Dhaka, Dec. 25 -- An 80 + years old friend-a 1971 veteran of Sector 2- who is sort of retired would often tease me saying, "When is your next waz?" I used to frequent talk shows regularly once and he was drawing parallels between the two which I didn't recognize at the time. Now that both are on the upswing, even defying the pandemic, both deserve a closer look. Why do they exist and do they matter? Should one take them seriously or what? What is the objective and impact of such public moralizing and preaching?

Of political and religious morality

Talk shows are essentially political moralizing contest between two contestant parties. Just as there once used to be public debates about which faith idea is superior, this is done on the same...