The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

Barun Mitra and Kumar Anand join Amit Varma to discuss India's agriculture crisis. They explore the root causes and remedies, including heavy regulations, restrictions on land, flawed subsidies, and the minimum support price policy. The speakers address misconceptions about farmer subsidies, the impact of continuous elections, and advocate for individual freedom in agriculture. They also mention the Taksi Shila Institution and upcoming podcast seasons.

The recent victories of political Hindutva were enabled by a century-long cultural movement spearheaded by a publishing house based in Gorakhpur. Akshaya Mukul, author of Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India, joins Amit Varma in episode 139 of The Seen and the Unseen. Themes discussed include the relationship between society and the state, Marwari history, cow, temple, gender, caste, Muslims, Communism, and the spontaneous combustion of virtuous Hindu women. Also check out: Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India -- Akshaya Mukul The Intellectual Foundations of Hindutva -- Episode 115 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Aakar Patel) Political Ideology in India -- Episode 131 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rahul Verma) Religion and Ideology in Indian Society -- Episode 124 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Suyash Rai) The 2019 Elections -- Episode 122 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Sadanand Dhume) The BJP's Magic Formula -- Episode 45 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Prashant Jha) 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

Times are bad -- but pessimists can dream! Tired of only talking about problems, Shruti Rajagopalan, Rajeswari Sengupta and Vivek Kaul join Amit Varma in episode 138 of The Seen and the Unseen, to propose solutions! Three each. Many bad jokes and Bollywood songs are thrown in. Also check out: Population Is Not a Problem, but Our Greatest Strength -- Amit Varma. Alone in the City -- Amit Varma Where Are the Jobs? -- Ep 87 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Yazad Jal) Education in India -- Ep 77 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Amit Chandra) Urban Governance in India -- Ep 31 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan) The Bad and Complex Tax -- Ep 74 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan) GST Revisited -- Ep 28 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul) Early Indians -- Ep 112 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tony Joseph) Immigration -- Ep 4 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shikha Dalmia) Rent Control -- Ep 14 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Alex Tabarrok) FSI -- Ep 11 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Alex Tabarrok) Women at Work -- Ep 132 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Namita Bhandare) IL&FS and the Indian Financial System -- Ep 91 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul & Ashutosh Datar) The DNA of the NPA -- Ep 32 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul & Kumar Anand) Demystifying GDP -- Ep 130 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rajeswari Sengupta) India's Lost Decade -- Ep 116 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Puja Mehra) 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

The India of 2019 is a different country from the India of 1989. Social commentator Santosh Desai joins Amit Varma in episode 137 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the many ways in which we have been transformed in this time -- not always for the better. Also check out: 1. Santosh Desai's column archives in The Times of India. 2. Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense of Everyday India -- Santosh Desai 3. The Decline of Collective Trust -- Santosh Desai 4. Surrounded by Screens - Santosh Desai 5. TikTok: Leave Them Kids Alone -- Santosh Desai 6. The Great Indian Rope Trick -- Santosh Desai 7. The Future as Flow -- Santosh Desai 8. Women at Work -- Ep 132 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Namita Bhandare) 9. The Indianness of Indian Food -- Ep 95 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Doctor) 10. How to Escape From the Shallows -- Amit Varma This episode is powered by Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/en/ Use the link storytel.com/ivm to get a 30 day free trial as opposed to a 14 day free trial. 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

Data journalism in India is fast coming of age, shedding light on our society and politics. Roshan Kishore joins Amit Varma in episode 136 of The Seen and the Unseen to speak about his profession (data journalism), his passion (political economy) and his dark, mysterious past as a student leader in JNU. Also check out: Roshan Kishore's writings in Hindustan Times. Demystifying GDP -- Episode 130 of The Seen and the Unseen. The Intellectual Foundations of Hindutva -- Episode 115 of The Seen and the Unseen. Political Ideology in India -- Episode 131 of The Seen and the Unseen. This episode is powered by Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/en/ Use the link storytel.com/ivm to get a 30 day free trial as opposed to a 14 day free trial. 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

