iWorld
The Quint & ManoramaOnline partner with Ideabrew to distribute podcasts
Mumbai: Ideabrew Studios has partnered with The Quint and ManoramaOnline to create, host, and distribute podcasts. As part of this partnership, Ideabrew studios will host, distribute, and monetize over 30 existing shows, including top shows like Urdunama, Qisse Kahaniyan, and The Big Story. Together, they will also work to create rich content through new brand-led shows that appease the listener as well as benefit the brand partner.
The Quint executive editor Shelly Walia said, “The Quint has been a leader among digital news media companies in leveraging the power of sound through its episodic and serialised podcasts. Collaborating with Ideabrew Studios opens exciting prospects for us in terms of not only reaching out to our habitual listeners and finding a new audience – but also getting to know them better.”
She further added, “The data provided by Ideabrew is helping us better measure user numbers, understand user behaviour, and study demography in a more systematic manner. This year, there’s been an uptick in listenership across podcasting channels as the world returns to post-pandemic normalcy – and for The Quint, the tie-up provides a timely opportunity to capitalise on this revival.”
Ideabrew and ManoramaOnline launched a strategic podcast collaboration in early 2022, resulting in significant amplification and reach for their podcasts as well as scale for the business partnership.
ManoramaOnline CEO Mariam Mammen Mathew said, “We are happy to start our relationship with podcast creators and hosting platform IdeaBrew. In a short time, our listeners have responded well to the interesting and rich content in English and Malayalam languages on different podcast platforms. Podcasting is disrupting the traditional radio space, making it an exciting time for the news industry. We are happy about creating rich news content that’s true to our brand and a refreshing cultural and technological change across our newsrooms.”
With 23 popular shows across genres in Malayalam and English, this is already a head start. Mariam added, “This partnership is going to give us a fillip to push out the several projects in our pipeline.”
Ideabrew CEO Aditya Kuber said, “Whether it’s Covid-19 updates, political discord, a new space launch, or the latest celebrity shenanigans, news channels carry 24-hour news, giving you something to constantly ponder or worry over. Through our medium of audio content, Ideabrew aims to disrupt the way the audience receives and responds to daily news. Our podcasts are designed to engage in healthier outlets that allow our audiences the flexibility to choose when they want to consume their news and also provide stimulating formats in the form of in-depth analysis, interviews, or opinions from experts on the subject to make the news informative, wholesome, and entertaining.”
He further added, “We are excited about making steady inroads into the news category by partnering with the best news providers across the country to make audio the preferred medium to receive national, regional, and local news in different languages. Our premier association with the HW News Network has been phenomenal, attracting a new and far younger audience through podcasts, giving the brand a distinctive extension to get their content out.”
Ideabrew Studios’ current partners for whom they create and host audio shows are Sakal News, HW News, and Reason.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
