The internet has empowered us all beyond belief -- but is there a flip side to this? Does it need to be regulated? Nikhil Pahwa and Amit Doshi have a lively conversation with Amit Varma in episode 65 of The Seen and the Unseen.
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The Pragati Podcast releases every Thursday. The Seen and the Unseen releases every Monday. PuliyaBaazi releases every alternate Tuesday.
What does the Indian economy look like, in 2018? Does India have the institutions to manage a $6 Trillion economy in a few years? How have we done on continuing to reform governance in the country?
What does it mean to be free? What is the basis of individual rights? Episode 64 of The Seen and the Unseen is a rerun of an old episode of The Pragati Podcast, as Amit Varma tells Pavan Srinath what it means to be a libertarian, and why it all boils down to one word: Consent.
In Episode 39 of The Pragati Podcast, the very funny Rohan Joshi and Joel Pereira of comedy group AIB join host Pavan Srinath to talk about life in political comedy.
We all have our own guidelines for how individuals should treat each other. But how should nations behave with other nations? Foreign Policy Realist Nitin Pai joins Libertarian Amit Varma to explain the evolution of foreign policy through the ages, and its imperatives today.
Why are Indian banks in so much trouble? Why have so many of their loans gone bad? How can the Government of India plug a $100B hole in the banking sector?
पुलियाबाज़ी के इस अंक में हमने बात की वरुण अग्रवाल से, जिन्होंने उनकी नयी किताब "Leading Science and Technology: India Next?" में भारत के रिसर्च इकोसिस्टम का विश्लेषण किया है |
India's judicial system is broken. How can we fix it? Legal expert Alok Prasanna Kumar joins Amit Varma in episode 62 of The Seen and the Unseen.
Is it illegal to do the Pragati podcast on radio? Why do large Indian cities have so few FM stations, and why do they all sound the same?
According to media commentator Nikhil Pahwa, Aadhaar is a subject on which "what we do will impact generations." Nikhil joins host Amit Varma on episode 61 of The Seen and the Unseen to explain how Aadhaar threatens our freedoms, and why we need to take it seriously.
Ties between Australia and China are coming under strain because of worries about political funding, Chinese students, and ample amounts of rhetoric.
ऐसा क्या है बिटकॉइन में कि इस व्यवस्था ने सब सरकारों को चौकन्ना रहने पर मजबूर कर दिया है ? जानिये पुलियाबाज़ी के इस अंक में नीलेश त्रिवेदी से, जो इंडियम नामक ब्लॉकचेन डेवलपर कम्युनिटी से जुडे हुए है |
We take water for granted, but India might be entering a full-blown water crisis. Water evangelist Vishwanath S joins Amit Varma in episode 60 of The Seen and the Unseen to shed light on this.
Why were farmers marching on Mumbai? Can China become the hub of medical tourism for the next generation of treatments? Are there new dangers to democracy in the Indian subcontinent?
Protectionism is on the rise across the world, which is bewildering, given how harmful it is. Economist Anupam Manur joins Amit Varma in episode 59 of The Seen and the Unseen to bust eight common myths about protectionism.
The word 'liberal' has become a slur in India, but it stands for something more. What does it mean when we say that the Pragati magazine is founded on the values of a free society?
भारत में किफ़ायती क्रेडिट का आख़िर इतना अभाव क्यों है? हर 'मदर इंडिया' जैसी कहानी में एक सुखीलाला को क्यों होता है? जानिये इस एपिसोड में प्रिया शर्मा से, जो क्रेडिट पर आधारित एक स्टार्ट-अप की सीएफओ है |
As three recent cases show, misogyny exist not just in our outdated laws, but also in the minds of our lawmakers and the judiciary. Legal expert Madhav Chandavarkar and feminist Hamsini Hariharan join Amit Varma in episode 58 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss Triple Talaq, Hadiya and the Mahmood Farooqui case.
Should India always put its neighbourhood first? Was Nehru’s foreign policy idealist or realist? How should we think of external powers acting in the the Indian subcontinent? In Episode 33 of The Pragati Podcast, Constantino Xavier joins Hamsini Hariharan and Pavan Srinath to discuss how India should tackle its neighbours.
There is turmoil in the Maldives, as a tyrant unfriendly to India cozies up to China. Do we need to intervene? Foreign policy expert Pranay Kotasthane joins Amit Varma to give his point of view in episode 57 of The Seen and the Unseen.
Is Bangalore going to run out of water in a couple of years? How should Tamil Nadu and Karnatake share the Kaveri? Should we start paying for water?
७० साल बाद भी कश्मीर का मुद्दा सुलझता क्यों नहीं? सुनिए इस पेचीदा मामले पर एक बेबाक चर्चा हमारे नये एपिसोड में |
The turbulence in the world economy today is enabled by the same phenomenon that caused the 2008 financial crisis, and was perversely also a response to that crisis: Easy Money. Vivek Kaul, author of the 'Easy Money' trilogy, joins Amit Varma in episode 56 of The Seen and the Unseen to explain the damage irresponsible governments can do to the economy.
Is Black Mirror unfolding in real life? What is this social credit system? Is an Orwellian dystopia unfolding in China?
