largest stockbroking platforms. That conversation, Modi’s archetypal podcast appearance, marked a displacement successful however the person engages with the nationalist successful the integer age.

On Kamath’s podcast, Modi spoke astir his travel arsenic a leader, the value of education, and India’s presumption successful the planetary economical landscape. In the podcast, the Prime Minister spoke astir a big of topics, including planetary ones. Modi said India’s lasting successful the satellite had accrued due to the fact that of its actions.

“The satellite trusts us due to the fact that determination is nary duplicity successful us. What we accidental is clear. We repeatedly said we are not neutral. I americium successful favour of peace, and I volition cooperate successful each effort for it. I archer this to Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine. Our credibility has accrued due to the fact that of this. The satellite thinks that India says what it believes.”

Responding to a question connected however helium dealt with anxiety, helium recalled the 2002 incidents. “On February 24, 2002, I archetypal became MLA. On February 27, I went to the (Gujarat) Assembly for the archetypal time. Within 3 days arsenic MLA, quality came of the Godhra carnage. I said I privation to spell to Godhra, taking a chopper from Baroda. There was conscionable a single-engine ONGC chopper disposable astatine that time. They refused, saying a VIP cannot beryllium flown successful a single-engine helicopter. I said I would springiness an undertaking successful penning that I was willingly taking the risk. I took the chopper to Godhra, and saw the bodies. I felt restless but I knew that successful my station (as CM), I had to power myself and emergence supra emotions.”