Shashi Thutupalli and Pavan Srinath have a comprehensive discussion with Ganesh Chakravarthi on the science around COVID-19 on Episode 64 of the Thale-Harate Kannada Podcast. They discuss virus biology, how diagnostic tests work, how to think about human immunity, and what vaccines and drugs are being developed across the world to tackle the ongoing pandemic. ವೈರಾಣು ಎಂಬುದು ಒಂದು ಜೀವಿಯ ಅಥವಾ...
Podcast
In our podcasts, you get to hear people think!
The Seen and the Unseen releases every Sunday. States of Anarchy releases every Tuesday. The Pragati Podcast releases every Thursday. Thalé-Haraté releases every Saturday. PuliyaBaazi releases every alternate Thursday.
Pavan Srinath (@zeusisdead) returns as a guest to discuss three key elements for overcoming Covid-19: testing strategies, vaccination development, and societal immunity. यह एपिसोड है कोविड-१९ का ख़ात्मा करने के लिए ज़रूरी तीन चीज़ों पर: टेस्टिंग, टीकाकरण, और इम्युनिटी| पवन श्रीनाथ (@zeusisdead) के साथ इस चर्चा में आपको मिलेगा उत्तर इन सवालों का: 1. कितने प्रकार के टेस्ट है कोविड-१९ की जाँच करने के...
What does it take to bring Kannada publishing to the 21st century, with ebooks and audiobooks? Pavamana Athani and Vasant Shetty of My Lang Books talk about the market for Kannada books and their efforts at building a digital publishing platform for Kannada, with host Pavan Srinath. ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಶ್ರೀಮಂತವಾದದ್ದು, ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಗೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಇತಿಹಾಸ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ, ಕನ್ನಡ ಪ್ರಕಾಶನ ಮತ್ತು ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳ...
Swati Chawla joins host Hamsini Hariharan to discuss Himalayan histories and stories of the Tibetans in exile.
So much of the lives of common people depends on the relationships between nations. But is foreign policy an arcane subject, meant only for wonks and elites? No! Pranay Kotasthane and Manoj Kewalramani join Amit Varma in episode 170 of The Seen and the Unseen to demystify international relations.
How should India handle Covid-19? Every option on the table carries huge costs, and will take countless lives. Shruti Rajagopalan joins Amit Varma in episode 169 of The Seen and the Unseen to help navigate the complex decisions that policy makers are being forced to make with little information.
How will #COVID19 spread across India after the lockdown? How much can it be controlled through stringent testing & action? Vishwesha Guttal talks to host Pavan Srinath about disease modeling & shares a new INDSCI-SIM model – customised for Indian states. On Episode #62 of the Thale-Harate Kannada Podcast. ಕೋವಿಡ್-19 ಪ್ರಭಾವಗಳನ್ನ ಗಣಿತಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ ಮಾದರಿಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ಹೇಗೆ ನೋಡಬಹುದು? ಈ ಮಾದರಿಗಳಿಂದ...
How is it that Indian governments are good at conducting elections and organising Kumbh Melas but are terrible at maintaining public infrastructure? Why does the Indian State seem to be omnipresent and inadequate at the same time? These are some questions that ‘State Capacity’ literature deals with. So in this episode, we discuss insights on Indian state capacity with Prakhar Misra...
Can India’s health and healthcare systems ramp up on mission mode to respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic? What should we know about India’s messy public and private healthcare systems before we think about a pandemic response? Listen to Yamini Aiyar’s conversation with Pavan Srinath on Episode 135 of The Pragati Podcast. Yamini Aiyar from the Centre for Policy Research...
Major General (Retd.) AK Bardalai talks to host Hamsini Hariharan about United Nations peacekeeping operations.
There are over 6000 languages in the world. How can we possibly understand one another? Arunava Sinha joins Amit Varma in episode 168 of The Seen and the Unseen to explain the importance of translation, and literature itself, in these divisive times.
In 1906, a 13-year-old boy burnt down his school in a village in Kerala and ran away from home to work in the gold mines of Kolar. Decades later, he put this country together. Narayani Basu joins Amit Varma in episode 167 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about the extraordinary life of VP Menon.
Karl Popper once said “We are all philosophers; we all accept certain philosophical theories, if only unconsciously.” But what does the formal academic discipline of philosophy entail? How does a philosophical inquiry help us resolve some fundamental dilemmas in our minds? This is the focus of this puliyabaazi with Sushruth Ravish, research scholar at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay...
