Wonderfully engaging podcast on the impact of Partition! It would be deserving of five stars, if not for the maddening background music—that of repetitively plucked strings—that plays incessantly behind the speaking of individuals and as a connecting line between segments. This one element makes the series nearly unlistenable. Ultimately, it is absolutely worth listening to. The series is heartfelt, necessary, and long overdue. This specific music choice and its overuse is simply an unfortunate misstep in a successful, beautiful production.

I am so grateful for this pocdcast and to be learning more about Partition directly from people and communities affected. Neha is a great narrator and nails both the honest podcaster on this journey with us, and the historian covering devastating events. Please listen and tell your friends.

We need more shows that go beyond the facts and in to the impact of politics on real people

I found this podcast after reading Unmarriageable, a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan. I was searching on google, YouTube and apple to get visual and historical context. I was thrilled to find this podcast. I learned so much about the history of India and Pakistan. I’ve always loved world history and was shocked to learn what had never been covered in my education. Thank you for Partition, the podcast!

Really enjoyed the set up of each episode and hearing the personal stories of a historic event that is barely or never taught in US schools. A refreshing approach that is both powerful and enlightening. Also, really loved the music!

It takes until episode 9, the penultimate episode, to provide any historical context. And when she does, it’s disjointed. There isn’t a single episode that provides education on what happened with Partition, and that missing episode should have been the first or second one to set the stage for the other info shared. The rest that’s there can get a bit repetitive and often seems amateur in its presentation. The script is read in a way that sounds a bit robotic, i.e., it’s obvious that she is reading a script. I expect scripts but it still shouldn’t sound like someone reading one. And there are weird mistakes, like talking about “fraternal grandparents” (I’m assuming she meant paternal but I’m honestly not sure). I listened to this podcast because I wanted to learn, but I don’t feel I learned much at all, and that’s disappointing.

I really wanted to listen to this, but after an episode and a half I couldn’t take the background music with the same two notes playing on repeat anymore; it was absolutely infuriating.

This podcast was frustrating to listen to as someone with no prior knowledge on the subject of the India/Pakistan partition. The host begins the first episode by talking about how this subject has received too little attention, but then gives very little background information. I think this would probably be an excellent supplement to a college course on partition or for someone has done a lot of prior reading. The podcast could have also benefited voice over for some of the interviews. Non-American accents along with poor audio quality made some stories difficult to follow. I am assuming that audience is largely American because it is part of, and was advertised on, an American podcast network.

I would not recommend this podcast to someone with no previous knowledge on the topic. I found myself growing increasingly more frustrated as I listen to this podcast because there is never a thorough explanation of the events that took place in 1946-1947. The host talks about massacres and violence but never tells us when this violence started, when it ended, how many people were estimated to be killed, who was perpetrating the violence, etc. The majority of the podcast is people reflecting on the events that occurred without actually giving us a timeline of these events

“That being said, I’m not really here to discuss men and their so called accomplishments or feelings. That is a story that gets toted around far too much.” I honestly don’t care what else she talks about when we get this powerhouse quote out of the gate! Otherwise, Neha states she’s going to interview and see firsthand accounts. Not that she’s going to retail historical (in)accuracies. I think this is the best way to retell a story in podcast form. If you want to get a historical recount, read a history book. I’m very excited to listen to a podcast from this standpoint!

The podcast is primarily 1st hand accounts of the ensuing violence (which is important), but there is little to no historical information used to knit together the accounts together. So much time is spent on the complaint “this is not taught in school” in comparison to actually teaching what happened. It should be taught in school - but since it is not, why not teach it to us now? Three episodes in and we’ve had multiple (extremely similar) accounts of headless bodies on trains, but no explanation of what the heck happened on the trains! Moving on to try to find a more coherent podcast on this subject.

Fascinating topic, interesting and important. But the narration is squeaky, too fast, and difficult to understand.

As a brown kid who had to pry war stories from my parents after an accidental slip up from them, I relate to Neha’s story so much. It’s so wonderful to hear her story and how she came about partition and I love learning about it myself.

