Audiobooks by Pankaj Mishra

Down But Not Out: Gritty Comebacks of India's Diehard Founders

"Down But Not Out is a book about endurance. It tells the stories of founders who were knocked down, written off, even broken - and still found a way to stand again. Not tales of unicorns or easy wins, but of struggle, scar tissue, and the act of showing up one more day. Across three decades of India's startup journey, it shows how companies are really built: by families who stayed steady, by co-founders and first employees who had the courage to leap without a net, and by founders who kept going when reason said stop. Companies rise and fall. Markets turn. Luck runs out. What matters is staying in the game. Not perfect. Not done. Not out."

Pankaj Mishra, Subrata Mitra (Author), Deep Pradhan (Narrator)

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The World after Gaza

"Brought to you by Penguin. From the award-winning writer and thinker, an essential reckoning with the war in Gaza, its historical conditions, and moral and geopolitical ramifications Memory of the Holocaust, the ultimate atrocity of Europe’s civil wars and the paradigmatic genocide, has shaped the Western political and moral imagination in the postwar era. Fears of its recurrence have been routinely invoked to justify Israel’s policies against Palestinians. But for most people around the world – the ‘darker peoples’, in W. E. B Du Bois’s words – the main historical memory is of the traumatic experiences of slavery and colonialism, and the central event of the twentieth century is decolonisation – freedom from the white man’s world. The World after Gaza takes the war in the Middle East, and the bitterly polarised reaction to it within as well as outside the West, as the starting point for a broad reevaluation of two competing narratives of the last century: the West’s triumphant account of victory over Nazi and communist totalitarianism and the spread of liberal capitalism, and the darker peoples’s frequently thwarted vision of racial equality. At a moment when the world’s balance of power is shifting and a long-dominant Western minority no longer commands the same authority and credibility, it is critically important to enter the experiences and perspectives of the majority of the world’s population. As old touchstones and landmarks crumble, only a new history with a sharply different emphasis can reorient us to the world and worldviews now emerging into the light. In this concise, powerful and pointed treatise, Mishra reckons with the fundamental questions posed by our present crisis — about whether some lives matter more than others, why identity politics built around memories of suffering is being widely embraced and why racial antagonisms are intensifying amid a far-right surge in the West, threatening a global conflagration. The World after Gaza is an indispensable moral guide to our past, present and future. 'A rare text: courageous and bracing, learned and ethical, rigorous and mind-expanding' NAOMI KLEIN © Pankaj Mishra 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Pankaj Mishra (Author), Mikhail Sen (Narrator)

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Against the Grain: Lessons from the Outliers

"Dive deep into the minds of those who dared to defy convention in Against the Grain, a compelling exploration of wisdom, vulnerability and visionary thinking. Through conversations with luminaries like A.R. Rahman, Uday Kotak, Nandan Nilekani, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Naval Ravikant and many more, this book reveals what it takes to carve your own path, defy norms and truly embrace your uniqueness.Veteran business journalist Pankaj Mishra skilfully retraces the journeys of these bold outliers, delving into their experiences of hope, disillusionment, victory, defeat, joy and pain with refreshing candour. Drawing from transformative interviews featured on Mishra’s acclaimed and beloved podcast Outliers, this book offers a lucid and captivating narrative that vividly portrays how some of India’s most prominent figures confront the myriad challenges and uncertainties of life.A must-read for those navigating their own paths to success, this chronicle serves as an inspiring testament to resilience, determination and individuality."

Pankaj Mishra (Author), Anuj Datta (Narrator)

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Run And Hide

"Brought to you by Penguin. Arun knows there is only way out of this small railway town. He is about to enrol in the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, determined to make something of himself. But once there, he meets two friends who are prepared to go to unimaginable lengths to succeed. In just a few years, Arun's friends become the success stories of their generation. In private planes and expensive cars, from New York to Tuscany, they play out their Gatsby-style fantasies. In reality, these men are about to pay for their transgressions, but who exactly will pay the price? Will it be Arun? Will it be Alia, a female writer and influencer, who is piecing together the story of a big global financial scandal? Run and Hide is a novel about a group of friends in an age of upheaval and breakdown; it is a story for our times. 'Terrific . . . elegantly written, incisively observed, and deeply satisfying to read' Kamila Shamsie 'A book that demands to be read and rewards reading' Mohsin Hamid 'Pankaj Mishra returns to fiction after two decades with a gripping and remarkable novel - his best work yet. It captures the trajectory of our time through insights and moments that are startling, pure, and have a strange inevitability' Amit Chaudhuri © Pankaj Mishra 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022"

Pankaj Mishra (Author), Mikhail Sen (Narrator)

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HiBrow: The Folio Prize Fiction Festival

"The three-day 'The Folio Prize Fiction Festival 2014' brought together some great writers and audiences and gave them a real opportunitey to talk in depth about their work and similar subjects. The festival included interviews and discussions with top writers, novelists, poets, critics and publishers, including Eimear McBride, Paul Baggaley, Sergio De La Pava, Rachel Kushner, Sarah Hall, Pankaj Mishra, Stephanie Merritt, Jane Gardam, Mark Haddon"

Eimear MceBride, Jane Gardam, Mark Haddon, Pankaj Mishra, Paul Baggaley, Rachel Kushner, Sarah Hall, Sergio De La Pava, Stephanie Merritt (Author), Eimear MceBride, Jane Gardam, Mark Haddon, Pankaj Mishra, Paul Baggaley, Rachel Kushner, Sarah Hall, Sergio De La Pava, Stephanie Merritt (Narrator)

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