In our sixth episode this season, FACT OF THE MATTER, rounds off the year by diving straight into the Awards Season - with a difference!! In Main Course, Joy and Rathin stay off the regular award season and focus on a few off-beat ones for a change - like the Ig-Nobel, the Darwin and the Turnip awards. Get to know more about bad sex in fiction, weird book titles, automobile inspired sex scenes and a garter or two as Joy skillfully unravels story after story!! So award yourself a quick break, grab a ringside seat and join us on yet another tour-de-farce into the world of awards!! We love to hear from you!! Write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

In our fifth episode this season, FACT OF THE MATTER, decides to go back a step and find out the many wonderful facets of words and their meanings!! In Main Course, hear about words of the year like woman, goblin mode and homer and why they were searched and checked worldwide - and get a load of quirky trivia on the origin of words like sideburn, testament and salary among others. Kick off the Christmas holidays by doing nothing except putting on your earphones and block off every other noise - as you gently doze off to the smooth droning sound of Joy and Rathin making a mess of the English language!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

Jack Reacher ordered espresso, double, no peel, no cube, foam cup, no china, and before it arrived he saw a man’s life change forever. Opening lines of The Hard Way – a book by Lee Child where the central character is Jack Reacher, a retired military investigator. In our fourth episode this season, FACT OF THE MATTER, enters the shadowy world of murder, detection, macabre plots and pure crime!! In Main Course, learn about inspirations and connections - as Joy links in Lord Mountbatten and Roger Ackroyd and how an Indian may have been the reason for the Silver Blaze story by Conan Doyle. Rathin shares the virtues of having an I-Phone if you want to escape from being a murder suspect in movies and some interesting new Indian detectives who are winning hordes of new fans!!  In Believe It or Not, we try and unearth some craziness around the Russia Ukraine crisis and temper it with some wholesome goodness as well!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! So get off that sofa, flex your knees and dig in as the game truly is afoot!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

"You had me at hello." Renee Zellweger's iconic dialog in the movie Jerry Maguire. In our third episode this season, FACT OF THE MATTER, gets onto the love bandwagon with great enthusiasm!! In Main Course, let Joy tell you how love for Patty Boyd helped create monster audio hits and get a bite of ancient history as Rathin shares details about the world's earliest known love song and a really ancient pop singer-songwriter !!  In Believe It or Not, we have some crazy love stories from across the world - as we travel smoothly from Kenya to Japan!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! So bring out that old guitar, brush up on those college day love tunes and let the good times roll!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

"You've heard of the golden rule, haven't you? Whoever has the gold makes the rules." The evil Vizier, Jafar, in Aladdin. In our second episode this season, FACT OF THE MATTER, makes a darting run into the dark side!!. In Main Course, get introduced to a tough baddie from the great Indian epic, Mahabharata and also find out interesting stories about legendary screen villains like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee!! Listen to national award winning Indian writer, Balaji Vittal, share nuggets from his latest book - Pure Evil – The Bad Men of Bollywood - as he becomes FOTM's very first - Our Guest This Week - our brand new section! In Believe It or Not, learn about how unplanned entrances into weddings can lead to unplanned marriages!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! So bring out the anti-hero within you and enjoy a special round of villainy, treachery and complete tomfoolery as always!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

When the seagulls follow the trawler, they think sardines will be thrown into the sea - Eric Cantona, France and Manchester United football legend, on his controversial rant at media trying to feed of his words to create sensational stories. In this brand new season opener, FACT OF THE MATTER, stunned by the Novak Djokovic affair at the Australian Open, decides to console itself by focusing on key sporting controversies over the years!!. In Main Course, listen to Joy and Rathin do a freewheeling chat about how the cricketing world was shaken by apartheid in the 70s, how the NBA is seeing the effect of COVID vaccinations (or not!!), how India was once one step away from a Davis Cup triumph and much more!! In Believe It or Not, learn about how an Italian Michelin star restaurant received a stunning shakedown from a reviewer and anti-sex beds at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! So forget your New Year resolution, grab your favorite beverage and immerse yourself into a crazy world of stories, trivia and fun!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children - Nelson Mandela. In this episode, FACT OF THE MATTER, celebrates the month of November by checking out stories around children who took their childhood by the scruff of the neck and left an indelible impression on the rest of us. In Main Course, listen to Joy and Rathin talk about child actors from Hollywood and Bollywood - Jackie Coogan, Shirley Temple and Meena Kumari and others - how they coped in both reel and real life as they navigated their way into adulthood!!  In Believe It or Not, learn about Pakistani batting legend Inzamam Ul Haq and his relationship with sleep and runouts!! Enjoy Joy's special story about about a selfless lady from Cuttack, Orissa!!!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! Sit back, grab a coffee, close and your eyes and try and remember a good childhood memory!! and if you ca We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. This is the war of the future. - Adolf Hitler. In this episode, FACT OF THE MATTER, focuses on famous assassination plots in history - the rationale, the planning, the many operational goof-ups and the often violent repercussions. In Main Course, listen to Joy and Rathin talk about two key political figures from the previous century - the Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Reinhard Heydrich - and how their deaths altered the course of world wars!! Hear about an intrepid Indian freedom fighter who tried to bump off an Ashes winning English captain and about the usage of poison in devious ways as an assassination ploy!! In Believe It or Not, learn why certain Colombian hippos, recently, were legally recognized as humans and then enjoy Joy's special story about politicians and world leaders who do nod off now and then in public!!!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! Celebrate Diwali in style but responsibly - stay away from fireworks and pollution - tune in to some hair raising stories instead!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

