The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

The Emergency of 1975 was not an aberration, but was written into the DNA of the Indian state. Historian Gyan Prakash joins Amit Varma in episode 103 of The Seen and the Unseen to shed light on why the framers of the constitution gave such draconian powers to the state -- and why we may not have become so free in 1947 after all. Also read: Emergency Chronicles by Gyan Prakash on Amazon. Shruti Rajagopalan on our constantly changing constitution. (Aug 2015) The Evil of Family Planning (Dec 2014) -- Amit Varma Lessons From 1975 (Sep 2015) -- Amit Varma You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5 You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com

Shashi Tharoor, author of The Paradoxical Prime Minister, discusses the various faces of Narendra Modi, the nature of politics, the idea of India, and his own political journey in an insightful and thought-provoking conversation with Amit Varma.

We tend to take progress for granted, and are wired to focus on bad news instead of good. Steven Pinker joins Amit Varma in episode 101 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about why the world is getting better, and why Enlightenment values are essential for ensuring that the trend continues Also check out: Enlightenment Now and The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker. It is Daft to Worry About Inequality --Amit Varma You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5 You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com

The Seen and the Unseen reaches 100 episodes! Yea! Economist Shruti Rajagopalan, the most frequent guest on the show, joins host Amit Varma as they shoot the breeze about the 99 episodes before this, the horrors of 2018, and the further horrors of 2019. Also check out: These past episodes with Gunvant Patil, Vikram Doctor, Harsha Bhogle, Gideon Haigh+Prem Panicker, Rajesh Jain, Vishwanath S, Parth Shah, Amit Chandra, Alex Tabarrok, Naveen Noronha, Kumar Anand, Vivek Kaul, Ashok Malik, Nikita+Supriya (on #MeToo), Devika+Nidhi+Hamsini and Matt Ridley. And also with Shruti on the Right to Property, DeMon, GST, #MeToo and Caste. And ah, The Matunga Racket. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5 You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com

A democracy is not merely about voting. Those who are voted into power need to be kept in check, and Rules and Institutions are essential for this. Foreign policy analyst Ameya Naik joins Amit Varma in episode 99 of The Seen and the Unseen to elaborate -- and to explain the danger that Donald Trump poses. Also check out: Why Both Modi and Trump are Textbook Populists - Amit Varma Ek Baar Jo Maine Commitment Kar Di - Amit Varma Trade Deficits (and Trumpism) - Episode 73 of The Seen and the Unseen Immigration and Outsourcing - Episode 69 of The Seen and the Unseen You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5 You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com

Historian Manu S Pillai joins to unravel the racy history of the Deccan full of lust, murder, and madness. They discuss the forgotten tales of historical figures, rise of Bahmani Sultanate, power struggles, intrigues, and cultural integration in the region.

In his three-decade career covering cricket, Harsha Bhogle has had an inside view on the transformation of the game. He joins Amit Varma in episode 97 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about how cricket has changed – and why it gives him hope. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://goo.gl/tGYdU1 or iOS: https://goo.gl/sZSTU5 You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com Also check out: How Money Changed Cricket -- Ep 41 of The Seen and the Unseen Opportunity, Choice and the IPL (2008) -- Amit Varma The Tamasha All Purists Should Love -- Amit Varma Purists, keep quiet. Cricket is changing, not dying -- Amit Varma Test Cricket Is Dying, but Cricket Is Not -- Amit Varma

The world evolves in a bottom-up way, despite the top-down beliefs of those who have blind faith in either God or Government. Matt Ridley joins Amit Varma in episode 96 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe the evolution of the universe, life, culture, language, cities, the economy, our minds, our future and more. Also check out: The Evolution of Everything -- Matt Ridley Other books by Matt Ridley: The Rational Optimist,Genome,The Origins of Virtue Matt Ridley's Homepage What Does It Mean to Be Libertarian? -- Ep 64 of The Seen and the Unseen The Fraud of Indian Education -- Ep 77 of The Seen and the Unseen The Profit Motive in Education -- Ep 9 of The Seen and the Unseen

What does it mean when we say that something is 'Indian'? Does origin matter? Food writer Vikram Doctor joins Amit Varma in episode 95 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about how most of what we think of as Indian food originated elsewhere -- and it doesn't matter. Also check out The Real Food Podcast on Audiomatic

Rajesh Jain was one of the architects of Narendra Modi's win in 2014 -- and then got buyer's remorse and turned against the BJP. Now, he has launched Dhan Vapasi, an insanely ambitious and innovative attempt at disrupting Indian politics. He joins Amit Varma in episode 94 of The Seen and the Unseen to explain where he's coming from. Note: The first half of the show is about Jain's political journey before this: supporting Modi, changing his mind etc. The conversation about Dhan Vapasi starts at 1:03:25. Also check out: The Dhan Vapasi website The Dhan Vapasi Manifesto The Dhan Vapasi Bill Rajesh Jain's websiteDeMon, Morality and the Predatory Indian State-- Episode 85 of The Seen and the Unseen (on Demonetisation) Why Are Our Cities So Messed Up?-- Episode 31 of The Seen and the Unseen (on Urban Governance) The State of Our Farmers -- Episode 86 of The Seen and the Unseen (on Agriculture) Reclaim the Sky -- Episode 11 of The Seen and the Unseen (on FSI) Shruti Rajagopalan's talk on the many changes to our constitution