Podcast Summary: The Interview – "Arundhati Roy Knows Where America Is Headed"
Host: Lulu Garcia-Navarro (The New York Times)
Guest: Arundhati Roy
Date: August 30, 2025
Main Theme
This episode features an in-depth, two-part conversation with renowned Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy. In the first half, Roy discusses her new memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me, exploring her complicated relationship with her formidable mother, Mary Roy, and reflecting on family, trauma, feminism, and the roots of her writing. The second half pivots to Roy’s political activism, the challenges of dissent in Modi’s India, and her warnings about echoes of authoritarianism in Trump’s America.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. The Complexity of Arundhati Roy’s Relationship with Her Mother
(00:21 - 07:01; 13:29 - 20:00)
- Memoir as Both Self-Reflection and Biography:
The book combines Roy’s coming-of-age story with an unsparing character study of her mother—a woman who was both pioneer and tormentor. - Mary Roy’s Public Life:
Mary Roy, of Kerala’s Syrian Christian community, divorced against cultural taboos and famously won a Supreme Court case for women’s inheritance rights.
Notable Quote:“But then there was this public part of her which was so extraordinary… So I could never settle on what I really thought or felt… Can I put down this unresolvable character?” — Arundhati Roy (04:00)
- Home Life: Poverty, Isolation, and Abuse:
Lulu presses Roy on whether “abuse” is the right word; Roy is ambivalent, seeing her mother’s actions as inseparable from her own struggles.
Roy describes how her mother’s fury and paranoia alternated with moments of tenderness, shaping Roy's dual experience: the wounded child and the observing writer. - Formative Anecdotes:
The story of being humiliated on a plane for a childish question about her mother’s weight, followed by comfort, highlights emotional whiplash.
Notable Quote:“Something would tear you up and then stitch you back together, then tear you up, then stitch you back together.” — Arundhati Roy (10:40)
- The Cost—and Source—of Creativity:
Roy credits these experiences for making her a writer who scrutinizes pain and contradiction, both in herself and society.
2. Family Dynamics, Gender, and the Personal Cost of Feminism
(14:37 – 18:31)
- Mary Roy as a Feminist Educator:
Quirky methods at her school revealed her fierce commitment to girls’ dignity (e.g., reframing boys’ mocking of bras). - Complex Feminism:
Roy discusses how her mother’s righteous anger at patriarchy sometimes punished her own son, introducing Roy to the darker, less simplistic aspects of feminist struggle.
Notable Quote:“Feminism doesn’t have only to do with women's rights; it has to do with a way of looking at the world… It doesn’t mean disrespecting a lovely man.” — Arundhati Roy (16:00)
- Sibling Perspectives:
Roy’s brother’s pain and inability to forgive contrasts with Roy’s inward grappling and admiration.
Notable Quote:“I can't hate her because there is so much of her in me. I'd have to hate myself.” — Arundhati Roy (17:10)
3. The Broader Meaning of Pain and Success
(18:31 - 21:29)
- Recognition Feels Incomplete:
She’s haunted by sibling pain whenever she is celebrated—connecting this to the broader suffering of the marginalized whom she writes about.“When you get applauded…you know that somebody you love and somebody quiet has been beaten. And to me, that expands far beyond my brother and me...” — Arundhati Roy (18:31)
- Winning the Booker Prize:
Roy describes a fraught relationship with her fame and discomfort with nationalist celebrations, always mindful of those still suffering.“Those of us who’ve been very unsafe as children, we seek out the unsafe. We seek out the lack of security. And if you have security, you blow it up.” — Arundhati Roy (21:17)
4. The Artist in Times of Repression
(21:29 – 26:48)
- Legal Jeopardy and Moral Duty:
Currently under threat of prosecution in India, Roy reflects on the challenges—and necessity—of continuing to write truthfully. - On the Role of the Writer:
“You have to insist that your work is not just a reaction to what’s happening to you… You’ve got to do it beautifully.” — Arundhati Roy (21:54)
- Mother’s Reactions to Roy’s Work:
Mary Roy was publicly dismissive, privately worried and proud, revealing their bond’s unresolved nature.