Riya Sinha joins Hamsini Hariharan to discuss the nuts and bolts and Indian connectivity projects in Nepal.
The man known as Guru Nanak was one of the great travellers of his time, passing through lands that are today spread across nine countries. Amardeep Singh joins Amit Varma in episode 166 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about how he retraced Nanak's path -- and also about his efforts at documenting the Sikh heritage of Pakistan.
Srini Venkatramanan of the University of Virginia’s Biocomplexity Institute explains how the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19 can be modeled, and how insightful models can inform public action, on Episode 133 of The Pragati Podcast. How are infectious diseases and pandemics modeled? How can we model and estimate the spread of Influenza or Coronavirus Disease 2019? And most...
Humans are the only bots with the ability to reprogram themselves. Shambhavi Naik joins Amit Varma in episode 165 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the science, ethics, politics and policy implications of genetic engineering.
Health journalist Vidya Krishnan talks about India’s initial response to the global COVID-19 pandemic on Episode 132 of The Pragati Podcast. Close to 200,000 people across 160 countries have been affected by COVID-19 or Coronavirus Disease 2019, and this has happened in just about three months. As of March 18, 2020, India has confirmed 148 cases of COVID-19 and three people have died so...
The world is still trying to figure a way out of the coronavirus outbreak. So in this episode, we take a step back and discuss common epidemics in India — their reasons, cures, and preparedness. Joining us is Shambhavi Naik, a cancer biologist and fellow at Takshashila Institution’s Technology Policy Programme. वायरस क्या हैं और इतने घातक क्यों हैं? महामारियाँ कैसे फैलती हैं? अब जब करोनावायरस...
What is it like to be a practicing doctor and family physician in Bengaluru during COVID-19? Pavan Srinath talks to Dr Srinand Srinivas on Episode 61 of Thale-Harate. ಕೊರೋನ ವೈರಸ್ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ಕೋಣೆ ಕೋಣೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಹರಡುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಔಷಧಿಗಳು ಪರಿಹಾರಗಳು ಇನ್ನೂ ಸಂಶೋಧನಾ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲೇ ಇದೆ. ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಮೊದಲನೆಯ ವೈದ್ಯರು ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಮನೆ ವೈದ್ಯರೇ ಆಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬ ಫಿಸಿಷಿಯನ್ ಆಗಿರುವವರು ಅನುಭವ ಏನು...
Kabir Taneja joins host Hamsini Hariharan to discuss the Islamic State and its relevance to South Asia.
Contrary to popular belief, the Indian constitution was not a copy-paste job without a vision. It emerged from decades of intellectual ferment. Madhav Khosla joins Amit Varma in episode 164 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe the history of the key ideas that drove our founders and shaped our constitution.
Pavan Srinath chats with Ganesh Chakravarthi on whether Karnataka’s budget meets the aspirations of its $250 Billion economy on Episode 60 of the Thalé-Haraté Kannada Podcast. ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ 250 ಬಿಲ್ಲಿಯನ್ ಎಕಾನಮಿ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಬಜೆಟ್ ಈ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಪರಿಬಿಂಬಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆಯೆ? ಈ ಸಂಚಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗಣೇಶ್ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಪವನ್ ಶ್ರೀನಾಥ್ ಅವರು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಅತಿ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಹೊಂಡಿರೋವಂತಹಾ 2020 ಬಜೆಟ್ ಮೇಲೆ ಚರ್ಚೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ...
Alok Prasanna Kumar returns to Episode 131 of The Pragati Podcast to talk about the dire institutional state of India’s highest court. Two years ago, four senior judges of the Supreme Court of India held an unprecedented press conference to tell the public that there was an ongoing crisis in the Supreme Court of India. Since then, one of the four judges even went on to become the Chief...
Seven decades after Independence, India is still wracked by poverty and strife. Who is responsible? Kapil Komireddi joins Amit Varma in episode 163 of The Seen and the Unseen to excoriate every political player of Independent India. No prisoners taken.
Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Extended Reality — these terms have been the town of the tech town for over half a decade now. So in this geeky episode, we discuss how these technologies are changing the world of entertainment and education. Joining us is Vineet Devaiah, Founder of TeliportMe, a virtual reality content company. Vineet takes us through the strides that virtual...
Manali Kumar joins host Hamsini Hariharan to discuss the changing values in India's national identity since Independence.