Mohit Satyanand saw the 2008 crisis coming and put his money where his mouth was. Now he says we're in the middle of another crisis. He joins Amit Varma in episode 135 of The Seen and the Unseen to explain what exactly went wrong in 2008, and what's gone wrong now. Also check out: This is All Because of Rupal Ben -- Episode 5 of The Seen and the Unseen Poker and Stock Markets -- Episode 47 of The Seen and the Unseen DeMon, Morality and the Predatory Indian State -- Episode 85 of The Seen and the Unseen The Bad and Complex Tax -- Episode 75 of The Seen and the Unseen Easy Money -- Episode 56 of The Seen and the Unseen This episode is powered by Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/en/ Use the link storytel.com/ivm to get a 30 day free trial as opposed to a 14 day free trial. 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

Kashmir is in lockdown, and Article 370 is history. What does this mean for Kashmir -- and for India? Historian Srinath Raghavan joins Amit Varma in episode 134 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the historical, geopolitical, ideological and moral questions at the heart of the Kashmir problem. Also check out: War and Peace in Modern India -- Srinath Raghavan The Geopolitics of the Bangladesh War -- Episode 113 of The Seen and the Unseen. Understanding the India-Pakistan Conflict -- Episode 111 of The Seen and the Unseen. Uncle Sam in South Asia -- Episode 93 of The Seen and the Unseen. We Won’t Need To Fight A War If We Can Win The Peace -- Amit Varma. The Article 370 Amendments: Key Legal Issues -- Gautam Bhatia Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir -- AG Noorani A People's Constitution -- Rohit De The Generation of Rage in Kashmir -- David Devadas This episode is powered by Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/en/ Use the link storytel.com/ivm to get a 30 day free trial as opposed to a 14 day free trial. 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

We live in a world besieged by falsehood -- but there is a growing resistance movement. Pratik Sinha of Alt News joins Amit Varma in episode 133 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about disinformation, misinformation and why the truth will prevail. Also check out: Alt News Truth of Gujarat India Misinformed -- Pratik Sinha and co-authors The Alt News App for Android The Facts Do Not Matter -- Amit Varma Public Opinion -- Walter Lippmann This episode is powered by Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/en/ Use the link storytel.com/ivm to get a 30 day free trial as opposed to a 14 day free trial. 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

There is a crisis in India today. There are not enough women taking up paying jobs -- and their unpaid labour at home continues to be taken for granted. Journalist Namita Bhandare joins Amit Varma in episode 132 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about the state of women in India today. Also check out: Namita Bhandare's homepage. Namita Bhandare in the Hindustan Times. Why Indian Workplaces Are Losing Women -- Namita Bhandare (The IndiaSpend series) Namita Bhandare at Sheroes. Metrics of Empowerment -- Episode 88 of The Seen and the Unseen The Importance of #MeToo -- Episode 90 of The Seen and the Unseen An Economist Looks at #MeToo -- Episode 92 of The Seen and the Unseen Frailty, Thy Name is Public Policy -- Devika Kher The Girl From Haryana (https://indiauncut.com/the-girl-from-haryana/) -- Amit Varma Men Must Step Up Now -- Amit Varma This episode is powered by Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/en/ Use the link storytel.com/ivm to get a 30 day free trial as opposed to a 14 day free trial. 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

Political Ideology in India Description: The usual spectrum of left and right does not apply to Indian politics. But does that mean that our politics is based on identity and patronage, and not ideology? Not quite, says political scientist Rahul Verma, as he joins Amit Varma in episode 131 of The Seen and the Unseen to explain the two ideological cleavages that divide India. Also check out: Ideology and Identity -- Pradeep K Chhibber and Rahul Verma Religious Practice and Democracy in India -- Pradeep K Chhibber Religion and Ideology in Indian Society -- Episode 124 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Suyash Rai) Imagine No Possessions -- Episode 26 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan) Crime in Indian Politics -- Episode 114 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Milan Vaishnav) This episode is powered by Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/en/ Use the link storytel.com/ivm to get a 30 day free trial as opposed to a 14 day free trial. 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