The cadence of the narrators voice is really bad. If this were a high school project, it would be acceptable. She sounds like she’s reading a book out loud for English class My other gripe with the narrator is that she assumes a lot about the listener. She talks about a survey she did on Twitter, about how her local school district doesn’t have any curriculum about the subject matter and how “their voices have been silenced“. I feel like each of these things could easily be picked apart and we’re not even worth mentioning. The stories of the partition in and of themselves o are important. I think it’s annoying that she started the podcast off with a strong sense of being wronged, when in fact these stories were just forgotten to history. The reality is that these were poor people from a poor country came over to the western countries and worked in blue-collar jobs. Similar to other people coming from other countries, their stories were just not given a platform. Not because they were being silenced, but because society just didn’t have an interest. In fact, Desi‘s were not telling their story either. I think this is a great subject, but I think the narrator really set the wrong tone.

This is an important topic that many people probably know too little about. The way this show is structured and produced makes it inviting and impactful, and I appreciate the walk through a complicated time. The ways people suffered is acknowledged and honored with this wonderful show. Highly recommend!

The content is extremely important, though the presenter’s habit of ending sentences with a vocal fry can get very annoying. I am very grateful for how she spread the word about other historians and archives who addressed Partition. Her guests are well chosen.

Great podcast so far but I learned about partition of India in 8th grade and 12th grade history classes as well in different college classes. The premise that this is something no one knows about… thats your personal experience of bad luck not having good teachers. Rather than generalize to all of america be more critical of the specific public school system you grew up in and a bad curriculum. Im excited for a deep dive into a historical topic and learn beyond the basics. But the basics were something I learned about in middle school and high school in contrast to your perspective “no one learns about this in school.”

This is an important podcast and neglected topic. I bristled, however, at how many times the host compares the story of the partition to the Holocaust by saying there’s no Schindlers list, lamenting that school children learn about the Holocaust but not partition etc. I’m so sick of the Holocaust used as a marker by which to measure mass pain and doing so does us a massive disservice and opens us up to more antisemitism than we’re already exposed to. Why not talk about how Jews and Palestinians, how Holocaust survivors were affected by British Colonialism? How they were turned away from their homeland or the ongoing conflict still happening in Israel because of the way that the British Mandate ruled and then left? Otherwise just leave Jews out of this please.

Fascinating topic, but kind of a messy podcast. It’s about partition, and/or the host’s family’s experience with it, and/or other students’ experiences with it, and/or the US education system’s failure to teach it, etc. I catch myself wondering if this was an undergraduate student assignment. Not the best podcast, but many interesting moments. Hopefully, someone will do a podcast doing a deep dive into this topic. Also, as others have said, the music is inappropriate and distracting.

I’m enjoying it this far- I do agree with a couple of the other reviewers about the historical perspective, which you can get way more of if you read the books about the subject which the host just flat assumes her audience won’t read… I tried not to feel like my intelligence was being insulted.

This is a vital topic that everyone must know about, and the research that went into the show is fantastic. That said, I wish someone else had been hired to do the voice over. The narrator has a light, airy, almost optimistic lilt to her voice as she describes horrific scenes. The contrast of what she's describing and the tone that she uses is rather jarring for me. Between that and the use of the music sound effect every 3 seconds is starting to wear on me horribly. That should be used to transition between interviews or between major points in the story. Instead it's being used as a period to dot the end of a complete thought. *music plays* "And everyone died" *music plays* "good thing they left when they did" *music plays* "or they might not have survived.* *more music* It feels like the audio version of word count padding. I feel like this has great potential and the host picked a great subject matter to explore. But the episodes are already short and and it feels like 40% of it is sound effects. If you need to pad it that much, take out at least half of the music, and combine 2 episodes together. Increase the length of the interviews. The narrative will flow better and you won't drive away listeners with excessive sound effects.

