Indicast - All Podcasts
423 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★★ - 23 ratingsIndicast 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
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Episodes
Indicast #252: The solar eclipse saga
April 18, 2024 14:33 - 42 minutes - 19.4 MBHow 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.
Indicast #251: India's Chess grandmasters rise
April 09, 2024 14:33 - 33 minutes - 19.4 MBThe 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...
Indicast #250: What social media does to our brains
April 07, 2024 14:33 - 42 minutes - 19.4 MBFlorida 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.
Dennis Yi Tenen on his book Literary Theory of Robots: How Computers Learned to Write
March 27, 2024 14:33 - 51 minutes - 29.2 MBIn 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 m...
Indicast #249: RIP Ameen Sayani
March 25, 2024 14:33 - 37 minutes - 19.4 MBIt’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?
Tom Wainwright on Facebook turning 20
March 02, 2024 14:33 - 35 minutes - 29.2 MBIn 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 ...
Indicast #248: India's Supreme Court bans electoral bonds
February 17, 2024 14:33 - 34 minutes - 19.4 MBIndia'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 operat...
David Bodanis on his book, “The Art of Fairness:The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean”
February 17, 2024 14:33 - 49 minutes - 29.2 MBDo 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 ...
Zeke Faux on his book, “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall”
January 27, 2024 14:33 - 48 minutes - 29.2 MBThe 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 th...
Indicast #247: Deep fake is on steroids
January 20, 2024 14:33 - 36 minutes - 19.4 MBDeep 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.
Kenneth Miller on his book, “Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep”
December 29, 2023 14:33 - 52 minutes - 29.2 MBWe 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 literall...
Daniel Knowles on his book, “How Cars Make Life Worse and What to Do About It”
December 17, 2023 14:33 - 39 minutes - 29.2 MBIn 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 wh...
Indicast #246: Clowning glory
December 17, 2023 14:33 - 32 minutes - 19.4 MBAfter 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.
Indicast #245: How the Ukraine war has impacted Surat's diamond industry
November 27, 2023 14:33 - 33 minutes - 19.4 MBSurat'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...
Indicast #244: India loves junk food
November 18, 2023 14:33 - 39 minutes - 19.4 MBIndia 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.
Indicast #243: India embraces IVF
November 12, 2023 14:33 - 47 minutes - 19.4 MBFirstly, 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 pol...
Indicast #242: India wants Bharat or does it
November 05, 2023 14:33 - 40 minutes - 18.4 MBIt 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.
Kiran Verma, on a 21,000 km walk to raise awareness on blood donation
August 27, 2023 14:33 - 28 minutes - 29.2 MBKiran 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 cha...
Dr Anna Lembke on her book, "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence"
June 17, 2023 14:33 - 53 minutes - 29.2 MBDr 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 Lemb...
Gavin Jackson on his book, "Money In One Lesson"
March 26, 2023 14:33 - 36 minutes - 29.2 MBYou 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 cou...
Ludwig Siegele, The Economist's top tech guru on ChatGPT
March 19, 2023 14:33 - 34 minutes - 29.2 MBLudwig 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 resp...
Annie Lowrey on her book, "Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World"
March 05, 2023 14:33 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MBAnnie 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...
Philip Coggan on his book, "Surviving the Daily Grind: Bartleby's Guide to Work"
March 05, 2023 14:33 - 45 minutes - 29.2 MBPhilip 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 e...
Tom Standage on his book, "A Brief History of Motion"
February 26, 2023 14:33 - 51 minutes - 29.2 MBTom 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 pocke...
Indicast #241: The Adani Way
February 16, 2023 14:33 - 35 minutes - 18.4 MBThe 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,...
Indicast #240: India's census is delayed again
February 10, 2023 14:33 - 27 minutes - 14.6 MBOnce 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.
Indicast #239: That sinking feeling
January 20, 2023 14:33 - 35 minutes - 18.2 MBJoshimath 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.
Indicast #238: India's oddly terrifying dead-ends
January 08, 2023 14:33 - 42 minutes - 22 MBAs 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...
Point Blank with RB Ramesh, India's chess grandmaster-turned-coach
January 03, 2023 14:33 - 48 minutes - 27.3 MBRB 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 psychologica...
Indicast #237: Welcome 2023!
December 30, 2022 14:33 - 36 minutes - 19.2 MBAs 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 ...
Indicast #236: How prodigies work
December 20, 2022 14:33 - 42 minutes - 23.9 MBRishi 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.
Indicast #235: All eyes on Qatar
November 12, 2022 14:33 - 42 minutes - 23.6 MBThe 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.
Indicast # 234: Of bat, ball and British politics
October 30, 2022 14:33 - 34 minutes - 19.5 MBAfter 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, B...
Indicast # 233: India at COP26
November 14, 2021 14:33 - 28 minutes - 15.7 MBIA 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.
Indicast # 232: Of Air India and love hotels
November 03, 2021 14:33 - 42 minutes - 19.5 MBIn 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.
Indicast # 231: Cryptocurrency craze in India
August 08, 2021 14:33 - 28 minutes - 19.5 MBJohn 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 expl...
Indicast # 230: An Olympics special
August 01, 2021 14:33 - 37 minutes - 19.5 MBOnce 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 Lo...
Indicast # 229: Indian tech IPOs and remembering Danish Siddiqui
July 17, 2021 14:33 - 23 minutes - 19.5 MBIt 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 ...
Indicast # 228: Sports Day
July 10, 2021 14:33 - 44 minutes - 19.5 MBIn 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.
Indicast # 227: Long live languages
July 03, 2021 12:30 - 32 minutes - 19.5 MBKannada 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.
Indicast # 226: The second wave is on its way out
June 28, 2021 12:30 - 26 minutes - 19.5 MBIn 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.
Indicast # 225: The Great Indian Vaccine Roll out
January 31, 2021 12:30 - 30 minutes - 19.5 MBFew 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 obstet...
Indicast # 224: India thump Australia
January 25, 2021 12:30 - 31 minutes - 19.5 MBA 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.
Indicast # 223: Crazy stock market valuations
December 21, 2020 12:30 - 35 minutes - 19.5 MBBurger 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?
Indicast #222: A vaccine, finally
December 13, 2020 12:30 - 40 minutes - 20.4 MBThe 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.
Indicast #221: RIP Diego Maradona
November 29, 2020 12:30 - 29 minutes - 19.5 MBJadhav 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.
Indicast #220: Get married. Get paid
November 01, 2020 12:30 - 25 minutes - 19.5 MBThe 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.
Indicast #219: Whose Basmati is it anyway?
October 11, 2020 12:30 - 30 minutes - 19.5 MBIn 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 intervie...
Indicast #218: A Tribute to SP Balasubramaniam
September 27, 2020 12:30 - 35 minutes - 19.5 MBThe 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.
Indicast #217: Salute, Shinzo Abe and RIP Pranab Mukherjee
September 06, 2020 12:30 - 28 minutes - 19.5 MBShinzo 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 India...