In this  episode, FACT OF THE MATTER, celebrates the festival season of Durga Puja and Dussehra by taking off in style!!. In Main Course, listen to Joy and Rathin talk about Air India and its connection with the surrealist genius, Salvador Dali, how airlines sometime lay out a special offer for casino lovers and a Broadway musical about a small town called Gander in Newfoundland and its special position in the 9-11 aftermath!! In Believe It or Not, learn why bars in Rwanda may surprise you with its "special" fare and then enjoy Joy's special story about a man who married a rice cooker!!!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! Stories and anecdotes from the world of aviation and airlines will keep you flying high for sure! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

A short clip where Joy and Rathin decide to explain why they started FACT OF THE MATTER - from their college day hunting for obscure facts to their love of trivia and how that ultimately led to the genesis of this pod!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

In this  episode, FACT OF THE MATTER, dives into the fascinating origins of a couple of Russian football clubs (one of whom is making headlines as we speak!!) as Sheriff Tiraspol rubs shoulders with Dynamo Moscow - albeit with some "secret service" involvement!!. In Main Course, listen to Joy as he digs deep into his cricketing archives and connects cricket and politics through carefully crafted snippets about Tiger Pataudi and Tejasvi Yadav!! In Believe It or Not, revel in the exploits of a country's VP who decided to play for his own club team in the CONCACAF Football Champions League with some bizarre consequences and find out Joy's amazing discovery about the world's smallest cow!!!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! Stories and anecdotes whizz around faster than a speeding bullet - so channel your inner 007 and jump onto this thrill-a-minute ride!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

In this episode, the spotlight is on connections and intersections between sports, politics, history and current affairs as FACT OF THE MATTER, embarks on a wild journey traversing football clubs in Russia and Moldova, sporting superstars and their political ambitions and much more. Listen to Joy and Rathin as they move seamlessly from cricket and football to chess and pole vault without missing a beat!! Get ready as the weekend is going to get better and better!! Catch the trailer and get a sneak preview of the rich fare we have in store for you in the main episode!! Dropping shortly!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

" A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." - Lao Tzu, ancient Chinese Philosopher In this  episode, it’s all about leaders - from humble to arrogant, from dictatorial to democratic and from the eccentric to home grown simple as FACT OF THE MATTER, lays out a feast of anecdotes about a few such incredible luminaries who stood above their fellow brethren and stood well!!. In Main Course, listen to Joy draw out a fine link between a Indian god and a US Confederate general and then swiftly changes gears to talk about iconic cricket captains like Tiger Pataudi !! Rathin talks of the legendary Carthaginian general Hannibal and how Englishman and cricket captain Douglas Jardine almost created a diplomatic rift in Anglo-Australian relations between the two great wars in the 20th century !! In Believe It or Not, the cat is out of the bag as Joy and Rathin reveal some bizarre and eccentric traits of a few political giants!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! It may be difficult to convince everyone about your own leadership ability  - but it is far easier to catch a few juicy anecdotes instead!! So fasten your seat belts and get on this crazy ride!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

In this  episode, the spotlight is on leaders from different walks of life as FACT OF THE MATTER, focuses on tales from Indian mythology and the American Civil War to find out all about different leaders and what made people believe in them so blindly. Listen to Joy and Rathin as they move seamlessly from cricket's infamous Bodyline series to Carthaginian general, Hannibal Barca's life long fight against the Romans and then reveal some strange quirks about key world political heavyweights.  All this and much more!! Catch the trailer and get a sneak preview of the rich fare we have in store for you in the main episode!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

