The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

Immense changes have swept through our lives in the last three decades. Filmmaker and writer Paromita Vohra joins Amit Varma in episode 155 of The Seen and the Unseen, and turns her unique gaze both inwards and outwards. Also check out: 1. Agents of Ishq 1. Unlimited Girls (95 mins) 2. Cosmopolis: Two Tales of a City (13 mins) 3. Where's Sandra (18 mins) 4. Morality TV (32 mins) 5. Partners in Crime (95 mins) 6. A Love Latika (Trailer) 7. Interview of Paromita Vohra by Anuradha Sengupta 8. A Lover's Argument -- Talk by Paromita Vohra 9. Paromita Vohra on Shah Rukh Khan 10.My True North: All Renewal Starts With the Self -- Paromita Vohra 11. On My First Data, My True Love Gave To Me -- Paromita Vohra 12. The Mystery of The Half-Girlfriend and the Double Chetan -- Paromita Vohra 13. Automatic Bodies -- Paromita Vohra 14. Indian Society: The Last 30 years -- Episode 137 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Santosh Desai) 15. The Dialect of a Cricket Writer -- Amit Varma 16. Reading India Now -- Ulka Anjaria

Economic policy affects each of us -- and yet, India has gotten it wrong for decades. In their groundbreaking new book, Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah write not just how to do policy, but how to think about policy. They join Amit Varma in episode 154 of The Seen and the Unseen to share their learnings, first principles onwards. Also check out: 1. In Service of the Republic -- Vijay Kelkar & Ajay Shah 2. Zombie Firms and Creative Destruction -- Ep 118 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ajay Shah) 3. The Importance of Finance -- Ep 125 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ajay Shah) 4. Every Act of Government Is an Act of Violence -- Amit Varma 5. The Delhi Smog -- Ep 44 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul) 6. Public Choice Theory -- Ep 121 of The Seen and the Unseen 7. Narendra Modi takes a Great Leap Backwards -- Amit Varma 8. Three Reasons Why A Cashless Society Would Be A Disaster -- Amit Varma 9. Where Have All the Leaders Gone? -- Amit Varma 10. India's Agriculture Crisis -- Ep 140 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra & Kumar Anand) 11. Premature Imitation and India's Flailing State -- Shruti Rajagopalan & Alex Tabarrok (pdf link) 12. Our Political Discourse -- Ep 49 of The Seen and the Unseen (w transcript) 13. The Facts Do Not Matter -- Amit Varma

Alongside much social unrest, the Indian economy went to hell in 2019. Vivek Kaul joins Amit Varma in episode 153 of The Seen and the Unseen to survey the damage, and to demystify the rubble. For detailed show notes, head on over to seenunseen.in.

Why is India burning over the Citizenship Amendment Bill? Why does the NRC matter? What is happening in Assam? Srinath Raghavan joins Amit Varma in episode 152 of The Seen and the Unseen to give historical perspective on our current ferments. For detailed show notes, head on over to seenunseen.in.

Politics in Maharashtra is deeply complicated. Its themes and fault lines have been formed over decades. Veteran journalist and author Sujata Anandan joins Amit Varma in episode 151 of The Seen and the Unseen to unravel some of the mysteries behind its fascinating dramas. Also check out: 1. Hindu Hriday Samrat -- Sujata Anandan 2. Maharashtra Maximus -- Sujata Anandan 3. Marathi Manoos -- Sujata Anandan.

How has Indian publishing evolved in the last few decades? What does India read, and why? Publisher VK Karthika joins Amit Varma in episode 150 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about what she learnt in her years in Penguin, Harper Collins and (now) Westland. Also check out: Death of the Author -- Roland Barthes (pdf link) How to Read and Why -- Harold Bloom A Poetry Handbook -- Mary Oliver Roseanna -- Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö The Gita Press and Hindu Nationalism -- Akshaya Mukul

Jayaprakash Narayan was trained as a physician, served in the IAS, and went on to start a political movement. JP joins Amit Varma in episode 149 of The Seen and the Unseen to share his insights on Indian politics, the nature of the state and what we need to do to change India for the better. Also check out: The State of Indian Politics -- Episode 50 of The Seen and the Unseen (w JP Narayan) What Is It Like to Be a Bat? -- Thomas Nagel (pdf link) Lessons from an Ankhon Dekhi Prime Minister -- Amit Varma Where Have All The Leaders Gone? -- Amit Varma Government's End -- Jon Rauch The Emergency -- Episode 103 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gyan Prakash) Urban Governance in India -- Episode 31 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan) Crime in Indian Politics -- Episode 114 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Milan Vaishnav) The Indianness of Indian Food -- Episode 95 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Doctor) You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

In episode 148 of The Seen and the Unseen, host Amit Varma invokes a fictional super-weapon to build an argument against gun rights in India. Guests Shubho Roy and Sudhanshu Neema disagree with him, and each other, most vigorously. Also check out: The Bombzooka Question -- Amit Varma on India Uncut Resisting State Injustice -- Episode 120 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Jason Brennan) You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

Jahangir is often considered a lightweight Mughal emperor, an ineffectual drunkard sandwiched between his father and his son, Akbar and Shah Jahan. But this is an unfair view. Parvati Sharma joins Amit Varma in episode 147 of The Seen and the Unseen to shed light on not just Jahangir as an emperor, but on his human side, endearing and infuriating in equal measure. Also check out: Jahangir: An Intimate Portrait of a Great Mughal -- Parvati Sharma Women in Indian History -- Episode 144 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ira Mokhoty) Our Colouful Past -- Episode 127 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Manu Pillai) The Deccan Before Shivaji -- Episode 98 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Manu Pillai) Talk by Parvati Sharma at The Loft Shī'Ī polemics at the Mughal court -- Sajjad Rizvi You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code is an archaic law and needs to go. But what is the historical background of our sedition law? What are the political and social contexts in which it evolved and thrived? Chitranshul Sinha joins Amit Varma in episode 146 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his book on the subject, The Great Repression. Also check out: The Great Repression -- Chitranshul Sinha Don't Insult Pasta (2007) -- Amit Varma Hardcore History by Dan Carlin Archive.org The Emergency -- Episode 103 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gyan Prakash) You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios