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In Our Defence is a weekly podcast that breaks down wars, weapons, and the world of military power with clarity, curiosity, and zero jargon. Hosted by journalist Dev Goswami, each...
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In Our Defence is a weekly podcast that breaks down wars, weapons, and the world of military power with clarity, curiosity, and zero jargon.
Hosted by journalist Dev Goswami, each episode features sharp, story-rich conversations with leading defence experts, offering distinct perspectives and nuances on how nations prepare, fight, and defend.
From battlefield strategy and military tech to geopolitics, intelligence, and national security -- In Our Defence focuses on conversations that are grounded, engaging, and made for curious minds.
No fluff. No noise. Just a clear line of sight into the world of conflict.
show less
Hosted by journalist Dev Goswami, each episode features sharp, story-rich conversations with leading defence experts, offering distinct perspectives and nuances on how nations prepare, fight, and defend.
From battlefield strategy and military tech to geopolitics, intelligence, and national security -- In Our Defence focuses on conversations that are grounded, engaging, and made for curious minds.
No fluff. No noise. Just a clear line of sight into the world of conflict.
Episodes & Posts
Episodes
Posts
Transcribed
14 NOV 2025 · A car explodes near Delhi's Red Fort and the trail runs through Srinagar posters, Faridabad storehouses, and an alleged "white-collar" module featuring multiple doctors.
In this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan take their first impressions of the deadly terror attack that has revived scary memories of blasts in India's urban centre.
The two examine what we know (and don't) about the Red Fort attack, why the government's initial messaging stayed deliberately measured, and zoom out to Field Marshal Asim Munir's "thousand cuts" doctrine that the Pakistani military boss seems to have adopted.
Tune in!
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound mixed by Aman Pal
Transcribed
7 NOV 2025 · Donald Trump says China, Russia and Pakistan are "testing nuclear weapons". And that is why he's told the Pentagon to immediately prepare to test the US's nuclear weapons. In this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack what counts as a nuclear test in 2025, who's actually doing what at their test sites, and what a US return to explosive testing would mean for India, the CTBT, and global stability.
The two cover:
- Why does Trump want to carry out nuclear testing? Are Russia, China, and Pakistan really carrying out secret nuclear tests?
- Cold tests vs hot tests: Why the world doesn't really need 'explosive' nuclear tests anymore?
- Why India feels satisfied with its comparatively lower number of nuclear tests vis a vis the rest of the world?
- Should India take a re-look at its nuclear doctrine that vows no first use?
- What global treaties on nuclear testing really achieved?
- And finally, what happens if the US actually carries out a nuclear test?
Tune in!
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound mixed by Suraj Singh
Transcribed
31 OCT 2025 · India's Navy faces two very different fronts at sea. To the west, it has history and geography on its side against Pakistan -- think Karachi aflame in 1971 and quiet coercion in Kargil. To the east, a bigger, busier chessboard: the Chinese PLAN surging into the Indian Ocean and sniffing around the Bay of Bengal.
On this episode, national security expert Sandeep Unnithan joins host Dev Goswami to separate swagger from substance: Pakistan's problem of not enough 'sea room', what the Indian Navy did in 1971 and Kargil, how INS Vikrant shaped the '71 East theatre, and whether modern India should "pop up" in the South China Sea or lock down the Andamans.
On this episode:
- Pakistan's coastline and its geographical vulnerability
- 1971 War: Op Trident & Op Python; Karachi burning, costs and consequences
- Kargil: the Navy's "quiet pressure" playbook
- Op Sindoor: what a modern surge looks like and deterrence without tripping red lines
- China, the Indian Ocean Region, and the Indian Navy area of influence
- Can India routinely show up east of Malacca or is gatekeeping the chokepoints the smarter flex?
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound mix by Rohan Bharti
Transcribed
24 OCT 2025 · Once Islamabad's (or Rawalpindi's) protégés, the Taliban are now exchanging gunfire with Pakistan. The recent clashes mark the deadliest fighting between the two since Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021. What changed?
In this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack the clash along the Durand Line -- a fight tangled in Pashtun identity, militant kinships, and Pakistan's own Frankenstein problem.
The two trace the origin the Taliban, explain how it is wrongly believed to be synonymous with the Al Qaeda, and explore how its Pashtun roots put it at odds with Pakistan's military elite. Also a topic of discussion is the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and how it seems to be punching above its weight. And finally, the episode looks at India's cautious recent outreach to Kabul and how it fits into this very messy map.
Tune in!
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound mixed by
Transcribed
17 OCT 2025 · Two years after Oct 7, a US-brokered ceasefire takes hold in Gaza: living Israeli hostages are freed, the IDF pulls back to a predefined "yellow line," leaders fly into Sharm el-Sheikh to toast Donald Trump, and we hear talk of a "new Middle East." But how durable is this peace and what do we make of India's tightrope act?
In this episode, Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan break down:
- What the Gaza deal actually does and what it carefully avoids
- Can deal ensure lasting peace or is this yet another ebb in the decades-long cycle of violence
- Who governs Gaza next: PA technocrats, an interim force, or a messy vacuum
- Whether two years of devastation have become recruitment fuel for Hamas or its successor
- What's at stake for India and why PM Modi chose to skip the Egypt summit
Tune in!