Gautham Shenoy returns to the Thalé-Haraté Kannada Podcast to regale Pavan Srinath and Ganesh Chakravarthi with time travel stories and what make them great science fiction on Episode 59. ಸಮಯ, ಕಾಲ, ಮಾನವ ಮೀರದೆ ಇರುವಂತಹ ಒಂದು ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆ. ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ ಕಥೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮಯ ಸಂಚಾರ, ಕಾಲಸಂಚಾರ ಒಂದು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ಪಾತ್ರ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ಕಾಲಸಂಚಾರ ಸಫಲವಾದರೆ ಏನಾಗಬಹುದು ಎಂಬುದು ಬಹಳ ಸ್ವಾರಸ್ಯಕರವಾದ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ. ಅನೇಕ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರಗಳು, ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ...
So much of our culture is shaped by our social fault lines. TM Krishna joins Amit Varma in episode 162 of The Seen and the Unseen to peel the layers off the development of Karnatik music — and Indian society itself.
Avinash Ambale joins Pavan Srinath to talk about how intelligent and capable of learning the latest of AI talks to Pavan Srinath about the scientific pursuit of economics on Episode 129 of The Pragati Podcast. What is intelligence? How do we learn what we learn? How are we aware of the world around us and ourselves? It is impossible to think about building an artificial intelligence or getting...
We may be a sexually repressed country today, but it wasn’t always like this. Madhavi Menon joins Amit Varma in episode 161 of The Seen and the Unseen to elaborate on the infinite variety of our desires all through history.
Ramya Bhaskar and Sridhar Pabbisetty talk to Pavan Srinath and Ganesh Chakravarthi about how computer science and programming education can be revamped in Indian schools for the 21st century, on Episode 58 of the Thalé-Haraté Kannada Podcast. How can we re-imagine the role of programming and computer science in our school curricula? How can we equip Indian students with the skills and the...
Street vending is a quintessential part of Indian cities. Yet, the right to carry out trade in public spaces is often hampered by state corruption. So we speak to Prashant Narang on street vending laws and their implementation.
Narayani Basu joins Hamsini Hariharan to talk about VP Menon and the process of consolidating 565 princely states into modern India.
In India, we have government of the people and for the people, but not by the people. How can we fix this? Polymath thinker Ashwin Mahesh joins Amit Varma in episode 160 of The Seen and the Unseen to chat about participatory democracy, India Against Corruption, the Aam Aadmi Party and what makes a Good Indian.
Space entrepreneur Narayan Prasad talks to Pavan Srinath and Ganesh Chakravarthi about space exploration and breaks down rocket science and space economics on Episode 57 of the Thalé-Haraté Kannada Podcast. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಬರಿ ಐ.ಟಿ. ಸಿಟಿ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂತರಿಕ್ಷದ ನೆಲೆ ಕೂಡ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಬರಿ ಇಸ್ರೊ ಆಧಾರದ ಮೇಲೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಈ ಪಟ್ಟವನ್ನು ಗಳಿಸಿತು. ಆದರೆ ಈಗ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅನೇಕ ಸಂಶೆಗಳು, ಕಂಪನಿಗಳು, ಅಂತರಿಕ್ಷದ ಮೇಲೆ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆ...
Ajay Shah talks to Pavan Srinath about the scientific pursuit of economics on Episode 129 of The Pragati Podcast. The science of economics can often be misunderstood. Economics as a discipline is riddled with paradoxes. We often want economics to be able to predict the next crisis, while dismissing sound economic insights that may be a century old. Where is the science in economics? How much of...
Budgets matter more than they should — and the process of making them matters more than their contents. Ajay Shah and Vivek Kaul join Amit Varma in episode 159 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss both journey & destination, strategy & tactics.
Avinash Ambale talks to Surya Prakash BS and Pavan Srinath about cognition, learning and the quest for Artificial Intelligence on Episode 56 of the Thalé-Haraté Kannada Podcast. ಬುದ್ಧಿವಂತಿಕೆ ಅಂದರೆ ಏನು? ನಾವು ಕಲಿಯುವುದನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ಕಲಿಯುತ್ತೇವೆ? ಆರ್ಟಿಫಿಶಿಯಲ್ ಇಂಟೆಲಿಜೆನ್ಸ್ (AI) ಈಚೆಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ಕೇಳಿಬರುವ ಪದ. ಆದರೆ ನಿಜವಾಗಿಯೂ ಎ.ಐ. ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯವೇನು? ದೃಶ್ಯ ಹಾಗೂ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮೂಡುವ ಮಾದರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ (ಪ್ಯಾಟರ್ನ್) ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು...
