Three Million

5.0/5

Critic Rating

"The best history podcast I've heard in years." - The Sunday Times "Three million is great radio... and needs to be heard." - The Observer. During the Second World War, at least three million Indian people, who were British subjects, died in the Bengal Famine. It was one of the largest losses of civilian life on the Allied side. But there is no memorial to them anywhere in the world - not even a plaque. Can three million people disappear from public memory? From the award-winning creator and presenter of Partition Voices and Three Pounds in My Pocket, this is...


Critic Reviews

Score: 5

Lauren Passell • Podcast The Newsletter Apr 15, 2024

"It’s not just an astonishing story for the number of people who died, but for the lengths that the BBC went to so that British citizens wouldn’t find out about it. This BBC podcast really shits on the BBC (who eventually called this genocide [??] “the Indian Food Question” which would be so funny if it wasn’t despicable) for purposely covering this up. Saying this is the most exhaustive coverage isn’t saying much."

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Score: 5

Fiona Sturges • Financial Times Mar 10, 2024

"Puri’s research is meticulous and sensitive. Puri does her utmost to unearth the stories of the dead, no easy task since they were the most impoverished people in India. When she finally finds a name, her no-nonsense BBC tone slips and her voice wobbles with emotion. Many are the podcasts that dubiously claim to tell untold stories, but Three Million is the real deal, a triumph of research and reporting that should be heard far and wide. …"

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Score: 5

Patricia Nicol • The Times UK Mar 3, 2024

"...the most thought-provoking history series I have heard in months, possibly years. This is an intellectually rigorous, emotionally resonant and elegantly made series. I wholeheartedly recommend it."

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Score: 5

Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian Mar 2, 2024

"...from the start, Three Million’s presenter, Kavita Puri, careful and dogged, makes it clear that the Bengal famine is rarely discussed. Three Million is great radio, not just because of the story, which is awful and enraging and needs to be heard, but because of Puri’s presentation – measured, dedicated, beautifully voiced. She’s almost old-school BBC..."

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