Economies Of Khel — The Curious Business Of Sporting Subcultures
WWE, kabaddi, amateur running… How do niche sports like these find a market, build loyal communities, and generate money for participants and promoters alike? Rahul De, professor of economics at Azim Premji University, and his equally sports-obsessed guests attempt to crack these mysteries on Economies Of Khel, a podcast series from Radio Azim Premji University.
Rahul De, who teaches economics at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, is passionate about the business of sport. Of particular interest to him are sporting activities that are off radar for the mainstream yet command a devoted fan base.
Think WWE, kabaddi, running… How do these sports find a market, build loyal communities, and generate money for participants and promoters alike?
Co-presenting the series are Kailash Koushik, Assistant Professor at the School of Arts and Humanities at Christ University, Bengaluru, and Arvind Bharathi, who is with the School of Arts and Sciences at Azim Premji University.
This show from Radio Azim Premji University is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, and many other podcast platforms of your choice.
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Listen to all episodes in Economies Of Khel
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Apna WWE — Get In The Ring!
In the first episode of a conversational and engaging series, economist Rahul De invites media studies expert Kailash Koushik to discuss the culture and economics of the professional wrestling entertainment promotion that has acquired an ardent fan following in India
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Kabaddi’s Journey — From Akhada To Arena
In the second episode of Economies of Khel, economist Rahul De and media expert Kailash Koushik explore how kabaddi transformed from a rural pastime into a professional sport, pinning down why the Pro Kabaddi League become the second most-watched sports event in India
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Run for life, run for the money
In Episode 3 of Economies of Khel, Arvind Bharathi joins Rahul De and Kailash Koushik to keep pace with the emerging subculture of running in India. Through analyses and anecdotes, Run Bhoomi traces the passion, culture, and business behind running in India.
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Net-Net: The Smashingly Curious World of Indian Badminton
The easy accessibility of badminton in India makes it a game both ubiquitous and inclusive, where men and women can play together. In Ep 4 of Economies Of Khel, we unwrap the subculture of the shuttlecock game and its place in India both as a sport and as a business. Curious? Tune in.
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Short Circuit — India’s F1 Story
After zooming off to a roaring start, Formula One racing in India was doomed to crash and burn only two years later. What went amiss? In the fifth episode of Economies Of Khel, our continuing series about the business of sports, Rahul De and Kailash Koushik pursue the answers
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Credits
Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi, and Velu Shankar.
Featured in this series
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Rahul De
Rahul received his PhD in Economics from the University of Hyderabad. His PhD thesis studies the history of capitalist development in India since independence. Having grown up in the nineties, Rahul experienced some of the drastic transformations that the Indian economy went through post liberalisation in 1991, which include the introduction of private television channels,…
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Arvind Bharathi B N
Arvind is creating a curriculum on campus wellness at Azim Premji University. He started with teaching long distance running at the campus in 2016 and has been rewarded with seeing 3 outgoing batches use running as an effective tool to physical and emotional well-being. He is interested in getting students to enjoy being outdoors and…
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