यह चर्चा है रैण्डमाइस्ड कंट्रोल ट्रायल (RCT) के बारे में, एक ऐसी प्रक्रिया जिसने अर्थशास्त्र करने का तरीका ही बदल कर रख दिया | यह प्रकिया मेडिकल रिसर्च में उपयोग की जा रही थी लेकिन अब इसका प्रयोग गरीबी उन्मूलन के लिए भी हो रहा है| इस सोच के लिए अभिजीत बैनर्जी, एस्थर डूफ्लो, और माइकल क्रेमर को इस साल का नोबेल पुरस्कार भी मिला | तो हमने चर्चा की अपूर्व कुमार के साथ RCT के उपयोग, दुरुपयोग, और...
Anupam Manur talks to Pavan Srinath about India’s falling economic growth and how to get back on track on Episode 128 of The Pragati Podcast. India’s economic growth dips below 5% per annum again, less than a decade after the previous economic crisis. Is 5% growth for a country like India all but a recession? Anupam Manur returns to The Pragati Podcast in Episode 128 to talk to Pavan...
Karin Vazquez joins Hamsini Hariharan on episode 43 of States of Anarchy to talk about the Brazil-India relationship beyond dictators.
From the Arab Spring to Shaheen Bagh, radically networked societies are rising up to express themselves. What do they have in common? How will a hierarchical state deal with a networked society? Pranay Kotasthane shares his insights with Amit Varma in episode 158 of The Seen and the Unseen.
Amol Agarwal talks to Pavan Srinath and shares a magisterial history of modern banking in India on Episode 127 of The Pragati Podcast. Is India’s banking crisis the first of its kind in the country? How did banks flourish and fail a hundred years ago, and what can we learn from them? Amol Agarwal gives us a magisterial tour of the rise of modern banking in India, all the way up to when...
This is episode 55 of Thalé-Haraté, a weekly Kannada podcast hosted by Pavan Srinath, Surya Prakash BS and Ganesh Chakravarthi. ಸೈಂಸ್ ಫಿಕ್ಷನ್, ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ ಕಥೆಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ಪತ್ರ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ ಪ್ರಗತಿ, ಸಮಾಜದ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಗಳು, ಮಾನವನ ಮುನ್ನೆಳಿಗೆಗೆ ಹಲವಾರು ದಾರಿಗಳನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದೆ. ಇದರಲ್ಲಿ ರಚಿಸಿದಂತಹ ಅನೇಕ ಕಾಲ್ಪನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳು ಇವತ್ತು ನಾವು ಕಣ್ಣಾರೆ ನೋಡಬಹುದು. ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಲು ನಮ್ಮ ಜೊತೆ...
India has endured -- but as we celebrate another Republic Day, we must remember that we cannot take this for granted. Historian Ramachandra Guha joins Amit Varma in episode 157 of The Seen and the Unseen to examine some of the currents of history that brought us here, and are still in flux.
What does the future of electric vehicles and electric storage in India look like? Charging stations or battery swapping - which model is better for Indian conditions? What role can the government play to encourage this industry?
This is episode 54 of Thalé-Haraté, a weekly Kannada podcast hosted by Pavan Srinath, Surya Prakash BS and Ganesh Chakravarthi. ತುಳುನಾಡಿನ ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ವ್ಯಶೀಶ್ಯತೆಗಳು ಅನೇಕ. ನಾಟ್ಯ, ನೃತ್ಯ, ವೇಷಭೂಷಣಗಳು ಮೂಡಿ ಬಂದಿವೆ. ತುಳುನಾಡಿನ ಜನಾಂಗದ ಭಿನ್ನತೆಯು ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಆದ ಎಣೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ ವಿಶೇಷತೆಯನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತಾಡಲು ನಮ್ಮ ಜೊತೆ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ ಸೌಮ್ಯ ನಂದನ್ ಅವರು. ಸೌಮ್ಯ ಅವರು ತುಳುನಾಡಿನ ನಿವಾಸಿ ಮತ್ತು ತಕ್ಷಶಿಲಾ...
Pavan Srinath talks to China analyst Manoj Kewalramani about the US-China Phase-1 Trade Deal and the ongoing war for technology between USA and China on Episode 126 of The Pragati Podcast. On January 15, 2020, the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China and Xi Jinping signed the “Phase One Trade Deal” after more than a year of protracted negotiations. On the...
Vineet Hegde joins Hamsini Hariharan to discuss the crisis in the dispute mechanisms of the World Trade Organization and what it means for international organizations.