http://www.theindicast.com en ℗ & © 2024 Indicast Various Indicast Podcast Hosts Indicast is India's longest running and most popular Indian podcast network. This is the mother feed of all the shows produced by Indicast including a current affairs new show, a business news show, a tech show from an Indian perspective, a bollywood movie review show and a conversational interview show. Expect a good discussion with few laughs in our special India focused content. Individual show feeds are available at http://www.theindicast.com Indicast Podcast Network acmhatre@gmail.com 2026 111 PB111 http://www.theindicast.com How do undersea cables work and what is their significance in our daily lives? Samanth Subramanian, an award-winning journalist tells us about "fragile cables that connect our world" in his brilliant new book, "The Web Beneath the Waves". They operate behind the scenes and on the sea bed. Over 600 of them carry around 95 per cent of the world's intercontinental traffic. Unlike satellites which get a lot of press, submarine cables are largely unsung until something goes wrong. Take Ghana's stock exchange which, in 2024, had to shut down an hour earlier than scheduled after seismic activity severed some cables. In 2024 Houtis, a rebel group in Yemen, bombed a cargo ship, whose anchor was said to have damaged three cables. And then there's the occasional shark bite too. With barely 69 or so repair ships out there, the entire process of fixing these cables "is delightfully Victorian", says Samanth. We live in an era that this piece of technology holds enormous geopolitical clout too. His research, for his slim book, took him to some of the most unexpected places. The Economist named it as among the best books of 2025. How do undersea cables work and what is their significance in our daily lives? Samanth Subramanian, an award-winning journalist tells us about "fragile cables that connect our world" in his brilliant new book, "The Web Beneath the Waves". They operate behind the scenes and on the sea bed. Over 600 of them carry around 95 per cent of the world's intercontinental traffic. Unlike satellites which get a lot of press, submarine cables are largely unsung until something goes wrong. Take Ghana's stock exchange which, in 2024, had to shut down an hour earlier than scheduled after seismic activity severed some cables. In 2024 Houtis, a rebel group in Yemen, bombed a cargo ship, whose anchor was said to have damaged three cables. And then there's the occasional shark bite too. With barely 69 or so repair ships out there, the entire process of fixing these cables "is delightfully Victorian", says Samanth. We live in an era that this piece of technology holds enormous geopolitical clout too. His research, for his slim book, took him to some of the most unexpected places. The Economist named it as among the best books of 2025. Sat, 11 Apr 2026 14:33:35 GMT 37:24 2026 110 PB110 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast Adam Weymouth, one of the most compelling young writers in the UK, talks about his latest book, "Lone Wolf: Walking the Line Between Civilization and Wildness". It's an immersive reportage that follows the journey of a wolf across Europe. Through encounters with farmers, hunters and rural communities, Adam examines how wolves have become a proxy for deeper anxieties about migration, economic decline and political control. What is a wolf? How does it think? What are some of the myths and realities of this beautiful animal? Adam takes us through what he learned in his peripatetic excursion to the sticks, which was as physically demanding as it was revealing. In this podcast Adam Weymouth, one of the most compelling young writers in the UK, talks about his latest book, "Lone Wolf: Walking the Line Between Civilization and Wildness". It's an immersive reportage that follows the journey of a wolf across Europe. Through encounters with farmers, hunters and rural communities, Adam examines how wolves have become a proxy for deeper anxieties about migration, economic decline and political control. What is a wolf? How does it think? What are some of the myths and realities of this beautiful animal? Adam takes us through what he learned in his peripatetic excursion to the sticks, which was as physically demanding as it was revealing. Sat, 28 Mar 2026 14:33:35 GMT 41:02 2026 109 PB109 http://www.theindicast.com Cricket, globalisation, Trump's tariff tantrums, quirks of the English language, jargons and philosophy. This podcast covers some ground as award winning journalist Philip Coggan joins us to talk about his book, "The Economic Consequences of Mr Trump". He explains why tariffs are essentially taxes on imports that often raise costs for domestic producers, fail to meaningfully reduce trade deficits and can even slow growth and job creation. We live in an increasingly connected world. Our laptops and phones have components from various countries which makes these things efficient and affordable. The conversation also veers into the English language itself where it can do away with financial jargons or tautologies like "safe haven". Philip also talks about the art of storytelling and why he enjoys writing. Cricket, globalisation, Trump's tariff tantrums, quirks of the English language, jargons and philosophy. This podcast covers some ground as award winning journalist Philip Coggan joins us to talk about his book, "The Economic Consequences of Mr Trump". He explains why tariffs are essentially taxes on imports that often raise costs for domestic producers, fail to meaningfully reduce trade deficits and can even slow growth and job creation. We live in an increasingly connected world. Our laptops and phones have components from various countries which makes these things efficient and affordable. The conversation also veers into the English language itself where it can do away with financial jargons or tautologies like "safe haven". Philip also talks about the art of storytelling and why he enjoys writing. Sat, 21 Mar 2026 14:33:35 GMT 46:24 2026 108 PB108 http://www.theindicast.com How does it feel to stay in a cabin in Alaska? How does one keep their wits about oneself in places like the Arctic when the sun doesn't rise for 65-70 days during polar nights? And before you know it, daylight is back for 24 hours. Kieran Mulvaney has traveled to these lands for over 25 years. His latest book, "Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World" is a personal account flush with rich reporting from frigid climes. In this podcast he talks about his experiences of visiting these remote lands, some of the crucial geopolitical implications of melting ice, why global warming is real and how the glacial pace at which we are responding isn't doing us any favours. The Economist has named Kieran's book as among the best non-fiction reads of 2025. How does it feel to stay in a cabin in Alaska? How does one keep their wits about oneself in places like the Arctic when the sun doesn't rise for 65-70 days during polar nights? And before you know it, daylight is back for 24 hours. Kieran Mulvaney has traveled to these lands for over 25 years. His latest book, "Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World" is a personal account flush with rich reporting from frigid climes. In this podcast he talks about his experiences of visiting these remote lands, some of the crucial geopolitical implications of melting ice, why global warming is real and how the glacial pace at which we are responding isn't doing us any favours. The Economist has named Kieran's book as among the best non-fiction reads of 2025. Sat, 21 Mar 2026 14:33:35 GMT 59:59 2026 107 PB107 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast Sir John Kay, one of the most original economic thinkers of our time, talks about what companies often get wrong. Drawing from his latest book, The Corporation in the Twenty-First Century: Why Almost Everything We Are Told About Business Is Wrong, he argues that chasing money instead of meaning is the first folly of modern corporations. Often times they focus far more than is necessary on quarterly numbers. Buzzwords like "maximising shareholder value" look great on power point slides. "No one has an epitaph on their grave that said he maximized shareholder value", he says. He shares many examples where behemoths disappeared gradually and then suddenly after shifting their purpose to maximising shareholder value. The conversation also turns to ethics. He quotes Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking Bird - "I can't behave one way at home and another in town" addressing that the company and the individual shouldn't have different moral codes. "There isn't a separation in my mind between ethics and morality as applied to business and ethics and morality as applied to life. They are one and the same". In this podcast Sir John Kay, one of the most original economic thinkers of our time, talks about what companies often get wrong. Drawing from his latest book, The Corporation in the Twenty-First Century: Why Almost Everything We Are Told About Business Is Wrong, he argues that chasing money instead of meaning is the first folly of modern corporations. Often times they focus far more than is necessary on quarterly numbers. Buzzwords like "maximising shareholder value" look great on power point slides. "No one has an epitaph on their grave that said he maximized shareholder value", he says. He shares many examples where behemoths disappeared gradually and then suddenly after shifting their purpose to maximising shareholder value. The conversation also turns to ethics. He quotes Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking Bird - "I can't behave one way at home and another in town" addressing that the company and the individual shouldn't have different moral codes. "There isn't a separation in my mind between ethics and morality as applied to business and ethics and morality as applied to life. They are one and the same". Sat, 14 Feb 2026 14:33:35 GMT 47:16 2026 106 PB106 http://www.theindicast.com Turning jargons and complex spagetti-like subjects into simple (but not simplistic) language is an art that few authors can pull off. Edward Fishman is one of them. His book, "Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare", a New York Times Bestseller, explains something that we often read in the newspapers but rarely understand. For instance, we read that Iran has been "sactioned" because it hasn't stopped its ambitions to enrich uranium which can be used to build a nuclear weapon. But what exactly are sanctions? How do they work? What kind of work goes on behind the scenes? How can a country be isolated from the global financial system? Why it can't be a one-size-fits-all? Eddie has worked at the US Treasury, the State Department and the Pentagon and played a key role in designing sanctions on Iran and Russia. In this podcast he talks about the evolution of economic warfare and how states can throttle economies without firing a shot. What work and what backfires? And what have policymakers learned so far? Turning jargons and complex spagetti-like subjects into simple (but not simplistic) language is an art that few authors can pull off. Edward Fishman is one of them. His book, "Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare", a New York Times Bestseller, explains something that we often read in the newspapers but rarely understand. For instance, we read that Iran has been "sactioned" because it hasn't stopped its ambitions to enrich uranium which can be used to build a nuclear weapon. But what exactly are sanctions? How do they work? What kind of work goes on behind the scenes? How can a country be isolated from the global financial system? Why it can't be a one-size-fits-all? Eddie has worked at the US Treasury, the State Department and the Pentagon and played a key role in designing sanctions on Iran and Russia. In this podcast he talks about the evolution of economic warfare and how states can throttle economies without firing a shot. What work and what backfires? And what have policymakers learned so far? Sat, 07 Feb 2026 14:33:35 GMT 47:44 2026 105 PB105 http://www.theindicast.com Jason Burke has spent decades reporting from conflict zones around the world. In this episode he speaks about his latest book, "The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s". Jason explains how Palestinian factions turned aircraft hijacking into a coordinated political strategy, who the key figures were and how these operations were planned and carried out. He also describes the intelligence world that operated alongside this violence, what the day-to-day life of a spy looked like in the 1970s and how states quietly cooperated across borders. He also goes on to examine the wider consequences of this period, including Israel’s response and the international coordination that made operations such as the Entebbe rescue possible, an audacious raid possible as much by politics as by military planning. Jason Burke has spent decades reporting from conflict zones around the world. In this episode he speaks about his latest book, "The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s". Jason explains how Palestinian factions turned aircraft hijacking into a coordinated political strategy, who the key figures were and how these operations were planned and carried out. He also describes the intelligence world that operated alongside this violence, what the day-to-day life of a spy looked like in the 1970s and how states quietly cooperated across borders. He also goes on to examine the wider consequences of this period, including Israel’s response and the international coordination that made operations such as the Entebbe rescue possible, an audacious raid possible as much by politics as by military planning. Sun, 25 Jan 2026 14:33:35 GMT 44:39 2026 104 PB104 http://www.theindicast.com Danny Bate joins us to talk about the history of the English alphabet, letter by letter. From the ancient Egyptian origins of A to the comeback of K, Danny talks about how writing systems travelled across civilisations and shaped modern English. We discuss silent letters, spelling quirks, phonics, Scrabble and standup comedy. Drawing on his work as a linguist, Bate explains how sound, history, and habit come together in the way we read and write today. His latest book "Why Q Needs U" was shortlisted among the best books of 2025 by The Economist and is a brilliant read. Danny Bate joins us to talk about the history of the English alphabet, letter by letter. From the ancient Egyptian origins of A to the comeback of K, Danny talks about how writing systems travelled across civilisations and shaped modern English. We discuss silent letters, spelling quirks, phonics, Scrabble and standup comedy. Drawing on his work as a linguist, Bate explains how sound, history, and habit come together in the way we read and write today. His latest book "Why Q Needs U" was shortlisted among the best books of 2025 by The Economist and is a brilliant read. Sat, 24 Jan 2026 14:33:35 GMT 51:55 2026 103 PB103 http://www.theindicast.com Marc J. Dunkelman is a political scientist and author of Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress and How to Bring It Back. Drawing on examples from infrastructure, public policy and everyday bureaucracy, Marc explains why institutions that once delivered big projects now struggle to get even simple things done. He brings to fore the cultural shifts since the 1970s, America’s “vitocracy” and why good ideas get stuck between competing interests. It's a clear, grounded look at how systems break and what it would take to fix them and is as relevant for those living outside the US. Marc J. Dunkelman is a political scientist and author of Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress and How to Bring It Back. Drawing on examples from infrastructure, public policy and everyday bureaucracy, Marc explains why institutions that once delivered big projects now struggle to get even simple things done. He brings to fore the cultural shifts since the 1970s, America’s “vitocracy” and why good ideas get stuck between competing interests. It's a clear, grounded look at how systems break and what it would take to fix them and is as relevant for those living outside the US. Sat, 24 Jan 2026 14:33:35 GMT 38:58 2026 102 PB102 http://www.theindicast.com Patrick McGee, the Financial Times San Francisco correspondent, covers Apple and the U.S. technology industry. His book, Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company is a brilliant read. In this podcast he explains how Apple became deeply tied to China’s factories, workers and politics and why that relationship still defines the company today. He also discusses the roles of Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and others in shaping Apple’s culture while revealing how design, operations and manufacturing came together to create some of the most influential products of our time. Patrick McGee, the Financial Times San Francisco correspondent, covers Apple and the U.S. technology industry. His book, Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company is a brilliant read. In this podcast he explains how Apple became deeply tied to China’s factories, workers and politics and why that relationship still defines the company today. He also discusses the roles of Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tim Cook and others in shaping Apple’s culture while revealing how design, operations and manufacturing came together to create some of the most influential products of our time. Sat, 24 Jan 2026 14:33:35 GMT 49:12 2025 101 PB101 http://www.theindicast.com Few people have had more access to Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s charismatic founder, than Stephen Witt. In his book "The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip", Witt traces the company’s three-decade journey under the leadership of a man he describes as sometimes “neurotic”, a founder who, despite being at the top of his game, constantly fears going out of business. And yet, his team remains fiercely loyal. He rarely fires those who face his ire. So how does he lead a company in an industry where every few years the technology is upended and replaced by something entirely new? And how does he stay grounded while working relentless hours? Stephen spoke to hundreds of people to find the answers, many of which he shares in his book and in this podcast. Few people have had more access to Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s charismatic founder, than Stephen Witt. In his book "The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip", Witt traces the company’s three-decade journey under the leadership of a man he describes as sometimes “neurotic”, a founder who, despite being at the top of his game, constantly fears going out of business. And yet, his team remains fiercely loyal. He rarely fires those who face his ire. So how does he lead a company in an industry where every few years the technology is upended and replaced by something entirely new? And how does he stay grounded while working relentless hours? Stephen spoke to hundreds of people to find the answers, many of which he shares in his book and in this podcast. Sat, 14 Jun 2025 14:33:35 GMT 38:24 2025 100 PB100 http://www.theindicast.com Why do humans go to war? Is peace ever truly possible? In this podcast historian of the Second World War and expert on totalitarian regimes and military conflict joins us to talk about his latest book, "Why War?". Drawing on decades of research, Prof Overy talks about organized violence from prehistoric times to modern state conflicts. He explains how war has evolved and what drives it and how leaders can use provocative language to brainwash their people before invading another country. What we can learn from nations, including India, that have managed to avert a full-scale war despite decades of conflicts with their neighbouring countries? Despite all the grim violence around us in Gaza and Ukraine, Prof Overy remains hopeful and says that fears of a third world war may be overblown. Why do humans go to war? Is peace ever truly possible? In this podcast historian of the Second World War and expert on totalitarian regimes and military conflict joins us to talk about his latest book, "Why War?". Drawing on decades of research, Prof Overy talks about organized violence from prehistoric times to modern state conflicts. He explains how war has evolved and what drives it and how leaders can use provocative language to brainwash their people before invading another country. What we can learn from nations, including India, that have managed to avert a full-scale war despite decades of conflicts with their neighbouring countries? Despite all the grim violence around us in Gaza and Ukraine, Prof Overy remains hopeful and says that fears of a third world war may be overblown. Fri, 06 Jun 2025 14:33:35 GMT 38:24 2025 99 PB99 http://www.theindicast.com Charlie English is the author of "The CIA Book Club: The Best Kept Secret of the Cold War". In this episode he talks about a little-known chapter in Cold War history where the CIA smuggled banned books into the Eastern Bloc in an effort to challenge communist ideology. Charlie shares how the CIA ran this literary operation for over three decades, why even detective novels had political weight in Soviet-ruled countries, and what it meant to grow up under state censorship so tight you needed permission to buy a sheet of paper. Charlie English is the author of "The CIA Book Club: The Best Kept Secret of the Cold War". In this episode he talks about a little-known chapter in Cold War history where the CIA smuggled banned books into the Eastern Bloc in an effort to challenge communist ideology. Charlie shares how the CIA ran this literary operation for over three decades, why even detective novels had political weight in Soviet-ruled countries, and what it meant to grow up under state censorship so tight you needed permission to buy a sheet of paper. Sat, 31 May 2025 14:33:35 GMT 38:24 2025 98 PB98 http://www.theindicast.com Carl Zimmer, acclaimed science writer and author of "Airborne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe", joins the show to explore the unseen world within the air around us. He talks about what most of us never think about: the air we breathe. He explains how scientists slowly uncovered the truth about airborne diseases, why it took decades for basic facts to gain acceptance, and what history, both recent and ancient, tells us about the hidden life in the atmosphere. Carl Zimmer, acclaimed science writer and author of "Airborne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe", joins the show to explore the unseen world within the air around us. He talks about what most of us never think about: the air we breathe. He explains how scientists slowly uncovered the truth about airborne diseases, why it took decades for basic facts to gain acceptance, and what history, both recent and ancient, tells us about the hidden life in the atmosphere. Sun, 18 May 2025 14:33:35 GMT 50:07 2025 97 PB97 http://www.theindicast.com Ludwig Siegele, senior editor AI Initiatives at The Economist talks about how Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek and Alibaba are disrupting the status quo. They are building high-performing models at lower costs and releasing some of them as open source. How did they manage to pull this off and what does this mean for the global AI race? Ludwig joined The Economist as a US technology correspondent in 1998 and has covered the Silicon Valley since the Internet, as we know it, was born. Ludwig Siegele, senior editor AI Initiatives at The Economist talks about how Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek and Alibaba are disrupting the status quo. They are building high-performing models at lower costs and releasing some of them as open source. How did they manage to pull this off and what does this mean for the global AI race? Ludwig joined The Economist as a US technology correspondent in 1998 and has covered the Silicon Valley since the Internet, as we know it, was born. Sun, 18 May 2025 14:33:35 GMT 30:13 2025 96 PB96 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode, legendary cricketer and former England captain, Mike Brearley talks about his rich childhood memories, early influences, the art of leadership and the life of a cricketer. With wisdom, humor and trademark humility, Mike reflects on Test cricket's timeless charm, the spirit of the game, his experience as a psychoanalyst and life lessons from his latest book "Turning Over the Pebbles: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind". In this episode, legendary cricketer and former England captain, Mike Brearley talks about his rich childhood memories, early influences, the art of leadership and the life of a cricketer. With wisdom, humor and trademark humility, Mike reflects on Test cricket's timeless charm, the spirit of the game, his experience as a psychoanalyst and life lessons from his latest book "Turning Over the Pebbles: A Life in Cricket and in the Mind". Sat, 26 Apr 2025 14:33:35 GMT 52:50 2025 95 PB95 http://www.theindicast.com Volcanologist, author and filmmaker Clive Oppenheimer's career has taken him to the edge. From dodging lava bombs at Stromboli to facing AK-47s in the Danakil Depression, Clive shares gripping stories from his fieldwork and the unexpected human side of volcanoes. We explore his acclaimed book, "Mountains of Fire: The Secret Lives of Volcanoes" and discover how volcanic eruptions can alter climate, tell us a lot about our planet's past. In his typical self-deprecating humour Clive instills an infectious sense of wonder, something he credits to his mother. Volcanologist, author and filmmaker Clive Oppenheimer's career has taken him to the edge. From dodging lava bombs at Stromboli to facing AK-47s in the Danakil Depression, Clive shares gripping stories from his fieldwork and the unexpected human side of volcanoes. We explore his acclaimed book, "Mountains of Fire: The Secret Lives of Volcanoes" and discover how volcanic eruptions can alter climate, tell us a lot about our planet's past. In his typical self-deprecating humour Clive instills an infectious sense of wonder, something he credits to his mother. Sat, 26 Apr 2025 14:33:35 GMT 45:50 2025 94 PB94 http://www.theindicast.com Investigative journalist Charles Piller unravels one of the biggest scientific scandals in recent history. Drawing from his book "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's", Charles reveals how falsified data propped up a dominant theory in Alzheimer’s research, diverting billions in funding and delaying real progress. With over 30 million people affected worldwide, Charles talks about the human toll of the disease, the scientific misconduct that shook the field and the faint but growing signs of hope. Investigative journalist Charles Piller unravels one of the biggest scientific scandals in recent history. Drawing from his book "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's", Charles reveals how falsified data propped up a dominant theory in Alzheimer’s research, diverting billions in funding and delaying real progress. With over 30 million people affected worldwide, Charles talks about the human toll of the disease, the scientific misconduct that shook the field and the faint but growing signs of hope. Sat, 26 Apr 2025 14:33:35 GMT 52:45 2025 93 PB93 http://www.theindicast.com John Dykes has worn many hats: from features writer to one of the world’s most sought-after sports presenters. In this podcast, he shares insights and anecdotes from his three-decade career, helping individuals and organisations to master storytelling, craft compelling pitches, create high-performance teams and manage crises in his new innings as a solopreneur. Reflecting on iconic moments, from covering cricket, football, tennis, Formula 1, MotoGP and golf to interviewing legends like Thierry Henry and Serena Williams, John emphasises the power of preparation over “winging it”. He also explores the value of embracing discomfort for long-term growth, a mindset he embodies at 60, while busting many myths about aging. John Dykes has worn many hats: from features writer to one of the world’s most sought-after sports presenters. In this podcast, he shares insights and anecdotes from his three-decade career, helping individuals and organisations to master storytelling, craft compelling pitches, create high-performance teams and manage crises in his new innings as a solopreneur. Reflecting on iconic moments, from covering cricket, football, tennis, Formula 1, MotoGP and golf to interviewing legends like Thierry Henry and Serena Williams, John emphasises the power of preparation over “winging it”. He also explores the value of embracing discomfort for long-term growth, a mindset he embodies at 60, while busting many myths about aging. Sun, 23 Mar 2025 14:33:35 GMT 59:00 2025 92 PB92 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode, Simon Parkin unravels an extraordinary tale of courage and sacrifice during World War II. His latest book, The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City Under Siege, chronicles the heroic botanists who risked, and in some cases, gave their lives to safeguard a priceless seed collection during the longest blockade in recorded history. They chose starvation over consuming the very seeds that could prevent future famines. Simon shares the story of visionary scientist Nikolai Vavilov and his dedicated team, who preserved the world’s first seed bank under unimaginable conditions. In this episode, Simon Parkin unravels an extraordinary tale of courage and sacrifice during World War II. His latest book, The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City Under Siege, chronicles the heroic botanists who risked, and in some cases, gave their lives to safeguard a priceless seed collection during the longest blockade in recorded history. They chose starvation over consuming the very seeds that could prevent future famines. Simon shares the story of visionary scientist Nikolai Vavilov and his dedicated team, who preserved the world’s first seed bank under unimaginable conditions. Sat, 22 Mar 2025 14:33:35 GMT 45:00 2025 91 PB91 http://www.theindicast.com Sarah Thornton is a sociologist known for her writing on art, design, and society. Sarah’s latest book, Tits Up: What Our Beliefs About Breasts Reveal About Life, Love, Sex, and Society, is a fascinating account of the cultural, social and personal significance of breasts, an organ we think we understand but actually know surprisingly little about. In this podcast Sarah takes us on a fascinating journey from the neon-lit stages of strip clubs to the quiet halls of milk banks, from plastic surgery operating rooms to the boardrooms of lingerie designers. Along the way, Sarah unpacks the role of breasts in feminism, religion, fashion and media, revealing how they have been shaped and reshaped by history and society, debunking an age-old lopsided view. Sarah Thornton is a sociologist known for her writing on art, design, and society. Sarah’s latest book, Tits Up: What Our Beliefs About Breasts Reveal About Life, Love, Sex, and Society, is a fascinating account of the cultural, social and personal significance of breasts, an organ we think we understand but actually know surprisingly little about. In this podcast Sarah takes us on a fascinating journey from the neon-lit stages of strip clubs to the quiet halls of milk banks, from plastic surgery operating rooms to the boardrooms of lingerie designers. Along the way, Sarah unpacks the role of breasts in feminism, religion, fashion and media, revealing how they have been shaped and reshaped by history and society, debunking an age-old lopsided view. Sat, 15 Mar 2025 14:33:35 GMT 55:14 2025 90 PB90 http://www.theindicast.com Why do we behave the way we do? What is going on in our brains when we take certain decisions? How hardwired are we and what are the odds that we can change our core behaviour for the better? In this podcast neurologist Dr Guy Leschziner tries to answer some of these questions. His latest book, “Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human” explores the complex interplay between our brain, biology and the behaviors we often attribute to morality, choice or personality. Why do we behave the way we do? What is going on in our brains when we take certain decisions? How hardwired are we and what are the odds that we can change our core behaviour for the better? In this podcast neurologist Dr Guy Leschziner tries to answer some of these questions. His latest book, “Seven Deadly Sins: The Biology of Being Human” explores the complex interplay between our brain, biology and the behaviors we often attribute to morality, choice or personality. Fri, 14 Mar 2025 14:33:35 GMT 45:36 2025 258 Indicast258 http://www.theindicast.com President Trump and President Zeleksky, in front of the world media, had a go at each other when they met on February 28th. The shouting match is not what the world needed to see. It could have dire consequences. In India the world of quick commerce has shaken up the kiranas and is now a part of our daily lives. Aditya launches Beacon, a superapp purpose-built for immigrants to Canada. Indicast listeners will get preferential treatment. Listen to find out more. President Trump and President Zeleksky, in front of the world media, had a go at each other when they met on February 28th. The shouting match is not what the world needed to see. It could have dire consequences. In India the world of quick commerce has shaken up the kiranas and is now a part of our daily lives. Aditya launches Beacon, a superapp purpose-built for immigrants to Canada. Indicast listeners will get preferential treatment. Listen to find out more. Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:33:35 GMT 54:20 2025 89 PB89 http://www.theindicast.com Ever wondered how a dictator survives for decades? If you think he does so without a care in the world, as I did, you are in for a surprise. Tyrants are probably amongst the most paranoid people in the world. Their single-minded determination to stay in power makes them do crazy things. They need to manage those who are close to them, bodyguards and palace elites included. Citizens can go to hell. But that doesn’t make their job any easier, says Dr Marcel Dirsus, the author of his latest book, “How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive”. Some like Saddam Hussain and Yasser Arafat were known to micromanage and were often more worried about internal coups than external foes. How can adversaries deal with them? How can data and analytics help countries to deal with madmen? Marcel himself had a scare when he worked in a brewery in Congo where he decided to entrench himself in the subject. In this podcast he talks about the fascinating, if depressing world of these dictators, and what can be done about it. Ever wondered how a dictator survives for decades? If you think he does so without a care in the world, as I did, you are in for a surprise. Tyrants are probably amongst the most paranoid people in the world. Their single-minded determination to stay in power makes them do crazy things. They need to manage those who are close to them, bodyguards and palace elites included. Citizens can go to hell. But that doesn’t make their job any easier, says Dr Marcel Dirsus, the author of his latest book, “How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive”. Some like Saddam Hussain and Yasser Arafat were known to micromanage and were often more worried about internal coups than external foes. How can adversaries deal with them? How can data and analytics help countries to deal with madmen? Marcel himself had a scare when he worked in a brewery in Congo where he decided to entrench himself in the subject. In this podcast he talks about the fascinating, if depressing world of these dictators, and what can be done about it. Thu, 27 Feb 2025 14:33:35 GMT 55:46 2025 88 PB88 http://www.theindicast.com Sunitha Krishnan has dedicated her life to rescuing and rehabilitating victims of human trafficking. Since 1996, her outfit, Prajwala, Asia’s largest institution combating sex trafficking and sex crime, has made a difference to the lives of over 30,100 survivors. Sunitha’s book, "I am what I am" is an outstanding account of her life. In this podcast she talks about moments that shaped her mission, including her experiences when she was jailed as an activist and her time spent in a Hyderabad slum, living “like a queen”. In 2016 Sunitha was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award. Sunitha Krishnan has dedicated her life to rescuing and rehabilitating victims of human trafficking. Since 1996, her outfit, Prajwala, Asia’s largest institution combating sex trafficking and sex crime, has made a difference to the lives of over 30,100 survivors. Sunitha’s book, "I am what I am" is an outstanding account of her life. In this podcast she talks about moments that shaped her mission, including her experiences when she was jailed as an activist and her time spent in a Hyderabad slum, living “like a queen”. In 2016 Sunitha was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award. Wed, 26 Feb 2025 14:33:35 GMT 59:00 2025 87 PB87 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, Julie Sedivy’s passion for language shines through. As a linguist and polyglot, she delves into the science behind how we communicate. More crucially, she advises us not to be too hung up when people take liberties with grammar. Language, much like any other living organism, evolves over time. Julie’s most recent book, “Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love” is a beautiful read and was named among the best books of 2024 by The New Yorker. In this podcast, Julie Sedivy’s passion for language shines through. As a linguist and polyglot, she delves into the science behind how we communicate. More crucially, she advises us not to be too hung up when people take liberties with grammar. Language, much like any other living organism, evolves over time. Julie’s most recent book, “Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love” is a beautiful read and was named among the best books of 2024 by The New Yorker. Sun, 16 Feb 2025 14:33:35 GMT 43:35 2025 86 PB86 http://www.theindicast.com Do animals speak and if so why do they do so? What do they say? From the evolutionary standpoint what exactly is happening there? Dr Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist who teaches at the University of Cambridge. His most recent book, “Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication” addresses these questions. In this podcast Dr Arik talks about his experience of studying animal sounds in their live habitats to tell us why and what they are trying to say. Do animals speak and if so why do they do so? What do they say? From the evolutionary standpoint what exactly is happening there? Dr Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist who teaches at the University of Cambridge. His most recent book, “Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication” addresses these questions. In this podcast Dr Arik talks about his experience of studying animal sounds in their live habitats to tell us why and what they are trying to say. Sun, 09 Feb 2025 14:33:35 GMT 37:10 2025 85 PB85 http://www.theindicast.com Dr Tabitha Stanmore is a historian and an expert in medieval and early modern English magic and witchcraft. Her book, “Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic” busts myths on the subject and focuses on the cultural impact of cunning folk, who would use magic to help people find items such as a spoon or help fix their love lives. Dr Tabitha Stanmore is a historian and an expert in medieval and early modern English magic and witchcraft. Her book, “Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic” busts myths on the subject and focuses on the cultural impact of cunning folk, who would use magic to help people find items such as a spoon or help fix their love lives. Sun, 02 Feb 2025 14:33:35 GMT 41:40 2025 84 PB84 http://www.theindicast.com Children’s world is by default a trippy one and books are rich fodder for the uninhibited mind. In “The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading”, Sam Leith, the literary editor of The Spectator takes us through the memory lane of authors who have defined the genre of children's books. The nature of childhood itself has changed over centuries and the books, too, were a reflection of those eras. In this podcast Sam, himself a father of two kids, has read a gazillion children’s books as part of his research for his tome. And upon each rereading, he finds new gems that were undiscovered when he had first read them as a kid. His work was also rated by The Economist as among the top five non-fiction books of 2024. Children’s world is by default a trippy one and books are rich fodder for the uninhibited mind. In “The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading”, Sam Leith, the literary editor of The Spectator takes us through the memory lane of authors who have defined the genre of children's books. The nature of childhood itself has changed over centuries and the books, too, were a reflection of those eras. In this podcast Sam, himself a father of two kids, has read a gazillion children’s books as part of his research for his tome. And upon each rereading, he finds new gems that were undiscovered when he had first read them as a kid. His work was also rated by The Economist as among the top five non-fiction books of 2024. Sat, 01 Feb 2025 14:33:35 GMT 59:17 2025 83 PB83 http://www.theindicast.com Prof Alison Taylor is a clinical professor at NYU Stern School of Business. Her book, “Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World” is a result of decades of research and experience where she has consulted many multinational companies. She argues that maximising shareholder value can no longer be the sole purpose of an organisation’s existence. The new generation employed at various outfits have started demanding explanations if the bosses stray from their path. Doing the right thing is hard, admits Prof Taylor but those who take the path of the straight and narrow will serve well in the long run. Prof Alison Taylor is a clinical professor at NYU Stern School of Business. Her book, “Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World” is a result of decades of research and experience where she has consulted many multinational companies. She argues that maximising shareholder value can no longer be the sole purpose of an organisation’s existence. The new generation employed at various outfits have started demanding explanations if the bosses stray from their path. Doing the right thing is hard, admits Prof Taylor but those who take the path of the straight and narrow will serve well in the long run. Sun, 26 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 49:55 2025 82 PB82 http://www.theindicast.com There are around 3trn trees on Earth, 400 for every living person. And yet arguably the arboreal world is not talked about in as much detail as the animal kingdom. Dr Daniel Lewis, a historian at the Huntington Library takes a crack at the subject. His latest book, “Twelve Trees: And What They Tell Us About Our Past, Present and Future” chronicles stories of twelve trees and their history dating back to centuries. There are around 3trn trees on Earth, 400 for every living person. And yet arguably the arboreal world is not talked about in as much detail as the animal kingdom. Dr Daniel Lewis, a historian at the Huntington Library takes a crack at the subject. His latest book, “Twelve Trees: And What They Tell Us About Our Past, Present and Future” chronicles stories of twelve trees and their history dating back to centuries. Sun, 19 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 48:11 2025 81 PB81 http://www.theindicast.com How did Barack Obama, former American president know for sure whether Osama Bin Laden was in that compound in Abbottabad? Are football matches largely determined by luck? How can you measure coincidences? Sir David Spiegelhalter, the emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge explains it all. His new book, “The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck” is a fascinating read even for those without any background in statistics and mathematics. Among many other things, the book is also a lesson in how to make complicated subjects interesting. How did Barack Obama, former American president know for sure whether Osama Bin Laden was in that compound in Abbottabad? Are football matches largely determined by luck? How can you measure coincidences? Sir David Spiegelhalter, the emeritus professor of statistics at the University of Cambridge explains it all. His new book, “The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck” is a fascinating read even for those without any background in statistics and mathematics. Among many other things, the book is also a lesson in how to make complicated subjects interesting. Tue, 14 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 50:50 2025 80 PB80 http://www.theindicast.com Rollo Romig talks about his book "I'm on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India". The book focuses on the life and murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh and its impact on journalism and free speech in India. Whereas Gauri spoke her mind she also lived up to the maxim, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." She invited folks who disagreed with her to contribute in her paper, Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She never celebrated any opponents' demise and even defended them if she saw someone's critique of them to be unfair. In this podcast, Rollo unearths her life story, his experiences researching the story, his connection to Bangalore and the challenges of uncovering the truth behind Gauri’s life and work. Rollo Romig talks about his book "I'm on the Hit List: A Journalist's Murder and the Rise of Autocracy in India". The book focuses on the life and murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh and its impact on journalism and free speech in India. Whereas Gauri spoke her mind she also lived up to the maxim, "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." She invited folks who disagreed with her to contribute in her paper, Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She never celebrated any opponents' demise and even defended them if she saw someone's critique of them to be unfair. In this podcast, Rollo unearths her life story, his experiences researching the story, his connection to Bangalore and the challenges of uncovering the truth behind Gauri’s life and work. Tue, 14 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 59:59 2025 257 Indicast257 http://www.theindicast.com India's young adults are gambling their savings way in the stock markets. Researchers in Japan have figured out a way to regrow teeth. This month also saw the birth of the world's youngest dart champion in Luke Littler, a 17-year-old who has darted his way to the top by beating his peers consistently for the last couple of years. India's young adults are gambling their savings way in the stock markets. Researchers in Japan have figured out a way to regrow teeth. This month also saw the birth of the world's youngest dart champion in Luke Littler, a 17-year-old who has darted his way to the top by beating his peers consistently for the last couple of years. Sun, 12 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 37:40 2025 256 Indicast256 http://www.theindicast.com We pay tribute to tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and former Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh who passed away recently. In sports, Dommaraju Gukesh becomes the youngest world Chess champion after beating China's Ding Liren. We talk a bit about our new year resolutions, one among which is to get 50 episodes of Indicast out in 2025. We pay tribute to tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and former Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh who passed away recently. In sports, Dommaraju Gukesh becomes the youngest world Chess champion after beating China's Ding Liren. We talk a bit about our new year resolutions, one among which is to get 50 episodes of Indicast out in 2025. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 38:51 2025 79 PB79 http://www.theindicast.com Charles Dallara is the author of "EuroShock: How the Largest Debt Restructuring in History Helped Save Greece and Preserve the Eurozone". The former managing director of the Institute of International Finance, a think tank, shares his experiences as a US Navy midshipman, lessons in leadership and the intense negotiations that shaped the Greek crisis resolution. He represented the creditors and negotiated with the likes of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. He explains how politics, economics and culture shaped the challenges and strategies behind this historic financial crisis while batting for the urgent need for higher standards in sovereign debt management. Charles Dallara is the author of "EuroShock: How the Largest Debt Restructuring in History Helped Save Greece and Preserve the Eurozone". The former managing director of the Institute of International Finance, a think tank, shares his experiences as a US Navy midshipman, lessons in leadership and the intense negotiations that shaped the Greek crisis resolution. He represented the creditors and negotiated with the likes of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. He explains how politics, economics and culture shaped the challenges and strategies behind this historic financial crisis while batting for the urgent need for higher standards in sovereign debt management. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 45:52 2025 78 PB78 http://www.theindicast.com Human history is also the history of the horse, says Dr Timothy C. Winegard in his superb book, “The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity”. He charts the story of the four legged human companion like no one has before. Horses have had an outsized cultural and practical contribution, including their influence on language, clothing and transportation. From the evolution of horses 60 million years ago to their pivotal role in shaping civilizations through trade, warfare, and culture, this podcast delves deep into the influence of these majestic creatures. Chosen as one of the best books of 2024 by The Economist, Timothy's tome is a gripping read. Human history is also the history of the horse, says Dr Timothy C. Winegard in his superb book, “The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity”. He charts the story of the four legged human companion like no one has before. Horses have had an outsized cultural and practical contribution, including their influence on language, clothing and transportation. From the evolution of horses 60 million years ago to their pivotal role in shaping civilizations through trade, warfare, and culture, this podcast delves deep into the influence of these majestic creatures. Chosen as one of the best books of 2024 by The Economist, Timothy's tome is a gripping read. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 59:59 2025 77 PB77 http://www.theindicast.com Ben Yagoda is the emeritus professor of English at the University of Delaware. Relying on his rich experience of having lived both in the US and the UK, Ben's new book, "Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English" talks about how language can travel across the two countries. Many words and phrases that originated in the UK have made themselves more at home in America. What is their history? Ben's blog https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/ which covers many of these topics is a super-hit. Ben Yagoda is the emeritus professor of English at the University of Delaware. Relying on his rich experience of having lived both in the US and the UK, Ben's new book, "Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English" talks about how language can travel across the two countries. Many words and phrases that originated in the UK have made themselves more at home in America. What is their history? Ben's blog https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/ which covers many of these topics is a super-hit. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 44:08 2025 76 PB76 http://www.theindicast.com In his book “May Contain Lies: How stories, statistics and studies exploit our biases - and what we can do about it”, Dr Alex Edmans urges us to pause and reflect before we trust any article or a fact stated in a book or in a newspaper. It doesn’t matter who wrote it. And it isn’t such a tedious process to work it out. In this podcast Alex shares his views on confirmation bias, what is wrong with our interpretation of the 10,000 hour rule (among others), how social media is playing an outsized role in disseminating information, how JFK possibly averted the third world war during the Cuban missile crisis and why some leaders encourage their teams to challenge authority and are better off for it. In his book “May Contain Lies: How stories, statistics and studies exploit our biases - and what we can do about it”, Dr Alex Edmans urges us to pause and reflect before we trust any article or a fact stated in a book or in a newspaper. It doesn’t matter who wrote it. And it isn’t such a tedious process to work it out. In this podcast Alex shares his views on confirmation bias, what is wrong with our interpretation of the 10,000 hour rule (among others), how social media is playing an outsized role in disseminating information, how JFK possibly averted the third world war during the Cuban missile crisis and why some leaders encourage their teams to challenge authority and are better off for it. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 32:41 2025 75 PB75 http://www.theindicast.com In “Just a Mercenary? Notes from My Life and Career”, Dr Subbarao describes his eventful journey as a kid from Sainik School in Korukonda, some 50 km from Visakhapatnam to becoming the 22nd governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Armed with awareness, discipline, commitment and a quirky sense of humour, Dr Subbarao worked relentlessly within and outside the country across various postings. In 2008 he took office at the RBI amidst the global financial meltdown. For five years he led by example and enjoyed the pressure that came with the job. Today, he teaches at Yale. His post-retirement interests include learning how to Salsa. “That’s still on my bucket list. I hope I’ll get to do it sometime”. In “Just a Mercenary? Notes from My Life and Career”, Dr Subbarao describes his eventful journey as a kid from Sainik School in Korukonda, some 50 km from Visakhapatnam to becoming the 22nd governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Armed with awareness, discipline, commitment and a quirky sense of humour, Dr Subbarao worked relentlessly within and outside the country across various postings. In 2008 he took office at the RBI amidst the global financial meltdown. For five years he led by example and enjoyed the pressure that came with the job. Today, he teaches at Yale. His post-retirement interests include learning how to Salsa. “That’s still on my bucket list. I hope I’ll get to do it sometime”. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 59:59 2025 74 PB74 http://www.theindicast.com The human brain is a marvel of mysteries, holding answers that we are still uncovering. Dr Theodore Schwartz's book “Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery” is filled with anecdotes to help us relate to the organ that sits silently in a dark cell inside our skull. Dr Schwartz has performed over 10,000 operations working in an area as small as a one rupee coin. He reflects on the meditative state he gets into during surgery, the role of empathy in connecting with patients and the exhilarating breakthroughs that makes it all worthwhile. Dr Schwartz recounts his punishing schedule when he was a student and the physical endurance coupled with mental fortitude needed to operate for hours on end. It's a life of sacrifice, brilliance and endless curiosity. The human brain is a marvel of mysteries, holding answers that we are still uncovering. Dr Theodore Schwartz's book “Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery” is filled with anecdotes to help us relate to the organ that sits silently in a dark cell inside our skull. Dr Schwartz has performed over 10,000 operations working in an area as small as a one rupee coin. He reflects on the meditative state he gets into during surgery, the role of empathy in connecting with patients and the exhilarating breakthroughs that makes it all worthwhile. Dr Schwartz recounts his punishing schedule when he was a student and the physical endurance coupled with mental fortitude needed to operate for hours on end. It's a life of sacrifice, brilliance and endless curiosity. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 55:16 2025 73 PB73 http://www.theindicast.com Bazball is a term that describes England cricket team’s aggressive brand of Test cricket championed by Brendon “Baz” McCullum. Lawrence Booth who writes for the Daily Mail has co-authored a brilliant account of this new phenomenon in “Bazball: The Inside Story of a Test Cricket Revolution” with Nick Hoult. In this podcast Lawrence clarifies that Bazball is not mindless slogging or fast scoring. It’s also about absorbing pressure. Whereas the team cares about winning, if they can entertain the crowds along the way and put more seats in the stadiums, all the better. Lawrence is also the youngest editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in over seven decades. He talks about what it takes to put out a massive edition year after year and also explains the thrill of filing match reports at the end of last minute twists. Bazball is a term that describes England cricket team’s aggressive brand of Test cricket championed by Brendon “Baz” McCullum. Lawrence Booth who writes for the Daily Mail has co-authored a brilliant account of this new phenomenon in “Bazball: The Inside Story of a Test Cricket Revolution” with Nick Hoult. In this podcast Lawrence clarifies that Bazball is not mindless slogging or fast scoring. It’s also about absorbing pressure. Whereas the team cares about winning, if they can entertain the crowds along the way and put more seats in the stadiums, all the better. Lawrence is also the youngest editor of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack in over seven decades. He talks about what it takes to put out a massive edition year after year and also explains the thrill of filing match reports at the end of last minute twists. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 59:00 2025 72 PB72 http://www.theindicast.com What is religion? How is it intertwined with economics? Why do people who are below the poverty line feel the need to contribute some portion of their meagre income to temples or churches? What is in it for them? How big is the industry? Paul Seabright, a British economist and professor at the University of Toulouse in France, joins us to talk about his book “The Divine Economy: How religions compete for wealth, power and people”. His opinions, backed by data and research over many years, seek to answer some of these questions. What is religion? How is it intertwined with economics? Why do people who are below the poverty line feel the need to contribute some portion of their meagre income to temples or churches? What is in it for them? How big is the industry? Paul Seabright, a British economist and professor at the University of Toulouse in France, joins us to talk about his book “The Divine Economy: How religions compete for wealth, power and people”. His opinions, backed by data and research over many years, seek to answer some of these questions. Sat, 04 Jan 2025 14:33:35 GMT 54:01 2024 71 PB71 http://www.theindicast.com In “Turning to Stone: Discovering The subtle wisdom of rocks”, Dr Marcia Bjornerud brings us the fascinating story of how rocks and stones “speak” to us if we’re willing to listen. Rocks are alert, responsive and communicative, writes Dr Bjornerud. They tell us about our own past and how the Earth has evolved over centuries and millennia. What can a single crystal tell us about ancient tectonic shifts? Why are earthquakes so hard to predict? How is a day in the life of a geologist who is on the field? Do they have fun? How is technology changing geology? Tune in to know more. In “Turning to Stone: Discovering The subtle wisdom of rocks”, Dr Marcia Bjornerud brings us the fascinating story of how rocks and stones “speak” to us if we’re willing to listen. Rocks are alert, responsive and communicative, writes Dr Bjornerud. They tell us about our own past and how the Earth has evolved over centuries and millennia. What can a single crystal tell us about ancient tectonic shifts? Why are earthquakes so hard to predict? How is a day in the life of a geologist who is on the field? Do they have fun? How is technology changing geology? Tune in to know more. Sun, 10 Nov 2024 14:33:35 GMT 30:08 2024 70 PB70 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast Andrew Leigh talks about economics to someone unfamiliar with the subject, all drawn from his book, "How Economics Explains the World: A Short History of Humanity". Andrew touches upon the impact of the industrial revolution, the balance between Keynesian and Hayekian ideas, why interest rates are important, where the gender gap came from and much much more. He also covers how technology drives societal change, the role of government in managing economic stability and the importance of storytelling in making complex ideas accessible given that he has managed to do exactly that. When he isn't writing or working as a member of the Australian Parliament, Andrew is a keen ultra-marathoner and an Ironman triathlete. In this podcast Andrew Leigh talks about economics to someone unfamiliar with the subject, all drawn from his book, "How Economics Explains the World: A Short History of Humanity". Andrew touches upon the impact of the industrial revolution, the balance between Keynesian and Hayekian ideas, why interest rates are important, where the gender gap came from and much much more. He also covers how technology drives societal change, the role of government in managing economic stability and the importance of storytelling in making complex ideas accessible given that he has managed to do exactly that. When he isn't writing or working as a member of the Australian Parliament, Andrew is a keen ultra-marathoner and an Ironman triathlete. Sun, 10 Nov 2024 14:33:35 GMT 43:28 2024 69 PB69 http://www.theindicast.com What mysteries do the world underwater hold for us? Dr Helen Scales, a marine biologist, has dedicated her life to find out. Her most recent book “What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World's Ocean” is an ode to life underwater and what we can do to preserve it. Dive in to listen to Helen talk about what got her interested in the subject, why sea creatures are smarter than we think and what we can do to scale back climate change, a scourge for both land and water. What mysteries do the world underwater hold for us? Dr Helen Scales, a marine biologist, has dedicated her life to find out. Her most recent book “What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World's Ocean” is an ode to life underwater and what we can do to preserve it. Dive in to listen to Helen talk about what got her interested in the subject, why sea creatures are smarter than we think and what we can do to scale back climate change, a scourge for both land and water. Sun, 10 Nov 2024 14:33:35 GMT 56:21 2024 68 PB68 http://www.theindicast.com Jean Martin Bauer is the author of The New Breadline: Hunger and Hope in the 21st Century. It is a brilliant account of why hunger is ravaging the world and what we can do about it. In this podcast JM talks about his career at the World Food Programme, starting from his first field experience right out of college to confronting heartbreaking stories like a mother in Mauritania cooking imaginary meals for her children. He delves into the staggering global hunger crisis, the complexities of humanitarian work, role of technology in recent times and the challenges of fighting food insecurity in war-torn countries. For someone who works on the frontline, JM is hopeful that we can all make a difference in our own way to help the cause. Jean Martin Bauer is the author of The New Breadline: Hunger and Hope in the 21st Century. It is a brilliant account of why hunger is ravaging the world and what we can do about it. In this podcast JM talks about his career at the World Food Programme, starting from his first field experience right out of college to confronting heartbreaking stories like a mother in Mauritania cooking imaginary meals for her children. He delves into the staggering global hunger crisis, the complexities of humanitarian work, role of technology in recent times and the challenges of fighting food insecurity in war-torn countries. For someone who works on the frontline, JM is hopeful that we can all make a difference in our own way to help the cause. Sat, 09 Nov 2024 14:33:35 GMT 59:00 2024 67 PB67 http://www.theindicast.com Among the many things that we take for granted in the age of indulgence is refrigeration. In “Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves”, Nicola Twilley brings us the history of what is arguably among the top three inventions of the century. She went far down many rabbit holes including orange juice tank farms, meat lockers, banana ripening rooms and frigid warehouses to uncover the different layers of refrigeration. What is the story behind tunas being transported in coffins? What is fridge dating? And why didn’t Abraham Lincoln ever have a banana? Tune in for many such anecdotes both amusing and revealing in equal measure. Among the many things that we take for granted in the age of indulgence is refrigeration. In “Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves”, Nicola Twilley brings us the history of what is arguably among the top three inventions of the century. She went far down many rabbit holes including orange juice tank farms, meat lockers, banana ripening rooms and frigid warehouses to uncover the different layers of refrigeration. What is the story behind tunas being transported in coffins? What is fridge dating? And why didn’t Abraham Lincoln ever have a banana? Tune in for many such anecdotes both amusing and revealing in equal measure. Sat, 21 Sep 2024 14:33:35 GMT 56:14 2024 66 PB66 http://www.theindicast.com What are the human stories behind mathematics? How did mathematicians collaborate over centuries to further its cause? “The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & its Unsung Trailblazers” co-authored by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell tells us just that. Kate and Tim dig into rabbit holes from across eras to unearth fascinating stories of geniuses from ancient civilisations who questioned the status quo. How far does modern mathematics date back to? What is the story behind calculus? How did zero change the game and why did it take a while for folks to warm up to the concept? How did women take on the establishment to make their way into history books? In this podcast the authors bring us many such anecdotes and speak passionately about a subject that is close to their heart. What are the human stories behind mathematics? How did mathematicians collaborate over centuries to further its cause? “The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & its Unsung Trailblazers” co-authored by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell tells us just that. Kate and Tim dig into rabbit holes from across eras to unearth fascinating stories of geniuses from ancient civilisations who questioned the status quo. How far does modern mathematics date back to? What is the story behind calculus? How did zero change the game and why did it take a while for folks to warm up to the concept? How did women take on the establishment to make their way into history books? In this podcast the authors bring us many such anecdotes and speak passionately about a subject that is close to their heart. Sun, 15 Sep 2024 14:33:35 GMT 55:27 2024 65 PB65 http://www.theindicast.com Thomas R. Cech shared the nobel prize in chemistry with Sidney Altman in 1989. Their work showed that RNA is not only a molecule that carries genetic information but can also act as a catalyst in biochemical reactions, a role that was previously thought to be exclusive to proteins. His book titled “The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life's Deepest Secrets”, released in June, is a brilliant read. RNA has helped us understand the mysteries of the origins of life during the big bang and saved millions of lives by concocting life-saving vaccines during the pandemic. It does more, of course. In this podcast Tom also talks about his first lab, how he helps students to deal with failures in their experiments, how to write without using jargons and his experience of winning the Nobel Prize. Dr Thomas R. Cech shared the nobel prize in chemistry with Sidney Altman in 1989. Their work showed that RNA is not only a molecule that carries genetic information but can also act as a catalyst in biochemical reactions, a role that was previously thought to be exclusive to proteins. His book titled “The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life's Deepest Secrets”, released in June, is a brilliant read. RNA has helped us understand the mysteries of the origins of life during the big bang and saved millions of lives by concocting life-saving vaccines during the pandemic. It does more, of course. In this podcast Tom also talks about his first lab, how he helps students to deal with failures in their experiments, how to write without using jargons and his experience of winning the Nobel Prize. Sat, 07 Sep 2024 14:33:35 GMT 45:13 2024 64 PB64 http://www.theindicast.com Will Cockrell’s book, “Everest Inc” tells the story of “The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World”. It is a refreshing take on climbers who may not have a background in mountaineering but have the means to embrace the suffering and the challenge. Instead of taking a condescending view on these thrill seekers, Will investigates the motivation of both the adventurers and expedition companies who make it all happen. Will Cockrell’s book, “Everest Inc” tells the story of “The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World”. It is a refreshing take on climbers who may not have a background in mountaineering but have the means to embrace the suffering and the challenge. Instead of taking a condescending view on these thrill seekers, Will investigates the motivation of both the adventurers and expedition companies who make it all happen. Sat, 24 Aug 2024 14:33:35 GMT 53:15 2024 63 PB63 http://www.theindicast.com In his short and punchy book, "The Afterlife of Data", Carl Öhman writes about "What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care". After crunching lots of numbers, he found that in the next few decades the dead on Facebook will outnumber the living. The power around what to do with "digital remains" lies with a handful firms like Meta and Alphabet. Dr Öhman opines that we can't solve the privacy of the living unless we solve privacy of the dead. The dead, by the way, have no privacy rights. And now Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we grieve. What does this mean for all of us and what can we do about it? In his short and punchy book, "The Afterlife of Data", Carl Öhman writes about "What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care". After crunching lots of numbers, he found that in the next few decades the dead on Facebook will outnumber the living. The power around what to do with "digital remains" lies with a handful firms like Meta and Alphabet. Dr Öhman opines that we can't solve the privacy of the living unless we solve privacy of the dead. The dead, by the way, have no privacy rights. And now Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we grieve. What does this mean for all of us and what can we do about it? Sun, 18 Aug 2024 14:33:35 GMT 47:04 2024 62 PB62 http://www.theindicast.com Geoff White is an investigative journalist who has covered financial crime for over two decades. His latest book is titled "Rinsed - From Cartels to Crypto: How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks". In this podcast Geoff talks about money laundering 101 and how it has changed over the years. How has technology and social media influenced the industry? What are regulators doing about it? How can organisations safeguard themselves from cyber attacks? What can we learn from the recent Crowdstrike experience? And much more including how investigative journalism works and why fact-checking is important than ever before. Geoff White is an investigative journalist who has covered financial crime for over two decades. His latest book is titled "Rinsed - From Cartels to Crypto: How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks". In this podcast Geoff talks about money laundering 101 and how it has changed over the years. How has technology and social media influenced the industry? What are regulators doing about it? How can organisations safeguard themselves from cyber attacks? What can we learn from the recent Crowdstrike experience? And much more including how investigative journalism works and why fact-checking is important than ever before. Sat, 27 Jul 2024 14:33:35 GMT 43:32 2024 61 PB61 http://www.theindicast.com We live in a world that is increasingly being dictated by data. But the models that govern different outcomes need a lot of work. Dr Erica Thompson's fascinating book, "Escape from Model Land: How mathematical models can lead us astray and what we can do about it" is all about it. For all their vaunted prowess, models can often mislead. In this podcast Dr Thompson offers her thoughts on the head scratcher of a subject. We live in a world that is increasingly being dictated by data. But the models that govern different outcomes need a lot of work. Dr Erica Thompson's fascinating book, "Escape from Model Land: How mathematical models can lead us astray and what we can do about it" is all about it. For all their vaunted prowess, models can often mislead. In this podcast Dr Thompson offers her thoughts on the head scratcher of a subject. Mon, 15 Jul 2024 14:33:35 GMT 46:44 2024 60 PB60 http://www.theindicast.com Tamal Bandyopadhyay is a prolific journalist who has covered the world of finance for many decades. He has authored several books. In this podcast he gives us a glimpse into his latest book, "Roller Coaster: An Affair with Banking" which is an absolute joy to read. The book as well as this conversation is peppered with anecdotes that are both amusing and intriguing in equal measure. It’s less about monetary and fiscal policy or inflation and more about the quirks of the banking industry and his experience as a journalist. Tamal Bandyopadhyay is a prolific journalist who has covered the world of finance for many decades. He has authored several books. In this podcast he gives us a glimpse into his latest book, "Roller Coaster: An Affair with Banking" which is an absolute joy to read. The book as well as this conversation is peppered with anecdotes that are both amusing and intriguing in equal measure. It’s less about monetary and fiscal policy or inflation and more about the quirks of the banking industry and his experience as a journalist. Sat, 06 Jul 2024 14:33:35 GMT 60:00 2024 59 PB59 http://www.theindicast.com Games have shaped humanity for thousands of years. The premise of Kelly Clancy's book is that games play us. In this podcast Dr Clancy, a neuroscientist talks about games people or companies play to our benefit and detriment. How have games shaped geopolitics? Why do gamblers continue to bet despite losing? How does uncertainty trigger dopamine even while playing board games with kids? And much much more. Games have shaped humanity for thousands of years. The premise of Kelly Clancy's book is that games play us. In this podcast Dr Clancy, a neuroscientist talks about games people or companies play to our benefit and detriment. How have games shaped geopolitics? Why do gamblers continue to bet despite losing? How does uncertainty trigger dopamine even while playing board games with kids? And much much more. Sat, 06 Jul 2024 14:33:35 GMT 49:24 2024 255 Indicast255 http://www.theindicast.com India beat South Africa to lift the T20 World Cup. The finals, at Barbados, was a closely fought affair with both sides being on top of the other throughout the match. In India 67 students scored a perfect score in the recent NEET-UG exam to gain entry into medical colleges. Vladamir Putin and Kim Jong Un get chummy. What does this mean to the world order? And a study shows that fish punish their offspring to cooperate in brood care. India beat South Africa to lift the T20 World Cup. The finals, at Barbados, was a closely fought affair with both sides being on top of the other throughout the match. In India 67 students scored a perfect score in the recent NEET-UG exam to gain entry into medical colleges. Vladamir Putin and Kim Jong Un get chummy. What does this mean to the world order? And a study shows that fish punish their offspring to cooperate in brood care. Sun, 30 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 41:27 2024 254 Indicast254 http://www.theindicast.com Gold prices touched a record high last month. We talk about India's fascination with gold. Jim Simons, arguably the world's most successful investor died in May. We talk about his legacy. And in sports, the T20 World Cup has sprung up some upsets. In personal news, Aditya launches a new outfit for those planning to move to Canada. It's called Beacom. Listen to know more and visit mybeacon.ca to know more. Gold prices touched a record high last month. We talk about India's fascination with gold. Jim Simons, arguably the world's most successful investor died in May. We talk about his legacy. And in sports, the T20 World Cup has sprung up some upsets. In personal news, Aditya launches a new outfit for those planning to move to Canada. It's called Beacom. Listen to know more and visit mybeacon.ca to know more. Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 45:35 2024 58 PB58 http://www.theindicast.com Maryanne Wolf is a cognitive neuroscientist who conducts research on “what the brain does when it reads and why some children and adults have greater difficulty learning how to read than others”. She has written some fascinating books including “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain” and “Reader come home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World”. In this podcast Prof Wolf speaks passionately on reading and why, among other things, it needs to be introduced to kids early in their lives. And as adults, what can we do to rewire our brain circuits that may have been frayed with the advent of digital media. Maryanne Wolf is a cognitive neuroscientist who conducts research on “what the brain does when it reads and why some children and adults have greater difficulty learning how to read than others”. She has written some fascinating books including “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain” and “Reader come home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World”. In this podcast Prof Wolf speaks passionately on reading and why, among other things, it needs to be introduced to kids early in their lives. And as adults, what can we do to rewire our brain circuits that may have been frayed with the advent of digital media. Sat, 22 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 60:00 2024 253 Indicast253 http://www.theindicast.com India delivers a shock verdict to the Bharatiya Janata Party during the general elections. Narendra Modi’s BJP has done remarkably well and only lost out on the vote by 0.8 per cent as compared to the previous elections. It’s just that the votes were less effectively distributed. But by not winning the elections with a thumping majority means that the opposition will have a voice in the parliament, always a good sign for a healthy democracy. In sports Sunil Chhetri, the legendary Indian footballer retires. And in the animal kingdom, dice snakes pretend to play dead to detract predators. India delivers a shock verdict to the Bharatiya Janata Party during the general elections. Narendra Modi’s BJP has done remarkably well and only lost out on the vote by 0.8 per cent as compared to the previous elections. It’s just that the votes were less effectively distributed. But by not winning the elections with a thumping majority means that the opposition will have a voice in the parliament, always a good sign for a healthy democracy. In sports Sunil Chhetri, the legendary Indian footballer retires. And in the animal kingdom, dice snakes pretend to play dead to detract predators. Sun, 16 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 37:30 2024 57 PB57 http://www.theindicast.com Gregory Zukerman writes for the Wall Street Journal. Over the last few decades he has written several books. In 2019 he wrote "The Man Who solved the market: How Jim Simons Launched The Quant Revolution" which became a runaway hit. It tells the story of a genius mathematician who used modern quantitative techniques to make money for himself and his investors. Since 1988 one of the fund’s operated by Mr Simons generated average annual returns of 66%. Legendary investors like Warren Buffet, George Soros and Peter Lynch, too, cannot claim to have made these outsized profits with such consistency. How did Mr Simons go about his business? How did he manage a stellar team while keeping them movitated? How did he use machine learning, artificial intelligence, data and analytics in an era when these terms were unheard of in the industry? Gregory Zukerman explains it all in this podcast. Gregory Zukerman writes for the Wall Street Journal. Over the last few decades he has written several books. In 2019 he wrote "The Man Who solved the market: How Jim Simons Launched The Quant Revolution" which became a runaway hit. It tells the story of a genius mathematician who used modern quantitative techniques to make money for himself and his investors. Since 1988 one of the fund’s operated by Mr Simons generated average annual returns of 66%. Legendary investors like Warren Buffet, George Soros and Peter Lynch, too, cannot claim to have made these outsized profits with such consistency. How did Mr Simons go about his business? How did he manage a stellar team while keeping them movitated? How did he use machine learning, artificial intelligence, data and analytics in an era when these terms were unheard of in the industry? Gregory Zukerman explains it all in this podcast. Sun, 16 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 32:19 2024 56 PB56 http://www.theindicast.com Alex Duff talks about how Brentford football club used data and analytics to improve and retain its spot in the English Premier League. His book, "Smart Money: The Fall and Rise of Brentford" is a fascinating account of how the club instilled new values and respected number crunching to make key decisions on deciding plays on the field and in the transfer market. Alex Duff talks about how Brentford football club used data and analytics to improve and retain its spot in the English Premier League. His book, "Smart Money: The Fall and Rise of Brentford" is a fascinating account of how the club instilled new values and respected number crunching to make key decisions on deciding plays on the field and in the transfer market. Sat, 01 Jun 2024 14:33:35 GMT 51:17 2024 55 PB55 http://www.theindicast.com Ananyo Bhattacharya's "The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John Von Neumann" is a fascinating book about the Hungarian-American mathematician. It's a shame that most of us know little about the man. Dr Bhattacharya digs deep into the mathematician's early days and how he went on to have a lasting impact in different fields including nanotechnology, game theory, artificial intelligence and quantum physics. Ananyo Bhattacharya's "The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John Von Neumann" is a fascinating book about the Hungarian-American mathematician. It's a shame that most of us know little about the man. Dr Bhattacharya digs deep into the mathematician's early days and how he went on to have a lasting impact in different fields including nanotechnology, game theory, artificial intelligence and quantum physics. Wed, 01 May 2024 14:33:35 GMT 53:59 2024 252 Indicast252 http://www.theindicast.com How does it feel to witness a solar eclipse? Aditya tells us his experience in this podcast where we dig into trivia and history of this beautiful astronomical phenomenon. Bangalore faces a water crisis. How can a country as big as India deal with water shortages? Generative artificial intelligence is and will remain in the spotlight in a year when countries with a collective population of 4bn go to polls. How does it feel to witness a solar eclipse? Aditya tells us his experience in this podcast where we dig into trivia and history of this beautiful astronomical phenomenon. Bangalore faces a water crisis. How can a country as big as India deal with water shortages? Generative artificial intelligence is and will remain in the spotlight in a year when countries with a collective population of 4bn go to polls. Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:33:35 GMT 42:25 2024 251 Indicast251 http://www.theindicast.com The Candidates Tournament is among the world’s most recognised Chess contests. This time round India has as many as five grandmasters competing for the top prize. That’s a big deal given that for around 30 years, it was Vishy Anand, the sole Indian grandmaster who represented India. In politics, “washing machine” trended for a while on Twitter in the context of corruption probes which, the opposition argued, could be washed away if one joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. And in business, Tesla scouts sites in India for a big plant. What does that mean for the giant and for the country? The Candidates Tournament is among the world’s most recognised Chess contests. This time round India has as many as five grandmasters competing for the top prize. That’s a big deal given that for around 30 years, it was Vishy Anand, the sole Indian grandmaster who represented India. In politics, “washing machine” trended for a while on Twitter in the context of corruption probes which, the opposition argued, could be washed away if one joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. And in business, Tesla scouts sites in India for a big plant. What does that mean for the giant and for the country? Tue, 09 Apr 2024 14:33:35 GMT 33:00 2024 250 Indicast250 http://www.theindicast.com Florida just passed a bill proposing to ban access to social media for kids under the age of 14. What does social media addiction do to our brains? We talk about the subject which is close to our hearts given that both of us have kids aged ten and five. The great Indian general elections are round the corner. What is the BJP up to? And in the world of cryptosphere, which we barely understand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former boss of FTX, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, gets 25 years in jail. Florida just passed a bill proposing to ban access to social media for kids under the age of 14. What does social media addiction do to our brains? We talk about the subject which is close to our hearts given that both of us have kids aged ten and five. The great Indian general elections are round the corner. What is the BJP up to? And in the world of cryptosphere, which we barely understand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former boss of FTX, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, gets 25 years in jail. Sun, 07 Apr 2024 14:33:35 GMT 42:26 2024 54 PB54 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast Prof Dennis Yi Tenen, a software engineer turned literary scholar, leans on history of computer programming to tell modern tales of Artificial Intelligence. How did robots learn to write so quickly? Is it a good thing? Do technologies like ChatGPT make us lazy? Not quite, says Prof Tenen. He argues that such advances do not diminish our capacity to think. It may just make us better writers, on an average. Previously machines learned from human outputs but now they learn from machine outputs. What does this mean for us? He believes AI is neither Jesus nor a Terminator-like force as long as both the makers and users use it responsibly. In this podcast Prof Dennis Yi Tenen, a software engineer turned literary scholar, leans on history of computer programming to tell modern tales of Artificial Intelligence. How did robots learn to write so quickly? Is it a good thing? Do technologies like ChatGPT make us lazy? Not quite, says Prof Tenen. He argues that such advances do not diminish our capacity to think. It may just make us better writers, on an average. Previously machines learned from human outputs but now they learn from machine outputs. What does this mean for us? He believes AI is neither Jesus nor a Terminator-like force as long as both the makers and users use it responsibly. Wed, 27 Mar 2024 14:33:35 GMT 51:04 2024 249 Indicast249 http://www.theindicast.com It’s the end of an era. Ameen Sayani recently passed away. His voice lives on. In this podcast we talk a bit about how he started in the radio industry and made a mark for himself across four decades. And he is as humble as they come. Fali Nariman, a doyen of law in India also died. And Open AI recently dropped its text to video model called SORA. What does it mean for all of us? It’s the end of an era. Ameen Sayani recently passed away. His voice lives on. In this podcast we talk a bit about how he started in the radio industry and made a mark for himself across four decades. And he is as humble as they come. Fali Nariman, a doyen of law in India also died. And Open AI recently dropped its text to video model called SORA. What does it mean for all of us? Mon, 25 Mar 2024 14:33:35 GMT 37:53 2024 53 PB53 http://www.theindicast.com In February this year Facebook celebrated its 20th birthday. Tom Wainwright, tech and media editor of The Economist has written a brilliant cover story on the company's evolution since it began in a dorm room at Harvard. With a market capitalisation of $1.2trn and 3bn users, Facebook operates in a new social media order. Tom writes that "public posting is increasingly migrating to closed groups, rather like email. What Mr Zuckerberg calls the digital “town square” is being rebuilt—and posing problems." How is the outfit grappling with these changes? Over the years it has mastered the art (and science by relying on data) of cloning features and sometimes copying competition while managing to stay relevant. What does the future hold for the behemoth? How is Artificial Intelligence changing the industry? Tom covers a lot of ground in the podcast. In February this year Facebook celebrated its 20th birthday. Tom Wainwright, tech and media editor of The Economist has written a brilliant cover story on the company's evolution since it began in a dorm room at Harvard. With a market capitalisation of $1.2trn and 3bn users, Facebook operates in a new social media order. Tom writes that "public posting is increasingly migrating to closed groups, rather like email. What Mr Zuckerberg calls the digital “town square” is being rebuilt—and posing problems." How is the outfit grappling with these changes? Over the years it has mastered the art (and science by relying on data) of cloning features and sometimes copying competition while managing to stay relevant. What does the future hold for the behemoth? How is Artificial Intelligence changing the industry? Tom covers a lot of ground in the podcast. Sat, 02 Mar 2024 14:33:35 GMT 35:22 2024 52 PB52 http://www.theindicast.com Do nice guys finish last? Not quite. David Bodani’s brilliant book, “The Art of Fairness:The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean” is filled with anecdotes of leaders from various fields who may have been fair and firm to get the job done but never mean or condescending. In this podcast David shares some of his thoughts on why it might be worth emulating the Satya Nadellas of the world instead of the Steve Ballmers. Drawing from examples on the sports ground to battlefields, David makes a convincing argument that you can indeed succeed without being a jerk. Do nice guys finish last? Not quite. David Bodani’s brilliant book, “The Art of Fairness:The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean” is filled with anecdotes of leaders from various fields who may have been fair and firm to get the job done but never mean or condescending. In this podcast David shares some of his thoughts on why it might be worth emulating the Satya Nadellas of the world instead of the Steve Ballmers. Drawing from examples on the sports ground to battlefields, David makes a convincing argument that you can indeed succeed without being a jerk. Sat, 17 Feb 2024 14:33:35 GMT 49:52 2024 248 Indicast248 http://www.theindicast.com India's Supreme Court vetoed a scheme that allowed folks to donate to political parties anonymously. Among the more popular vehicles was the electoral bond scheme introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Whereas the BJP figured it might make the whole thing more transparent by doing away with cash donations, critics retorted that it made the process more opaque. In business, Paytm is in big trouble after the Reserve Bank of India ordered the outfit's payments bank to wind down operations in light of "persistent non-compliance" and "continued material supervisory concerns". And in science, scientists are exploring an idea to stop global warming by sending umbrellas in space to shield the sun's rays. India's Supreme Court vetoed a scheme that allowed folks to donate to political parties anonymously. Among the more popular vehicles was the electoral bond scheme introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Whereas the BJP figured it might make the whole thing more transparent by doing away with cash donations, critics retorted that it made the process more opaque. In business, Paytm is in big trouble after the Reserve Bank of India ordered the outfit's payments bank to wind down operations in light of "persistent non-compliance" and "continued material supervisory concerns". And in science, scientists are exploring an idea to stop global warming by sending umbrellas in space to shield the sun's rays. Sat, 17 Feb 2024 14:33:35 GMT 34:15 2024 51 PB51 http://www.theindicast.com The cryptosphere is, well, cryptic. Even the best of the best find it hard to explain the whole thing without fumbling. Zeke Faux has managed to put it all together in his fascinating book, "Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall". Zeke planted himself within the crypto-mad community to learn more about the trade. He has interviewed Sam Bankman-Fried, among others, to understand what the biggies were up to. Incidentally, "Number Go Up" was referenced a few times during the former crypto king's recent trial where he was charged with multiple counts of fraud. To research the wider consequences, Zeke visited Cambodia to uncover the underbelly of the industry where people are being held captive or trafficked. We are yet to see a solid application of the technology that powers cryto. When that will be is anybody's guess. Until then, if there is one book that you should read to understand where we stand so far, read this one. The cryptosphere is, well, cryptic. Even the best of the best find it hard to explain the whole thing without fumbling. Zeke Faux has managed to put it all together in his fascinating book, "Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall". Zeke planted himself within the crypto-mad community to learn more about the trade. He has interviewed Sam Bankman-Fried, among others, to understand what the biggies were up to. Incidentally, "Number Go Up" was referenced a few times during the former crypto king's recent trial where he was charged with multiple counts of fraud. To research the wider consequences, Zeke visited Cambodia to uncover the underbelly of the industry where people are being held captive or trafficked. We are yet to see a solid application of the technology that powers cryto. When that will be is anybody's guess. Until then, if there is one book that you should read to understand where we stand so far, read this one. Sat, 27 Jan 2024 14:33:35 GMT 48:36 2024 247 Indicast247 http://www.theindicast.com Deep fake is a real and present threat to humanity. With India's general election round the corner, the government has urged both social media platforms and netizens to beware of such videos. The Ram Mandir is slated to open in January. And in sports, India and South Africa play the shortest match in the history of Test cricket. Deep fake is a real and present threat to humanity. With India's general election round the corner, the government has urged both social media platforms and netizens to beware of such videos. The Ram Mandir is slated to open in January. And in sports, India and South Africa play the shortest match in the history of Test cricket. Sat, 20 Jan 2024 14:33:35 GMT 36:04 2023 50 PB50 http://www.theindicast.com We spend almost a third of our lives sleeping. Give or take. And yet until fifty years ago, scientists didn’t know much about sleep. Kenneth Miller shines a spotlight on the subject in his fabulous book, Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep. Why do we sleep and why is it important that we get enough of it? What happens when we don’t? Who are those scientists whom we owe some amount of gratitude for helping us understand something that can literally be a matter of life and death? In this podcast Mr Miller, relying on years of research, takes a crack at explaining what was an esoteric topic not too long ago. We spend almost a third of our lives sleeping. Give or take. And yet until fifty years ago, scientists didn’t know much about sleep. Kenneth Miller shines a spotlight on the subject in his fabulous book, Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep. Why do we sleep and why is it important that we get enough of it? What happens when we don’t? Who are those scientists whom we owe some amount of gratitude for helping us understand something that can literally be a matter of life and death? In this podcast Mr Miller, relying on years of research, takes a crack at explaining what was an esoteric topic not too long ago. Fri, 29 Dec 2023 14:33:35 GMT 52:08 2023 49 PB49 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, Daniel Knowles reflects upon a world with fewer cars. The use of a car becomes less effective once everyone has got one. Anyone who has been stuck for hours in Mumbai or New York traffic should know. Are electric cars a solution? What can we learn from places like Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam and London? It is reassuring that most of these cities made amends over the course of many decades. Today, the younger folk in some Western countries prefer taking the public transport wherever possible. But there is still a long way to go. In this podcast, Daniel Knowles reflects upon a world with fewer cars. The use of a car becomes less effective once everyone has got one. Anyone who has been stuck for hours in Mumbai or New York traffic should know. Are electric cars a solution? What can we learn from places like Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam and London? It is reassuring that most of these cities made amends over the course of many decades. Today, the younger folk in some Western countries prefer taking the public transport wherever possible. But there is still a long way to go. Sun, 17 Dec 2023 14:33:35 GMT 39:34 2023 246 Indicast246 http://www.theindicast.com After 17 harrowing days 41 men were rescued from a collapsed tunnel in Uttarkhand. It was one heck of an effort. The International Clown festival concluded earlier this year. In this episode, we talk about all things clowning and delve into its history. And the Indian Space Research Organisation has taken off like never before. After 17 harrowing days 41 men were rescued from a collapsed tunnel in Uttarkhand. It was one heck of an effort. The International Clown festival concluded earlier this year. In this episode, we talk about all things clowning and delve into its history. And the Indian Space Research Organisation has taken off like never before. Sun, 17 Dec 2023 14:33:35 GMT 32:40 2023 245 Indicast245 http://www.theindicast.com Surat's diamond industry has suffered from the prolonged war in Ukraine. Nine out ten diamonds on the planet are polished in the diamond capital of India. But after America slapped sanctions on trade with Russia, workers in Surat suddenly find themselves with lesser work than before. Wages have been hit. Australia lifted the ICC men's Cricket World Cup. Well deserved. And hard luck India. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, had one heck of a ride last week. Its boss was sacked only to be reinstated a few days later. How can the industry be regulated and what does it mean for all of us? Surat's diamond industry has suffered from the prolonged war in Ukraine. Nine out ten diamonds on the planet are polished in the diamond capital of India. But after America slapped sanctions on trade with Russia, workers in Surat suddenly find themselves with lesser work than before. Wages have been hit. Australia lifted the ICC men's Cricket World Cup. Well deserved. And hard luck India. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, had one heck of a ride last week. Its boss was sacked only to be reinstated a few days later. How can the industry be regulated and what does it mean for all of us? Mon, 27 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 33:20 2023 244 Indicast244 http://www.theindicast.com India has a junk food problem. It is a big one. In this episode we talk a bit about why that is happening and some of the science behind it all. And have you tasted the world's fourth best cheese? It's from India. A year after FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange folded, Sam Bankman-Fried, the firm's infamous boss has been convicted of multiple counts of fraud. And India will play Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup finals. Fingers crossed. India has a junk food problem. It is a big one. In this episode we talk a bit about why that is happening and some of the science behind it all. And have you tasted the world's fourth best cheese? It's from India. A year after FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange folded, Sam Bankman-Fried, the firm's infamous boss has been convicted of multiple counts of fraud. And India will play Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup finals. Fingers crossed. Sat, 18 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 39:06 2023 243 Indicast243 http://www.theindicast.com Firstly, a very Happy Diwali to everyone. Indian couples are increasingly embracing In Vitro Fertilization, often the last hope for having a baby. While it is a boon for millions of new parents, it is also a painful and demanding process on women. India has placed a multi-billion dollar order on new planes in recent times. Also, what do airlines do to save costs? According to one study by the University of Chigago, life of those who live in Delhi has been shortened by ten years due to air pollution. What could we do about it? And India continues its stellar run at the ICC World Cup. Firstly, a very Happy Diwali to everyone. Indian couples are increasingly embracing In Vitro Fertilization, often the last hope for having a baby. While it is a boon for millions of new parents, it is also a painful and demanding process on women. India has placed a multi-billion dollar order on new planes in recent times. Also, what do airlines do to save costs? According to one study by the University of Chigago, life of those who live in Delhi has been shortened by ten years due to air pollution. What could we do about it? And India continues its stellar run at the ICC World Cup. Sun, 12 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 47:03 2023 242 Indicast242 http://www.theindicast.com It has been quite the year. And some of it has been rather grim. The Israel and Hamas conflict has been deadly. Thousands of civilians have lost their lives. Closer home, some folks insist on renaming India to Bharat. In cricket, the World Cup is on and India is on song. And Bishan Singh Bedi just passed away. It has been quite the year. And some of it has been rather grim. The Israel and Hamas conflict has been deadly. Thousands of civilians have lost their lives. Closer home, some folks insist on renaming India to Bharat. In cricket, the World Cup is on and India is on song. And Bishan Singh Bedi just passed away. Sun, 05 Nov 2023 14:33:35 GMT 40:17 2023 48 PB48 http://www.theindicast.com Kiran Verma has pledged to walk a staggering 21,000 km across India to raise awareness around blood donation in the country. His NGO, Simply Blood, world's first virtual blood donation platform, connects donors and seekers in real time. In this podcast Kiran talks about what got him to quit his day job and pursue his cause. "Nobody should die waiting for blood", he says. Many believed him to be crazy at first. Today, with over 15,300 km across 16 states, his walk has prompted officials to change things on ground. Thus far 26,252 people have donated blood to support his walk at 123 blood donation camps. "You have to be a little crazy if you wish to change the world". Kiran Verma has pledged to walk a staggering 21,000 km across India to raise awareness around blood donation in the country. His NGO, Simply Blood, world's first virtual blood donation platform, connects donors and seekers in real time. In this podcast Kiran talks about what got him to quit his day job and pursue his cause. "Nobody should die waiting for blood", he says. Many believed him to be crazy at first. Today, with over 15,300 km across 16 states, his walk has prompted officials to change things on ground. Thus far 26,252 people have donated blood to support his walk at 123 blood donation camps. "You have to be a little crazy if you wish to change the world". Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:33:35 GMT 28:25 no India, Desi, Hindi, Bombay, IndiCast, Bollywood, 905610, Canada, India News, Mumbai, Delhi, Bollywood, Cricket, India Politics, India Tech News 2023 47 PB47 http://www.theindicast.com Dr Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist and the chief of the Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. She has treated patients with addiction of all kinds including alcoholism and drug use. And behavioural ones such as smartphone and the internet. Her book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the age of Indulgence is a brilliant read. It brings to life real stories of her patients and how they struggled through addiction and broke it. In this podcast Dr Lembke recommends steps to avoid the trap of falling for our immediate impulses. How does the pleasure and pain balance work in our brains? When is it the best time to introduce technology to kids? Why dopamine is important and how we can make it work for us? And lots more. Dr Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist and the chief of the Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. She has treated patients with addiction of all kinds including alcoholism and drug use. And behavioural ones such as smartphone and the internet. Her book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the age of Indulgence is a brilliant read. It brings to life real stories of her patients and how they struggled through addiction and broke it. In this podcast Dr Lembke recommends steps to avoid the trap of falling for our immediate impulses. How does the pleasure and pain balance work in our brains? When is it the best time to introduce technology to kids? Why dopamine is important and how we can make it work for us? And lots more. Sat, 17 Jun 2023 14:33:35 GMT 53:51 2023 46 PB46 http://www.theindicast.com You don't need to be an economics buff to enjoy Gavin Jackson's "Money In One Lesson". The fascinating book breaks down money and charts its history in a user-friendly manner. In this podcast Gavin talks about stuff like this: What's common between most of the monetary system, including banks, and the hawala system? How has it inspired entrepreneurs to enable peer-to-peer lending? How cryptocurrency takes a few lessons from the centuries-old diamond trade in Surat where angadias or young couriers in Gujarat transfer millions of dollars worth of diamonds everyday to rank strangers solely on trust. What did we learn from the 2008 financial crisis? It's almost always better, he says, to be faster at cleaning up the aftermath than to let banks live in their mess as a punishment. More recently, why did the Silicon Valley Bank implode despite all those learnings? In Dante's Inferno, sodomites and money lenders occupy the same circle of hell. Why does money get a bad rep? And a lot more. You don't need to be an economics buff to enjoy Gavin Jackson's "Money In One Lesson". The fascinating book breaks down money and charts its history in a user-friendly manner. In this podcast Gavin talks about stuff like this: What's common between most of the monetary system, including banks, and the hawala system? How has it inspired entrepreneurs to enable peer-to-peer lending? How cryptocurrency takes a few lessons from the centuries-old diamond trade in Surat where angadias or young couriers in Gujarat transfer millions of dollars worth of diamonds everyday to rank strangers solely on trust. What did we learn from the 2008 financial crisis? It's almost always better, he says, to be faster at cleaning up the aftermath than to let banks live in their mess as a punishment. More recently, why did the Silicon Valley Bank implode despite all those learnings? In Dante's Inferno, sodomites and money lenders occupy the same circle of hell. Why does money get a bad rep? And a lot more. Sun, 26 Mar 2023 14:33:35 GMT 36:03 2023 45 PB45 http://www.theindicast.com Ludwig Siegele, considered among the top tech gurus at The Economist, has covered the global tech industry since 1995. He sees the same excitement and chatter around ChatGPT in the Silicon valley as there was when the internet was born. In this podcast, Ludwig shares his views on the new sensation, which can do itself some good if it can slow itself down a bit. Also, is the future in a hybrid open model which will only dig into text from verified research reports and news articles before responding to the user's questions? Should Google be worried? And can the whole thing be monetised? Ludwig Siegele, considered among the top tech gurus at The Economist, has covered the global tech industry since 1995. He sees the same excitement and chatter around ChatGPT in the Silicon valley as there was when the internet was born. In this podcast, Ludwig shares his views on the new sensation, which can do itself some good if it can slow itself down a bit. Also, is the future in a hybrid open model which will only dig into text from verified research reports and news articles before responding to the user's questions? Should Google be worried? And can the whole thing be monetised? Sun, 19 Mar 2023 14:33:35 GMT 34:33 2023 44 PB44 http://www.theindicast.com Annie Lowrey's "Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World" is a richly reported book which brings to light some personal and often harrowing accounts of folks who could benefit instantly through cash transfers. Annie travelled to the boondocks in India and villages in Kenya where it was considered too rude to eat in the open, given the lack of food going around. Her trips to the sticks in South Korea and America gave her a peek into the life of ordinary citizens grappling to get by while battling a thicket of regulations and bureaucracy. In this podcast Annie offers compelling reasons why a UBI is a simple but effective solution to address deep poverty. She cites examples of countries and cities that have successfully experimented with such programmes and saw a perceptible rise in standard of living and dignity. Indeed it cannot replace all welfare schemes or subsidies but officials around the world could do well to give UBI a decent shot. Annie Lowrey's "Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World" is a richly reported book which brings to light some personal and often harrowing accounts of folks who could benefit instantly through cash transfers. Annie travelled to the boondocks in India and villages in Kenya where it was considered too rude to eat in the open, given the lack of food going around. Her trips to the sticks in South Korea and America gave her a peek into the life of ordinary citizens grappling to get by while battling a thicket of regulations and bureaucracy. In this podcast Annie offers compelling reasons why a UBI is a simple but effective solution to address deep poverty. She cites examples of countries and cities that have successfully experimented with such programmes and saw a perceptible rise in standard of living and dignity. Indeed it cannot replace all welfare schemes or subsidies but officials around the world could do well to give UBI a decent shot. Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:33:35 GMT 42:23 2023 43 PB43 http://www.theindicast.com Philip Coggan's "Surviving the Daily Grind: Bartleby's Guide to Work" is an amusing account on corporate world's oddities. For instance, "Why so many managers pollute their utterances with so much inane jargon?" If we had a rupee for each time someone uses the word, "holistic" or recommends others to step outside their "comfort zone", we would all be rich. In this podcast, Philip talks about the merits of using normal English while citing examples of how it can help the bottom line. How has email changed our communication? What are some wacky ways of hiring people? What is the point of all those lenghtly meetings? Why lack of "empathy" from managers who rule with an iron hand can have dire consequences? And finally, what makes a good manager? Philip Coggan's "Surviving the Daily Grind: Bartleby's Guide to Work" is an amusing account on corporate world's oddities. For instance, "Why so many managers pollute their utterances with so much inane jargon?" If we had a rupee for each time someone uses the word, "holistic" or recommends others to step outside their "comfort zone", we would all be rich. In this podcast, Philip talks about the merits of using normal English while citing examples of how it can help the bottom line. How has email changed our communication? What are some wacky ways of hiring people? What is the point of all those lenghtly meetings? Why lack of "empathy" from managers who rule with an iron hand can have dire consequences? And finally, what makes a good manager? Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:33:35 GMT 45:43 2023 42 PB42 http://www.theindicast.com RTom Standage has authored seven history books. His most recent one charts the history of the wheel to self-driving cars and everything in between. Whereas the wheel remains among the most important inventions of mankind, it took thousands of years before we found mass applications for it. In this podcast Tom motors along different eras while describing the invention's bumpy ride and how it has shaped our society. Today, how have smartphones inherited the legacy of the car? Why are these pocket-sized gadgets an "internet of motion" and "a ticket to mobility"? How is the "Netflix for cars" model working out for startups? Back in the day how did McDonald's learn from Ford? And why spending more money on a mattress may be more expedient than on a car? Listen to this and more from the deputy editor of The Economist who also plays the drums in his band, Sebastopol when he isn't writing. Tom Standage has authored seven history books. His most recent one charts the history of the wheel to self-driving cars and everything in between. Whereas the wheel remains among the most important inventions of mankind, it took thousands of years before we found mass applications for it. In this podcast Tom motors along different eras while describing the invention's bumpy ride and how it has shaped our society. Today, how have smartphones inherited the legacy of the car? Why are these pocket-sized gadgets an "internet of motion" and "a ticket to mobility"? How is the "Netflix for cars" model working out for startups? Back in the day how did McDonald's learn from Ford? And why spending more money on a mattress may be more expedient than on a car? Listen to this and more from the deputy editor of The Economist who also plays the drums in his band, Sebastopol when he isn't writing. Sun, 26 Feb 2023 14:33:35 GMT 51:54 2023 241 Indicast241 http://www.theindicast.com The Adani Group has been hit with a bunch of allegations from Hindenburg Research, an American investment firm that specialises in making bets against companies that it considers are overvalued. What does it mean for the conglomerate? Tech layoffs may have made the news but how bad will the impending recession in America turn out? Not half bad is what we learn in a podcast where we try to understand the definition of recession itself. In sports, football introduced the white card. By the way, did you know the colourful and bloody history of yellow and red cards? And Indian women's cricket is in rude health. The Adani Group has been hit with a bunch of allegations from Hindenburg Research, an American investment firm that specialises in making bets against companies that it considers are overvalued. What does it mean for the conglomerate? Tech layoffs may have made the news but how bad will the impending recession in America turn out? Not half bad is what we learn in a podcast where we try to understand the definition of recession itself. In sports, football introduced the white card. By the way, did you know the colourful and bloody history of yellow and red cards? And Indian women's cricket is in rude health. Thu, 16 Feb 2023 14:33:35 GMT 35:38 2023 240 Indicast240 http://www.theindicast.com Once in ten years India conducts a massive exercise to count its population and collect vital data about its citizens. This time round the census, normally a once-in-a-decade-affair has been postponed yet again. Why? We delve into some of the reasons. And scientists in Switzerland have figured out a way to deflect lightning bolts with lasers. Once in ten years India conducts a massive exercise to count its population and collect vital data about its citizens. This time round the census, normally a once-in-a-decade-affair has been postponed yet again. Why? We delve into some of the reasons. And scientists in Switzerland have figured out a way to deflect lightning bolts with lasers. Fri, 10 Feb 2023 14:33:35 GMT 27:25 2023 239 Indicast239 http://www.theindicast.com Joshimath in the Himalayas is sinking. With cracks all over buildings, hotels and streets, the place may crumble any moment. We segue into the tallest mountain in the world, which isn't Everest. And back on land some companies are offering employees to nap at work, not an old concept but fairly new among startups in India. And Go First forgets its passengers on the tarmac before taking off. Joshimath in the Himalayas is sinking. With cracks all over buildings, hotels and streets, the place may crumble any moment. We segue into the tallest mountain in the world, which isn't Everest. And back on land some companies are offering employees to nap at work, not an old concept but fairly new among startups in India. And Go First forgets its passengers on the tarmac before taking off. Fri, 20 Jan 2023 14:33:35 GMT 35:34 2023 238 Indicast238 http://www.theindicast.com As Covid-19 ravages China, many countries, including India, brace themselves and start taking adequate measures. Whereas the death toll from covid may not be as high as before, Indians in the country continue to find other oddly terrifying ways to die. In related news a report reckons that the most dangerous time to drive on the road is between 6 to 9 in the evening. And since everyone and their cousins are talking about ChatGPT, we thought we may blabber about it as well. What do you make of the newfangled chatbot? As Covid-19 ravages China, many countries, including India, brace themselves and start taking adequate measures. Whereas the death toll from covid may not be as high as before, Indians in the country continue to find other oddly terrifying ways to die. In related news a report reckons that the most dangerous time to drive on the road is between 6 to 9 in the evening. And since everyone and their cousins are talking about ChatGPT, we thought we may blabber about it as well. What do you make of the newfangled chatbot? Sun, 08 Jan 2023 14:33:35 GMT 42:48 2023 41 PB41 http://www.theindicast.com RB Ramesh started coaching when he was just 22 years old. His training institute "Chess Gurukul" has spawned champions who have brought over 100 medals for India in various competitions. Just last year his student, Praggnanandhaa or Pragg became the youngest player to defeat Magnus Carlsen, a giant of the game. In this podcast RB Ramesh talks about his experience of teaching folks from across different generations. What separates world beaters from the rest? How much of it all is psychological? How does he help his students deal with stress during big competitions? Did he have any superstitions during his playing career? And lots more. RB Ramesh started coaching when he was just 22 years old. His training institute "Chess Gurukul" has spawned champions who have brought over 100 medals for India in various competitions. Just last year his student, Praggnanandhaa or Pragg became the youngest player to defeat Magnus Carlsen, a giant of the game. In this podcast RB Ramesh talks about his experience of teaching folks from across different generations. What separates world beaters from the rest? How much of it all is psychological? How does he help his students deal with stress during big competitions? Did he have any superstitions during his playing career? And lots more. Tue, 03 Jan 2023 14:33:35 GMT 48:19 2022 237 Indicast237 http://www.theindicast.com As 2022 drew to a close, another sporting legend passed away. We pay a small tribute to Pele who brought football to millions of homes and made it the beautiful game we know of and grew up to. Closer home in India Mukesh Ambani just completed 20 years as the boss of the Reliance empire. And internationally, Elon Musk just lost $200bn along with a few of his peers including one Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, a crypto exchange which went bankrupt in November. The madness has only begun as has 2023 and we wish you a great year ahead. As 2022 drew to a close, another sporting legend passed away. We pay a small tribute to Pele who brought football to millions of homes and made it the beautiful game we know of and grew up to. Closer home in India Mukesh Ambani just completed 20 years as the boss of the Reliance empire. And internationally, Elon Musk just lost $200bn along with a few of his peers including one Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, a crypto exchange which went bankrupt in November. The madness has only begun as has 2023 and we wish you a great year ahead. Fri, 30 Dec 2022 14:33:35 GMT 36:31 2022 236 Indicast236 http://www.theindicast.com Rishi Rajpopat, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge solved a 3,500 year old Sanskrit puzzle. We scratched our heads to understand how folks like him and Pragg, the teenage chess sensation, who recently won the Arjuna award, function. And in sports, Argentina wins the world cup. Rishi Rajpopat, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge solved a 3,500 year old Sanskrit puzzle. We scratched our heads to understand how folks like him and Pragg, the teenage chess sensation, who recently won the Arjuna award, function. And in sports, Argentina wins the world cup. Tue, 20 Dec 2022 14:33:35 GMT 42:45 235 Indicast235 http://www.theindicast.com The World Cup is round the corner. The world's biggest spectacle is also mired with controversies, some of which we talk about in this episode. A village in Sangli, western Maharashtra goes offline for a couple of hours daily in the quest for a digital detox and in international news, more than 150 people perish in Seoul in a crowd crush. The World Cup is round the corner. The world's biggest spectacle is also mired with controversies, some of which we talk about in this episode. A village in Sangli, western Maharashtra goes offline for a couple of hours daily in the quest for a digital detox and in international news, more than 150 people perish in Seoul in a crowd crush. Sat, 12 Nov 2022 14:33:35 GMT 42:41 234 Indicast234 http://www.theindicast.com After a year-long nap, we are back to cover some familiar ground by talking a bit about the ongoing ICC T20 Men's Cricket World Cup. Zimbabwe and India pulled off improbable wins in the tournament. Whereas players get cracking on the field, viewers place their bets on a number of gambling apps, a rather big business in India. So big that a few agricultural workers in Gujarat recently duped Russian gamblers by accepting bets on a fake contest that mimicked the IPL. And in international news, Britain gets a new prime minister in Rishi Sunak. We talk about British politics, which is in a shambles. After a year-long nap, we are back to cover some familiar ground by talking a bit about the ongoing ICC T20 Men's Cricket World Cup. Zimbabwe and India pulled off improbable wins in the tournament. Whereas players get cracking on the field, viewers place their bets on a number of gambling apps, a rather big business in India. So big that a few agricultural workers in Gujarat recently duped Russian gamblers by accepting bets on a fake contest that mimicked the IPL. And in international news, Britain gets a new prime minister in Rishi Sunak. We talk about British politics, which is in a shambles. Sun, 30 Oct 2022 14:33:35 GMT 34:35 233 Indicast233 http://www.theindicast.com A very Happy belated Diwali to one and all. As COP26 draws to a close, countries make their promises and hope to keep them to make a difference to the worsening climate crisis. Where does India stand? In sports, Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team. And in a quirk of evolution, elephants in Mozambique are being born without tusks to make themselves less attractive to poachers. IA very Happy belated Diwali to one and all. As COP26 draws to a close, countries make their promises and hope to keep them to make a difference to the worsening climate crisis. Where does India stand? In sports, Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian men's cricket team. And in a quirk of evolution, elephants in Mozambique are being born without tusks to make themselves less attractive to poachers. Sun, 14 Nov 2021 14:33:35 GMT 28:25 232 Indicast232 http://www.theindicast.com In an episode which is all over the place, we start with what on earth are NFTs or Non Fungible Tokens. Aditya is excited about Air India being taken over by the Tatas. Meanwhile, why are Indians so kicked about their spiritual leaders? In sports, Pakistan is on a song in the ongoing T20 World Cup and in India, love hotels are flourishing. In an episode which is all over the place, we start with what on earth are NFTs or Non Fungible Tokens. Aditya is excited about Air India being taken over by the Tatas. Meanwhile, why are Indians so kicked about their spiritual leaders? In sports, Pakistan is on a song in the ongoing T20 World Cup and in India, love hotels are flourishing. Wed, 03 Nov 2021 14:33:35 GMT 42:27 231 Indicast231 http://www.theindicast.com John Oliver once quipped that cryptocurrency is everything that you do not understand about money combined with everything you do not understand about computers. 70 million Indians do not seem to agree. They have bet on Bitcoins and their modern clones through a variety of exchanges in the country. In this podcast, we talk about the enigmatic new asset class and what do we understand about their, well, cryptic nature. And in other significant news, many congratulations to India for their exploits at the Tokyo Olympics. John Oliver once quipped that cryptocurrency is everything that you do not understand about money combined with everything you do not understand about computers. 