The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

Apar Gupta, an advocate for digital rights in India, joins Amit Varma to discuss the impact of technology on our rights, the need for regulatory institutions, flaws in crony capitalism, the addictive nature of social media, their personal journey with technology, landmark cases on rights in India, and the power centralized in the Indian constitution.

Harsh Vardhan, an expert on the financial sector, joins Amit Varma to discuss his life and learnings. They explore topics such as banking without banks, consulting experiences, the impact of different languages and literatures, personal journey of self-discovery, regulatory capture, optimal mix of banking and regulation, and changing perceptions of time and history. They also touch on the nature of kindness and compassion, split brain experiments, the concept of rationality, and influential thinkers for India.

She's been a journalist, travelled the world, lived in nine countries, fought and beaten cancer -- and written about it all in exquisite prose. Pallavi Aiyar joins Amit Varma in episode 351 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about her life and learnings. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Pallavi Aiyar on Substack, Amazon, Twitter and her own website. 2. Smoke and Mirrors -- Pallavi Aiyar. 3. Orienting -- Pallavi Aiyar. 4. Babies and Bylines -- Pallavi Aiyar. 5. The Acting Life -- Episode 189 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rasika Dugal and Mukul Chadda). 6. The Adda at the End of the Universe — Episode 309 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Sathaye and Roshan Abbas). 7. Orphaned and almost married at 10 -- Pallavi Aiyar about her grandmother. 8. Who's Afraid of Cola Colonialism? -- Pallavi Aiyar. 9. The Incredible Curiosities of Mukulika Banerjee — Episode 276 of The Seen and the Unseen. 10. The Life and Times of Mrinal Pande — Episode 263 of The Seen and the Unseen. 11. The Memoirs of Dr Haimabati Sen — Haimabati Sen (translated by Tapan Raychoudhuri). 12. Kavitha Rao and Our Lady Doctors — Episode 235 of The Seen and the Unseen. 13. The Life and Times of Shanta Gokhale — Episode 311 of The Seen and the Unseen. 14. Luke Burgis Sees the Deer at His Window — Episode 337 of The Seen and the Unseen. 15. Train-Track Figure -- Kay Ryan. 16. The Arias-Aiyar global khichdi -- Pallavi Aiyar. 17. The Rooted Cosmopolitanism of Sugata Srinivasaraju — Episode 277 of The Seen and the Unseen. 18. Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar's columns and homepage. 19. A tribute to my mother, Gitanjali Aiyar -- Pallavi Aiyar. 20. Confessions of a terrible guru -- Pallavi Aiyar. 21. Children and Death -- Pallavi Aiyar. 22. The Steady Determination of Yamini Aiyar — Episode 341 of The Seen and the Unseen. 23. Films, Feminism, Paromita — Episode 155 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Paromita Vohra). 24. The Poetic Feminism of Paromita Vohra — Episode 339 of The Seen and the Unseen. 25. The Coming Collapse Of China -- Gordon G Chang. 26. Lord of the Rings -- JRR Tolkien. 27. A Meditation on Form — Amit Varma. 28. We Are All Amits From Africa -- Episode 343 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Krish Ashok and Naren Shenoy). 29. How The Desperate Norwegian Salmon Industry Created A Sushi Staple -- Jess Jiang. 30. Nothing is Indian! Everything is Indian! -- Episode 12 of Everything is Everything. 31. Wanting — Luke Burgis. 32. René Girard on Amazon and Wikipedia. 33. Womaning in India With Mahima Vashisht — Episode 293 of The Seen and the Unseen. 34. Womaning in India — Mahima Vashisht's newsletter. 35. Butter Chicken in Ludhiana -- Pankaj Mishra. 36. An End to Suffering -- Pankaj Mishra. 37. A Room of One's Own -- Virginia Woolf. 38. My Mother's Magic Jar of Happiness -- Pallavi Aiyar. 39. In between the Kingdoms of the Well and Sick -- Pallavi Aiyar. 40. Farewell, good breast -- Pallavi Aiyar. 41. I Am, I Am, I Am -- Maggie O'Farrell. 42. Reggaeton. 43. Bad Bunny on Spotify and YouTube. 44. Dekalog — Krzysztof Kieślowski. 45. Dead Poets Society -- Peter Weir. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new video podcast. Check out Everything is Everything on YouTube. Check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. And subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It's free! Episode art: 'Harbour' by Simahina.

Sudhir Sarnobat, who built a successful career through sheer force of will, discusses his intentionality in life and his new venture How Frameworks. He shares his upbringing in a lower middle class Marathi family, his early professional career, and the challenges of marketing a real estate project. Sudhir also explores his transition into health insurance and the importance of intellectual investment. Additionally, he discusses the impact of reading habits on worldview, the concept of entrepreneurship, and the significance of frameworks for small-medium enterprises in India.

Timur Kuran, author and professor at Duke University, joins Amit Varma to discuss the decline of the Middle East compared to Europe, the concept of preference falsification, collecting stamps, the challenges of studying Islam, the slow progress of ideas, the impact of social media, the miscommunication about poverty, school choice in India, preference falsification in politics, the lack of innovation in the Middle East, the effect of Islamic inheritance laws on economic development, the establishment of walks, unintended consequences of private provision of public goods, the rise of joint stock companies and Western banks in the Ottoman Empire, Islam's reformation, and the potential for a schism within Islam.

Devangshu Datta, a traveler with mad experiences, discusses Bengalis making bombs, Gujaratis making fetish costumes, river pirate ancestors, and the disruption caused by Only Fans to Pornhub.

"Pensions can reshape an entire society." Ajay Shah and Renuka Sane discuss India's massive pensions crisis and its impact on society. They explore the origins and structure of pensions, the implications of increased longevity, and the unsustainability of India's current pension system. They also address the urgent need for pension reform and the challenges faced in implementing a new system. The speakers highlight flaws in India's National Pension System (NPS) and the pressures faced by government employees. Finally, they discuss the fiscal crisis and restrictive investment guidelines in India's pension funds.

Seema Goswami, a journalist, editor, columnist, and novelist, joins Amit Varma to discuss various topics including societal expectations on appearance, the objectification of women, desires and societal pressures, the decline of journalism, perceptions of time and aging, and the challenges of writing fiction. They also touch on dating in the modern world and share book and film recommendations.

Economic experts Mohit Satyanand and Kumar Anand share insights from their study and road trip through Bihar. Topics include the economic conditions and poverty in Bihar, challenges in the education system, the economic implications of alcohol ban and the sand mafia, lack of economic activity and industrialization, the connection between nutrition and brain development, and economic challenges faced by Bihar.

Journalist and satirist Manisha Pande joins Amit Varma to talk about the state of journalism in India, discussing the challenges faced by journalists, the lack of regulations for influencers, and the impact of sensationalized news coverage. They also touch on the power of visuals in news reporting, the future of journalism in India, and the importance of authenticity in news reporting.