The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma Ep 439: Janhavi Nilekani Threw the Other Shoe
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Mar 9, 2026 Janhavi Nilekani, development economist and founder of Astrika working on maternal healthcare and midwifery. She talks about transforming maternity care in India, why C-section and overtreatment are so common, and how midwifery and system incentives can change outcomes. She also discusses the medical and social implications of gender-critical thinking and why sex matters in clinical settings.
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The Shoe Throwing Childhood Story
- As a child Janhavi and her toddler brother threw their shoes out of a train window so whoever found them would have a pair.
- She tells it as an early example of playful problem-solving and generosity.
Be Intentional About Parenting And Intellectual Inputs
- Be intentional about parenting choices and the intellectual atmosphere you expose your child to.
- Janhavi deliberately chose her son's school, reading material and upbringing based on long-term values and influences.
Analytic Frameworks Guide Her Decisions
- Nilekani's core thinking tool is analytic public policy trained by economics and Richard Zeckhauser's frameworks, using cost–benefit and Bayesian priors.
- She applies it to personal and institutional decisions, sometimes over-applying it to emotions.