70 million Indians do not seem to agree. They have bet on Bitcoins and their modern clones through a variety of exchanges in the country. In this podcast, we talk about the enigmatic new asset class and what do we understand about their, well, cryptic nature. And in other significant news, many congratulations to India for their exploits at the Tokyo Olympics. Sun, 08 Aug 2021 14:33:35 GMT 28:42 230 Indicast230 http://www.theindicast.com Once in four years, athletes from around the world compete for the highest honour. Men and women train in all sorts of conditions in their homeland for a crack at the elusive medal. In this podcast we talk about the young and the old, how India is doing so far, how a Math Phd won a cycling race beating the best, how Simon Biles and Naomi Osaka have put mental health at front and center offering inspiration to all. We pay tribute to Mirabai Chanu who won Silver in weightlifting and root for Lovlina Borgohain who is going for gold in boxing. Once in four years, athletes from around the world compete for the highest honour. Men and women train in all sorts of conditions in their homeland for a crack at the elusive medal. In this podcast we talk about the young and the old, how India is doing so far, how a Math Phd won a cycling race beating the best, how Simon Biles and Naomi Osaka have put mental health at front and center offering inspiration to all. We pay tribute to Mirabai Chanu who won Silver in weightlifting and root for Lovlina Borgohain who is going for gold in boxing. Sun, 01 Aug 2021 14:33:35 GMT 37:22 229 Indicast229 http://www.theindicast.com It is raining Unicorns in India. In just this week, Zomato went public, Paytm sought a nod from its shareholders to list on the stock exchange and MobiKwik, yet another fintech startup, filed for an IPO. While talking about how such companies do things differently, we segued into how some of us handle stress at the workplace and how some professions are incomparable in that regard. Take Danish Siddiqui, a young photojournalist who worked for Reuters. He was killed in an ambush while covering a clash between Afghan forces and the Taliban. In this episode, we attempt to pay a small tribute to folks who work in such occupations. It is raining Unicorns in India. In just this week, Zomato went public, Paytm sought a nod from its shareholders to list on the stock exchange and MobiKwik, yet another fintech startup, filed for an IPO. While talking about how such companies do things differently, we segued into how some of us handle stress at the workplace and how some professions are incomparable in that regard. Take Danish Siddiqui, a young photojournalist who worked for Reuters. He was killed in an ambush while covering a clash between Afghan forces and the Taliban. In this episode, we attempt to pay a small tribute to folks who work in such occupations. Sat, 17 Jul 2021 14:33:35 GMT 23:20 228 Indicast228 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode we pay tribute to Doordarshan while talking about the incomparable Dilip Kumar, cabinet reshuffle by Narendra Modi in wake of rising criticism for his handling of the pandemic, the craze surrounding Euro 2020, the soon to be hosted spectatorless Olympics in Japan, the race for the 20th Grand Slam title for Djokovic at Wimbledon and the England cricket team fielding a B team after many players from the main squad were diagnosed with the virus. In this episode we pay tribute to Doordarshan while talking about the incomparable Dilip Kumar, cabinet reshuffle by Narendra Modi in wake of rising criticism for his handling of the pandemic, the craze surrounding Euro 2020, the soon to be hosted spectatorless Olympics in Japan, the race for the 20th Grand Slam title for Djokovic at Wimbledon and the England cricket team fielding a B team after many players from the main squad were diagnosed with the virus. Sat, 10 Jul 2021 14:33:35 GMT 44:58 227 Indicast227 http://www.theindicast.com Kannada went viral a few days ago when Google thought it to be the ugliest language in India. We saw this as an excuse to talk about quirky languages, including one in Kongthong, near Shillong, where villagers communicate by whistling. In other news, Twitter is under fire for not complying with the new IT laws. In sports, the legendary Mikkha Singh passed away. We also have a little question for you in this episode. Listen to know more. Kannada went viral a few days ago when Google thought it to be the ugliest language in India. We saw this as an excuse to talk about quirky languages, including one in Kongthong, near Shillong, where villagers communicate by just whistling. In other news, Twitter is under fire for not complying with the new IT laws. In sports, the legendary Mikkha Singh passed away. We also have a little question for you in this episode. Listen to know more. Sat, 03 Jul 2021 12:30:35 GMT 32:46 2021 226 Indicast226 http://www.theindicast.com In which we talk about the second wave of covid-19 in India, heroes who saved lives, Lagaan's 20th anniversary, Kerela's one bottle one person alcohol rule, the new world Test championship in cricket and education in India. In which we talk about the second wave of covid-19 in India, heroes who saved lives, Lagaan's 20th anniversary, Kerela's one bottle one person alcohol rule, the new world Test championship in cricket and education in India. Mon, 28 Jun 2021 12:30:35 GMT 26:10 225 Indicast225 http://www.theindicast.com Few countries can match India on scale and complexity of a nationwide rollout of any item under the sun. Be it the general elections or the covid-19 inoculation plan of over 300m citizens by the end of the summer. India faces a daunting task but appears to be up for it. Covaxin, the home-grown vaccine has kicked up some controversy. Few countries can match India on scale and complexity of a nationwide rollout of any item under the sun. Be it the general elections or the covid-19 inoculation plan of over 300m citizens by the end of the summer. India faces a daunting task but appears to be up for it. Covaxin, the home-grown vaccine has kicked up some controversy. Data of stage 3 clinical trials have not been yet made available. How are other countries faring? And in other news the legendary Mahinder Watsa, a trained obstetrician-gynaecologist-turned-sexpert passed away recently. He was known for his witty and dry remarks on all things sex. And which is Japan's oldest company still alive and kicking? Sun, 31 Jan 2021 12:30:35 GMT 30:45 224 Indicast224 http://www.theindicast.com A depleted Indian team beat a full-strength Australian line up in what will rank as among the best Test Series of all time. For those who grew up in the 1990s watching India struggle against the Aussies, this was a moment to cherish. A second-rung team of folks as old as 21 years old put their hand up and performed. This podcast is a tribute to those the young lads with humble backgrounds, making it big on the biggest stage there is. A depleted Indian team beat a full-strength Australian line up in what will rank as among the best Test Series of all time. For those who grew up in the 1990s watching India struggle against the Aussies, this was a moment to cherish. A second-rung team of folks as old as 21 years old put their hand up and performed. This podcast is a tribute to those the young lads with humble backgrounds making it big on the biggest stage there is. Mon, 25 Jan 2021 12:30:35 GMT 31:47 223 Indicast223 http://www.theindicast.com Burger King's stock climbed by over 265 per cent soon after its IPO. Breakdance will feature as a sport at the Olympics in Paris 2024. Gitanjali Rao won the first Time Kid of the Year. And finally, do you dare to eat Fugu? Burger King's stock climbed by over 265 per cent soon after its IPO. Breakdance will feature as a sport at the Olympics in Paris 2024. Gitanjali Rao won the first Time Kid of the Year. And finally, do you dare to eat Fugu? Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:30:35 GMT 35:19 222 Indicast222 http://www.theindicast.com The Pfizer BioNtech vaccine was authorised in the UK and the US. The worlds most exceptional teacher was awarded to Ranjitsinh Disale, a 32 year old teacher from Solapur. Dharampal Gulati, owner of the iconic MDH masala died this month. Bob Dylan sold his catalogue of nearly 600 songs to Universal Music. A firm in Japan now sells bullying insurance to cover legal and medical costs. The Pfizer BioNtech vaccine was authorised in the UK and the US. The worlds most exceptional teacher was awarded to Ranjitsinh Disale, a 32 year old teacher from Solapur. Dharampal Gulati, owner of the iconic MDH masala died this month. Bob Dylan sold his catalogue of nearly 600 songs to Universal Music. A firm in Japan now sells bullying insurance to cover legal and medical costs. Sun, 13 Dec 2020 12:30:35 GMT 40:40 221 Indicast221 http://www.theindicast.com Jadhav Payeng, the forest man of India made it in the curriculum of an American school, giving us an excuse to talk about him. Diego Maradona passed away. The Undertaker resigned after a career in wrestling that lasted over 30 years. And a train in Japan barks like a dog to keep deers from being overrun. Sun, 29 Nov 2020 12:30:35 GMT 29:00 220 Indicast220 http://www.theindicast.com The Odisha government announced an incentive of Rs. 250,000 to promote inter caste marriage. Same sex couples tied the knot for a first time in Taiwans mass military wedding ceremony a year after it legalised gay weddings. Meanwhile, in a quirk of evolution, not all of us will get wisdom teeth. And Indian Super League that begins later this month, gives us an excuse to talk about the rich and illustrious history of Indian football. Sun, 1 Nov 2020 12:30:35 GMT 25:00 Indicast219 219 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, we talk about Pakistan contesting Indias claim for an exclusive Geographical Indication tag to Basmati rice in the European Union. Researchers in Scotland have figured out a way to test if a whiskey is authentic without the need to open the bottle. And an Indian couple in the UK got hitched in a drive in ceremony to get around restrictions that allow only 15 people to gather at a time. In India, meanwhile, the arranged marriage industry has had to change its tune as interviews and courtship move online. Sun, 11 Oct 2020 12:30:35 GMT 30:00 Indicast218 218 http://www.theindicast.com The thirteenth edition of Indian Premier League kicked off in the United Arab Emirates. In a string of unfortunate events, Dean Jones died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest. Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh passed away too. S P Balasubramaniam succummed to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the infamous Godman, Nithyanand is in exile and wants his own central bank. And a super rat was awarded a well deserved gold medal for detecting landmines in Cambodia. Sun, 27 Sep 2020 12:30:35 GMT 35:00 Indicast217 217 http://www.theindicast.com Shinzo Abe, Japans longest serving prime minister called it a day and Pranab Mukherjee, Indias former president passed away. We talk about their illustrious careers. India and Russia were announced as joint winners at the first online Chess Olympiad when a global Internet outage caused Indian players to get disconnected. We digress to talk about doping in chess and segue into why Thar desert is turning green and why it may not be a good thing. Meanwhile, amid the covid-19 pandemic, the Indian economy has shrunk by 23.9% in the April to June quarter. Grim times. Sun, 06 Sep 2020 12:30:35 GMT 28:49 216 Indicast216 http://www.theindicast.com It is that time of the year when we get high on some Ganapati fever. This year though the coronavirus has subdued all celebrations. In this episode we talk about how the festival itself has evolved over the years. In other news, MSD announced his retirement from international cricket. Miles away, Kamala Harris was appointed as the vice presidential candidate from the Democratic Party. And the hunt for a vaccine to beat the scourge is on. Sun, 23 Aug 2020 12:30:35 GMT 31:05 215 Indicast215 http://www.theindicast.com We recorded the podcast on the 75th Anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing. The World has come a long way with countries showing aggression by banning each other's apps and internet services. Where is this heading towards? A Splitnernet? Or is it just the Election season in the US. As for our corona story of this episode, we discuss online gaming being one of the industries that are raking it in during Corona. Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:30:35 GMT 20:28 214 Indicast214 http://www.theindicast.com Indias National Education Policy of 2020, announced a few days ago, promises to ditch rote learning in favour of conceptual clarity. There is more to it, of course. In this podcast, we compare what it was like growing up in our existing system and what it promises to be under the new regime. And in other news, we talk about the worlds largest nuclear fusion reactor in France which took baby steps to begin its five year assembly phase. Expect some science chatter as we discuss the mind boggling project that is considered by some as the most complex engineering endeavour in history. Tue, 04 Aug 2020 12:30:35 GMT 34:28 Indicast213 213 http://www.theindicast.com It has been a while. 4 Years, to be precise. Now under lockdown and nowhere to go, we are back with a new episode after taking a four-year vacation. We yap a bit about what's been going on in our lives before talking about how coronavirus has changed the way we live and behave with others. How has it impacted various professions? What does it mean for love at first sight? What are some of the novel ways in which folks are falling in love all over again? Mon, 27 Jul 2020 12:30:35 GMT 31:17 Indicast212 212 http://www.theindicast.com Brexit will change the course of Britain and Europe in the coming months and years. Dattu Bhokanal, an army man from the drought prone region of Talegaon, once afraid of water, qualifies for the Olympics in water sports. England and Pakistan go at each other in a tightly contested Test series. And what lies beneath Cambodia. Thu, 28 Jul 2016 12:30:35 GMT 24:27 Indicast211 211 http://www.theindicast.com Raghuram Rajan puts in his papers, Donald Trump advances, Kumble is Indias new head coach and Mohammad Ali RIP. Sat, 25 Jun 2016 12:30:35 GMT 21:52 http://www.theindicast.com Indicast210 210 "Make in India" week was kicked out in Mumbai to a mixed response. Modi flagged off the event along several industry leaders. We spend some time talking about TRAI's decision against differential pricing effectively shutting down Free Basics and the reaction to it. Abhishek geeks out on gravitational forces and how it is a BIG thing in understanding the very beginnings of the earth. The other topics include Brendan McCullum retiring, Eagles being trained to bring down drones and BCCI banning Asad Rauf. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 12:30:35 GMT 27:03 Indicast209 209 http://www.theindicast.com The last time we were on air, Sania had won her first doubles Grand Slam title with Martina Hingis. In this episode we talk about her winning her third. But before that we get into Indias urban development minister announcing the first batch of 20 cities to be converted in to smart cities, Delhi's "Odd-Even" policy to counter being world's most polluted city, and the man who almost conquered Antarticas 1000 mile journey alone. Fri, 12 Feb 2016 12:30:35 GMT 19:33 Indicast208 208 http://www.theindicast.com Sania Mirza and Leander Paes win Wimbledon titles by pairing with Martina Hingis. In cricket, Bangladesh is on a high and so is match fixing in the IPL. Old Monk, the iconic Indian rum needs some reviving. Iran and US ink a historic nuclear deal. And El Shorty Chapo, the most wanted man in Mexico escapes the countrys most secure prison. Thu, 23 Jul 2015 12:30:35 GMT 29:37 Indicast207 207 http://www.theindicast.com The monsoons are back and Mumbai shuts down for a day or two. And then comes a lull. India and Bangladesh agree to swap pieces of land that will redraw the borders of both countries. Myanmar, our tiny neighbor has one of the worlds most persecuted minority known as the Rohingyas. They are circling about in the oceans on creaking ferries knocking on doors of countries to let them in. Wed, 22 Jul 2015 12:30:35 GMT 21:13 Indicast206 206 http://www.theindicast.com More than 2500 people have died in India this summer from the murderous heat. Sepp Blatter, the President of FIFA steps down after several top officials from his team were arrested on charges of corruption. The Indian ice hockey team crowdsources its way into a tournament in Kuwait. Fri, 12 Jun 2015 12:30:35 GMT 26:46 Indicast205 205 http://www.theindicast.com Iran and America push for a nuclear deal in which Iran will agree to shun its ambitions to make a nuclear bomb. In return, America and other countries will lift a bunch of sanctions imposed on Iran. Chaos in Yemen reaches a new low as the Indian government completes one of its greatest evacuation programmes. Uber launches a rickshaw hailing app and monkeys disrupt internet in Gujarat. Sat, 25 Apr 2015 12:30:35 GMT 31:39 Indicast204 204 http://www.theindicast.com The legendary Australian cricketer and commentator, Richie Benaud passes away. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Owners of NSE listed Indian companies appoint their wives, daughters and stepmothers as board members. And Ecommerce in India is on steroids. Fri, 17 Apr 2015 12:30:35 GMT 37:39 Indicast203 203 http://www.theindicast.com Indias splendid run in the cricket world cup comes to an end in the semifinals. We recorded this on the eve of the finals and we root for New Zealand, a tiny country of 4.4 million. Saina Nehwal is now world number 1 in womens badminton. Rajendra Singh wins the Stockholm Water prize, the equivalent of the Nobel proze for water. More than 750 students have been expelled and 300 people arrested for the mass cheating scheme in the state exams in Bihar. The defense ministry takes cyber security more seriously. In the US, breast milk is being traded in what is a multi million dollar industry. And Shashi Kapoor wins the Dadasaheb Phalke award. Wed, 01 Apr 2015 12:30:35 GMT 29:50 Indicast202 202 http://www.theindicast.com In this world cup, Indian cricket teams dug dug medium pacers and so so spinners have far outclassed our star batsmen. We reach the last leg of the tournament and will play Australia at Sydney in the semi-finals. BBC hires a guy who fakes his way into a panel discussion claiming to be a former Pakistani Test batsman. In other sports news, Indian badminton rising star, Srikant Kidambi wins the Swiss open. Down south, a bunch of engineers have figured out a way to power street lamps by harnessing energy generated by vegetable waste. And the BJP runs into further trouble by needling with the Land Acquisition Bill which, we think, needs some needling. Sun, 22 Mar 2015 12:30:35 GMT 27:00 Indicast201 201 http://www.theindicast.com BJP bans BBCs documentary on Indias daughter. In other news, it bans beef in Maharashtra. A solar powered plane takes off for a trip around the world. An in-form Indian team advance in the world cup. With the knock out stages of the competition round the corner, there are no clear favourites to win the cup. Tue, 17 Mar 2015 12:30:35 GMT 22:30 Indicast200 200 http://www.theindicast.com For more than 50 years R K Laxmans You Said It made people laugh and squirm at Indian politics. In this episode, we talk a bit about his work ethic. In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party bags more than half of all votes in the state elections and yet continues to remain on thin ice. The cricket World Cup is on and India has won all their matches in the group stages so far. Arun Jaitley announces the much anticipated Union Budget and Aditya tries to explain how India calculates its GDP. Fri, 06 Mar 2015 12:30:35 GMT 29:09 Indicast199 199 http://www.theindicast.com From what depths of his soul would Robin Williams have scrapped out all the laughter and pleasantries for us, said a Tweet summarising for us the man who spent most of his life spreading happiness through his quirks. RIP Robin Williams. Ebola has swept large parts of Liberia, Sierra Leone and New Guinea. There is no cure, 90 per cent of those afflicted die and the WHO has described it as a public health emergency of international concern. And Why do migratory birds get confused when they over urban sprawls. Please keep sending us your picture submissions and soundscapes. We absolutely love them. Sat, 23 Aug 2014 12:30:35 GMT 31:08 http://www.theindicast.com The theme remains the same. For centuries, countries have gone to war in the name of politics or religion. Innocent people have died. They continue to die. The latest on the list is Malaysian Airlines MH17 which was shot down from 33,000 feet in Eastern Ukraine, killing everyone on board. In the Arab world, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria marches ahead with barbaric ferocity. Israel and Palestine have rekindled their old rivalry. In other news, India's new government presents its first Union budget and Brazil hosts one of the most entertaining World Cups of all time. Fri, 25 Jul 2014 12:30:35 GMT 47:01 http://www.theindicast.com Now that Narendra Modi and his ministers have taken oath, India will hope for some action. While the cabinet may not hit the ground running, Modi has asked all his lieutenants to submit a 100 day plan of action for each of their ministries. The venerable Ambassador car calls it a day. Madhav Mantri, Indias oldest test cricketer dies. Two Indian Americans make history in the annual Scripps national spelling bee competition. We end with the weighty issue concerning a young Irish messo Soprano in London. And thank you all for sending in all the fascinating soundscapes as well as pictures of the area around you when you were listening to us. A picture gallery of each of your images will be up on the website shortly. Sun, 01 Jun 2014 12:30:35 GMT 40:46 http://www.theindicast.com The Modi melodrama continues and it need not necessarily be a bad thing. A few months from now, he will be judged on different parameters. For now, his speeches are drawing applauses and tears. At about this time, last month, miles away in another continent, Iraq, too, conducted what was a mostly peaceful national elections. Hats off to people who came out to vote in a country where walking on the street, on some days, is as dangerous as straddling the India Pakistan border. As the Eurpoean Union bans mangoes, we get to have a little more of them at cheaper rates in India. Gulzar wins the Dadasaheb Phalke award and Russi Mody, the great manager from the Tata family dies. Mon, 26 May 2014 12:30:35 GMT 36:15 http://www.theindicast.com In arguably the biggest day in Indian politics, the Bharatiya Janata Party, after spending a decade in opposition, has swept into power. The margin of victory is so huge that it has reduced Congress to a negligible force in the parliament. Most of India has welcomed the long awaited change. And yet a sizable chunk, views his appointment with scepticism, and some, even with fear. They, rightly, point to the 2001 Gujarat riots that happened when he was the states chief minister. In this episode, we spoke to a few construction workers, a rickshaw wala, a shopkeeper and a businessman and asked their opinion on Indias new political order. After playing second fiddle for years, the BJP and Modi deserve all the adulation that comes their way. But after the celebrations get over and when the boozy supporters go home, Modi will have to, at once, saddle up and take charge of a country that deserves better from its leaders. We wish him well. Sun, 18 May 2014 12:30:35 GMT 34:41 http://www.theindicast.com While the general elections in India was marred by violence at two venues, Afghanistan conducted a peaceful elections earlier in April. Capital punishment in Egypt reached new heights when one of its courts condemned more than six hundred people to death penalty. A new earthlike plant has been discovered, but it is still many light years away. Rajeev Suri will head the new Nokia. Chinese schools feel the pressure of Olympic babies and Shakespeare turned 450 late last month. Wed, 07 May 2014 12:30:35 GMT 35:24 http://www.theindicast.com The death toll of this podcast runs in hundreds. An avalanche has killed sixteen Sherpas on Mount Everest. Russia continues to flex its muscles to scare tiny Ukraine as the West and the EU watch on. In South Korea a ferry capsizes killing more than 300 onboard. The country also faces a suicide epidemic. In Syria, four French journalists have been freed after ten months of captivity. And RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:30:35 GMT 36:37 http://www.theindicast.com Once in five years India breaks its own record of successfully conducting the worlds biggest general elections. In this one we doff our topis to Indias election commission. In related news, two new books on Congress give us a glimpse of what Dr Manmohan Singh went through in his two terms. We talk a bit about where he will go from now. Aditya narrates a list of interesting candidates that the elections have thrown up including the usual suspects like Mr. LK Adwani, who will contest yet again at 86. We round it off with some superstitions that our politicians like to obey and how, after relentless efforts, India is finally polio free. Sun, 20 Apr 2014 12:30:35 GMT 29:42 http://www.theindicast.com The case of the missing plane gets mysterious by the day. Twenty six countries including India are involved in search operations. Subrata Roy, owner of Sahara Parivar pulls off a multi-crore scam which lands him in jail. The general election voting season kicks off soon and IPL, which is scheduled around the elections will be played in two countries. Before signing off, Aditya regales us with updates on his two month old kid. Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:30:35 GMT 20:42 http://www.theindicast.com Arvind Kejriwals life in the fast lane came to an abrupt end when he resigned as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Friday. Another star who stole the show a few weeks back was Rahul Gandhi. His impeccably eventful performance on his first big TV interview baffled one and all. In sports, we have the Sochi Olympics, IPL auctions, England cricket woes and Indias tours New Zealand. And oh Aditya is now a brand new daddy. Hurray! Mon, 17 Feb 2014 12:30:35 GMT 25:48 http://www.theindicast.com Edward Carr, Foreign editor of The Economist takes us through his brilliant special report on US foreign policy. He argues that inspite of a dreadful decade abroad, Americans are unduly pessimistic about their place in the world. The rise of China as a formidable player in world affairs is undisputed, but its economic heft does not yet qualify it to be a geopolitical influence that America wields. In this podcast he talks about some of important keywords that have bothered US in the last few months. Syria, spying, counter insurgency and what are some of the alternatives, if any, to an American dominated international world order. And he does incredibly well in the rapid fire round, right at the end, which is reserved for our friends at The Economist. Sat, 04 Jan 2014 12:30:35 GMT 25:47 http://www.theindicast.com In sports, everyone loves a good contest. And when Magnus Carlsen, the 22 year old Norwegian prodigy beat Vishy Anand, chess entered a new era. In this podcast we talk about how these giants of the game prepare to get there. Another prodigy, Prithvi Shaw smashed 546 in the 2013 Harris Shield tournament. This week also marks the 50th anniversary of Indias first rocket launch from Thumba, a small hamlet in south India. And of course, some Ashes updates right at the end. Tue, 26 Nov 2013 12:30:35 GMT 27:28 http://www.theindicast.com Statisticians love to debate about whether Sachin Tendulkar is indeed the best batsmen that the game has ever seen. Perhaps not. He ranks 29th according to one analysis. But Sachin has captured the imaginations of world cricket like no other player. In India he is revered for his performances on and off the field. As he calls curtains on a glorious career, we look back at his exploits with the bat including the stroke filled 74 at the Wankhede. We were there. At the stadium. And it was a joy to watch him regain some of his lost touch. Wed, 20 Nov 2013 12:30:35 GMT 21:23 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, we talk about Manna Dey, one of the greatest singers known to us. In sports, Ajit Agarkar retires. Aditya talks about his experience of watching Sachin get out in the 90s at the Wankhede stadium as he prepares to play his last two Tests. In Australia, tree leaves can offer clues for spotting gold deposits and why voting cannot us any good, says an MP. Thu, 07 Nov 2013 12:30:35 GMT 25:46 http://www.theindicast.com With Telangana fast tracked into another state, we found an excuse to talk a bit about the history of Indias princely states and how the country was formed as an amalgamation of more than 500 mini states ruled by princes. In cricket, India whitewashes Zimbabwe while the IPL runs into further mess. Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:30:35 GMT 23:18 http://www.theindicast.com The week started off with the shocking news of kids in Bihar dying from eating food that was cooked in utensils previously used for storing insecticides. The mid day meal program from across India has mixed reviews, but this episode highlights how, when it comes to even the bare essentials, we are way off. In other news, Britains royal baby tumbled forth, the great Arun Bose of Bose speakers passes away and Indian Badminton league makes a debut. Thu, 25 Jul 2013 12:30:35 GMT 22:34 http://www.theindicast.com A lot of water has flown under the bridge since we recorded a podcast last time. Uttarakhand remains buried, telegram is dead, Murray has won the Wimbledon, Modi is slammed for wishing happy Ramadan to a few of his Muslim friends and a bloke from Rajasthan gets himself a hall ticket with Barack Obama's picture on it. Thu, 18 Jul 2013 12:30:35 GMT 24:15 http://www.theindicast.com One of the most versatile actors of his time, Pran was chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke award earlier this month. India makes progress to get its polio erradication certificate from the WHO. A single man cultivates an entire forest in Assam. His name is Jadav Peyang. And the most expensive dog fetches close to a million pounds in UK. Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:30:35 GMT 15:15 http://www.theindicast.com With Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Jadeja, Dhoni all getting their personal bests, all seems well with Indian cricket. For now. Sanjay Dutt has been ordered to serve his time in prison. A new pope gets appointed and Bill Gates floats a 100,000 USD grant for anyone who can come up with a next generation condom. Also, tell us what you think of our new website. Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:30:35 GMT 17:26 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode we talk about the Hyderabad blasts, the successful launch of a PSLV by ISRO and Fauja Singh, the 101 year old running his last marathon. Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:30:35 GMT 13:00 http://www.theindicast.com Sorry about the radio silence. In this long coming episode and the first one of 2013, we talk about the Maha Kumbh mela, changing rape laws and the perpetual peace talks that continue with our friendly neighbour inspite of the cross border firings and the most recent brutal killing of Jawans on the front. Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:30:35 GMT 13:00 http://www.theindicast.com A spate of rape cases show up on the radar as media mercifully covers the most recent gang rape of a 23 year old woman in Delhi. All politicians including the home minister and the prime minster make a mockery of themselves by reading out prepared statements or making careless remarks on television. In Gujarat, Narendra Modi gets elected for third time in a row. In sports, Sachin Tendulkar retires from One Day Internationals. And DARPA comes up with a magic foam to help army men in rescue operations. Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:18 http://www.theindicast.com Pandit Ravi Shankar passes away. The great man was a bundle of energy and had performed on stage with his daughter in the US at the ripe age of 94. Text messaging turns 20. Saudi Arabia adds SMS tracking of wives to its increasingly long list of injustice towards women. At a village in Bihar, a local committee has banned women from carrying mobile phones. The Panchayat believes that this will lead to fewer elopements. Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:30:35 +0000 15:17 http://www.theindicast.com The French government has made the classic mistake. Of interfering in business. Lakshmi Mittal is miffed as he has been asked not to shut down two of his loss making blast furnaces in Florange unless he wants to see all his French outfits getting nationalised. Greece gets another bail out package and in Australia, cigarette packaging will no longer carry any glamorous images or colours. Just plain packaging. Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:30:35 +0000 12:35 http://www.theindicast.com This week, the Lok Sabha gives a green signal for allowing FDI in retail. Bihar pulls off an amazing track record of growth by beating Maharashtra and Gujarat. In sports, Ricky Ponting retires and Freddie Flintoff takes to boxing. Sachin finally gets a fifty after his worst slump in two decades. The Kabbadi world cup is being played in Punjab. And a weed wacking robot from two Stanford trained engineers trawls lettuce fields, identifies weeds and kills them using a concentrated dose of fertilisers. Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 http://www.theindicast.com BCCI has been quite the negotiator. It got Pepsi to pay twice as what DLF had paid in the previous edition of the IPL. This comes at a time when the popularity of IPL is possibly at its lowest according to many surveys. Amidst all the talks of recession, in October, Porsche sold a record number of vehicles in India. Also, according to a recent World Bank report, India receives more money through repatriation than any other. And typewriters are called off the shelves in UK. Sun, 02 Dec 2012 12:30:35 GMT 18:33 http://www.theindicast.com Four years after the grisly event, Ajmal Kasab was hanged at the Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. In international news, Israel pummels Gaza for eight straight days. More than 140 Palestinians were killed before a cease fire came into effect. Somewhere on this planet, a few people still believe that the world will come to an end this December and hope to seek refuge near a hill in France. The French authorities, fearing commotion have blocked entry to the venue. And a bunch of folks at Carnegie Mellon Robotics institute have devised a way for us to drive safely during a thunderstorm. Their smart headlights illuminate the road and not the rain drops. Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 23:01 http://www.theindicast.com The Euro Zone goes under all over again. The latest numbers suggest that all seventeen countries of the Euro have posted two consecutive quarters of negative growth. And when that happens, the economy is said to be under recession. The US, which is known to come up with fancy phrases to describe their economic plights, have done it again. This time the popular phrase is the fiscal cliff. Back home in India, Raymond, the apparel maker will soon launch its own brand of beer shampoo. Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 12:42 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, Jon Fasman of The Economist talks about his on ground experience of covering the US presidential elections. Over the past few months Jon travelled across the country, attended rallies, conducted interviews, met strangers, filed articles, wrote online, did live blogging, recorded podcasts and met crazy deadlines. To report the greatest political event on the planet, a little bit of insomnia came in handy too. Given a chance, would he do it again. In a heartbeat, he says. Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 18:13 http://www.theindicast.com The man had a mafia like control over the city so much that he had it change its name because he did not like it. In this podcast we talk a bit about Bal Thackerays beginnings, his quirks, agendas and of course his legendary oratorical skills. In other political news, Rahul Gandhi has been asked to lead the Congress poll campaign in the upcoming 2014 general elections. In some happy news, a bunch of doctors from University of Michigan claim to have devised a pacemaker which can be powered by the motion of heart beats. Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:49 http://www.theindicast.com The greatest spectacle on the American soil comes to an end and Barack Obama wins it for the second time. But we are more interested in George Bush Jr accidentally voting for Obama. Back home, Arvind Kejriwal tops the popularity charts on all news channels and newspapers. Vijay Mallya sells off a majority stake in his spirit business in the hope to rescue his airline company. And Happy Diwali to everyone. Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:30:35 GMT 20:51 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode we talk about the alleged sweetheart deal bewtween haryana government, DLF and Shri Robert Vadra. Many knew about it but only Arvind Kejriwal decided to talk about it. The other topcis include the NSE crash, Nobel prize winners and a couple of listener emails. Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:30:35 GMT 28:15 http://www.theindicast.com It takes time. Justice. In India. The verdict for 2002 Gujarat riots is out. 32 people have been sentenced to life. Similarly, supreme court upholds Kasabs death sentence, but apparently he can appeal yet again. In other news, our prime minister makes it to the cover pages of many a newspaper. Washington post and the Wall Street Journal have called him names and the Congress demands an apology from these publications. At the Paralympics, Girisha Nagarajegowda wins us a silver medal in long jump. Another 15 year old Brit smashes the world record in swimming. In cricket, India beat New Zealand 2 0. Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:30:35 GMT 20:15 http://www.theindicast.com For the last two years we have been reading a lot about the Euro crisis. Some might complain that we have had a bit of an overdose of it. So we at Indicast thought that we should send one of our guys to tour Europe and find out how exactly is the day in the life of an average European in countries like Germany, France, Austria, etc. Akhilesh, our co-host at BiziNation volunteered to do the trip and sponsored it himself if we might add. In this podcast, he brings us his on ground experience of his recently concluded Euro trip as we take a look at the Euro crisis from the common mans point of view. Sun, 02 Sep 2012 12:30:35 GMT 18:00 http://www.theindicast.com Lance Armstrong, fed up with the allegations that have hounded him for more than a decade, decided not to contest the doping charges. He has been stripped of his seven Tour-de-France titles. We talk about him and another legend who passed away in the previous week, Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Closer home in India, the prime minister Dr Singh has been hammered with a zillion questions from BJP, the opposition party. In reply, he muttered an urdu verse which hints that his silence is his biggest answer. Great help. A K Hangal, the grandfather of Bollywood died at 98. In sports, VVS Laxman retires and India under 19 wins the world cup for the third time. Sat, 01 Sep 2012 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://bit.ly/indicast170 While India was celebrating its 65th Independence Day Assam was burning. More than 400,000 thousand have been displayed due to ethnic clashes. The problems also spread to Mumbai when a group agitation turned violent. In several incidents people from north east were attacked in cities like Pune and Bangalore. In other news, Olympics concluded with India winning its largest medal tally so far. Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:30:35 GMT 34:00 http://bit.ly/indicast169 Indias Olympic games report card has four medals to show. In the 100 meter race, Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the fastest race ever run where seven out of the eight runners passed the finish line in less than ten seconds. The big news this week was about American sending an unmanned rover named Curiosity on Mars. In this podcast, two commerce brains try to explain the whole science behind the landmark landing. Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:00 http://bit.ly/indicast168 Last week 10 per cent of all mankind took a nap. Most of India suffered a coordinated power failure which put about 600 million people in darkness. Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat offered help. It came at a price. In other news, Aditya brings up an interesting case study in market research. NDTV is miffed with Nielsen after the market research company allegedly tampered with the TAM ratings. We also bring you a lot of Olympics trivia and updates of the week. Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://www.theindicast.com Paul Markillie, the Innovation Editor at The Economist joins us to talk about the magical world of digital manufacturing, the subject of his special report which was published earlier this year. In this 20 minute chat Paul shares his experiences which took him to some interesting places across the world. This third revolution has already taken off. For instance, in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, 23 of the 25 world records in swimming were broken not just because the players trained hard, but they wore body suits which mimicked shark skin making them more hydro-dynamic. It had a lot to do with the new-age manufacturing process which has sprung up new kinds of materials. They help make groundbreaking products cheaply. Although the concept of 3D printing is relatively new, Paul reckons that we may soon see service engineers not having to scratch their heads for that elusive spare part which can fix your washing machine. They could just print that piece of plastic or metal to the exact specifications and get your machine up and running in a jiffy. From making high end jewellery to popping small food filaments for icing your cake, digital manufacturing is an exciting new domain. Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:30:35 GMT 19:00 http://www.theindicast.com The Economists deputy news editor, Simon Wright is so good at dismembering jargons that you might even start to care about knowing a little something about natural gas, the subject of his special report that was published this month. In this podcast, Simon gives us a crash course in Shale gas and explains why is it a big deal that America has started to mine more of it in the last few years. He reckons that it may still take a while for developing countries to get their hands on it, but this discovery could lead to some interesting political repercussions in world economy. Sun, 29 Jul 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:30 http://www.theindicast.com The presidential post in India is largely a ceremonial role. But when Pranab Mukherjee took oath as the thirteeth president of India, the top bosses at Congress must have slept well that night. With the prospect of a hung parliament alive and well, Pranab da can exercise his presidential powers. In this podcast, we talk a bit about what he inherits from his predecessor and what lies ahead of him. In other big news, London prepares itself for one of the most lavish parties on earth as it hosts its third Olympics. Sat, 28 Jul 2012 12:30:35 GMT 17:00 http://bit.ly/indicast166 This week Tarun Sehrawat, a 22 year old photographer from Tehelka died of malaria. He picked up the germ while reporting from Jharkhand for the magazine. Ghazal myestro Mehndi Hassan passed away. In some encouraging news, three young Indians were shortlisted by Google for its annual science fair contest. In sports, Bhupati and Paes go at each other. And this week, we talk about Deepika Kumari, India's entry to Olympics in archery. Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:30:35 GMT 19:12 http://bit.ly/indicast165 The world is in a sportive mood this week with Saina Nehwal winning the Thailand Open and Sania Mirza and Bhupati taking the French Open. Lewis Hamilton wins the Canadian Grand Prix becoming the seventh new winner in as many races. This episode we also talk about Krishna Poonia, India's discuss thrower who will represent us at the Olympics. The Euro 2012 has kicked off too with the best match so far being that of Spain versus Italy which was tied at 1-1. But outside football, Spain dare not celebrate. Spanish banks have been given a rescue loan totaling to more than a 100 billion USD in the hope that they turn things around. In politics, one Gunapati Deepak Reddy has declared revenues of more than Rupees 6,000 crores. An eventful week overall. Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:30:35 GMT 38:10 http://bit.ly/indicast164 People are beginning to ask the question that every Indian dreads. Is India really shining? or is it being too pessimistic to keep expecting India to continue on its growth number while the world goes through a slowdown? The Indian government is doing its best defend the growth numbers, falling rupee, and the petrol price hike. In other topics, we talk about Indias new army chief, Vishwananthan Anand's victory, Sachin turning an MP, and Mary Koms Olympic dream Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:30:35 GMT 29:20 http://bit.ly/indicast163 For the first time in many many years, Standard & Poor downgraded Indias rating from stable to BBB nevative and our politicians rehearsed their typical reaction of being "shocked" at this. In other news, a few politicians are miffed at the Haj subsidy which is an annual freebie given to those who make the trip to Haj. In what turns out to be the programing coup of the decade, Aamir Khan debuts with Satyameva Jayate, a one hour show which addresses social evils and attempt to offer a solution. Zohra Sehgal, the sprightly actress from Bollywood turns 100! Tue, 15 May 2012 12:30:35 GMT 24:12 http://bit.ly/indicast162 Our conversations about Sachin Tendulkar can get one-sided. We are fans. In this one, however, we are disappointed with his recent decision to accept the Rajya Sabha nomination. But our disappointment pales when we compare it with Suresh Kalmadis audacious attempt to make a comeback at the Indian Olympic Association as its president. Knowing our politics, he might even make it. A week back, India tested its Agni V long-range missile. Our neighbours responded with their own. In some pleasant news, IIT is set to expand overseas. Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:30:35 GMT 31:22 http://bit.ly/indicast161 We are back after what has been the longest hiatus in the last 5 years that we have been doing Indicast. We start the episode taking about the top stories that we missed while we were away and then move on with the current affairs. This weeks stories include the successful Agni V test, The Aids train, Akaash tablets fail, Yuvraaj Singh returning back to India and Gandhi memoribilia still getting fetching big bucks. Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:30:35 GMT 26:02 http://bit.ly/indicast160 Mumbai elections came and went. The 13th municipal elections since independence saw the BJP-Shiv Sena combo come into power for the fourth consecutive term. Mumbaikars however chose to stay at home and had just 46 per cent voter turnout. Down south in Karnataka, three ministers resign after they were caught watching porn at job. According to one poll, Indians are the among the happiest people on earth. In sports, Yuvraj Singh who has been diagnosed with tumor is recovering in a hospital at Boston. Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:30:35 GMT 20:12 http://bit.ly/indicast158 This episode is full high and low points for India. While India got thrashed by Australia in the cricket, India, with a lot of help from many organizations, has achieved to be Polio free for an entire year. The later is a lot more important that cricket so it not really a fair comparison. There are a few more such topic in this topic. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:30:35 GMT 26:22 http://bit.ly/indicast158 Welcome to the first episode of the year 2012. We begin our episode with our ramblings about how cold it has been in India and we somehow manage to figure out the meaning of lyrics for one of Govindas hit song. The topics that we cover in this episode include the update on UP elections, Bhaichund Bhutia playing his last match, Kingfishers woes continuing, $1 doctor visits for urban poor and Indias dismal performance in Australia. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:30:35 GMT 31:22 http://bit.ly/indicast157 Time magazine put the protester on the front page of its Person of the Year issue. 2011 was truly a year of revolutions and we sum up some of them in this podcast. This year also saw some astonishing inventions in the world of Physics. A few weeks ago some scientists claimed that some particle can indeed travel faster than light. A few days back physicists have finally seem to have put their finger on what is called the God particle. In India, such news is being pushed to the back pages of the papers as the front page generally is dedicated to the falling rupee and its effects to Indians in India and outside. Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:35 http://bit.ly/indicast156 Kapil Sibal is not the first Indian politician to trend on Twitter, but perhaps the first one to trend with a dubious adjective (or noun, whatever), idiot. His lack of knowledge about how the internet works was evident when he asked companies like Facebook and Google to prescreen content which is posted by Indian users after he found a few morphed pictures of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh which showed them in bad light. This year has seen quite a rew RIPs and Dev Anand and Indira Goswami get added to the list. In cricket, Sehwag scores a double century and if you are in Maharashtra, beware of those 500 rupee notes - they could just be fake! Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:35 http://www.theindicast.com Right from the days when trade was in barter format, the retail world has always been exciting. In the west, it has graduated from mom and pop stores to big box. The Indian government believed that India too should ape the movement, and has rejigged the Foreign Direct Investment rules in the retail sector. The opposition was not amused. In other corporate news, Cyrus Mistry will take over from Ratan Tata in December 2013. In the science field, the world's lightest material caught Adityas fancy and he gives us an overview. Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:00 http://www.theindicast.com Mayawati has follows a strict routine for ensuring to make it to the front pages of Indian newspapers at least once a week. This time she succeeds in convincing her party to pass a resolution demanding four different states. In Himachal Pradesh, more than 800 women have been reported missing in the past few years. The Unhate Benetton advertising campaign was the most talked about news story in business and in science, a startling discovery that one can travel faster than the speed of light just came to light. Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com Kingfisher is all over the place. Thats the news that everyone is feeding on especially in the business newspapers. Vijay Mallyas airline company has declared its 16 straight quarterly loss and things are not about to improve in the short term. In politics, Rahul Gandhi is now been slated to be the next man in charge as he contests elections in Uttar Pradesh. Government will soon be launching a Right to Education Act which promises education to every kid upto 14 years of age. In world news, floods in Thailand have set the country back. In cricket, South Africa and Australia slug it out in test matches and India is on a roll. At the time of the recording, Dravid, Laxman and Dhoni had scored centuries in the second test. Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:30:35 GMT 25:40 http://www.theindicast.com We start off this episode by talking a bit about the noise surrounding the Armed Forces Special Power Act which was established back in 1958. It turns out that Omar Abdullah wants it revoked in Jammu and Kashmir for it gives the army right to arrest and sometimes kill without the need of a warrant or necessary paperwork. In other news, Bhupen Hazarika and Joe Fraiser passed away this week and the mystery surrounding Michael Jackson's death was finally out when his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Sun, 13 Nov 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:49 http://www.theindicast.com Finally, after all these years, Formula One comes to India. Thankfully, the event went off without a glitch. Sebastian Vettel won it by a huge margin and saw Mayawati on the podium hand him the trophy. In other news, Metallica performed in Bangalore after its show was cancelled in Delhi due to a lapse in security. Meanwhile, the seventh billion baby was born. In cricket, three Pakistan players were convicted for spot fixing on a day when the Indian captain was given the title of Honorary Lt Colonel by the Indian army. Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:30:35 GMT 25:05 http://bit.ly/indicast150 The 150th episode of Indicast is finally here but this time with a new voice. Abhishek is out on his bike in the Himachal Pradesh and so Akhilesh, who has been on Bizination a few times, joined me on for the 150th. God seems to be feeling lonely and has called in for company of 3 greats in quick succession. We talk about Tiger Pataudi, Steve Jobs and Jagjit Singh passing away, Murthys comment on quality of IIT students and the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners. Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:30:35 GMT 23:10 http://bit.ly/indicast149 This is an attempt to bring to our listeners a happier and less politically inclined episode of Indicast. We will make a conscious effort to have topics from a wider interest areas. This episode covers the Sikkim earthquake, Modi ending his fast, the DMIC mega project, Indias loss in Tennis Davis Cup, BCCI banning the Kochi franchise from IPL and our regular digressions. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:30:35 GMT 36:10 http://business.in.com Media turned social on the internet only a few years ago, yet it did not take social media a lot of time to seep into our daily lives. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter only gave it an icing. Phone apps and other location based services have enabled people to interact amongst themselves and companies now have jumped in to not just market their products, but also to provide better customer service. In this podcast, Senior Asst Editor, Rohin Dharmakumar and Special Correspondent, N S Ramnath join us to talk about their cover story on social media. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:00 http://bit.ly/indicast148 Barely a month had past since the Mumbai Serial blasts when the terrorist struck again. This time it was Delhi. Delhi is the latest entrant into the list of unresolved (yet) terror strike. Afghanistan and Pakistan also witnessed much large terror strike. The other topics that Abhishek & I discuss include Supreme Courts ruling in the Gulberg Society case, Amar Singh arrest, Ra.One marketing campaigns, Gautam Rajadhyksha death, and India winning the Hockey Asian Cup. Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:30:35 GMT 34:23 http://www.theindicast.com Jon Fasman knows what it takes to be a New York Times best selling author. His book, Geographer's Library published in 2005 has been released into more than a dozen languages and his more recent novel, The Unpossessed City is a major hit. At The Economist, he covers a diverse range of subjects like food, music, chopsticks, politics, Tiger Woods, Dominique Strauss Kahn, global warming and a lot more. In this podcast, talks about American politics, drugs and Atlanta. Incidentally, Jon was working in a building close to the twin towers on September 11, 2001 and he shares his thoughts about where USA stands today, in the midst of very high unemployment rates and terror strikes. For the ones interested to know more about drugs, skip to the 12th minute to hear this father of two young kids having a refreshingly liberal attitude towards solving the problem of drug abuse which plagues not just America, but many other nations. Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 http://www.theindicast.com Ten years ago, on this day, two planes scorched the twin towers. More than 3000 people were killed and the world economy was impaired. In this podcast, we talk about where we stand today in the wake of bigger crises that the bankers have brought upon us. Continuing on the subject, Indian business and tourism has suffered gravely due to the series of bomb blasts. In other news, Yahoo CEO, Carol Bartz has been sacked rather unceremoniously. Closer home, Archies, a company known for selling gifts and greeting cards has tied up with UNICEF and plans to expand to Rs. 400 crores in the next few years. And in the last few minutes, Ritika gives us a snapshot of her sojourn in Bali. Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:30:35 GMT 27:00 http://bit.ly/tkm47 In this episode - Manan & I talk about the topic that may well turn out to be the biggest tech story of 2011 - Steve Jobs announcing his retirement. While there cant be a replacement, the succession plan has been well planned. The other stories discussed include Google's Motorola purchase, Samsung Annoucing ChatON, Reliance's 3G Tab, MapMyIndia's Carpad and we had almost forgotten HP's big announcement. Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:30:35 GMT 37:00 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://bit.ly/indicast147 After being missing in action for over a month, we are glad to be back. The recent has had some big ticket happenings in India including Lokpal bill and India losing its #1 test ranking spot. Given the significance of the event, we spent most of the time talking about Anna Hazare's movement against corruption and discussed the key points only. Even that took about 20 minutes to cover. The other topics include India's test drubbing by England and 2011 sports awards. Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:30:35 GMT 36:23 http://www.theindicast.com Warren Brennan, the man behind the Hot Spot technology used in the India England series joins us to talk about his invention, challenges and the controversies surrounding Dravids dismissal in the last test and of course, VVS Laxmans Vaseline non incident. Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:30:35 GMT 23:45 http://bit.ly/pjwSW6 Brendan Greeley joins us after a long time to talk about his feature story in BusinessWeek on Spotify entering the United States. In this podcast, he talks about how Spotify cracked the long standing question. How do we make something so much more convenient than piracy that we get people to pay for it. He also talks about his recent article on the US debt crisis and explains the standoff between the Democrats and the Republicans through the concept of game theory. Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:30:35 GMT 32:12 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://bit.ly/forbes31 Combating its menace will be one of the biggest challenges of this decade. And for most part nations like India have failed to stifle the growth of terrorism. Perhaps we still havent developed a robust understanding of its root causes and also an effective toolkit to deal with it. Thats why we requested Sundeep Waslekar, president of Strategic Foresight Group, a leading think tank which advises governments around the world, to focus on that question. He and his team have studied every major terrorist group across the world and their practices over several decades.India is at the crossroads in its war on terror. Waslekars essay is a wake-up call for those who believe success lies in simply fighting terror with terror. And that doesnt necessarily make us a soft state. Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://bit.ly/indicast146 Mumbai went through another series of blasts leading to another pointless discussion on Indicast about it. Frankly, we are tired of talking about terrorism in India, especially Mumbai. We try to bring up several points about the blasts and not talk about the usual things. Minal, who is part of Indicast Sport podcast, joined us int his episode to tell her about us experience of being at Lords Cricket Stadium on Day 1 of India vs England Test. needless to say, we dragged her into things she wasnt prepared for but handled herself quiet well. Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:30:35 GMT 38:02 http://business.in.com E-commerce in India has risen from the dead. The moneymen are back and entrepreneurs are thinking big once more. So whats changed? There are some fundamental reasons why ecommerce is set to take off in India. Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com We decided to start this episode by running through the top stories during our absence and then come to this weeks newsmakers. The talking points this week include the treasure found at Sri Padmanbhaswamy Temple and its interesting legal aspects. We then moved on to talk about Ghulam Nabi Azad and his panache for getting into verbal trouble, Rahul Gandhis PR Padyatra and Indicasts Mobile apps. Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:30:35 GMT 38:02 http://www.theindicast.com Forbes has dubbed Groupon as the fastest growing company in the world. In this podcast, we talk about the Groupon anxiety and how has Ritika learned to deal with it in Australia where she takes us through her experience of using different Groupon like services. In other news, Maruti employees went on strike which lasted until the time we recorded this podcast. And a Gujarathi businessman in UK buys himself a flying car. Sat, 02 Jul 2011 12:30:35 GMT 18:14 http://bit.ly/tkm46 Manan and I talk about the much talked about Google Street view mapping program being launched but as soon as it did the Bangalore police sent them a shut down notice. YouTube also launched the Box Office with Band Baja Baaraat seems to be making an aggressive push into publisher content. We also spend sometime talking about 100 glorious years of IBM and wonder which new age company will still be around 100 years from today. We also briefly talk about Aaramshop.com, and NIC website getting hacked. Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:30:35 GMT 38:12 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com Lately, Africa has seen a spate of investments from Indian private companies and Dr. Manmohan Singhs visit to the continent a few weeks back only adds to the growing importance of being present in an economy which is growing at 6 per cent per annum. In this podcast, we talk about all the Indian companies which have set up businesses in Africa in the past year. Back home, Hero launches its first dirt bike after splitting with Honda motors and Naomi Campbell is not too happy with Cadbury. Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:30:35 GMT 16:15 http://www.theindicast.com OECD ranked Australia as the happiest industrialised nation in the world. The Indian middle class, on the contrary is facing troubled times as the government considers increasing prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG a couple of weeks after pushing petrol prices. In the midst of this, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor visits India. In the world of IPOs, LinkedIn has a blockbuster start but we also talk about how the investment banks made more money in the deal than investors and Samsonite, the luggage maker gets listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:46 http://www.theindicast.com Acclaimed Pakistani journalist, Saleem Shahzad was brutally murdered in Islamabad a few days after he wrote an opinionated article about the talks between Al Quida and the Pakistani Naval officials breaking down. Back home in India, Baba Ramdev chose to go on a fast unto death to fight against corruption. Angela Merkel visited India for a day and in sports, Afridi announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. India, on the other hand leaves for the West Indies tour with Suresh Raina taking charge from Dhoni. Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:30 http://www.theindicast.com Dominique Strauss Kahn preferred to gamble with his position by allegedly sexually assaulting a chambermaid from a Manhattan hotel. He lost his hand, rather literally and with it out went his chances to France's president in the next term. In this podcast, we talk about what this means for IMF and the European nations who are trying to flap their hands and legs in the middle of the oceanic debt that stares at them. At Citibank, Vikram Pandit gets a retention bonus totaling to more than 10 million USD. Closer home, Ratan Tata passes some remarks on Mukesh Ambani and the Brits. Tue, 24 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:11 http://www.theindicast.com When Microsoft makes its biggest purchase in its history, everyone loves to talk about it. Skype got acquired for more than 8 billion USD. In this podcast, we talk about this and other related tech stories such as the LinkedIn Initial Public Offering (IPO) scheduled on May 19th. Reid Hoffman, the 43 year old should be happy considering that his company will be the first social network from America to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In other news, Facebook was caught planting negative stories in the press against Google. Thu, 19 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:21 http://www.theindicast.com Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalitha shine in their respective states to win landslide victories. In this podcast, Aditya gives us a run down of state elections that is currently on in India. The biggest coup came from Mamata didi who ended the 34 year long Marxist regime in West Bengal where as Jayalalitha continued the cyclical phenomenon by toppling DMK in Tamil Nadu. In other news, we also talk a bit about the recently released diaries of Osama Bin Laden. Thu, 19 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://www.theindicast.com/ In this episode, I have two TV Tech Show hosts - Sudhir Sayal of ET NOW and Aalaap Ghag, formerly of UTVs Techtree. We talk about Microsoft buying Skype - one of the most high profile acquisition in recent times. Microsof has received a lot of bashing in the press for the sort of money they spent to buy skype but here is the TKM panels take on it. Also, after discussing about the huge VC investments in the US, Indian enterpreneurs are finally seeing their share. There are no prizes that eCommerce is the focus area for VCs but is it too concentrated in one segment remains to be seen. Mon, 17 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 34:21 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com Normal is boring. That is the tenet that India seems to be working on in the wake of the biggest petrol price hike of all time. A record 32 per cent year on year and 8 per cent overnight increase has caused some discontent among the middle class. Akhilesh joins us in this episode and we talk about the hike and more. A Rs. 3000 crore subsidy package is being made ready for BSNL and MTNL with the hope of pulling them back into profits. Royal Enfield, the bike company which has a cult following in India has new plans for India. With a waiting period of more than a year, what do you expect. Sun, 15 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:23 http://www.theindicast.com The weekend Royal wedding festivities continued in some parts of the world when a confident, and emotionless Barack Obama declared that US had killed Osama in Pakistan. The incident has left Pakistan red faced since it always maintained that Osama was not in Pakistan. Some see this military operation as a blatant disregrad to Pakistan' sovereignty. As soon as the news hit India, Chidabaram was on it asking Pakistan to now hand over Dawood and Saeed Hafiz (26/11 strategist). But this seems far from happening. We cover a few more deaths that happened in India in this episode. Fri, 06 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 28:00 http://www.theindicast.com K V Kamath has been appointed as the Chairman of Infosys Inc while Mohandas Pai, the HR director of Infy quits. In this podcast, we also cover a bit about the business impact of the royal wedding. In other news, Air India has multiplied its self inflicted problems with more than 1000 pilots going on strike. This episode is unexpectedly all over the place. Hope you like it nevertheless. Ritika is back in this one. Wed, 04 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://www.theindicast.com India may soon have cardless banking if Nandan Nilekani and his team working on the Unique Identification Number can complete the project in time. After the initial testing among a sample size of 58,000 people, the project looks like it's in the right direction. In this podcast, we talk about this new way of exchanging cash from the technology as well as the consumer perspective. With an influx of 3G ads on television, we cover a few ads which have been successful in breaking the clutter, if only marginally. In other news, Kishore Biyani plans to recreate a Big Bazaar like model in the finance world. Tue, 03 May 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com Anna Hazare waited for a few days before he broke his fast. The Congress relented. In this podcast, we try and bring you what the Lokmat Bill means and why did Hazare press for it. In Sports, Sachin Tendulkar has been declared the Wisdens Leading Cricketer of the year. Pakistan plans to bring their own version of IPL amidst their captain Afridi making some interesting comments on India. Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com Sanjeev Agarwal, the Joint CEO of Big Bazaar joins us to talk about his experience of watching India play at Mohali, Ahmedabad and finally at Mumbai where India lifted the World Cup trophy after 28 years. Anna Hazares fast unto death has finally succeeded in moving people in the parliament to come up with the Lokpal bill after a longer wait of 42 years. Aditya brings up a puberty related topic where our adolescents are getting bolder by the era. Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com In our film industry, what Amitabh Bachchan or Dilip Kumar is to acting, Nitin Chandrakant Desai is to art direction. The winner of four national awards and many successful movies such as Lagaan, Devdas, Jodha Akbar, Hum Dil Dechuke Sanam, Munnabhai, etc talks about his craft and the challenges of his everyday job. He takes us through his experiece of working with directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansai, Danny Boyle and Ashutosh Gowarikar. His job demands him to think on his feet and deliver results in open sets where temperature can soar up to 45 degrees.This podcast charts the journey of the man who once lived in a 10X10 Worli chawl and today is Indias most respected Art Director who still maintains the modesty of a newcomer. Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:30:35 GMT 40:00 http://www.theindicast.com India takes on Pakistan in the second semi final later today at Mohali. In the universal set of India and Pakistan, if set A were cricket and Set B were politics, then A intersection B is confusion, tension and a false sense of security. But we do rely on hope. In this podcast, we talk about this and more. Warren Buffet is in India. The DGCA spanking continues on pilots who have forged their way into the service. And Adityas better half makes her debut in a film titled Bal Gandharva which is going to the Cannes Film Festival. Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com Even by Japans standards, the crisis is of enormous proportions. In this podcast, we try to cover the economic impact of the earthquake and the tsunami that followed. The radiation leaks in the nuclear reactor only added to the problems. Quite a few Indian IT companies have their operations in Japan and in turn Japan happens to be Indias third largest investor. While it may not affect India gravely, it is definitely not decoupled from this crisis. In other news, Rajat Gupta resigns from ISB and Grameen Banks Yunus is having his problems hanging on to the company that he created. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com/ Another 40 mins of Tech Ka Masala is here for you. Manan and I talk about Infbeams 2000 crore MoU with Gujarat Govt to e-nable rural Gujarat and help them set up their stores online. The sheer value of the MoU is staggering from an e-commerce point of view in India. They obviously see something that Manan and I cant. We also spend enough time talking about Microsofts seriousness about the Windows Phone 7 Platform given the mishaps and lack of updates to the platform and also, about LinkedIn reaching 100 mn users in India and why the phenomenal service is so undervalued. Other topics include the iPad 2 launch, layoffs expected at AOL India and XXX domain being cleared. Sun, 05 Dec 2010 12:30:35 GMT 40:10 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com Sudhir Naik, the ground incharge and the curator at Wankhede joins us to talk about the efforts that went behind making the pitch, the outfield and the stadium which will soon host the finals of the World Cup on April 2, 2011. As a former test cricketer and Mumbai Ranji captain, Sudhirji speaks passionately about his role and how he kept his head when all about him were losing theirs. He along with his team made it possible to get the ground up and running for the three matches of this World Cup by spending months together on the ground and toiling it through the summer and rains. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 27:11 http://www.theindicast.com Scarcity makes things invaluable and that is what makes the World Cup cricket a mouth watering proposition for advertisers. All India Radio is slated to earn around Rs. 7 crore from the 45 day long event. Others like Pepsi, Castrol, Hyundai, Amul have bet their best buck hoping to capture minds and eye balls. In other news, Indigo plans to hire 1,500 employees this year with aviation sector grappling the effects of rise in the Aviation Turbine Fuel price. And scooters are back. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com Wiki Leaks has found a new market. It is India. After tying up with The Hindu, it has released a few cables which accuse some of our politicians of selling votes for cash. Japan is still recovering from one of its worst nightmares after suffering from one of the biggest earthquakes of the century. Back home in India, Jairam Ramesh, our Environment Minister is gearing up to carry out a security check across all of Indias 20 nuclear plants. In other news, Vidharbha is the new Tiger capital of India and right at the end of this episode, Aditya is genuinely fascinated by a pair of silicon implants killing a snake! Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com The Indian IT industry has a new concept to deal with and TCS has pounced onto it. It is called Cloud Computing. With a revenue projection of 1 billion USD, TCS will focus on Small and Medium Enterprises which total to a whopping 38 million. Many are calling this move as the Nano of the IT world where TATA hopes to replicate its success by tapping not the Fortune 500 companies but the smaller ones who can avail of this interesting concept. Rolls Royce, the British car maker announced record sales in India. We briefly cover the Union Budget highlights in this episode. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com Did you know that there were 18,000 Indians holed up in Libya about a week back. The Indian government is going all out to evacuate all Indians in the region as Col Gaddafi refuses to let go of his assumed control over Libya. Back home, Aruna Shanbaug lies in a vegetative state for 37 years running but sees a glimmer of hope as the court allows passive euthanasia in her case. We would love to know your views on euthanasia. Have you heard of a state stocking up on blood in anticipation of state elections. We just did. It is West Bengal. In other news, our beloved Uncle Pai, the creator of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle series passed away. RIP. Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh woke up to the din surrounding him and ordered a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the corruption scandals that have rocked the government in the past few months. The High Court has upheld its death penalty sentence on Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist who was involved in the 26th November attacks. The Cricket World Cup 2011 is here and the the official website entrusted with selling tickets to fans was overwhelmed when 10 million hits landed on the website in a matter of minutes before the servers saturated. In this rather light podcast, we talk about a little bit of everything. Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com The World Cup is peaking with Ireland recording the first upset of the tournament by beating England. However, Ayaz is vocal about whether they can sustain this success and that there should be a better way of inducting the minnows in the world cup by having a more rigourous selection process. Ayaz and Minal take us through the bowling strengths of all teams. The surprise package is Shahid Afridi who has already bagged two 5 fors in three matches. Imran Tahir from South Africa made a dream debut for South Africa knocking off three wickets against West Indies. Ayaz places special respect for the young man and Minal wonders when will our spinners get their act together. Minal brings up the Ponting behaviour who hurt a TV set and Ayaz has an interesting theory on why players should be allowed to do this! Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:21 http://www.theindicast.com Egypt showed the world how the common man can wake up and throw everything hes got against an oppressive regime. Aditya feels that India has reached its inflection point too. I beg to differ and the argument continues... In our neighbouring country, not all is well. Former president Musharraf has been accused of murdering Bhutto. In sports, the Cricket World Cup 2011 has begun. Who are you betting on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com/ In this longish episode of Indicast, Manan and I talk about the 15 long years that India has had internet and we did get a bit nostalgic sharing our personal dial up internet stories. India ranks 4th in the world with 81 million users and 1 million domain names registered however, the stats dont consider the quality of internet service which has been a huge problem in India. We hope that the upcoming 3G launches brings respite to us. In other topics, we discuss about mobile app stores hitting India, PPL digital revenues surging, 12th Planning Commission launching a page on facebook, the big Nokia and Microsoft alliance and BTW, we might be in a tech bubble. Sun, 05 Dec 2010 12:30:35 GMT 33:20 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com Its hard to believe that a fearless competitor who would charge at lightning speed towards his opponents to tackle a ball which can sometimes fly at 150 miles per hour can be so modest and down to earth with his words. Viren Rasquinha talks about his experience as Indian hockey team captain, the challenges plaguing Indian hockey and the demands of playing an international sport. As a merit ranker in school and an international level sportsman, Viren had the pick of jobs at the Indian School of Business, where he was pursuing his MBA. Instead, he chose to roll up his sleeves and get down to resolving the issues challenging Indian sports players by joining Olympic Gold Quest as COO. Olympic Gold Quest is an organization founded by Geet Seethi and Prakash Padukone that supports top-notch Indian players with the most potential of winning an Olympic Gold medal for India. 1 billion people in India and only 1 individual Olympic gold - Olympic Gold Quest aims to change this. Support Olympic Gold Quest at http://www.olympicgoldquest.in Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:30:35 GMT 22:10 http://www.theindicast.com The legendary artist, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi passed away and Aditya recounts some of his experiences of watching Pandits live concerts. This week saw high profile exits of top CEOs from India as well as the US hopefully for the best. In some good news, India set up its first tidal plant in Gujarat. In politics, the Ekta Yatra orchestrated by BJP was predictably stopped in Jammu and Kashmir. In sports, Coke has poached Sachin from Pepsi and Gary Kirsten, argubaly India's best coach will call it quits after the World Cup. Thu, 03 Feb 2011 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 http://www.theindicast.com Ayaz and Minal start the podcast by taking us through the recently concluded India and South Africa ODI series and the gains that both countries can look forward to carry in the world cup 2011. While Virat Kohli and Pathan Seniors form gives our selectors some pleasant worry as they will have to drop at least one batsman, Ayaz reckons that Raina may have to bear the brunt of their splendid run. This podcast also covers teams from the Group A with special focus on Pakistan cricket which has submitted its team without naming its captain! The coverage is back to ESPN STAR sports and they face a touch challenge to bring us unadulterated cricketing content Sat, 29 Jan 2011 12:30:35 GMT 19:21 http://www.theindicast.com With the World Cup only a month away, one would have thought that all TV ad spots would start advertising the biggest spectacle which is played once in four years, but IPL auctions stole the wind out of the World Cup with players being bought and sold in an open English auction. In other news, India is undertaking the biggest operation in the decade census and this time the transgenders have been recognised under the others category. Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:30:35 GMT 31:00 http://www.theindicast.com 2010 came and went. Aditya dubs it as the year of scams and names such as A Raja, Swami Nityananda, Nira Radia, Kalmadi, Chavan come to mind. But ironically, one man who made a tremendous mark on India is from the world of politics Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar. India probably had one of its best years in sports. In this episode, we celebrate our 5 years of tormenting and entertaining each one of you. Thanks for sticking with us. Spread the word. Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:30:35 GMT 31:00 http://www.theindicast.com Thanks all you guys for sticking with us all throughout the 50 episodes. This one is dedicated to each one of you. We start this one by talking about the unforeseen increase in the onion prices and how it is affecting the common man. Akhilesh brings in Baba Ramdev in a business podcast because Akhi reckons that the Baba could give the MNCs a run for their money for competing with Ramdevs line of products. Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:30:35 GMT 15:10 http://www.theindicast.com It was a big surprise when I found out that the lyricist for 3 Idiots and Lage Raho Munnbhai was the same person. Now, in the list of the above two movies, add Parineeta, Khoya Khoya Chand, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and the reason to have Swanand Kirkire on Point Blank is obvious. His abilities are not restricted to song writing. He has been an Assistant director, dialogue writer, music director, and an accomplished singer (think Baanwara Mann). I got a chance to spend some time and record a very candid podcast with Swanand at a farm house. That will explain the occasional buffalo moos, crows cawing and a train passing by. Wed, 22 Dec 2010 12:30:35 GMT 22:10 http://www.theindicast.com It has been 2 weeks since our honorable members of Parliaments havent done anything productive. Parliament continues to be in suspended mode. Why? Opposition is asking for a JPC. What is a JPC? We had the same question, so we decided to dig deeper. In other stories, we talk about Arundhati Roy and Geelani to be arrested for Sedition (we explain Sedition too), Indian ranked 6th in terms of nuclear power generation capabilities and 600,000 dying due to passive smoking. Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:30:35 GMT 31:00 http://www.theindicast.com When an IAS officer is caught for corruption, it isn't a big deal, but when he uses encrypted language in his telephone conversations to cover up, we also get a trailer of the hilarious side of such crimes. Listen to know what we mean! The 2G license scam has banks having withdrawal symptoms. While Dalai Lama contemplates retirement, the pope approves selective condom use. In sports, Kumble and Srinath become the new face of Karnataka cricket. Fri, 26 Nov 2010 12:30:35 GMT 29:10 http://www.theindicast.com The episode covers the opinions on the 2G spam that has been reported in the CAG. Adding fuel to the fire, OPEN magazine leaked telephone taps which reveals the level of lobbying that happened while the cabinet portfolios were distributed. While politics dominated this episode, we managed to squeeze in cricket, BCCI contracts, and the latest American of Indian origin to make the news. Sun, 21 Nov 2010 12:30:35 GMT 30:00 http://www.theindicast.com One of the biggest scams of 2010 unravel as the Adarsh Housing Colony in Colaba finds itself occupied by certain politicians and their kins. Obama visits India and the preparations are in full swing; Aditya who works in the heart of Bombay feels that we have added one more reason to the traffic jams - the Obama visit. In some good news, India comes tantalizingly close to eradicating polio. In Sports, Venkateshwara Hatcheries is betting big on an English Premier League team. Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://www.theindicast.com Coal India, the world's largest coal mining company offered itself to be devoured on the stock market making it India's biggest Initial Public Offering (IPO) till date. In this episode, we try to cover the modalities of the offer, the effect it will have on the dollar and rupee relationship and a lot more. In other news, Vodafone has set itself up for the 3G roll out. In celebrity business news, Mukesh Ambani moves into his billion dollar apartment. Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:30:35 GMT 09:00 http://www.theindicast.com The Navratri and Durga festivals have ended along with the Common Wealth Games but, the action surrounding CWG seems to be heating up. CBI, Enforcement Directorate and several other investigation bodies are readying themselves for games. In other top news stories of the week, India got elected as a non permanent to the UN Security Council after 20 long years, Kerala police bust a gang of telemarketers, and Nirmohi Akhara and Muslim law board decide to take the Ayodhya issue to the supreme court. Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://www.theindicast.com After a lot of negative press leading upto CWG, the opening ceremony has a bit hit. The jugaad worked, again. India has had a successful CWG campaign so far and are ranked 2nd in the medal tally behind Australia. The other topics discussed include Sachins and Laxmans exploit against Australia, launch of Project Aadhaar, and Indias billionaire list. Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:30:35 GMT 21:00 http://www.theindicast.com/ It's a big day for Microsoft and Manan was there to witness it. Microsoft announced the Windows Phone 7 and, according to Manan, they have got it right this time. The hardware and software are completely redesigned to be a worthy contender for your money. Manan dropped off after talking Windows phone but Rati Chaudhary, Principal Science & Technology Correspondent at CNN IBN, kept me company to discuss DRDO's attempt to create an OS for India, Microsoft and Adobe getting cozy, and a few other topics. Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:30:35 GMT 33:25 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com Kalmadi, finally, stepped up and owned up to his responsibility with a few caveats about the money spent by the organizing committee but the bad press for CWG continues. The Ayodhya verdict is expected today and the government has taken the security concerns very seriously. Offices and schools plan to remain closed in anticipation of problems but does the Ayodhya issue really matter any anymore? In other topics, we discuss the unfortunate incident that killed 7 elephants, visa requirements for Indians, space tourism, Peepli LIVE as India's entry to Oscars and update on the spot fixing controversy. Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:30:35 GMT 37:00 http://www.theindicast.com We might have missed the pakistan "spot fixing" saga and then the Gokulashtami celebration but are back in time for Ganpati. The recent Jama Masjid firing might just cause a dip in the collections at Mumbai's largest Ganesh mandal. The other stories include waiting for the decision on Ayodhya, CWG mess, Sania's faux pas, Mahesh Bhupathi's innovative tax planning and China making me thank for being an Indian. In the interest of avoiding further delays, we recorded the episode via cell phone so please bear with the audio quality. Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:30:35 GMT 32:00 http://www.theindicast.com Research in Motion, the Canadian company which manufactures the world famous business device Blackberry is in a fix. It is running against a tight deadline set by the Indian government. Like other countries where Blackberry operates, India demands that Blackberry mails and SMSs be allowed to be scanned for security reasons. In other news, Nokia entered the dual SIM market in India. Google's Youtube has opened up a pay per view for 5USD where you can rent movies online. Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:30:35 GMT 09:00 http://www.theindicast.com This episode of Indicast starts on a rather sad note with the flood situation in Leh and Pakistan. The rescue efforts are in full swing in both places, but like most desperate situations the aid is still far from sufficient. The rest of the world is also facing a lot of heat due to climate change. The magnitude of news that the Commonwealth Games is churning has reaching new proportions with new scams and cases misappropriation of funds showing up. Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:30:35 GMT 26:00 http://www.theindicast.com/ We have a lot of hardware oriented stories ranging from tablet PC devices, mobiles phone to even "Made-in-India" super computer called Annapurna developed by the Institute of Mathetical Sciences.Other stories include Make My Trip IPO, Blackberry getting into trouble with several countries, Yahoo Japan signing up with Google and Google shutting down Wave. Manan Kakkar joins in as a guest contributor for this podcast. Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:30:35 GMT 40:25 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com We are back after a break and you might be getting a bit tired of us saying that over and over again. We missed a few important events like the world cup, and the pakistan peace talks breaking down for the nth time. However, we start with the new Indian rupee symbol, Bihar women fast tracking their pregnancies, Ministers by passing the gag order by Congress by taking to twitter and the active sports sections - Saina is #2 and Murli reached ends his test cricket with 800 wickets. Wed, 4 Aug 2010 12:30:35 GMT 31:11 http://www.theindicast.com/ Recently, India's Internet had its own Epic moment when Hidden Reflex, a Bangalore based software startup, has launched a browser targeted at Indian audiences. Saket downloaded it and gave it a quick test drive and shares his experiences. The other stories include muslims planning to quit facebook, Apple iPhone 4 rejected by Consumer Reports, XXX to be a TLD, and Maharashtras DTE website turns into rubbish. Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 28:15 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com The league stage of the Football World Cup 2010 is over. France and Italy faile dto make it through. Now, start the knowout phase, where one bad game and the effort put into over two years in the qualification will bite the dust. The tournament has already thrown enough surprises in the form of Slovakia and Serbia. No team can be taken for granted. Arunava joins in to discuss the Pre-quater stage and the big matches to watch out for in the Pre- Quarter final stage is the England vs Germany and Portugal vs Spain. Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 26:19 http://www.theindicast.com/wogma/episode-list A lovely take on arranged marriage though the me better, me better competition between Mumbai and Pune gets overbearing after the first few times. Yet, there is enough to take away from the film. Besides the basic one line concept, the dialogue between two complete strangers is written really well and delivered in a decent manner too. The chemistry shared between people who have just met but for some reason or the other end up spending a day together is beautifully directed and enacted. Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 21:15 http://www.theindicast.com/wogma/episode-list It's so confusing when seriousness is dealt with song and dance. Wish the film was advertised as modern Ram Leela performed in a tribal theater. That expectation would have prepped me to deal with the over-dramatization a lot better. We also briefly touched upon a very well made- Jhing Chik Jhing. It defintely is a worth a watch, preferably in the theaters to support the producers who have made an honest and decent effort. Sat, 19 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 8:24 http://www.theindicast.com/ Its been quiet a week in the technology world with a mix of product announcements - Apple iPhone 4, India's 3G auction completion, Google sniffing its into trouble, and Hotmail releasing a new feature for India to enable access hotmail via SMS. Need less to say that Apple iPhone 4 stole the limelight this week. Saket is impressed by the display and I like the front facing camera for FaceTime. We also talk about iPhone coming to India. Things are a bit hazy and we discuss the expected pricing. Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 28:15 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com In this episode, we review Group E consisting of Netherlands, Denmark, Cameroon, and Japan. Jan Roskott joins us as a special guest and long with Vikram, our resident contributor. Jan is the chief blogger at the NEtherlands World Cup Blog. He was also fortunate to be present behind the nets when Netherlands won the Euro 88. While Netherlands seems to be favourite to move on from this group, but the second spot is still up for grabs with Cameroon, Denmark and Japan vying for it. Sat, 12 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 35:24 http://www.theindicast.com Abhijit Dasgupta, the Deputy Editor of India Today Magazine was kind enough to join us on a Skype call from the beautiful city of Kolkata which is lately the cynosure of all Indian political news. Mamata Banerjee helped get WB on the front pages by winning the civic polls and two days before her landslide victory she made some rather controversial remarks about the Gyaneshwari Express train derailment. Abhijit, very eloquently talks about his experience of interviewing and covering the colourful politician over his career which spans over more than three decades. In other news, the missing black box from the Air India crash site has been retrieved. Chand Kumar Prasad, a 24 year old employed with the Indian Navy has been accused of spying. The heat wave in the north has reached new levels! Sun, 6 Jun 2010 12:30:35 GMT 28:10 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode, we review Group B consisting of Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, and Greece. Nani calls this group of indiscipline. All teams, ecept South Korea are still figuring out their match strategies, including Argentina. Argentina is having problems with selecting their final 11, Nigeria's got a new coach just a week back and Greece has never won a world cup match. The group could see South Korea causing some havoc once again. Sun, 30 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:19 http://www.theindicast.com In this episode, we review Group A consisting of South Africa, Argentia, Mexico and Uruguay. But even before getting into the podcast with the group discussion, guess how was the Soccer City Stadium inaugrated? to say the least, it was a bit different. Group A is very close to being the Group of Death and Nani tells us why. Sat, 29 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:07 http://www.theindicast.com It's that time again. The World's most popular sport will see which country is the world's best. The Football (not soccer) World Cup 2010 is all set to kick off in 3 weeks. Indicast intends to bring you a special series covering all things Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa. We will not only with doing a weekly review of the matches once the World Cup starts but will also be bringing you a round up of all teams participating group by group. In the first Sports Bench Podcast - Football World Cup 2010 edition, we decided to keep the discussion around the history of World Cup and overview about the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Vikram Nanivadekar and Adwait Patil, the resident football enthusiasts join the discussion. Wed, 26 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 20:08 http://www.theindicast.com The episode starts on a very sombre note with discussions around the Mangalore Air crash however the topics get a bit cheerful after that. On the occassion of completing one year of UPA II, the Indian PM Manmohan Singh decided to sit face to face with the press and provide an update about the work done. the other topics on this episode include, an All India bengali team conquering Mt Everest, Dawood 3rd on the Forbes Most Wanted List, and the 99 year old half marathon runner. Tue, 25 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 40:18 http://www.theindicast.com It was the 150th Birth Anniversay of India's, for that matter - Asia', first Nobel Laureat. We start with remembering and talking about Rabindranath Tagore and a few side stories about his Life. We then digress to general opinions about Bengalis (hardly a surprise). The other topics include Jayram Ramesh getting pulled up by Manmohan Singh for mouthing off, Anand's winning streak, Nithari killer getting death sentence, and the death of tongas in Delhi. Tue, 18 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 34:29 http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, Rajdeep Sardesai takes us back to his school days and talks passionately about his cricket, table tennis and quizzing before drifting into journalism after studying Law at Oxford University. His dad, Dilip Sardesai, comes to life in the conversation when Rajdeep talks fondly about the values that he grew up on. Rajdeep started his career at a time when Television was yet to make its debut and in his words, Journalism was not as glamourous as it is today. There was a lot of drudgery involved. Rajdeep reasons out why the quality of modern journalism has been in decadence. Yet he is hopeful that this only presents an opportunity for some interesting stories to be told. He believes that news channels will soon be judged on their credibility and integrity and not on how much noise they can make. He also uses strong words against the Quick Fix journalism that Indian media indulges in under the veil of investigative journalism. Like an experienced test match opening batsman, Rajdeep Sardesai plays it safe in the V until the 9th minute and then cuts lose without mincing words in the slog overs right until the last minute. Mon, 17 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:05 http://www.theindicast.com Terrorist Ajmal Kasab has been given the death sentence. Ujjwal Nikam, the public procecutor deserves a special mention. INS Shivalik marks a historic breakthrough in the history of Indian navy by becoming india's first stealth warship which is non detectable in high seas. Manmohan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar among many others find their name in TIME magazine's annual list of achievers. The Delhi University gave itself a bad name this week when it sold radioactive material to a scrap dealer! Fri, 07 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 30:19 http://www.theindicast.com The IPL ended and so did Modi's regime. Chirayu Amin has been brought in as the interim chief of IPL. The Glocodyn man is thinking of doing away with Cheergirls and IPL nights and focus on cricket. (Modi is laughing somewhere). The other taopics include the 364 passenger having a near death experience and India's very own matahari. Sun, 02 May 2010 12:30:35 GMT 41:50 http://www.theindicast.com We recorded this episode a day before Modi was suspended. This podcast also talks about how the Mobile service providers in India have found new ways to milk the devotional customers where you could directly connect with God through an SMS. Aditya has some interesting examples. In Jammu and Kashmir, the government almost succeeded in banning the use of bulk SMSs for the fear of spreading rumors which could cause unnecessary panic. Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:30:35 GMT 41:50 http://www.theindicast.com The Indian government is contemplating on giving out direct subsidies to the poor by distributing food coupons which can be exchanged for food items at market prices. Do not hold your breath. The government is only in a contemplation mode, but in this podcast we talk about what are the highlights, advantages and consequences of such a step. The prototype of executing this step is already ready with Sri Lanka which had done this way back in 1979. In the auto industry, Daimler joins Nissan and Renault in an alliance to share technology and reduce cost. In other news, the management thinker, C K Prahlad passed away. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:30:35 GMT 24:20 http://www.theindicast.com Santosh Ostwal is a maverick engineer who made it possible for the Indian farmer to trigger his irrigation pump with the help of a mobile phone. Do not rub your eyes. You read it right. As an adolescent, Santosh watched his 82 year old grandfather toil hard during the day and then make multiple rounds to the farm with a walking stick in the middle of the night to switch on the electric pump. This entailed facing the grave risk of being mugged or being attacked by snakes and other wild life among a host of other threats. All this to ensure that the crops are well watered. After this incident, Santosh made up his mind to use his engineering knowledge to make a difference for thousands of farmers who lived the same story. Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:30:35 GMT 42:40 http://www.theindicast.com This week was all about Sania Mirza becoming Sania Malik. Aditya gives us a crash course in islamic weddings. We also end up talking a bit about the concept of VOIP marriages which Aditya is strictly against. In some sad news, 76 CRPF jawans were killed by the maoists. Mr. Chidambaram offered to quit, but his resignation was not accepted. We hold ourselves back this time before going on a rant on criticizing the government. You will know why when you listen to the episode. Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:30:35 GMT 24:50 http://www.theindicast.com Ayaz Memon and Minal, join me to talk all things IPL for the 3rd episode at the end of 37 matches of IPL 3. The top of the IPL 3 league standings remains unchanged with Mumbai still on top but Chennai Super Kings has moved up significantly. Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:30:35 GMT 20:00 http://www.theindicast.com It's very rare for abhishek to get excited about any story that we discuss on Indicast with the exception of sachin scoring a century. But Milkha Singh selling his life story to be made into a movie for Re. 1 was something that got him going. He was so impatient that I spent most time figuring out how to get thim talking on other topics like the Kingfisher bomb scare, Mayawati's Maharally, and new teams being introduced in IPL 4. Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 33:50 http://www.theindicast.com The cricketing world sees it as a money making machine. But what are the different sources of revenue for the IPL. In this podcast, we try and give you the business side of the IPL by talking about the deals that have been signed in the run up to the third season of the IPL. All teams without exceptions have recovered their money which only proves the success of the business model which is evolving at best. In other news, Carlos Slim was declared as the world's richest man. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 26:20 http://www.theindicast.com/ This show is the most "Indian" episode with ALL stories coming from India. The telecom market has been kept on toes by Tata ever since the price war cry by Tata DoCoMo. They have further launched a new internet to TV product called Dialog. The other conversations are around the bunch mobile handset players that have entered India, Google launching metro routes on Google maps in India and a special "dumb" Nexus one being planned for India. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 33:55 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com Here is a question for all you folks. See if you can crack it. What do you call a man who is an actor, screenwriter and director by profession, a sportsman who represented his country in one of the most physically demanding sports, a well informed social activist, a food lover, a stand up comedian and someone who describes himself as half Bengali, one fourth Maharastrian and one fourth Bengali by birth. Well, you can call the man Rahul Bose.Whether it is the Womens Reservation Bill which is making news at the moment or the beautiful craft of acting in movies, Rahul, in this candid chat with us is outspoken, eloquent and modest, a deadly combination. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 43:05 http://www.theindicast.com We all have grown up to looking up to Toyota and Honda as Gods of quality and production standards, but when you find out that a few 100,000 cars are recalled due to unintended acceleration and a few thousands for a faulty door mat which would jam the breaks, you wonder if these Gods have a sense of humour. In this episode we discuss the major recalls of the car industry and how they are dealing with them. In other news, the Wall Street goes easy on this years CEO pay packages. Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:40 http://www.theindicast.com The day started with all of us reading about the tragic death of more than 10 people living in Bangalore when an office building caught fire. One of our listeners from Bangalore, Lakshmikant joins in to give us the ground zero POV of the unfortunate event. Later in the day, Sachin made history by scoring the first double century in the history of One Day International cricket. Pune blasts toll reach 15 and Telangana state claimed the life of a 19 year old to suicide. In other news, schools seeking donations can face some serious trouble with a new bill being passed. On the tech front, India will launch its first stealth submarine. Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:05 http://www.theindicast.com/ We have barely completed 2 months of 2010 and we already have 3 major product announcements. At 53 minutes, this episode is the longest ever for Tech Ka Masala but with the announcement of iPad and the controversy, Google Buzz and WIndows Phone 7, we thought it deserved the extra time. Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:30:35 GMT 53:06 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com Whats common between Rahul Gandhi, SRK, Mukesh Ambani and Sachin Tendulkars apart from their rather envious bank accounts Yeah, its not too hard to guess. Their strong affinity towards Shiv Sena and MNS. In other news, in Egypt, some Muslim Scholar issued a fatwa stating that a woman browsing a social networking site will be considered to be a sinner. Back home here in India, Rahul Mahajan is part of an interesting reality show. Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:30:35 GMT 20:05 http://www.theindicast.com The Economists Business Affairs Editor joined us to talk about his cover story on the iPad. In this podcast, Tom makes some interesting observations on how the device will be more acceptable by the grandmothers and the members of the non geek world. He also shares his opinions on how the iPad will affect the online publishing and the newspaper industry. Tom is known for speaking his mind on the subject that he loves Apple and Technology and thats exactly what he does in this podcast too. Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:40 http://www.theindicast.com Although Cadburys is a brand from UK, it elicits a lot of fond memories from Indians here in India. Blame it on their beautiful advertising (credit goes to O and M). So when Kraft decided to make an offer that Cadbury's is mulling over, we thought why not talk about the deal from Indias perspective. Inflation in India is howering at 16 per cent and the prices of essential commodities have gone through the roof. On the other hand in Australia where Ritika is currently residing, the story is the other way around. Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:40 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-110-an-encore-with-gul-panag/ Some good soul has said that Having a good conversation is one of the great joys of being human and if it is coupled with the sustained charm, wit and energy of Gul Panag, you are in for a treat. A big shout out to Gul who did an encore of sorts by firing away on topics ranging from the controversial Padma Shree awards to the relevance of National awards in todays context. For a self confessed cricket un-fan, Gul was pretty vocal about the non selection of the Pakistani players in the IPL. And we also got some first hand dope on her forthcoming release, 'Rann'. Gul enriches an enviable ensemble cast which include the likes of Paresh Rawal and Amitabh Bachchan. The movie releases today. Check it our over the weekend! Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:05 http://www.theindicast.com In the first Bizination episode for 2010, we bring you a list of top 10 Business news of 2009 that made waves in India. Tell us if you agree with our list! Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:30:35 GMT 30:40 http://www.theindicast.com/point-blank/point-blank-with-neville-roach/ Born in India, having spent a major part of his life in Australia, and having worked on building Indo-Australian ties both on the government and business level, We can think of no one better than Mr. Neville Roach to shed light on the current state of affairs between India and Australia. The latest and a significant addition to the already enviable bio is his recent appointment to the Indian Prime Ministers Global Advisory Council of Overseas Indians. Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:30:35 GMT 30:40 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-109-delhi-fogged-out/ Sidin, the Managing Editor of LiveMint.com joined us to talk a bit about his forthcoming book, Dork: The Incredible Adventures of Robin Einstein Varghese and a bit more about the Chetan Bhagat controversy which has found a lot of newspaper space lately. This podcast was free-flowing (uh another way of saying that we were all over the place). We spoke about how beautifully the Indian Hockey Federation is handing its hockey players demands by breaking new records in unprofessionalis Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:30:35 GMT 25:15 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-108-ending-2009/ The last episode and week of the year 2009 and infact the decade was full of controversies and dejections. Starting with Sheila Dixit and her prayer for a successful CWG to 86 year old Governor beging serviced at Raj Bhavan. Any case, keep listening in the upcoming decade. Fri, 1 Jan 2010 12:30:35 GMT 26:10 http://www.theindicast.com If anyone can come close to playing God today, then it's unargubaly Google. In its latest move it is contemplating on charging its users (virtually all of us) for accessing news online. We cant blame Google for this since this demand has come from folks like Murdoch and the likes who claim to be losing tons of money by inviting readers to browse stories free of cost. In India, Bajaj has taken a bold (but predictable and emotional) decision to discontinue its scooters. Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 26:20 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-107-the-copenhagen-what/ One venue: Copenhagen. 192 countries. One goal is to reduce carbon emissions which isnt doing any good to the climate. The Copenhagen accord was reached after rigourous debate among representatives of 192 countries. What's it all about? You tell us if you have figured it out so far. Back home in India Congress has sanctioned the formation of a new state Telangana and in Gujarat, the Panchayat elections will now be made compulsory. In cricket, India and Sri Lanka give each other a run for their money in the ODI series. Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:47 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-106-25-years-and-still-waiting/ 25 years after the biggest man made tragedy and the victims are still on the streets fighting another tragedy the government. The Bhopal Gas tragedy completed 25 years and people out there are still hoping to receive fair compensation for the genocide that was caused due to a gas leak from a Multinational company. The absenteeism in the parliament is at a new time high. In soprts, India are world number one in cricket and Tiger woods beats all records off the field this time . Sun, 13 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:47 http://www.theindicast.com/featured/rocket-singh-movie-review/ An adorable experience. A drama-free which by definition includes melodrama-free execution. Super-witty dialogues that are timed superbly. And a plot that flows smoothly. What more can we ask for? Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 3:47 http://www.theindicast.com/wogma/paa-movie-review/ A film that invokes thoughts on varying subjects from single parenthood, rare diseases to politics. And it does so successfully. As if that werent enough it is all put together in a relatively unusual plot and has one superb performance by Amitabh Bachchan which overshadows brilliant performances by the rest of the cast too. Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 7:20 http://www.theindicast.com Some would say 17 years is a long time for a report to be publised especially if its a judgement coming from the Supreme Court for a genocide like a riot which killed 2000 people (reported figures) in the Babri Maszid riot (read: pogrom). 26/11 is one year old now and Maharashtra has set up a Special Task Force called Force 1 for combating any terror strikes. In another news, pilgrimage places are becoming sex hot spots. The biggest exam in town, CAT goes online and sends servers crashing. Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:20 http://www.theindicast.com For the last decade or so, Dubai invoked awe and admiration for the pace at which it could lead a creative growth which was not limited to building sky scrapers, but other garnishing like man made islands, artificial arctic like winter, etc. All these developments were funded by the Government through its investing arm, Dubai World which announced that it could not pay off the $59 billion loan to the banks. The stock markets came crashing down. While that happened, we also talk about the companies from India which are raising money to carry out their expansion activities. The recovery has begun. Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:20 http://www.theindicast.com AMD and Intel are the fiercest of competitors. And we've been taught that almost all is fair in love, war and the corporate world. Intel took it a bit too far and had to cough up 1.5 billion USD to AMD for uh cheating. This is what they call out of court settlement. In News from India, the government is on a gold buying spree from the IMF. Toyota, the Japanese auto major has put its papers in F1. We sign off this episode by talking a bit about Inflation waking up after a rather prolonged period of hibernation. Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:20 http://www.theindicast.com When two Sachin fans get together to talk about Him, you might expect a rather one sided conversation, but Aditya surprised me with his take on the recent unintended controversy that Sachin kicked off in the midst of his 20 years of international cricket which was spiced up a little bit with his seemingly innocent and matter of fact remark about Mumbai being a part of India and that it belongs to everyone equally. In other news, in the assembly elections, MNS MLAs beat up Abu Azmi for not taking his oath in Marathi. In Bihar, relief cheque from the state government to certain mishap victims bounced. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:30:35 GMT 26:20 http://www.theindicast.com/point-blank/point-blank-with-pritish-nandy/ A poet, a journalist, a sportsman, a publishing editor of Indias premier newspaper, a photographer, a traveler, a film maker - all in one lifetime and still going strong. If this were a quiz question, one needn't require any options to choose from. The name that comes at the top of one's mind is that of Pritish Nandy. In this point blank chat with Aditya, Nandy gets candid on his colourful career so far right from his schooling days where his poems would get him plaudits from accomplished writers and female fans to his stint as a successful producer of cult films like Hazaron Khwaishein aaisee. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:30:35 GMT 38:40 http://www.theindicast.com/point-blank/point-blank-with-shashi-tharoor/ 'Shashi Tharoor Jeetega Zaroor' was the campaign slogan that his supporters chanted when a precocious Tharoor was running for the president of his college union. He won then and three decades later, in 2009, Dr Shashi tharoor won again, this time as the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and a member of the Indian Parliament from the Trivandrum constituency in Kerala. In this podcast, Dr Tharoor talks about his experience as a diplomat at the UN and the eventful transition to Indian politics. In his beautiful and typical story telling style, he shares anecdotes about how he not only connected to the masses on the Internet but more importantly went the extra mile to win the hearts and minds of the labour class. He also shares his views on the unintended controversy that Twitter gave birth to. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:35 GMT 13:20 http://www.theindicast.com Scams are back. Three guys from the 1983 batch of Wharton Business School have been accused of orchestrating one of the biggest hedge fund scams in a long time. This is a text book case of Insider trading. But not all news is sad news on the Wall Street. Most companies have posted Quarterly profits. In India, Lakshmi Mittal, the CEO of Arcelor Mittal threatened to quit all his projects from Orissa and Jharkhand. Ritika has strong views on the whole issue of land allocation for such projects which causes a lot of friction between the locals and the state government. In some sad news, Ranjan Das, SAP India head died of a massive heart attack. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:30:35 GMT 28:20 http://www.theindicast.com The General Elections results are out and Congress is back in power in major states. Aditya describes his experience of watching Rahul Gandhi deliver a speech in Adityas home town, Panvel. In other news, Rajdhani Express was hijacked by Maoists but the only relief was that no one was hurt. In education, Kapil Sibal makes it even more difficult to get into an IIT college in India. ISRO and IAF are fighing a healthy battle to send a representative into outer space. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 35:20 http://www.theindicast.com/ Happy Diwali Folks. In this unusually lighthearted episode, we talk about Adityas voting experience in the recently concluded state elections. Then we move on to talk about a very serious issue of Obama winning himself an Oscar. Or was it a Nobel? In Sports, Serena Williams posed nude for the body issue of ESPN magazine. Somewhere in India, a couple was asked to tie a rakhee because the Village Panchayat did not approve their love. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:15 http://www.theindicast.com This episode of BiziNation is dedicated to the Internet. Lately, social networking sites are showing signs of finally making some money USocial, an Australian site is selling friends to companies who can send targeted messages to its audience. On the Operating Systems front, Microsoft launched its new OS with an a very questionable but an effective ad campaign. Yahoo! is spilling $100 million on advertising in the traditional media, a sign of growing desperation. Google on the other hand has launched an ad exchange program on the web much like the stock market in the physical world. Also, back home, an IIT entrepreneur launched Phokat Copy, a service which subsidizes photocopies for students in India. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:20 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com/tech-ka-masala/tkm-25-curiosity-killed-the-internet/ What can bring china's internet to a screeching halt? - Lesbians or just the myth about a lesbian city. In other topics we talk about Kindle coming to India, Microsoft, Paypal killing a user account, Microsoft office - Starter Edition and snow leopard eating up user data. This week's news update include EU giving a go ahead to Microsoft's browser ballot solution. Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 28:45 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft http://www.theindicast.com/ We start our 101st episode by talking about how the Indian cricket team was knocked off from the Champions trophy in the second round itself. But we were a bit more fascinated with Kirsten who wanted to use sex as a weapon against other countries, but failed. In other news, 100 Indian pilots demand for VRS scheme and our PSUs are draining Rs. 31,000 crore every year. ISRO brings a smile to all our faces by launching 7 satellites in 1200 seconds. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:15 http://www.theindicast.com/tech-ka-masala/tech-ka-masala/tkm-23-patent-trouble.html The 3G adoption in India isnt going anywhere with only MTNL and BSNL in the market but that isnt stopping MTNL tying up with Dell to put out a 3G Netbook. After launching a subscription MP3 services, Hungama has announced a Rs.10 per download service on their website. In other news, we talk about Google SideWiki, Google Chrome Frame, Microsoft suing malvertisers, and a few updates from previous episodes. Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:30:35 GMT 28:15 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Google, Microsoft office web 2010 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-100-gul-panag-uncut/ Indicast's much awaited episode #100 is here and its in video as promised. Gul Panag was kind enough to join us in the fracas and add to it! The episode is probably the lengthiest episode of Indicast but it's worth every minute. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 59:05 http://www.theindicast.com This episode is about how businesses are adapting themselves to the changes in their environment. Levis has launched an EMI scheme to make your favourite pair of Levis jeans affordable to you. Launch of world's first digi novel is a testiment to how the publishing industry and authors are using novel ways to face the challenges thrown by the new media of internet. We talk about google being at its innovative best. India's biggest and favourite insurer LIC is no longer shying away from the equity market. PG comes to the rescue of the Olympics committee as sporting events feel the heat of recession. Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:20 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com There are no free lunches and so removing money from an ATM other than your bank's will now cost you but the first five in a month are free.Listen about how banks in Australia charge ATM interchange fees to customers. Sad news for all Reader digest fans as the company declares bankruptcy in US. Biking fans in India welcome the entry of Harley Davidson. Maverick CEO Michael Leary of Ryan Air teaches a few things about running a profitable airlines in time of slump. Spicejet does better than its full service rival. Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 25:20 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast-100-gul-panag-uncut/ Indicast's much awaited episode #100 is here and it's in video as promised. Gul Panag was kind enough to join us in the fracas and add to it! The episode is probably the lengthiest episode of Indicast but it's worth every minute. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 59:05 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-98-go-force-india-go.html The last week was an exciting one for Indian sports. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati went head to head in the US Open. In billiards, Pankaj Advani made history. In cricket, India beat New Zealand in the tri series being played in Lanka. In other news, in real estate, a 3000 Sq feet house in Mumbai was sold for a paltry Rs. 38 crore. An Hitler ad was taken off air because it was derogartory (to whom, we wonder). The political party, RSS changes its stand on BJP. Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 33:05 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-98-go-force-india-go.html With Force India finishing second in the Belgian Grand Prix, the news was awash with the first "Indian" team to have made it big in the Formula 1 circuit and Aditya in his sarcastic way opines about the so called Indianess of the victory. Back home, the government has rejected to invest in the 2011 Formula 1 track that Vijay Mallya is aiming for on the grounds that Formula 1 is not sport, but entertainment. In other sports news, we had Sania Mirza advancing in the second round of the US open while our cricketer, Harbhajan Singh drove his new Hummer in Chandigarh without a registration number and got fined. In politics, BJP is imploding and Aditya gives us his take on it. Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:30:35 GMT 31:05 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-97-the-beauty-called-ladakh.html This episode is dedicated to Ladakh and it's magnificent beauty. It is said that this is the only place where you can get a frostbite and a sunburn at the same time. 14 of us did this trip on bikes and a car and it was memorable. In this episode, we end up talking about why it is one place to be visited before we die. In other stories, we had the unfortunate event of Swine flu in Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. Ganpati is here and we belive that over the years, the Ganesh Chaturthi festival is losing its sheen. What do you think? And thanks a zillion to all our listeners who are contributing your bit to the Smiletrain initiative by donating. Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:30:35 GMT 46:29 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-96-has-omar-abdulla-pulled-off-a-shiney-ahuja.html Omar Abdulla, the youngest CM of Jammu and Kashmir resigned from his post after being accused of being part of a sex scandal sometime back in 2006. Our illustrious politicians have many crimes to their name, but if Omar is proven guilty, it'll be hard for him to comeback considering that it's not murder or burglary. In another news, our Power minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde has optimistic hopes of 'Power to all' by 2012. In Sports, the 37 year old Lance Armstrong finishes on the podium of the Tour De France, but we have a new winner. And the Indicast team is going to Leh for the trip of our lives. Thanks for your support. We'll hope to update you from Leh if possible. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 28:19 http://www.theindicast.com The IT sector first quarter results are out and the Sensex finally has something to cheer about. TCS is leading from the front reports better than expected profits. Anil Ambani's Reliance Big Entertainment is taking the Hollywood path by signing a deal with Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks. The Ambani brothers are at it again!! Straight out of a scene from Bollywood hit, Deewar,they are fighting for the gas in krishna Goadavri basin. The 2 brothers fight it out in the legal battlefield. Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-94-calling-panipat.html The odds of Bihar being in the world spotlight are a million to one. An eclipse made it possible. NASA declared a small town named Taregna in Bihar as the best place to witness what was the longest and one of the most beautiful sights in the sky. Planed earth experienced a complete solar eclipse on July 23. Back on the ground, the Continental Airline has been taken to task because some ground crew member had the audacity to frisk our former president, APJ Kalam. Outside in France, Sarkosy has gotten tough on anyone who wears anything remotely associated with religion; the Sikhs are not too happy about it. Rahul Gandhi has taken an oath of sorts to expel all party members with criminal records. Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 35:15 http://www.theindicast.com/point-blank/point-blank/point-blank-with-gautam-rajadhyaksh.html I hate to introduce Gautam Rajadhyaksh as a "celebrity photographer". He is much more and you would realize that you you hear hiim talk about his experiences from photo shoots with film personalities, singer, musicians and even businessmen, infact, He earned his trademark while a photoshoot with one of the greatest businessman India has ever seen. We spend time talking about his all things that he is passionate about. I had to wrap up the interview at the 40 min mark and yet we had to leave a lot out! May be I will go back for a sequel but for now enjoy this point blank with Gautam Rajadhyaksh Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 38:13 http://www.theindicast.com/indicast/indicast/indicast-94-calling-panipat.html Dr Manmohan Singh is a natural remedy for sleep disorders, says a western journalist and we couldn't help but comment on that as our PM is back from an overnight visit from Paris where he attended the French National Day Parade as the the chief guest. In politics, the Supreme court has given clearance to Mayawati to erect those statues costing crores of rupees. Aditya has strong opinions on this one. Also, we call in our listener to discuss a rather amusing story of Air India stuffing in three more passengers after the house full board was up. Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:25 http://www.theindicast.com The Union Budget 2009-10, like any other was branded as an Aam Aadmi budget which promised inclusive growth. But the sceptics brushed it aside. Contratry to what the experts think, we reckon that this budget has something in it for both the rich as well as poor. In this podcast, we dwell not only on the Yojanas and schemes that the goverment has announced for the poor but also spend some time talking about the plans laid out for the urban poor, infrastructure, defense personnel and children. And we also introduce a section where in you can leave your comments and we'll add those in our next podcast. Listen to know how to go about it. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:00 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com No one knew about Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code until the High Court fished it out, amended it and the media splashed it on prime time and front pages. Section 377 stated that no man or woman could engage in sexual activity which is against the order of nature. This archiac law was finally amended by the High Court and in this episode, we mull about how big a deal is it really? The Kargil War completes its 10th anniversary and in another international news, Bernie Madoff is sentenced to 150 years of imprisonment for his billion dollar fraud, but Aditya is not too happy about it! Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:32 http://www.theindicast.com The thought of the Indian aviation industry making quarterly profits is far fetched, but to find out that one company bears almost half of the entire industry's burden would send some stomachs churning especially if you are working with Air India, Indias national carrier. Story aint that different in other parts of the world. British Airways has declared its biggest loss of the century. Back home, the Bandra Worli Sea link has been unveiled and promises to take some load off the roads. This episode is a light weight one where we celebrate, in Ritika's words, our Pearl Anniversary. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 Indian Business News, India, Businss, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com She might be the chief minister of one of the poorest state in India but that doesn't mean the state has no money to splurge. Mayawati in on a statue inaugration binge which has now been challenged in the Supreme Court. In other news, we talk about the Below Poverty Lines stats that have been anounced, Nandan Nilekani joining as a cabinet minister, Afzal Guru mercy plea, and ICC's attempt to make tests interesting. But the highlight of this episode is the Lalu and Mayawati joke by Abhishek. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:30:35 GMT 36:42 http://www.theindicast.com Censorship seems to the be flavour of the week all over the world. China government has asked computer manufacturers to start installing the Green Dam Software on every machine that they build and sell in China. India joins the cencosrhip by blocking Savitabhabhi.com for mysterious reasons but in good news coming out of India, Nandan Nilekani joins as cabinet minister to help implement the National Identity card project. In other news, we talk about activisim against Microsoft Outlook, upcoming windows 7 release and Steve back on job. Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:30:35 GMT 36:03 Indian tech News, India, Tech Ka Masala, Indian Podcast, Infosys, Nandan Nilekani http://www.theindicast.com Indians are once gain reminded about how how diverse the country is. While North India was undergoing a heat wave, the South eastern country was washed away by heavy rains. In the other significant news, we talk about our plans for the upcoming 100th episode of Indicast. We are looking forward to some generous financial support this time from you and hope that you empty your wallet for a good cause. IN other news. we talk about India's T20 exit, new lady Lok Sabha speaker, and what's up between Mayawati and Lalu? Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:30:35 GMT 38:05 http://www.theindicast.com Ritika gives us a run down of some ground realitiy in Australia on the attacks on Indians. This podcast is a mix of national and international news. Australia has just been handed out a stimulus package a good percentage of which went to the dead! Back home in India, Bharati has renewed talks with MTN for what would be the biggest Indian acquisition. The Bharti tie up with Walmart spwaned a 50000 sq feet cash and carry store in Amritsar. And in another news, Grameen America, the microfinance bank led by Mohd Yunus has an envious track record despite the recession. Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:30:35 GMT 23:00 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com There is a new trend i Australia - Beat the Indians. Until a month ago, it was only on the cricket field but now its on the street. Indian students are being targetted and beaten up in hate crimes. While this is going on in Australia, Indian Sikhs are killing each other in Austria. As a result people went crazy in Punjab and caused damages worth Rs. 7000 crores that too in recessionary times. Other topcis include Afzal Guru mercy plea, air traffic woes, Cabinet ministers and other ramblings Sun, 31 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:05 http://www.theindicast.com The initial euphoria of the UPA win in the recently held Indian elections refuses to die down and in this podcast we bring to you what's in store for the Indian business class following the UPA win. What can our new Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee do to accelerate the Indian GDP growth in times like these? We discuss policy issues ranging from FDI to disinvestment to deregulation of oil. The IPL has come and gone and its time to start raking the moolah. We discuss the actual winners of the IPL. Tata has done it once again!! From people's car to low cost housing, Tatas seem to be taking CK Prahlad's Botton of the Pyramid model very seriously. Listen to our 28th epsiode to know more. Wed, 27 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 19:20 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com Congress scores a big win in the World's largest democratic election. It no longer depends on any of its alliance parties to keep it in Power but will that mean better and sensible governance remains to be seen. In the other big news, LTTE chief Prabharakaran has been killed by Sri-lankan. We talk about what the LTTE has given the world. You will be surprised to know that the list is pretty interesting. Sun, 24 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:01 http://www.theindicast.com We made a passing reference to Bofors deal in the last episode which made a research it a bit and thought that it would be good to talk about what the big deal about it was and sub inspector has been punished for possibly doing his job. Other topics include women topping the UPSC exams this year, and ISI training women for terrorism. Wed, 13 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 33:01 http://www.theindicast.com After all the drama and ruckus created by the Mumbaiites post 26/11, it was a no show on election day. Only 43% of us decided to vote while the rest most probably enjoyed a long weekend but a few voters in Madhya Pradesh decided to cast a "no-vote". This episode also covers the suprising death of the man who discovered pebbles in Ambani's helicopter, how the slowdown has resulted in the increase in UPSC applications, and why a tigress in Ranthambore was conferred the Lfetime achievement award. Tue, 05 May 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:01 http://www.theindicast.com Satyam made headlines not too long ago. Now Tech Mahindra has brought it back in the news. Satyam will soon be bought out by Tech Mahindra. Most of this rather short podcast focuses on the deal and what is there in it for Tech Mahindra which had to pay more than a 1000 crore for this deal. Quarter 4 results are out and surprisingly a few of India's IT companies have posted profits. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 20:39 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com The performers are ready. The biggest democracy drama is set to unveil itself. In this podcast we wonder what it would be like if Advani and Dr Manmohan Singh were to debate aka Obama and Mc Cain. But then we have Mulayam Singh Yadav wanting to ban English in schools since it soils our culture. In another news, a son kills his dad for voting for a wrong party .And IPL has kicked off and Bhajji and Dhoni are in the news for other reasons Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:03 http://www.theindicast.com Continuing our election updates, BJP released its election manifesto containing all the things that they would do if elected and how did congress react? Congress says that 70% of the manifesto has been ripped from UPA's manifesto. Also, you know that its election time when a leader choses to address the a rally through his cell phone. The other updates include Karnatak topping the list of voters ready to sell their votes for cash, Pooja Chopra winning the Miss India 2009, Kasab getting a lawyer and the Queen gets a new iPod from Obama. Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 34:03 http://www.theindicast.com We spent 21 of the 22 minutes talking about politics or the lack of it. Aditya and I ended up at two ends talking about Mayawati, the politician with a not so impeccable track record and Meera Sanyal, the ABN Amro bank head who has nothing to her credit yet, but is taking baby steps in contesting this years elections. Politics and entertainment are never mutually exclusive; we have SRK campaining for Congress. In another news, Congress has reserved 50 per cent seats for NRIs and Aditya is livid! Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 22:07 http://www.theindicast.com Indcast got a chance to catch up with Sanjay Manjrekar, a technically sound batsmen who doesn't believe in the significance to technique in cricket. We start the conversation talking about about the on field energy during the 1996 India-Pakistan World Cup match and then move on to other topics like why Indian's struggled in fielding, his career as a commentator and then his passion for singing. He also talked about his grossly misunderstood article about Sachin Tendulkar, his thoughts about Azharuddin getting into politics as well as the match fixing scandal. Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:30:35 GMT 38:07 http://www.theindicast.com The highlight of this episode was the JesusPhone (some call it iPhone too) and the announcement of the features that would be in its upcoming firmware upgrade. Meanwhile in India, Symantec has ranked India as the 3rd most spamming country in the world. Bebo, a little late to the game, has announced its entry into India. Other topics in the episode include, Facebook bug revealing your private data, launch of IE8, Yahoo Flickr announcing a deal with Getty Images, and the Pwn2Own Contest. Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 31:01 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com Cut back to your school days when on the sports day, the entire class would split into two halves to play the tug of war. It was a fun PT period for us at school. But not so much for the RBI which is trying hard to pull with all its might against both inflation and deflation. Recently, RBI cut the repo rates and the reverse repo rates to boost the economy. Ritika gives us a run down of what these jargons mean. The Federal Reserve has shown its benevolence to AIG again with its third bail out package. Citibank announcing a quarterly profit was some good news at BiziNation after a long time. Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 19:00 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com India celebrated Holi just like any other year, but this time with some organic flavour. After the bomb blasts less than a fortnight ago, Pakistan is confident of hosting cricket matches by the end of this year. Aditya opines that Pakistan has bigger problems and that list is endless. India is not making any healthy headlines either. A 19 year old lost his life to careless college ragging. In cricket, India beat New Zealand and Sehwag became the fastest Indian to score a century in an ODI. May be that's the only good news that we've read in the papers for a long time now. Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:01 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com The technology news on the Indian shore included the selection of companies to managed the much required Mobile Number portability and delay in launch of Bhuvan, a desi version of Google Earth being developed by ISRO. Other news included Microsoft finally providing users a tool to remove windows components including IE8, Blackberry's App World, Flock divorcing Firefox, Google Docs being careless, Flickr opening up videos for everyone now. We also have Godaddy as our sponsor for TKM. Sun, 8 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 28:39 http://www.theindicast.com Pakistan cricket must have stepped closer to its grave with the recent brutal attempt to assassinate the touring Lankan team. Taliban, like a malignant tumor is spreading across Pakistan and the government seems helpless which does not bode too well for India. Back home, the election dates have been announced, but India doesn't surprise the educated world by coming up with options like one Ansari who has a string of legal charges going against him (or for him) on his resume. Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 24:01 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com The interim budget was as bland as Russian food. But Pranab Mukharjee spiced it up just in time for the elections. With the benevolent excise duty, service tax and a few other rate cuts, the consumer will have to spend less on mobile phone bills, buying an LCD TV, etc. In the corporate sector, after the Satyam debacle, SEBI has asked for full disclosure from the promoters of companies who pledge their shares to raise more money. In cricket, the multi million IPL season will kick off very soon. On other side of the world, in England, Sir Allen Stanford, the man who sponsored the million dollar T20 tournament in West Indies has been booked for fraud. Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:30:35 GMT 20:39 Indian Business News, India, Business, Bollywood http://www.theindicast.com Its dark and it's abstract and it'll make you think. What is it that will liberate you from the trappings of life? An outstanding performance by Rajat Kapoor and some thoughtful yet simple background music keep you company in this extremely slow-paced film. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:30:35 GMT 02:19 http://www.theindicast.com Saket eloquently puts its in this episode that everybody and their aunt is coming up with an App Store in response to the announcements made by Nokia and Microsoft at the Mobile Web Congress. But before that we talk about the computers at Ministry of External Affairs getting hacked and the new various amendments to the 9 year old IT Act of 2000. The other topics that we covered this week include the Hotmail's Captcha cracked, facebook TOS revolt, Last.fm handing user data to RIAA, Norway's revolt against IE 6, and the pirate bay Trial. Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:30:35 GMT 30:19 http://www.theindicast.com And we are back after a pretty long time, but nothing much has changed since we spoke about bad news that surrounded the world economy. In fact, things have only gone downhill. Layoffs have begun even in India. The US economy is reeling and is hoping under Barack Obama's slogan of Hope, not fear. The US congress has approved the $700 billion odd stimulas package. In other news from India, Subhiksha, the ailing retail chain is fighting hard to survive bankruptcy. Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:30:35 GMT 20:19 http://www.theindicast.com The Indian scientists at the Nationation Institute of Dairy cloned a buffalo cafe but unfortunately it couldnt make it beyond 4 days and they same will be said about twitter if it doesnt find a revenue stream. We talk about a possible revenue stream and hope that twitter makes it throug the current turbulent times. Google also continued its product release spree with announcing PowerMeter along with another location based feature. Microsoft also announced the upgrade policy for its awesome Windows 7 operating system which we try to explain. Sun, 15 Feb 2009 12:30:35 GMT 31:10 http://www.theindicast.com This week saw the much talk about $10 laptop from India disappoint the whole world and sort of embarass India. The supposed laptop had neither a display nor an input device! The week also saw NDTV launch a new hullu like website currently having around 50000 video from its own network. Stories from the usual suspects, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook also came up during the discussions. Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com While Obama took office in the US, the Indian politics was having a ball of a time in amusing its citizens. What is the former Indian captain, Azaruddin doing in Indian politics, you may ask, but when Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata is rumored to contest for Samajwadi Party, nothing seems weird. On a more hopeful note, our martyrs were awarded Ashoka Charkra on Independence Day for showing unparalled courage fighting the terrorists. Slumdog millionaire has made it to almost all possible award ceremonies and now it's time for the big one - The Oscars. But we are not too happy with the film makers for paying peanuts to the three young stars of the film who still wake up in their thached huts and hae nowhere to go. In another news, Qutub Minar is tilting and the authorities are doing everything to save the monumentfrom collapsing! Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com 2009 has started off with what might turn out to be the largest scam in India Inc's history. Raju revealed how ordinary people can do extraordinary things just like Satyam's website mention. But the week had some positive news with AR rahman winning at the Golden Globe for his work in SlumDog Millionaire. Talking about people in Bollywood, SRK has been listed as the 41st most influential person in the world and Sanjay Dutt has finally decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a Samajhwadi Party ticket. We end the episode talking about Pamela Anderson's letter to BMC about being kinder to the stray dogs. Sat, 17 Jan 2009 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com As we get into the new year, we look back at 2008 and talk about the significant events that took place. Sadly, the negative events dominated 2008 and we really had to look for something that cheered us up in the year gone by. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com A wounded tiger is far more dangerous than a hungry one. India has lived this cliche for a long time now, but only to the extent of being hungry and wounded. It is far from dangerous; in fact, if you listen closely, you might hear some whimpering. It has been a fortnight since the terrorists ripped through Mumbai. Since then, the Taj has been rebuilt; Trident announced that it will be reopening soon, the CST is back to being a host to millions of people daily and our politicians do not have any concrete answers about why it all happened, what steps should we take now and whether it will happen again. Aditya, who travels through local trains in peak time, shares his observations about how his fellow passengers now double up as detectives and how daily traveling has become an unfortunate adventure. Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com It's an epidemic of sorts now. It struck again. It lasted for 60 hours. Mumbai bled. As viewers stitched to the TV set like umbilical chords, it was psychologically draining to watch the footage of Hemant Karkare readying himself to take control before he was shot dead with two other ranking cops Salaskar and Kamte, to see the deserted CST station daubed in red, to stare at the burning Taj as the our men with woefully inadequate infrastructure brought it to an end. Amid the chaos, journalists became household names whose voice, sometimes desparate, sometimes hopeful blared through our TV sets. While some sensationalised it, a few others acted responsibly. Yogita Limaye is one such reporter from CNN IBN who clocked two nights straight near the Taj runing relentlessly on adrenalin and in this podcast, she gives us an on-ground perspective of the events that unfolded. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com "They can have it in any colour they want as long as it is black," Henry Ford's arrogance back in the 19th Century was justified when he was selling his cars and telling consumers what they NEEDED because he didn't believe that the customers knew what they wanted. Given a choice, Ford's customers would have demanded a faster horse, but he built the Model T anyway. CUT TO 2008. The swaggar which the auto makers had gotten used to is now reduced to a limp. With people shoving their hard earned money under the mattress, today, a sleek sports car is no more than a gas guzzling peace of metal meant for the foolish few who are skating on thin ice. With the auto industry consistently posting losses, it hope to get a 25 bn USD loan from the treasury to fix a few things. We talk about the mess and some dope from the aviation industry in India as well. Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com With companies going bust and countries filing for bankruptcy, newspapers are hunting for less cliched headlines. One story from NYT caught our attention. It claimed that pets are not recession proof. People who cannot afford to pay their rents are now forced to abandon their pets! In Sports, Sachin Tendulkar gave us a reason to celebrate his world record of scoring the highest number of runs in test match cricket. We cheered for Arvind Adiga who won himself the prestigious Man Booker Prize for his book, 'The White Tiger'. Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Two years after TATA announced the one lakh car, argubly a revolution of the magnitude of Henry Ford's Model T, the car industry's most binouculared project is yet to lay its foundation stone. After elaborate protests, some violence and lots of confusion, TATA took the painful call of relocating to another state. A week later, all the newspapers carried a picture of Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat shaking hands with Ratan Tata. This podcast is more about our thoughts on how politics can ruin capitalism. We want to know your take on this one. In another news, HCL is set to acquire Axon, an SAP consulting firm and TCS has bought over the back office arm of Citigroup. Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com It's been about three years now and it has been fun all along. Here's a huge shoutout to all you folks out there from across the world who have stayed with us and helped us through your comments (both nasty and encouraging!). Until this episode, we didn't know how countries could go bankrupt. Back home, Maharashtra government decided to sort of legalise the live in relationship model where the woman will be eligible for limony (conditions apply, of course!). Our beloved dada, Saurav Ganguly has announced retirement from all forms of cricket, but Aditya is still hopeful that Ganguly might reconsider it. Look forward to your comments in this podcast. Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The American stock markets are in the mood for some adventure. On their way down the cliff, they brought the Indian Sensex to one of its all time lows in the past two years. While in one news, India is all set to sign the Indo American nuclear agreement, in another, the Government has declared a nationwide smoking ban in India. Mamata Banerjee successfully tests Ratan Tata's patience and gets the better of him. The One lakh car project gets delayed. India which has been known for its religious tolerance is giving away as communal riots erupt in different parts of the country. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com It's a tough gig... to work for one of the most acclaimed publications of the century during the day time, work everyday independently towards writing a book in a half lotus position, research like hell so as to get all the facts and the perspectives right, update a book blog almost daily, then come home late at night to crash on the bed! Andreas Kluth, the humble tech correspondent from The Economist joins us to talk about Hannibal, the Carthaginian general from about 200 BC who marched with an army of elephants over the Alps, defeated the Romans over and over again, but his life ended with an anti-climax; he lost everything and committed suicide! In his book, Andreas intends to draw parallels between Hannibal's life and that of our contemperories like Steve Jobs, Al Gore,and may be even Heath Ledger! No, you won't find it in the 'Self Help' aisle of your book store. In this podcast Andreas shares all his views on this very eventful journey of writing his first book which is slated to come out sometime in 2009. Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com When they asked Tom about his occupation, he balked. He wanted to keep that as a secret. But they persisted wanting to know about what Tom does for a living. He finally relented, "I work as a piano man in a brothel." He had lied. He was too ashamed to admit that he was an investment banker. This podcast is dedicated to all the innocent Toms from the unsinkable 'Titanic' like industry in the US called Investment banking where the lifeboats are afloat with people who's jobs and families are on the line. We would love to know your take on this unceremonius downfall of goliaths likeLehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, etc. How bad is it out there? Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com China can make cheap goods. We all know that. What we did not know was that China could host the biggest event on he face of the earth in the grandest form ever imagined. We are of course talking about the Olympics which brought us all good news. Heck India won the first individual Olymipic Gold medal in 108 years. Abhinav Bindra, Vijendar Kumar, Sushil Kumar and Akhil Kumar covered the front pages. This podcast is dedicated to all sport lovers. Er we also digressed just a wee bit to talk about Mobica Bedi, condoms and a couple of movies. Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Any fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Prof Kanu Doshi is back. This time he fires away on India's convoluted tax structure in a user friendly manner that makes a technical subject like taxation lnteresting and entertaining. All our finance ministers from Chanakya to Chidambaram have steered India through a very eventful journey in the field of taxation and Kanu bhai pulls out fascinating anecdotes from his hat to take us through this ride. Hope you enjoy it! Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We are back after getting stuck in a rather unhealthy habit of not being on time. The last month was plump with a number of mergers and acquisitions on a national and an international scale. Spice married Idea in the telecom sector. On the global front, Anil bhais ADAG and MTN, the South African telecom giant are contemplating a merger of sorts, but Mukesh Ambani comes in his younger bro's way yet again. Ranbaxy, the Indian pharmaceutical major has been acquired by its Japanese Counterpart, Daiichi Sankyo in a landmark deal. This season, in India, as the rains pour, so do the mergers. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Though I have huge complaints in most departments, I cant deny that it's perfect packaging for kids in the 3-12 age group. With hardly any sad moments, the characters are mostly colorful and chirpy. But, given my reservations, should I actually encourage my kids to watch this when not too long ago Taare Zameen Par was around? Oh, why not? There's enough room for everybody. Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com While India battles double digit inflation, our politicians find a unique way to protest against the increasing fuel prices, but the plan hilariously backfires! While in one story, a small time waiter works his ass off to clear the UPSE exams, another intelligent kid tops the IIT entrance test only to flee his hometown due to the paparazzi pressure. Shiv sena now wants to enter the hearts of the ordinary Mumbaikar by selling vada pavs. Aditya is not too happy with the air hostesses from Delta Airlines and for good reason! Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The epidemic is back. It is called inflation. USA, India, China, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Haiti, Egypt are searching for the medicine to cure themselves. The medicine itself is not only bitter, but sometimes fatal! Among the developing economies, India leads the pack. In this podcast, we talk about how relavent is this whole issue to the common man or the housewife who buys vegetables on the street in a city in India. We recorded this episode when the inflation was around 7 per cent. Two weeks later, now, as I type, it has notched up to 9 per cent. We would love to know your take on this issue that has perplexed economists from around the world. Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Big B has a new meaning now. Amitabh has a blog now and he receiving a response similar to Aamir Khan's Blog . Moving on, Who say's money cant buy happiness? With the growing affluence, atleast in the urban areas, a lot of single women have cut the middle man. The sex toy business in brazil is taking off and the same business in India is seeing a surge too. Although, the goods are legally not allowed to be sold but are easily accessible in grey market. Also, while "researching" Abhishek found the greatest iPod accessory ever and he tells us a bit about it. Wed, 14 May 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com It is said that having a good conversation is one of the great joys of being human. When Zanny Minton Beddoes, the Economics Editor of The Economist ruthlessly dismembers jargons like foreclosures, sub prime crisis, inter bank rates, etc, all I can say is that I enjoyed every bit of it. Economics is a fascinating field and Zanny makes it palatable for all of us who do not have a background in the subject. In the first few minutes, she lays a solid foundation giving us the whole build up to the current situation in the US followed by where she thinks it will all culminate into. All this and much more in these 30 minutes that Zanny squeezed in from her busy day which she attributes to America facing pretty interesting times. Presenting to you, economics for the common man. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We cover the awesome stories submitted by our beloved listener, Anuj and encourage you to send us stories too using this page (needs you to be logged in). The episode starts with Gujrat being a dry state and then we spent sometime talking about the great indian pot belly followed by how Shivpuri district is giving out gun licenses for people who agree to get a vasectomy done. Believe it or not but its true. Abhishek and I talk about our mixed feeling for the IPL. I believe it's all money and he says he saw a speck of passion for the home team when he attended Mumbai Indians first match at Wankhede. We are also pleased to announce that Economist has setup an Intelligence office in New Delhi, India. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Our first guest, Andreas Kluth from The Economist is back. The man closest to all the action at the Silicon Valley switches gears to talk about the social and charming side of technology rather than the geeky one. His Special Report on Mobility published in the April 12 issue of The Economist is circled around how the internet mobile telephony has changed the way we interact with our friends, loved ones, colleagues and strangers and has an Indian connection too. The podcast was recorded at midnight India time and hence please bear with some unintended background score of a few agitated dogs barking away outside my house once in a while. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Tom Standage, the Business Editor of The Economist is back... Here is a little behind the scene story. I ask him in my email whether he would want to talk about anything beyond our main topic of discussion of the eventful 2007 that Google, Apple and Facebook have had. His two word reply to my mail reads, Potatoes perhaps... In this podcast, Tom fires away on the technological implications of the potato and how it led to the industrial revolution. As a keen baker and roaster of potatoes, Toms genuine fascination of the vegetable is evident and what more he is also writing a book on the technological implication of food as well. Edward De Bonos concept of Lateral Thinking gets a new meaning here. I will not reveal anything more. Get yourself a drink of your choice (and a potato perhaps) and enjoy the chat. Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Episode number 69 is here with lot of stories from India as well as a few weird stories from the UK. The sixth pay commission report dominates the episode after the stories about the rising divorce rates and then make a segway into US wanting hindi teacher. The railway cops have got a new revenue stream and are coning people into getting them to pay for having porn on their cell phone which is not illegal. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The first TKM with as many as four participants discussing the latest arguements and happenings taking place on the internet. The participants leanding their voice in this episode include Gaurav Mishra , Aditya Mishra , and Veer Chand Bothra. I had more than 5 topics for this episodes but we managed to cover only 2 which is an indicastion how much these people have to contribute. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Richard Branson does a James Bond like stunt again. To announce his tie up with Tata Teleservices, he jumped from some high rise building to get to the front pages of all leading publications here in India. He made a bigger splash when he experimented flying one of his planes on Alternative fuel. VISA has announced its intensions for the world's biggest IPO and in another news, the Indian Banking industry boasted of the biggest deal ever. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Every year, on the last day of February, all the guns are out aiming at two men, the Railway Minister and the Finance Minister of India. This year was no different. We attempt to give you a run down of the Railway Budget presented by the flamboyant Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Union Budget announced by the calm and composed Chidambaram, the CFO of India. Everything from the huge Rs. 60,000 crore agricultural debt waiver to increasing the income tax slabs unabashedly knocked the voter's doors to draw their attention. We have our share of light moments where Ritika does a Lalu impersonation. No kidding! Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Adam Roberts, the News Editor of economist.com is fresh from having penned a brilliant Special Report (published at least once a month) on 'Migration' and its impact on the lives of billions from across the planet. His report estimates that there are around 200 million migrants across the world which make up 3 per cent of the population. This number will only grow and so will the xenophobia surrounding it. Adam opens up 4 minutes into his candid talk and we end up talking about the lighter side of Migration as well - It's called Chicken Tikka Masala! Listen to know what we mean! Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The episode starts with us being proud of a countryman who gave his life just a day after getting sena medal and then how Mumbai was ashmed over the actions of a Mumbai based political party lead by Raj Thackeray. Cabbies, bhelpuriwallas were brutally beaten up by MNS party worker for being norh Indian! Then to make matters worse for the reputation of gurgaon, a 100 cr Kidney scam has been unearthed. We thought these heavy topics were enough for this episodes and moved on to some lighter topics Sat, 9 Feb 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The stock markets around the world tumble as America faces prospects of recession. It does not help when banks like Societe General face losses due to rogue trading. Starbucks sees the back of its CEO as competition with McDonalds heats up. Meg Whitman passes on the baton to Danahoe. In another news, HPCL answers natures call rather literally and we wnder whether the Indian Premier league has got bigger than the game? Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com India celebrates another Republic Day. It was a marathon day with eminent personalities like being showered with Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan. An NGO finds another innovative way to fight corruption in India. Adam Gilchrist, the prolific entertainer and a great sportsman retires from Test match cricket. And in this era of reality shows, lets get ready for a reality sex show as well! Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This episode was recorded a couple of days before the Auto Expo at Delhi which unveiled the one lakh car from TATA after a long long wait of two years. The Indian car industry is going great guns with some nitro boosting mergers and joint ventures. TATA Motors has bagged the Land Rover and Jaguar deal from Ford Motors and we discuss a string of tie ups that the Indian companies have been involved with. And there is some good News for Non Resident Indians who feel home sick and God sick. A unique concept now allows all you folks to outsource your pujas. Celebrity endorsements continue to rule the roost in our ad world. Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Hello and welcome to a whole New Year! The last few days of the last year were eventful and Aditya gives us a run down of he getting married in phool to Maharashtrian istyle! How different was his wedding from that of his elder brother? How many hours of poojas did he clock? Aditya willingly answers many more questions like these. The previous year belonged to women like Pratibha Patil, Shilpa Shetty and Rakhee Sawant. This episode is a special one is dedicated to all you guys for being there and rooting for us throughout 2007. Sat, 5 Jan 2008 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com If the Indian stock market is galloping, the Indian Art Market is on LSD. It is swaying to a mood swing that is helping it grow by 50 per cent year on year. And buying expensive paintings is seen as a very intelligent investment option. As the marriage season hits India, people are ensuring their marriages! In HCL, you can rate your bosses and what more, the results will be displayed on the Intranet. Vikram Pandit has been named as the CEO of Citigroup and this time India can pat its back since Pandit completed his schooling in Nagpur. As Burger King competes fiercely with McDonalds, we choose to talk about the Indian McDonalds - Jumbo King Vada Pav from Mumbai. Fri, 21 Dec 2007 02:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This week the Bollywood Movie Aaja Nachale was banned because it hurt the sentiments of a few people. So nothing new there! Mumbai is jumping on to the energy conservation bandwagon as it declares a black out on Dec 15. We urge all those who are in Mumbai to join in. And in some intimidating news, the Gujrat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi is blunt with his words and scares us all with his speeches. Aditya is all set to start his family and he has a few questions for all you guys at the fag end of the episode. Currently he is relishing his pre wedding gifts Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Andreas Kluth from The Economist joins me to talk about the big deal with Facebook. His articles are a result of research which includes interviewing people like Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. In this 20 odd minute chat, we talk about the $15 billion valuation of Facebook and what it means to the Silicon Valley. In this rather high octane topic on which almost everyone and their big brother have an opinion, Andreas lends a lot of rationality in explaining his take on it. He dismembers economic jargons like Call Options and Game Theory to reason out the bigger battle between Microsoft and Google in a very user friendly manner! Mon, 3 Dec 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Aditya mourns the loss of his Apple Mac laptop which was stolen in broad day light! He takes us through an interesting journey of filing the complaint with the humble Mumbai Police. Bada Bhai, Anil Kumble wins his first test captaining India. Taslima Nasrin, the Bangladeshi author currently in exile in New Delhi has nowhere to go and we talked about what the big deal about it is. We would like to know your take on it as well. Mumbai Marshals have taken the onus onto themselves and the slogan, Clean Mumbai is finally being implemented at the root level! And the Government has found another way to help smokers kick the habit, but, Aditya has another take on it! Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Chuck Prince of Citigroup and Stan O'Neal quit admist the sup prime crisis, but, their exit packages are getting more eye balls! We feel that they deserve the millions that they beget even after goofing up big time! Another CEO, Rick Wagoner stands strong among the ruins at General Motors as it wrote off $38 billion. Petrochina rocks the corporate world by being the most valuable company beating Exxon Mobil. Two Indian wine companies, Sula Wines and Champagne Indage are on an expansion spree. And Bollywood is finding different ways to earn revenues. It's not only about tickets anymore Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This diwali, the fireworks industry had to do some rebrandig. Govt said no more cracker named after gods. Diwali also brought with it 2 big super hyped movies and both of them failed to impress the masses. Also, did you know About Actor's Day? We also touched upon the things happening in Pakistan and the destruction of cultural relics in the Swat district. As usual we digressed and somehow started discussing Bhutto's marital status!! Dont know how we got there!! Listen to know more.. Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Mukesh Ambani is not the richest man after all. Ever heard of peer to peer microfinance? Ask eBay about it! Also, a Microsoft former employee starts a networking site for the unorganised sector; so, you can find yourself a driver or a household maid on the web! Yuvraj Singh has pulled off a coup! He is slated to earn a 100 cr contract, but, there is more to it than just the money. The mobile telephony has too many cooks which might just spoil the broth and Bharati's Mittal is livid! GAP and sweatshops are made for each other. Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Harsha Bhogle is a man with multiple personalities. When he is not in the commentary box, he contributes as a columnst in The Indian Express and writes on espnstar. While he has an art to draw opinions from the experts in the commentary box, he is forthright and calls spade a spade in his writings. Its a 30 MB download but worth it. Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The SENSEX has crossed the 20000 mark and Mukesh Ambani is the richest man! Well, not quite. Like everyone we got this news wrong! We discuss how Participatory Notes is acting as the LSD to the big spike in the market cap of companies on the BSE. Ritika brings in a political angle to the mercurial nature of the stock market! On another flight, Singapore Airlines has flown the worlds largest aircraft. Vijay Mallay's Kingfisher will fly the super Jumbo soon. While BBC plans laying off a huge chunk of its workforce, Shiv Nader of HCL has resigned as the CEO is the chief mentor and Microsoft's Chief Software Architect has just bought his company a stake in Facebook. Mon, 5 Nov 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The podcast begins with our favourite topic- cricket and then we get into how Sri Sri Ravi shankar was present at ET awards and also about the growing trend about political leader signing book deals. Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Talking on a cell phone can now land yu behind bars in Mumbai. Also recently the loan recovery agents have been in the news for the wrong reasons and did you know that you will have ATMs on trains too. What for? Dont ask. Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Andreas Kluth , the author of the story was kind enough to join us for a quick chat. Andreas thinks that Google is far from threatening. He compares Google to the banking industry which acts like the custodian of our money. While Google is not as regulated as the latter, it will soon be, but, the founders whom Andreas had a chance to interact with on a few occassions are innocently idealistic; or they were to begin with...In this episode, we also talk about how Google is seeping in our DNA rather literally! Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com In this podcast, he is his modest self, describing his early life and his time as a the VP and MD of P and G Worldwide and more. An unabashed supporter of capitalism, he believes that the business of the Government is not to be in business. We recorded this over the phone when the evening celebrations of Ganapati had just kicked off. So, the background score comes with the package. So, please bear with that and I hope you will have something more to add to what Mr.Gurcharan has to say about capitalism, books, cricket, education, microfinance, etc! Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com SRK, Salman, Govinda, Suniel Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra... the list is endless. All these celebs have successfully endorsed apparels and we feel that such endorsements work well in the Apparel industry than in any other. In entertainment, I and B Ministry has some good news for all of us with the Entertainment tax being pared down Also, you can watch a movie on a petrol pump. Ask BPCL about it. In another common NEWS, Vodafone has taken over Hutch and has painted the entire Mumbai City red Mon, 8 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The story that got buried by the India team's victory was about the succession planning by congress. Abhishek believes that congress has made their move by giving more responsibilities to Rahul Gandhi who will most probably be ready to take on the Indian Prime ministership in the next term. We also discuss about a landmark in space history, launch of the Sputnik , completing 50 years. A race that the Soviet Union won hands down by sending a beeping ball like satellite around the world. In other interesting news, an RJ brings a ban on it's news channel. Thu, 4 Oct 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com I didn't think I would live to tell this tale to my grandchildren, said a 73 year old from Dharavi slum in Mumbai. Cricket kindles interest among all classes and cuts through all castes here in India. The youngest and the most inexperienced team of the tournament won it. While Pakistan put a brave effort, India won it in the end! In hockey, the players have finally spoken up against the mistreatment meted out to them for years! In Nepal, they have found a novel way to fix their Boeing's technical glitches. In another news, Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian! Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The US financial market is like an avalanche. When things go wrong out there, they bring the world economy down to an extent. Ritika gives a user friendly description of what is the big deal with the sub prime markets crisis! This week, while Anita Roddick of Body Shop passed away, her legacy of eco-friendly practice still lives on. In another news, Starbucks opened shop in Russia, it is contemplating for the nth time to enter India. And SRK's 'Om Shanti Om' is the biggest financial hit of Indian cinema (inflation adjusted) and his biography is selling at a neat 3000 Rupees Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com It's Ganpati time and abhishek can't get enough sleep because of Himesh Reshammiya. Pune Municipal Corporation has taken a firm stance by asking the 2000 odd Ganesh Mandals to pay up for the damage to the roads, Mumbai should follow the precedent. In other stories, The Twenty20 is on and the 3 hour cricket format is becoming a huge success. We have some random news about what women perceive kissing as opposed to men and Kurkre is goign to UK. Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com In this talk about telecom convergence and the mesmerising magical world of mobile telephony, broadband, and Internet TV, The Economists Tom orchestrates a perfect symphony by explaining in a jargon free language that the distinctions between these technologies are blurring. He believes utility and substance coupled with stlye and grace in products such as iPhone makes them a beautiful combination. And then, the talk reaches a crescendo when he responds to my diffident accusation that technology is overwhelming us and that we are growing too fast for our own comfort. Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Janmasthmi was here a couple of days back the govindas were awesome with their human pyraminds. We talk about how there is method hidden in this chaos and the rules of govindas. We digress and pass by the topic of PDA in mumbai and its limit and the hungarians creating a world record in it. A every important topi was the sad bomb blasts in Hyderbad. WHy do we need extradiction treaties? And from the sports field, India hockey is going crazy. Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com India's largest bank, SBI which already has a good chunk of the Islamic Banking market feels that India is a largely untapped market. While the aviation industry in India breathes a sigh of relief with steadily increasing fares, in the British Aviation industry, BA faces litigation for fixing the fuel surcharge in collusion with Virgin. Multi million deals are being signed in India with Mallya scooping up Spyker Ferrari and in entertainment, Pritish Nandy signed a 100 crore deal to remake Sholay. Wed, 5 Sep 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com There are bad ads, good ads and then there is the third kind... The controvertial ads! Amul Macho was successful in raising a few eyeballs and more (no pun!) among a few in the Information and Broadcasting Industry of India. Also, RBI has fingered the corporate sector again to check the appreciating rupee. Closer home, the Indian farmer plays David to the Goliath, Reliance. It's right out of a hindi movie! Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com God must have choreographed Sanjay Dutt's release from the Yerwada jail in Pune where he was slated to languish for six years. The Supreme Court granted the actor an interim bail for dubious reasons! While Sanjay Dutt feeds the headlines for newspapers, Shibu Soren, the former Union Coal minister has been acquitted for a crime for which he was accused in 1994 for lack of "enough" evidence. In another story, the media blamed Orkut for the murder of a 16 year old. Cricket made news for non cricketing reasons again with the BCCI and ICL stand off touching new heights! Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This week Thilak who blogs at Tech Buzz joined us at short notice to fillin in for Anand. We talk about Wimax roll out in India, cross linking sites, google phone, Flickr videos and review of Twango. We also spend sometime on Bubble 2.0! Mon, 20 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com At the stroke of the midnight hour, India turns 60! We do not dwell upon what India has achieved and what it lacks. You'll get that in the newspapers! On the eve of the Independence day, while Rahul Dravid celebrates a series win against England, another celebrity, Sanju baba will cheer for India from the Yerwada jail in Pune here he is serving a sentence. Indicast now allows you to leave a voice message for us! Just drop in a word (literally)! Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This week, a familiar news item flashed across all news papers, 'Doha round fails.' Since its inception in 2001, Doha has been a playground of woes where the larger players like EU and USA do not relent to the requests of former kachaa limbus and currently, emerging economies of Brazil and India. Rupert Murdoch, the 76 year old young man has acquired Dow Jones for a neat $5 billion! Kishore Biyani's Future Group is storming urban India with its focus on youth and women! Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The sound quality is a bit choppy in this episode since we were both on cell phones but that didnt stop us from arguing about this week's tech stories. The stories includes Nokia's acquistion of Twango, Microsoft's ad based MS Office, China having only 244 MS Vista licenses and ended with yet another Google acquisition. Sun, 05 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com In this episode we talk about how the Harry hoopla continues to rock the world and how adults and kids alike are hooked onto the book like it were a life saving drug! We wonder why one of the worlds biggest potential publishing markets is comatose. Can only a Harry Potter revive it or will the real Indian authours please stand up! We also discuss why Microfinance is a model that must find place in every economics syllabus. And finally Ritika teaches me a lesson or two in how to make your employees happy! Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This episode covers everything from our new woman president, Pratibha Patil is India's first woman president! While India finds another reason to celebrate what has been one of the most eventful presidential elections which is normally a dull affair, we wonder whether she would be able to pull of a few stunts that our former prez, Abdul kalam did (Read: oldest co-pilot). We also talk about the richest man on earth (nopes, not Gates anymore) to how to get yourself a job as a condom tester! Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com It was anniversary week this episode. The virus turned 25, blogs turned 10, and the Bra turned 100 The episode also covers the rumours about google and yahoo interested in buying rediff along with our product reviews about Google Gears and Webaroo. Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Russia will host the Winter Olympics in 2012. The NEWS is more about business than about sports! Also, listen to know how Vladamir Putin managed this coup! Closer home, Delhi will soon be hosting the Common wealth games in 2010 and that's supposed to help the Indian economy surge further. Delhi is already in 5th gear and the cosmetic surgery of the city is in progress. While voting for the '7 wonders of the world' has made news for many wrong reasons, we feel that it was a huge marketing case study! In the car industry, Bajaj debuts the passenger car market and competes with TATA's, Renaut and Honda! Read more to understand the possible strategy behind the decision. Indian Advertising now shifts focus towards women to sell two wheelers! Ritika feels that the ad agencies in India are more contemperory and creative in depicting the new age women than our TV/movies. We'd love to know your take on it. Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com US senate was disrupted yesterday for having Hindu prayer reciting the senate's invocation prayer. Taj is voted as one of the seven wonders of the world. But is it really? Abhishek says Indians dont deserve it. Rock stars have $1 million ferrari. Big deal, US astraunauts shit in $19 Million camode . Who rocks now!! Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com iHype has been dominating the technology news for the past 6 months now and finally it was D-day for Stephen Jobs. We discuss how the phone lacks a few basic features so a few of us are waiting. Reliance is rummoured to be in talks with Apple to set up Apple Stores to in India. So they will be introducing the iPhone in India but no dates as yet.Google wants to help you browse the internet while offline with their new product Google Gears but Webarro was the first mover with this idea. how comes google didnt just buy them off? Allofmp3.com is shut down by kremlin but Mp3sparks has cropped up. Same face.. different name!! Tata has launched its chain of Technology stores called Croma having a very urban and professional feel to the whole store. Sun, 8 Jul 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com If there were God in the Indian film industry today, it is unargubly, the Superstar, Rajnikant. His new movie Sivaji , the boss has raked in more moolah than some of the Yash Chopra Films... combined! No one knows who the better half of Reliance is, but, in the entertainment sector, Mukes bhai and Anil bhai , formarly from the same family (oops!) may cross paths. Reliance Industries and Yash Raj will enter into a deal to build Multiplexes and Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group is moving like a live wire in the Film distribution business (among other things). And this episode also marks a discussion on why the rupee is appreciating against the dollar and what is there in it (or not there) for our exportes who are whining! Bio Fuels is the future for India says Branson and co. Listen to know more! Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com It's Rain time in Mumbai and the city is already fealing the heat! (ironically!) While rains disrupted most of the city's roads, it was the chilly weather of Ireland that got to 9 Indian cricket players . Oops! Back in India, the presidential elections is gaining momentum like never before and USA is warming up for its prez candidates as well! While Sunita Williams returned from her 195 day expedition in space, Aditya wonders why is India celebrating her success! In sports, Lewis Hamilton , the 22 year old lad is shaking history in Formula One! Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This was an amazingly lighthearted episode where Ritika and I had a lot of fun covering diverse topics like how Mallya's Kingfisher swooped in to take a controlling stake in Capt Gopinath's Air Deccan and how corporate America and its CEOs are being sacked for non business reasons! Also, how Infosys, the Indian IT powerhouse is deftly tackling attrition with its not so sporting Non Compete agreement which all its employees have to sign! Rupert Murdoch is getting younger and acquiring companies left, right, centre! Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Listen to know the heat wave that has struck North India. The 12th results are out and everyones running across to get admitted in the best of colleges. Some are busy collecting caste certificates! Also, in cricket, India is making news.... for non-cricketing reasons... Again!!! Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Singh is King!! and more insights from our Kullu Manali visit. Check out the photos of the coolest things we came across.No Tobacco Day : May 31st! Dave Whatmore - The new Indian cricket coach! Wed, 30 May 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Welcome to the informal yet facinating world of business podcast from Indicast. This episode was recorded the day India joined the elite list of 12 nations which boast of a trillian dollar economy! Ritika, my friend turned co-host makes her debut on the show. We had a blast while recording the episode! We hope you love it as well! Barclays, CSR, TATA, Carbon credits, Airbus, Tech pacific, Kingfisher, Schwarzenegar, Iinflation, and much much more in flat 15 minutes! This is the pilot episode of Indicast's Business Podcast and we want you guys to tell us what you felt about it. Comment! Coment! Comment! Wed, 09 May 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Sakshi Juneja, the celebrity blogger from Desidabba joins us on the eve of our 50th episode. She also happens to be a huge Rakhi Sawant fan and is an unabashed PR machine for Rakhi on the cyber space. Listen to know more!!! India is a place with a universe of possibilities. 'We are like that only' is a phrase that works well for India, but, not so much when a father rapes his 13 year old daughter and is granted bail for 'technical reasons'! And when they add people on the VIP list who can skip scrutiny check at airports, etc. like they add food items on a hotel menu, it starts getting scary! Fri, 4 May 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This week we covered posts about Delhi Traffic woes, Weird Punekar, Gauravonomics, and atlasrugged. This is a good 30 mins Wed, 25 Apr 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com While Richard Gere chose to kiss Shilpa Shetty on stage, as if on cue, the Shiv Sainiks played their "Indian Culture" card and burned effigies of the celebrities. I wonder where they got posters of Richard Gere. While Shiv sainiks were only doing their job, we think aloud why does the Indian media whore itself time and again! If you have some answers, please enlighten us! Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com earing that Sex education will corrupt young minds, the state Govt. has put a ban to all constructive efforts towards educating young minds about sex.Load Shedding in Maharashtra has reached new heights! To keep Mumbai awake 24X7, other parts of the state are sweating it out in the sweltering weather. And Aditya and I are not too happy about it! Listen to know more Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Dare not talk about Cricket in India. You will be taxed. I guess, sania mirza is our only sporting hope now. And even that being very hopeful! But a good thing that happened was that Manjunath's murderers get the death sentence. I would like to see that on Youtube. May manjunath rest in peace. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This is the first episde of Amuk Amuk, a podcast that covers blogs! We explain our theme and covers 6 blog posts that were hot on the Desipundit.com. Desipundit.com covers the best in the Indian Blog world. Listen to get addicted! Sat, 10 Mar 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Another world is just round the corner and we announce our plans for it. Also Aditya getting is getting married and alll indicast listeners are invited. Budget talk, why is railway budget held on a seperate day than the union budget? Find out and tell us. Thu, 1 Mar 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Indibloggies results are out and Indicast has been adjudged as The Podcast of the Year! This episode is dedicated to all you guys who made it happen!!! It features all the stories that you submitted over the fortnight. We hope we've done justice to all! Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Project England worked out pretty well for Tata as CSN lost the 9 round bidding war. Abhishek gives us the complete low-down on what ever happened with the deal. We also spent sometime talking about the Ranji Final where almost almost half of the Indian cricket team had descended. Geofferey boycott, Vinod Kambli, Vengsarkar, Tendulkar family, and Rahul Dravid played a cameo apperance as well...For the first time, We rant about technology. How could microsoft disable the Office 2007 beta without any notice and why is google asking for $2 or more an Indicast adwords campaign? Sat, 10 Feb 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Sachin's back in form and peaking at the right time. He has always had a good time at the world cups and I guess this world cup is going to be business as usual for him. Mean while, Abshishek's name is missing from the voter list even though he has a voter registration. So he couldn't get a say in democracy this time. My parents had to go through the same during the elections as well. Debashish Chakraborty joined us on Indicast as a guest to tell us all about Indibloggies. Indibloggies were started by him in 2003 and have become an annual online event. Its like the Oscars for the Indian Blogworld. Fri, 2 Feb 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com After a long weekend and the Republic Day Celebrations, we got together to record an episodes with opinions on the latest thats happening on the Idiot box. While I like SRK's KBC style, my dad's not hapy with his hugs and massages for the contestants. Amitabh would never do that is his arguement. KBC probably has the most product placements that I have seen ever. Is it a good thing though? Besides that, I loved the song SRK's KBC song Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Welcome to the fastest Indicast Episode! You may hear a few horns and disturbances on your way to the last minute coz Aditya is in a cafe using "chori ka wi-fi"!!! The story of the week has been how Hutchison Telecom like a lump of jaggery has attracted ants from all corners of the globe! Essar, Reliance, hinduja, Vodafone all want to taste some success in the telecom sector and Hutchison is enjoying the attention. We predict a bidding war and Mr. Li, the owner has all reasons to be happy! Mumbai Marathon, the biggest event in the country will kick off on Jan 21, and will see 30,000 runners including the likes of Anil Ambani. So, what's special? RFID!!! Listen to know more!!! Sun, 21 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Google has been named as the best company to work for on this planet... Free food, massage, unlimited sick leaves, and that's only a start...Can India inculcate a google like culture in one of its companies? Aditya thinks the Indian mobile market is over hyped and well, I think otherwise! Our Podcast turns out to be a mini debate between the two of us and we decided to release it as it is! We also discuss why the concept of Ring Tone is so amusing! And why can they can get to your nerves!..A phone which tells you whether it is safe for you to drive after a couple of drinks. Now, that's what we call a value added service! Listen to know more! Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This episode is one of the breezy ones which covers everything from the kumbh mela in India to why Tiger Woods may be charged with performance enhancing surgery! We also talk about our favourite topic, the aviation industry and why can't our airlines land when fog hits the sky when aircrafts across the world comfortably land on a lesser known airport in Tibet under near zero visibility conditions. Sun, 7 Jan 2007 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We dedicate this episode to the year 2006 which has been a record of sorts for India! We pick the best and the worst stories of the year and keep it simple. Business, Politics, Sports, Sensex, Aviation, Munnabhai, Saurav dada, the highs, the lows of India in 2006. Listen, enjoy and a bear hug to all you listeners for being with us! A happy new year. Sun, 31 Dec 2006 19:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com India is making NEWS for the right and the wrong reasons. We discuss business, politics, and cricket in this episode. SRK, Big B, Sanju baba, Greg Chappel, Wal Mart, TATA, et al Tue, 5 Dec 2006 15:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com If doctors take the Hippocratic oath vowing ethical practice of medicine, do Lawyers have a similar oath? Professionally, the 77 year old criminal lawyer, Ram Jethmalani has every right to defend Manu Sharma. But, does his profession see client above truth and justice? You tell us. Mon, 27 Nov 2006 17:30:35 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We at Indicast try to figure out the reason behind the death epidemic and more importantly what can be done to avert the crisis. There are a million unanswered questions. We'll leave it at that. You guys decide what to make of it. Fri, 10 Nov 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Indicast celebrates one year!!! Indicast style salaam to all our listeners who have stayed with us throughout! Keep those comments coming in. We love em all. Also, we have created a record of sorts in this podcast. It is one of those pacy episodes with a file size that wont annoy you! It is that time of the year when India gets a face lift literally. The festival of lights and fire crackers lightens up the country. And with it comes sweets and the faral! Diwali shopping is a trend which all Indians look forward to and live up to it in style by saving some bucks for the D day. I went shopping too and learnt that shopping is a social science! Listen to know more! While an Asian has been awarded with the Nobel Peace prize, we discuss the reasons why Gandhi missed the bus. Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Our first podcast with both of us sitting face to face...so it definitely was weird to begin with but we eased up as time passed . We start with a few HR issues that start ups like ours face. Belated Gandhijayanti and a very Happy Dry Day!! Whats up with national holiday's being Dry Days? We consistently digress from one topic to the next and have maintained the tradition in this podcast as well...An arranged marriage is a marriage where the marital partners are chosen by others based on considerations other than the pre-existing mutual attraction of the partners. We can visualise an american teenager after reading the definition exclaim, "Phew! That stuff still happens?" But, here in India, this concept is not only age old, but, apparently more successful than love marriages! We have some interesting stories to share. Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Gandhi. Poora naam, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Munnabhai, the cult Indian movie has injected a dose of Gandhigiri in India. A nation of billion people is bombarded with news from all media vehicles on how Gandhigiri rocks in todays world of deception. Gandhi had moved a nation to action through his out of the box style of protests against the British non-violence and integrity being his weapons of choice. Munnabhai relives Gandhian philosophy in the 21st Century. We at Indicast try to brainstorm a few scenerios where Gandhigiri would work and where it would not be a good idea! Fri, 15 Sep 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Ganapati Bappa Moriya! Thats the mantra in India for the week. There is no festival which is celebrated with more pomp and vigour than the Ganesh Chaturti. People from all age groups participate in programmes to exhibit their talent on millions of different stages across the country. India is immune to blaring loudspeakers at 12:30 in the night during these 10 days! Bal Thakrey is in the news again. Hang on. Don't have any pre conceived notions. This time, he is in the NEWS for the right reasons. The authorities at Shirdi may not have the last laugh after all! Listen to know more. Well, on a lighter note, we discuss a very interesting article that Fortune carries in its current issue. It says one in five will interrupt sex to take a phone call!!! Fri, 1 Sep 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The Gods must be crazy! Well, that's what a rational man in his right minds would say to his god fearing friend if the latter were to believe in the "Mahim Sweet-Water Miracle"! We, at Indicast are God fearing men as well, but, we fear science as much as we do God! There is a thin line between science and supernatural and we are careful not to disappoint God by believing in his "miracles" blindly! 20th August, 2006 marked the end of an era. Narayan Murthy, the founder and now, Chief Mentor of Infosys will not be on the payroll of Infosys anymore. Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna(KANK) inspires a husband to shoot his wife! Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Damn! They spend millions in advertising and nobody seems to care. And, now, suddenly they breed a few bacteria in their products and the country sits up to take notice! Well, I don't know whether advertising helps increase sales, but, negative publicity can sure hinder sales! Pepsi and Coke, the notorious giants are in the News again. In this episode we have mentioned a few statistics from the CSE reports and a few other blogs. It wasn't hard to conclude that it is far safer to have a glass of pepsi that to have a cup of tea! We enter the 60th year of independence! Aditya rattles off interesting bits of trivia about the country. I play the devil's advocate. Fri, 18 Aug 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com An MBA is the "in thing" in India among the "eager minds of tomorrow". We are not complaining. We hold that degree too. What we are against is the unprofessional methods of conditioning these eager minds to pick one B School from the other by publishing half baked survey reports based on perceptions and sheer lack of homework. Tue, 01 Aug 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Hope. It's a funny word, isn't it? it's valium for some and marinjuna for others. It's dope. It's contagious. It spreads. It's an inspiration. Mumbai is on it... because it doesn't have a choice... because it can't afford a nervous breakdown. Mumbai is hurt. It is seething. We hope it is not immune. We hope some day we all will start asking questions. We hope that we, mumbaikars stop taking ourselves for granted and not just "Move on". Fri, 21 Jul 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com When it comes to supply chain, only God can beat em. But, we couldn't interview God. So, we spoke to the second in command, Mr. Raghunath Medghe, the President of the Dabbawala Association, Mumbai. Following is an excerpt from an article from the Forbes Magazine: Mumbai's "tiffinwallahs" have achieved a level of service to which Western businesses can only aspire. "Efficient organization" is not the first thought that comes to mind in India, but when the profit motive is given free rein, anything is possible. To appreciate Indian efficiency at its best, watch the tiffinwallahs at work. Mon, 3 Jul 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We are back after a long time. Blame it on my laptop which completed its 5th Anniversary and I had to gift it with a new Hard Disk and adorn it with a few accessories. Yeah, it was a costly affair, but, what the heck? We are back! Thank you for all the comments and the patience! "I am a cheerleader, I am a promoter, I am a salesman, I am a debt collector, and there are other aspects I still have to discover," Annan has said in describing his job. Will Shashi Tharoor join the select few from across the globe to head the most important post in the United Nations? We, at Indicast root for him. Also, Bollywood doesnt stop amazing us especially when its an item girl. When Rakhee did it to a girl, it's a kiss. When Mika does it to Rakhi, it's blasphemy! We try to get our minds to decipher this anamoly. I love it when when we talk on topic as diverse as the ones we covered today. Also to spice it up a bit check out this Rakhi Sawant interview on YouTube. I love the reason she gives for being an item girl. "Mujhe Gaana Pasand hain na". Wed, 21 Jun 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Today, I walked past waiting patients to the quadrangle at the heart of AIIMS, where striking doctors prepare to go hungry for another night. There were candles all around, remnants of a quiet vigil from an hour ago. Little groups of students huddled everywhere, some on benches, others stretched out on red carpets in the centre of the ground. Around them, strung up everywhere, are banners. There's a joke painted on one. It's about Manmohan Singh telling George W Bush of a plan to send Indians to the moon next year. "How many," asks Bush. "100," Singh replies. "25 OBCs, 20 SCs, 15 STs, 5 handicapped, 5 sports personnel, 2 Kashmiri migrants, 8 politicians, 18 generals and, if possible, 2 astronauts." Another poster read: "I am leaving for the US. I was disowned by my own country." This is what it has come to? Mon, 29 May 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com One fine morning, the 19 year old Harvard sophomore, Kaavya Vishwanathan wrote a book, got rich, got famous, and then, got caught. While she seems to have been only "inspired" by one of her favourite authors and that the similarities between her book, 'How Opal Mehta Got kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life' and Sophie Kinsella's 'Can You Keep a Secret' were only coincidental, we at indicast discuss the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism. The NGO that we researched about this week is by the name of Apne Aap, an NGO which has taken up the daring initiative to end sex-trafficking in India. Sat, 13 May 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com With the summer season at its peak, this May, has been an eventful one for the shining brand called 'India'. In the past couple of years, India has appeared in more publications and magazines across the world than it has in the past 8-10 years put together! Was India built in a day? We discuss India and its tryst with fame in this episode. Sat, 6 May 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The summer has always been hot but this time around adding fuel to the fire is the daily load shedding ritual for about 3 hours. I have heard stories where 8 hour load shedding has become a norm. So we decided to take that topic up and present our views on it. I tried hard but couldnt help giving out a few numbers. Abhishek has the honour of hosting the show this time. You will also hear dogs barking in the background for about 2 mins, those are my two dobermans. I tried but couldnt clear the barking from the original recording. Tue, 25 Apr 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Has the Indian judicial system become like a cricket umpire where a few bad decision are part of the game? Killers are being let go and then rearrested, rape sentences are being handed out like the christmas cake. And to top it, the quota system is back. We are for merit based selection but at the same time the under previleged have to be helped out. Abhishek presents a solution. What do you say? Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com For this episode we have picked up two topics concerning women but one of them remains a big issue while the other one is a "fabricated" issue by the traditional media. The sentencing in the Marine drive rape case caught our eye and Abhishek went on a number hunt to get a few facts while I took a look into the Indian Penal Code and its definition of rape. The other topic we cover was about the goof-ups at the lakme India Fashion week. In fact, we were in two minds while talking about it since the traditional media and the politician hyped it up so much but we had to tell them to shut up, let go and move on!! Thu, 6 Apr 2006 22:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We are (like any other Indian) passionate about cricket. So we had initially planned this episode to be about what we feel about the Young Team India. But as it happened, we recorded this episode the same day that Team India was embarrassed by a depleted England team so it ended up being a rant. Then the second topic that we squeezed in was the Miss India Contest. Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This week we aren't late and had a guest with us for this show. A friend of ours, Shalin Mody, works at NASA and we had him over to chat about his experiences. We didn't go into details about ISRO and talked generally about space exploration. The topics covered are Asteroid mission being cancelled, zero gravity, space tourism, Vision for Space explroation. Sun, 12 Mar 2006 08:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Its becoming a habit for us to release episodes with a sorry for the delay but this is the last time. A lot of things happened but nothing that we could talk about for 15 mins entirely with boring you people so what we have done is spent time on several topic. So here is Indicasts episode # 15 for you. Sun, 5 Mar 2006 08:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT ( don't ask me why they dont call it NNPT) is in the spotlight with Bush's upcoming visit to India. He's coming over to discuss some Indo-US nucleur deal for civilian use. So we just thought about giving you some gyan about what the hell NPT is about and why is this such a big deal. Thu, 9 Feb 2006 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com we decided to talk about Rang De Basanti (needless to say that its a must watch) and discuss a few facts that were mentioned in the movie (dont worry we havent given out the plot) but just picked on a particular thing that a character says. The discussion lead us to talk about IAS and how to get into it and importantly discuss facts about it. Thu, 2 Feb 2006 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We are back after a 3 week hiatus and we apologise for that but the schedules kept clashing. That's the trouble having a sales guy as a co-host ;-) . We used up this entire episode to talk about things that happened in 2005. Rediff had a special end of the year article about various things about 2005. So we picked the top ten things that made us (Indians) happy in 2005 and top ten trends that rocked India in 2005. Sun, 8 Jan 2006 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The vocalist for fabulous Indus Creed and the awesome Alms for Shanti, Uday Benegal, makes an appearance on IndiCast. I had asked him to join us to talk about the past, present and future of his band and also about generral things happening around him. As usual, we had to battle a few technical problems and had to edit a few awesome moments out of our chat. This episode does contain a few fucks here and there and it would have ruined the episode if we took them away. Morover, almost 75% of the people who took our survey said they would be fine with it. Mon, 19 Dec 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com We are huge Sachin fans so we decided to dedicate this episode to Sachin Tendulkar for reaching yet another milestone. The episode contains snippets of sachin's first mainstream interview with Tom Alter and also various incidences as experienced by many greats like Anil Kumble, Dravid, Richie Benaud. Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com After struggling to get good internet connection, we were able to find a stable connection and record this episode. I invited a college friend, Porus Satwe, to talk about talk NRI related finance stuff. This porbably might be the most informative IndiCast to date. Porus explains the difference between NRE,NRO and FCNR accounts as it relates to NRIs. We had decided to talk about investing options as well but had to cut it short and follow it up in another episode. Thu, 01 Dec 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com I am back from India (grrrrr...) and back to my routine in the US. It was too short a trip but I was amazed at the changes I could see and feel all over the place so I persuaded abhishek to talk about it so its just me and him this week. We decided to mix it up a bit and let Abhishek play the host for this episode. Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Rashmi Bansal and Vikram Nanivadekar (Nani) shared the mic with me for this episode. I wanted to be a bit adventurous and record this episode at CCD (my cousin who is in SYJC says calling it Cafe Coffe Day is being unhip) but it was just too noisy so we recorded it at JAMs office. Tue, 15 Nov 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Toral Mehta from Apprentice joins Indicast for an informal talk, her experiences as a desi on Apprentice. She shares the good and bad experiences that she had on one of US's most popular TV reality show. Sun, 06 Nov 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com The episode features a talk on FDI and our support for it especially for retail industry. We have protected ourselves for a long time and its time to play with the foriegn companies. We change the topic and talk about Sachins response to the critical media. We love you Sachin. Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Ash joins Indicast as a guest speaker and to discuss Blog Quake Day. Its an appeal to all Indian bloggers to collaborate for charity for earthquake victims. Aditya and Ash also discuss about how Indians are the 4th happiest in the world inspite of all the disaster happening around the country. Ash says we are just a tolerant bunch. Sun, 23 Oct 2005 09:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com Aditya and Abhishek discuss the hottest topic in Indian blogosphere - IIPM with reference to freedom of speech and defamation. Episode also features a movement to get Mithun as James Bond. Sun, 16 Oct 2005 03:24:05 GMT http://www.theindicast.com This is the episode # 2 of Indicast. Shailesh Rege joins us as a guest to discuss low cost airlines . Aditya and Abhishek discuss about Indians news channels and George Bush Mon, 10 Oct 2005 01:10:05 GMT