5. Political Parallels: India & America under Populism
(28:19 – 40:00)
- Banned Books, Self-Censorship, and Legal Risk:
Roy’s book on Kashmir was banned for allegedly promoting “grievance and terrorist heroism.” She opts not to respond publicly, wary of unpredictable consequences.
Notable Quote:“You never know why these things happen when they happen… So I have no idea. So I’m not gonna say much about it.” — Arundhati Roy (31:42)
- Silencing Dissent:
Roy ties her reticence to a “culture of fear,” where casual remarks can invite catastrophe.“It's like they're always trying to trip people up and trying to prevent you from thinking clearly...this culture of fear is everywhere now.” — Arundhati Roy (33:15)
- Parallels Between India and America:
Roy draws striking similarities between Modi’s India and Trump’s America:- Sudden, destabilizing policy acts (e.g., demonetization/voter suppression)
- Attacks on minorities, academia, and media
- Centralization of power in one man
- Media complicity in India vs. partial resistance in the US
- America’s actions have global impact
Notable Moment:
“You thought that there was a mechanism in place, there were checks and balances in place. But clearly there isn't a way of handling someone who's completely out of control.” — Arundhati Roy (38:13)
- Why Authoritarians Fear Artists:
“They are terrified of people who they feel like can communicate not just cerebrally, but emotionally…and there are a lot of people like that who they know just will not bow down.” — Arundhati Roy (39:20)
6. The Writer’s Life and Ongoing Resistance
(41:03 – 42:26)
- Living and Listening:
Roy distinguishes between her fiction and political essays—one is imaginative world-building; the other, urgent intervention. - Acting When Silence Becomes Impossible:
“Almost all the essays are written despite my telling myself I'm not going to do it…when it just becomes harder to keep quiet than to write, I write.” — Arundhati Roy (41:22)
- Remaining Connected to Places and People:
For Roy, writing is about more than output—it’s about inhabiting, listening, “living the life of a writer.”
Notable Quotes & Emotional Moments
-
On enduring and transcending trauma:
“One half of me was taking the hits and the other half of me was taking notes.” — Arundhati Roy (07:57)
-
On needing to detach to survive:
“Somehow I had that ability to detach myself and sit on the ceiling fan and think, God, this is quite funny, the whole thing, isn’t it?” — Arundhati Roy (25:45)
-
On processing and public discussion of personal pain:
“I’m just learning to talk about it.” — Arundhati Roy (27:13)
-
On the broader resonance of the memoir:
“It's not just a book about a mother and a daughter…it's about the village and the city and the state. And the country and the world.” — Arundhati Roy (27:50)
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 02:28 – Roy introduced; the memoir's origins
- 04:33 – Story of Mary Roy’s legal victory
- 09:17 – Childhood trauma and emotional whiplash
- 14:37 – Mary Roy’s approach to gender at school
- 16:56 – Roy’s brother’s reaction to the memoir
- 18:31 – Reflections on applause, pain, and global injustice
- 21:29 – The risks and obligations of literary dissent
- 28:19 – Transition to discussing political repression and India-America parallels
- 31:36 – Book banning and Roy’s non-response
- 33:15 – On the normalization and escalation of fear
- 35:58 – In-depth parallels between Indian and American populism
- 39:20 – Why authoritarian leaders target writers
- 41:22 – The compulsion to write when silence is too hard
Overall Tone
The conversation is candid, emotionally nuanced, and intellectually fierce—true to Roy’s uncompromising voice. Lulu’s questions are empathetic but probing, drawing out both Roy’s vulnerabilities and her acute analysis of global politics.
For the Listener
If you haven’t heard this episode, expect a searching meditation on family wounds, the engine of creativity, and the fraught responsibilities of artists in dark times. Roy’s insight into the twin dangers facing India and America is chilling yet clarifying, and her refusal to be silenced—even in the face of state repression—makes this conversation urgent listening for anyone concerned about democracy, dissent, or the enduring power of stories.