" Beware of barking at underdogs; don't fight with people who have nothing to lose." - Dory Previn - Lyricist, song writer and poet. In this  episode, it’s all about surprise winners and underdogs as FACT OF THE MATTER, focuses on tales of amazing victories, crushing upsets and stunning comebacks in the face of insurmountable odds. In Main Course, feast on stories from the world of tennis and cricket as Joy sings paeans about a few unlikely super stars who shot their way to stardom!! Rathin talks of medieval battles where the Swiss managed to beat a big Austrian army and also goes to Hollywood to chat about a few Oscar Night upsets!! In Believe It or Not, Joy opens up about his Claudius fixation (the Roman emperor no less!!) and Rathin focuses on boxers and basketball artists who reach for the stars and fall down hard as well!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! Don't fret if life has been giving you a ton of lemons lately!! Breathe in the heady aroma of these amazing tales of pluck and luck - and maybe you will soon start making your very own lip-smacking lemonade!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

"When you're an underdog, you're forced to try things you would never otherwise have attempted." - Malcolm Gladwell - journalist, author and public speaker. In this  episode, it’s all about surprise winners and underdogs as FACT OF THE MATTER, focuses on tales of amazing victories, crushing upsets and stunning comebacks in the face of insurmountable odds. From tennis and cricket, hear about amazing tales of sporting super stars who came out of nowhere!! Rathin talks about medieval battles where the Swiss manage to beat a big Austrian army and how Iron Mike Tyson, the champion boxer got his comeuppance!! Joy opens up about his Claudius fixation (the Roman emperor no less!!) and Rathin goes to Hollywood to chat about a few Oscar night upsets!! All this and much more!! Catch the trailer and get a sneak preview of the rich fare we have in store for you in the main episode!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

"Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST." - Frank Zappa In this SPECIAL episode, it’s all about the wide and wonderful world of Music as FACT OF THE MATTER, like ABBA, tries to embark on a comeback journey of sorts. Find out how dying is a great career option for certain musical gods and how a Bollywood music composer pretended to be a tailor to ensure his wedding! Learn about a few hit Hindi numbers from 1951 that are suddenly finding themselves in OTT web series in the 2020s. Let Joy explain in great detail why composer Anu Malik should probably not visit  Israel and how maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan first became a sensation in India!! All this and much more!! Catch the trailer and get a sneak preview of the rich fare we have in store for you in the main episode!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

"Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST." - Frank Zappa In this SPECIAL episode, it’s all about the wide and wonderful world of Music as FACT OF THE MATTER, like ABBA, tries to embark on a comeback journey of sorts. In Main Course, find out how dying is a great career option for certain musical gods and how a Bollywood music composer pretended to be a tailor to ensure his wedding! Rathin digs out a few hit Hindi numbers from 1951 that are suddenly finding themselves in OTT web series in the 2020s. In Musical Origins, let Joy explain in great detail why composer Anu Malik should probably not visit  Israel and how maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan first became a sensation in India!! In Believe It Or Not, a young boy from Chhattisgarh gets the attention of super star singer Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia (a.k.a Badshah)!! Rathin and Joy also decide to open up about themselves by daringly sharing their current and all time music favs!! Plus all the regular sections like Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! Stop the music! Hear these stories! See if they sing out to you for a change!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

"...unless you made your life a turning point, there was no reason for existing." Saul Bellow In this episode, it’s all about turning points - seemingly trivial events that changed the course of world history!! In Main Course, we discuss two massive breakthroughs in 1869 which forever changed the way of travel in two different continents. We learn about a Scottish scientist who discovered a game changer in medicine purely by accident. Joy starts off with a stray arrow that changed Mughal history and also unearths a stunning story about a wannabe painter who after being rejected decided to take on the world!! In Believe It Or Not, Joy highlights bar-room brawls that changed cinematic history and Rathin shares a story about The Greatest Boxer that walked the earth!! Plus all the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! Don't ponder too much about the point of all this!! Take a deep breath and go straight in!! Sometimes, the road less traveled can give you a ride of a lifetime!!! We love to hear from you!! So write to us at factofthematterindia@gmail.com. Rate us and berate us!! Follow us on Twitter - @joybhattacharj and @rathindrabasu. Find us on all leading podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Visit our website - https://anchor.fm/factofthematter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message

“Afghanistan—where empires go to die. ” ― Mike Malloy In this episode, we turn our attention to the ruggedly beautiful land-locked nation of Afghanistan and its glorious history!!  In Main Course, we talk about Kipling's Kim and the Great Game, chat about spies and the Koh-I-Noor Diamond and even draw out a cricket connection with the Anglo-Afghan Wars!! Joy tracks down some interesting nuggets from the world of Arthur Conan Doyle and discovers a Afghan lady who helped win a battle and became a legend!!! In Believe It Or Not, Joy and Rathin talk about mid-air child births and the country's biggest source of revenue!!. Plus the regular sections like Cute Words and Phrases, Bare Naked Lies and audience questions!! If you love a good story, jump onto this 70 mm audio blockbuster where spies and heroines rub shoulders on great battlefields where "empires truly come to die"!! You wont be disappointed!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/factofthematter/message