The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

Ep 434: An Ode to Meanderness

17 snips
Dec 29, 2025
Shruti Rajagopalan, a public intellectual and conference organizer, joins Pranay Kotasthane, a policy commentator, to share insights on friendship and life's winding paths. They explore the magic of spontaneous conversations at unconferences and the importance of vulnerability. The trio discusses the balance between structure and spontaneity, emphasizing small, meaningful gestures in daily life. They also delve into the fun of learning equestrian skills, reflect on personal growth, and recommend books that foster humility and creativity.
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INSIGHT

Power Of The Unconference

  • Unconference formats show spontaneous order can produce high-quality, authentic engagement.
  • Bottom-up sessions remove performance pressure and surface genuine curiosity from participants.
ANECDOTE

Poetry That Filled A Room

  • Amit described a poetry unconference session that swelled from three people to a full, multilingual sharing circle.
  • Musicians improvised, readers teared up, and unexpected human connection emerged among young attendees.
ADVICE

Pitch Small, Think Moonshot

  • Apply for small grants like Emergent Ventures even for moonshot-seeming, early-stage ideas.
  • Low-friction application and personal review can incubate unexpected projects.
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