Armpit Intellectuals

In this episode of Armpit Intellectuals, we dissect the complex ideas of Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist whose theory of cultural hegemony explains why common sense often reflects elite interests. We explore how Gramsci's theories on civil and political society, passive revolution, and subaltern studies reveal the enduring influence of colonial structures in post-colonial societies. Tune in for a deep dive into how power dynamics shape our everyday realities, and discover ways to counteract these influences through culture, humour, and critical thinking.Want to support our work?  ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy us a coffee.

They were the "problem children" of the revolution. One was labeled a pornographer, one a scandal-monger, and one a traitor to the state.In this episode of Armpit Intellectuals, we move beyond the statues and the postage stamps to perform a forensic autopsy on the Holy Trinity of Dissent: Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, and Faiz Ahmad Faiz. We’re tracking their lives from the smoke-filled rooms of the PWA to the lonely courtrooms of Lahore and the solitary cells of Montgomery Jail.Why did the state fear a short story about a quilt? How did a poet turn the language of romance into a weapon of treason? And why did their own "progressive" peers eventually turn on them? Join Zahra and Bilal as they peel back the skin of South Asian resistance.

"The State decided that National Honour was a liquid asset stored in the uterus."This week, we dive into the dark intersection of motherhood, post-colonial statecraft, and the modern surveillance state in India and Pakistan. We discuss how the 1949 Recovery Act turned women into national property and how that same logic persists today through digital monitoring and the Aunty Surveillance Network.From the haunted archives of Partition to the Love Jihad laws and the algorithmic policing of the "Westernized Mother," we ask: Is the South Asian mother more policed today than she was under British rule?Keywords: Partition, Biopolitics, Motherhood, South Asia, Surveillance, Urvashi Butalia, Veena Das, Digital Policing.

If the "Big Three" (Said, Fanon, and Ahmad) gave us the blueprint of empire, then Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, bell hooks, and Arundhati Roy are the ones pointing out that the building is on fire — and that the fire started in the kitchen.In this episode, we move from the "Macro" to the "Meso." We’re diving into the thinkers who realized that if your revolution doesn’t have a plan for the bedroom, the workplace, and your own internal wiring, you haven’t actually kicked the colonizer out; you’ve just invited him to change into local clothes and stay for dinner.From Spivak’s "epistemic violence" to hooks’ "imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy" and Roy’s battle against the "New Empire" of contracts, we explore why true liberation requires more than just a new flag. It requires a fundamental rewiring of how we love, how we listen, and how we refuse to look away.In this episode:Why "giving voice" to the marginalized can sometimes be a performance of power.How patriarchy acts as "soul-murder" for men (and the statistics of the "Will to Change").Why the post-colonial state often looks exactly like the empire it replaced.The friction between academic theory and the "bulldozer" of reality.Listen now to go beyond the "Great Men of History" and into the architecture of the soul.

The "end of empire" wasn't a conclusion—it was the start of a new, more subtle war. In Episode 22 of Armpit Intellectuals, we go deep into the "Grand Critique" provided by the three pillars of anti-colonial thought: Eqbal Ahmad, Edward Said, and Frantz Fanon.We’re moving beyond the surface to explore:🔹 Eqbal Ahmad on why "new" nations often mirror their old oppressors and the root causes of political violence.🔹 Edward Said on how the Western "Gaze" creates a version of the East designed to be dominated.🔹 Frantz Fanon on the "zone of non-being" and why liberation requires a psychological revolution.This isn’t just history—it’s the blueprint for understanding today’s global power dynamics, from media representation to economic inequality.Listen now to learn how to decolonize your mind and your world.

In this episode, we confront Pakistan’s hidden epidemic of child sexual abuse — from Kasur’s dark legacy to everyday silences in homes, madrassas, and schools. Drawing on survivor stories, data, and global parallels, we explore how power, patriarchy, and “izzat” protect predators while children are left unprotected. This is not an easy conversation — but it’s one we can no longer afford to avoid.Resources:Sahil Helpline: 042-111-111-444 Madadgaar Helpline: 1098 Rozan / War Against Rape (Pakistan) Aangan Trust RAINN (US)

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on Pakistan’s feudal order — the waderas, jagirdars, and sardars who didn’t just survive colonialism but turned it into dynasties of domination.From colonial land grants to dynastic politics, from karo-kari killings to bonded labour, we trace how feudal power shapes Pakistan’s politics, culture, environment, and diaspora. This isn’t just history — it’s daily life.We cover:What a wadera is, and how their power works.Colonial roots of feudalism in Pakistan.Case studies: Mukhtaran Mai, Shahzeb Khan, Nazim Jokhio, Cammie the camel.Environmental feudalism during the 2022 and 2025 floods.Religion, patriarchy, and feudal control.Peasant resistance, from the Hari Movement to today.Feudalism isn’t tradition. It’s theft dressed up as culture. Until we name it and resist it, we remain trapped in its shadow.

In this episode, we explore the intricate dynamics of cousin marriage in South Asian families. We delve into the reasons behind its prevalence, the concept of collective narcissism, and the reflection of family identity through such unions. The discussion navigates the comfort and limitations of marrying within the family, the underlying pressures, and the distinction between closeness and genuine intimacy. The episode concludes with a call to challenge tribalistic thinking and to advocate for love that is chosen freely rather than assigned by tradition.Want to support the creation of the podcast? ⁠Buy us a coffee.

In this episode, we delve deep into the origins and pervasive influence of patriarchy, especially within Pakistani society. The discussion covers the historical foundations, the role of women in perpetuating the system, and the impact on various marginalized groups including women, trans, and queer communities. Through personal anecdotes and scholarly insights, we explore the political, social, and economic dimensions of patriarchy, emphasizing it as a totalizing system that feeds off women's labour and seeks to remain invisible under the guise of tradition and morality. The episode encourages listeners to question inherited myths, recognize hidden labour, and resist through personal and communal actions.Want to support the creation of the podcast? ⁠Buy us a coffee.⁠

In this episode, we plunge into the incendiary brilliance of Tariq Ali—a lifelong contrarian, eloquent dissenter, and literary provocateur. Born in 1943 in Lahore to a family steeped in political defiance, Ali came of age railing against tyranny with a wit as sharp as his convictions. Oxford-educated and globally ungovernable, he became a charismatic voice of the New Left in the 1960s, skewering the Vietnam War, interrogating empire, and haunting television screens with his debater’s precision and theatrical flair.A polymath of protest, Ali has penned fierce polemics, sweeping historical narratives, and lush novels that map the psychic fault lines between Islam and the West. Never content to play court intellectual, he’s remained rooted in anti-imperialism, radical imagination, and the belief that resistance begins with telling the truth—loudly, and often.Tune in as we trace the arc of a man who has made a life out of speaking against power, and for the possibility of a more just world.