What I appreciate the most about this podcast is that we get to learn about a major historical moment through the lens of someone who takes us on the journey with her. It is a personal, knowledgeable account that shares a strong sense of humanity in events that may feel distant - but really aren’t. I am really enjoying getting to learn about Partition from Neha’s perspective and appreciate her calm, honest tone in delivering the story.

For those interested in history, give this a pass. If you are interested in a young woman explains how history “feels” to her and how she “feels” about what she learned in school and how these feelings affect her view of the world, then you might be interested. I care about history, not the historian.

Interesting topic bad narration, as noted by others.

Really enjoying this. Became more curious about Partition after watching Ms. Marvel, and then heard an add about this podcast and jumped right it. Really enjoying it so far, especially the personal stories of people who lived through it and the exploration of generational trauma. It’s truly a shame how colonial history is taught or, more often, completely ignored in history classes, particularly in major current and former colonial powers, and I’m glad Neha is calling that out.

I love the topic and the narrator is obviously interested and passionate. However, there are a couple of things that I find really grating. The constant background music (especially the two repeating notes the WHOLE time) make me crazy. It never stops (except during ads) and it seems like a really short loop that constantly repeats itself. It gets really annoying after just a few minutes. I also agree with a different review that the host’s manner of speaking is distracting and too flat. There are a lot of times where she sounds like AI instead of a human.

I’m really interested in the story bc, surprise, I didn’t learn about this in school or college. Obviously I love the personal connection here but the sing-song cadence is distracting. Hoping some of the later episodes can be edited.

I am one of the many ignorant to the Partition and the atrocities that occurred. This podcast is so important for not just me, but the majority of the world who was never taught about this in school! The host does such a nice job storytelling and presenting historical facts and personal accounts in a way that is engaging and leaves the listener wanting more. I can’t wait to hear the next episode!

We need to hear these stories. We need to know this part of history. I never heard about The Partition until I watched Ms Marvel. This is a very heavy topic, but I am grateful that you have decided to talk about it, and I am eager to learn more.

What an important story for the world to hear, not just for those of us that claim heritage from the Subcontinent, but indeed for anyone who wants to understand the power of narrative, the critical need for nuanced storytelling, and why things are the way they are. Thank you for this, you are helping us heal bit by bit.

This topic is so important, and I love the personal touch of the host’s vulnerability. Unfortunately, I can’t listen anymore because her speech pattern is insanely repetitive. I hope Neha considers consulting with a voice coach to help vary her cadence and tone.

8/20/22– how In the world did I never learn about The Partition! I’m stunned and also reminded of the devastating brutality of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Thank you for shining light into the darkness of western ignorance.

My boys (10/13) haven’t learned about this in their history classes yet so we are listening together to get a deeper appreciation for our friends and neighbors. We were introduced to the topic by Ms Marvel and wanted to know more. This podcast is an intimate route to understanding and knowledge.

Common mistake of those new to reading a script - “singing.” As she reads the narrative, it’s as if she is singing a song. Sentence after sentence - tone and cadence are exactly the same - like the rhythm of a song. I hope this makes sense and she can improve. I’d enjoy listening to this podcast…

i loved how personal the story telling is, and one episode in, it's really clear that researching and creating this podcast has been a deep dive into identity, family, and neha's personal history. it feels inspiring, and as a poc it makes me want to delve deeper into my own heritage and family. i'd never heard of these events before, and partition is really engaging and informative. i can't wait to hear more.

This is a good podcast, but I am just astonished that someone raised by Pakistanis never heard of the partition…how is that even possible? This just defies logic, if you had any interest in your background at all you could easily have been introduced to this event, it’s inescapable for anyone with a South Asian background. I guess is there are people out there that are totally as clueless, this podcast is a good way to start getting a clue. Honestly man, read Midnight’s Children…good grief…

Just listened to the first episode and was taken by the storytelling and personal anecdotes. Can't wait to listen to the next episode. Such an important topic, I'm learning a lot.

As the daughter of a Partition survivor, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that this podcast is doing the work of telling these stories to a wider audience. I can’t wait for future episodes!

Great introduction. Can’t wait to hear more.