Commons

Podcast Trailer | CommonsSensing with Kanchi Kohli

What are “commons”? Why do they matter to our everyday lives?

Commons Sensing is a conversation podcast that brings the idea of Commons out of policy documents and academic debates, and into lived reality. From forests, water bodies, and grazing lands to energy, cities, and community spaces, Commons shape how people live, work, and survive.

In this five-part series, practitioners — who have through their work deepened the interconnections between communities, natural resources and collective action — reflect on their personal journeys with the Commons.

Through stories, practical experience, and grounded insight, we will explore how collective action, local knowledge, and community stewardship are central to addressing today’s biggest challenges: from land degradation to climate change, biodiversity loss, market complexities and livelihood insecurity. These conversations treat Commons not only as a challenge, but as solutions in the making: spaces where cooperation, shared responsibility, and innovative governance offer alternatives to extractive models of development.

Whether you’re new to the idea of Commons or work closely with them, we invite you to listen, reflect, and rethink how shared resources shape our lives. This podcast is dedicated to the custodians of India’s Commons… past, present and future.

Created and hosted by: Kanchi Kohli

Produced by: Asar and Common Ground

Project coordinator: Prayag Arora-Desai

Team Audiomatic: Avadhoot Khanolkar, Abhinav Nathani, Nitesh Juvale.

Recorded at Winterfox Podcast Studio, Bengaluru.