It is important to always question received wisdom. In episode 55 of The Seen and the Unseen, libertarian thinker Yazad Jal joins Amit Varma to challenge the commonly held view on five subjects. Listen in and see if you agree with him.
We’ve heard of hard power, soft power and smart power, but what is this new sharp power? What are the major changes in the global order that we should watch out for? How can middle powers, that are neither here nor there, cope?
The Budget presented by the government of India is an annual ritual that millions of people tune in to. What was the 2018 budget like? Pavan Srinath and Pranay Kotasthane, staff writers of Pragati, join Amit Varma to offer their quick analysis, and to supplement the budget coverage at Pragati.
बजट पर इतना बावलापन क्यों? अगर आप बजट बनाते तो क्या नया करते? सुनिये कुछ विचार पुलियाबाज़ी के इस एपिसोड में।
How serious are ceasefire violations? Why do they happen? How can India end this cycle of violence?
What does it mean to be a Republic? Pranay Kotasthane and Saurabh Chandra discuss the nature of our constitutional republic in episode 2 of PuliyaBaazi.
Narendra Modi famously invoked a pakoda seller last week when he spoke about job creation in India. How apt is that invocation? Columnist Vivek Kaul, who coined the term ‘Pakodanomics’, and economist Shruti Rajagopalan join Amit Varma in episode 53 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the prime minister, the pakoda seller and India’s job problem.
Why do we have ten guests of honour for the Republic Day Parade instead of one? How do domestic policy and politics affect India's foreign policy? How should India improve relations with countries in South-East Asia?
What's the big deal about Artificial Intelligence? How is it going to change our world? Two engineering geeks set out to explain it all in simple language. This is episode 1 of Puliya Baazi, a new podcast hosted by Pranay Kotasthane and Saurabh Chandra.
Modern India's greatest shame is that even after 70 years of Independence, we still haven't solved the problem of caste. Shruti Rajagopalan joins Amit Varma in episode 52 of the Seen and the Unseen to shed light on some of the ways in which we have messed up at an institutional level.
Why did four senior judges of the Supreme Court hold a press conference? Why are they complaining about the Chief Justice of India? Can we expect judicial reforms in 2018? Harish Narsappa of Daksh and Alok Prasanna Kumar of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy talk to hosts Pavan Srinath and Hamsini Hariharan about the current judicial crisis.
The chess program Alpha Zero made waves recently when it taught itself chess in four hours -- and then thrashed the strongest chess engine in the world, Stockfish. This illustrated a dramatic advance in Artificial Intelligence. Devangshu Datta joins host Amit Varma in episode 51 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about its impact for both chess and AI.
The 26th episode of The Pragati Podcast goes back to one of the richest and easily overlooked dynasties in India: the Cholas. The hosts Pavan Srinath and Hamsini Hariharan are joined by Devi Yesodharan, author of the historical fiction novel, Empire.
Indian politics is complex to the point of being almost unfathomable. JP Narayan, that rare public intellectual who also embraced electoral politics, joins Amit Varma in episode 50 of The Seen and the Unseen to share his learnings.
The 2017 Kim Jong Awards for Stupid Economic Ideas nominates terrible economic ideas that refused to die in 2017.
Social media has enabled everyone to have a voice -- but no one listens any more. In episode 49 of The Seen and the Unseen, Amit Varma examines why our political discourse is so polarised. One particular bugbear of his is the tendency to shift the focus from the argument to the person, and he outlines a few different ways in which people personalise arguments.
For almost two decades, V Ravichandar has been "a civic evangelist and a patron saint of lost causes" fighting to reform local government in our cities. He joins Amit Varma in episode 48 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about the lessons he has learnt, and what keeps him going.
What does it mean to edit someone's genes? Is Malaria in its last days? What is CRISPR, if not a startup that makes chips?
Poker and stock markets are very similar -- and both holds lessons for life. Ace investor Mohit Satyanand joins former poker pro Amit Varma in episode 47 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss how both disciplines reveal the flawed machinery of the human brain.
What has Al Qaeda been up to since Osama? What happens in India and the subcontinent after the Islamic State falls? What does Bollywood director Vishal Bharadwaj have to do with all this?
We live in times when media is fragmented and there is no consensus on the truth any more. Journalism has become a race to give people what they want to believe. What are we to do? Prem Panicker joins Amit Varma in episode 46 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the State of the Media.
Is taxation theft? Is the government of India any better than Gabbar Singh? Why do Indian actors pretend to be farmers?
Over the last few years, the BJP has built the most formidable election machine in human history. Prashant Jha, author of the book 'How the BJP wins', joins Amit Varma in episode 45 of The Seen and the Unseen to break down the elements behind their success.
Doctors protesting across Karnataka. Price controls on private medical care. Kangaroo courts for errant doctors. Missing patient empowerment. All from an eventful November.
It is well known that the key cause of Delhi's smog is the 'stubble' burnt every year by Punjab's farmers. Vivek Kaul joins Amit Varma in episode 44 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the bad incentives in play, how government sops might have caused this problem, and what can be done about it.
This episode of the Pragati Podcast dives deep into the origins, the evolution and the future of the Gross Domestic Product, a number that has shaped the modern world as we know it.