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound Mixed by Rohan Bharti
Transcribed
10 OCT 2025 · A fresh jolt in West Asia: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement. Is it just a formalisation of a decades-old security relationship or the birth of an 'Islamic NATO'?
On the latest episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack what's real, what's posturing and why the announcement landed just as Israel struck targets in Qatar, a US ally, trying to mediate with Hamas. The episode especially explores what the agreement means for India.
The two discuss:
-Trace the Pak-Saudi security history and what's actually "new" in this pact
-Decode India's response and how New Delhi should read Riyadh's move
-Ask the uncomfortable bit: money flows to military to militants?
-Explore the nuclear chatter: Pakistani umbrella for Saudi?
-Revisit the long-running theory of US contingency plans around Pakistan's nukes
-Game out an "Op Sindoor 2.0" scenario: where does Saudi sit if India-Pakistan tensions flare?
Tune in!
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound Mixed by Aman Pal
Transcribed
26 SEP 2025 · The Indian Air Force has retired the MiG-21 – the iconic Soviet-era fighter aircraft—that became the most produced supersonic jet in history and the backbone of the IAF. The Mig-21 trained generations of Indian Air Force pilots and defended India’s skies for six decades.
Recorded around Mig-21’s farewell at Air Force Station, Chandigarh, this special episode of In Our Defence with national security expert Sandeep Unnithan dives into the jet’s history, upgrades, combat stories, the debate over safety, and its legacy.
Host Dev Goswami and Sandeep unpack how a 1960s Soviet interceptor became India’s backbone, why it attracted the “flying coffin” label, what the Bison upgrade really changed, and how the MiG-21’s dominance shaped IAF training and doctrine.
Tune in!
Image of the first women IAF fighter pilots- Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound Mix by Aman Pal
Transcribed
19 SEP 2025 · Kamikaze drones, or loitering munitions, have been everywhere in recent conflicts, from the Russia-Ukraine war to battles in the Middle East. They're cheap, deadly, and changing how militaries think about strikes and defence.
In this episode, host Dev Goswami sits down with defence journalist Sandeep Unnithan to trace the idea back to its WWII origins and ask why India, despite having a buzzing drone startup scene, still doesn't have its own kamikaze drones.
The two break down:
- What kamikaze meant in WWII and how the idea evolved into unmanned drones.
- How these drones are being used in Ukraine and what lessons India should take.
- Why India relied on Israeli Harop drones in Operation Sindoor.
- Procurement and development blind spots that explain India's slow adoption.
- Why India urgently needs to build and maintain a credible kamikaze drone force.
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound Mix by Suraj Singh
Transcribed
12 SEP 2025 · India is betting big on the Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island, a decades-long project to build a massive transshipment port, a new airport, a power plant, a township, and associated military build-up at the doorstep of the Strait of Malacca, the world’s busiest shipping lane.
The project had been flying under the radar until this month when concerns of ecological damage and impact on tribal population put the spotlight on this venture.
On this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan dive deep into this project and explore why this could be India’s most significant infrastructure project in history.
What makes the Malacca Strait the most crucial chokepoint in global trade?
And how does Great Nicobar give India a leg up in its long-running maritime rivalry with China?
The two decode the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean, the ecological and tribal concerns around the project, and why the next big global contest may not be on land, but at sea.
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound Mix by Rohan Bharti
Transcribed
5 SEP 2025 · In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack the debate over theaterisation -- the buzzword that has divided India's armed forces for years.
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh's recent comments about India not needing theaterisation right now have once again opened a debate that was meant to have been settled with the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff.
On this episode, Dev and Sandeep go from the origins of theatre commands in World War II, to India's 17 separate service commands, to the Air Force's worries -- and the famous committees (Kargil Review, GoM, Naresh Chandra, Shekatkar) that studied this reform to death.
The two explore:
- What is theaterisation and why does it matter?
- Why is the Indian Air Force pushing back?
- Did General Bipin Rawat's death stall the project?
- What role do decades of committees and bureaucratic delays play?
- And most importantly, does India actually need theatre commands for future wars?
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound Mix by Rohan Bharti
In Our Defence is a weekly podcast that breaks down wars, weapons, and the world of military power with clarity, curiosity, and zero jargon. Hosted by journalist Dev Goswami, each...
show more
In Our Defence is a weekly podcast that breaks down wars, weapons, and the world of military power with clarity, curiosity, and zero jargon.
Hosted by journalist Dev Goswami, each episode features sharp, story-rich conversations with leading defence experts, offering distinct perspectives and nuances on how nations prepare, fight, and defend.
From battlefield strategy and military tech to geopolitics, intelligence, and national security -- In Our Defence focuses on conversations that are grounded, engaging, and made for curious minds.
No fluff. No noise. Just a clear line of sight into the world of conflict.
show less
Hosted by journalist Dev Goswami, each episode features sharp, story-rich conversations with leading defence experts, offering distinct perspectives and nuances on how nations prepare, fight, and defend.
From battlefield strategy and military tech to geopolitics, intelligence, and national security -- In Our Defence focuses on conversations that are grounded, engaging, and made for curious minds.
No fluff. No noise. Just a clear line of sight into the world of conflict.
Information
| Author | India Today Podcast |
| Organization | Aaj Tak (India) |
| Categories | Government |
| Website | podcasts.indiatoday.in |
| sanjay.nagpal@aajtak.com |
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