Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar

We have become the first species that can edit its own programming. Dana Carroll joins Vasant Dhar in episode 54 of Brave New World to share his insights on the science of gene editing -- and the ethical questions it raises. Useful resources: 1. Dana Carroll at University of Utah and Google Scholar. 2. The Promise and Challenge of Therapeutic Genome Editing -- Jennifer Doudna. 3. Jennifer's Doudna conversation on CRISPR with Chris Anderson. 4. Jennifer Doudna at Google Scholar and Amazon. 5. CRISPR babies: when will the world be ready? -- Heidi Ledford. 6. Beyond CRISPR: What's current and upcoming in genome editing -- Chris Tachibana. 7. Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance -- Various authors. 8. Heritable Human Genome Editing -- Various authors. 9. Human genome editing: a framework for governance -- WHO. 10. Human genome editing: position paper -- WHO. 11. Human genome editing: recommendations -- WHO. 12. Animal Liberation — Peter Singer. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

In principle, you can take a single cell from an animal and feed an entire village. It's a matter of time. In the meantime, there are alternatives, like fermentation, to produce all kinds of new substitutes that could be better than meat in terms of nutrition and taste. Paul Shapiro joins Vasant Dhar in episode 53 of Brave New World to discuss how meat alternatives are the future -- and liberating for animals and the environment. Useful resources: 1. Paul Shapiro on LinkedIn, Twitter, Wikipedia and his own website. 2. Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World -- Paul Shapiro. 3. The Clean Meat website. 4. The Better Meat Co. 5. Is Old Music Killing New Music? — Ted Gioia. 6. Maneka Gandhi on Animal Rights -- Episode 44 of Brave New World. 7. Animal Liberation — Peter Singer. 8. Animal Farming and Protein — Vasant Dhar. 9. My Octopus Teacher -- Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed. 10. The Innovator’s Dilemma — Clayton M Christensen. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Has the world become more or less safe over the years? How do we measure risk in these times of crazy change? Neeti Bhalla Johnson joins Vasant Dhar in episode 52 of Brave New World to share her thoughts on how professionals do it! Useful resources: 1. Neeti Bhalla Johnson on LinkedIn and Liberty Mutual. 2. Daniel Kahneman on How Noise Hampers Judgement -- Episode 21 of Brave New World. 3. Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement — Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony and Cass Sunstein. 4. Thinking, Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman. 5. Dissecting “Noise” — Vasant Dhar. 6. Factfulness -- Hans Rosling. 7. Global Deaths in Conflicts Since the Year 1400 -- Chart by Max Roser. 8. War and Peace -- Max Roser, Joe Hasell, Bastian Herre and Bobbie Macdonald. 8. Destined for War.-- Graham Allison. 9. The Technology Wars — Episode 1 of Brave New World (w Arun Sundararajan). 10. The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy -- Michael Lewis. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Neurobiologist Emeran Mayer discusses the brain-gut connection, including the impact of microbes on emotions and the importance of a holistic approach in healthcare. Topics covered include the role of fecal microbial transplantation in treating gut disorders, problems with the healthcare system, negative effects of artificial sweeteners on the gut biome, controversy surrounding probiotics, and gut-based decision-making.

India has achieved a technological miracle by empowering hundreds of millions of people with the power of identity. Pramod Varma joins Vasant Dhar in episode 50 of Brave New World to discuss his pioneering role in setting up large scale digital public infrastructure. Useful resources: 1. Pramod Varma on LinkedIn and Twitter. 2. India Stack, Aadhaar, E-Sign, DigiLocker and United Payments Interface. 3. The Beckn Protocol. 4. Nandan Nilekani on an Egalitarian Internet -- Episode 15 of Brave New World. 5. Data Democracy: People and Power in the Digital Age -- Nandan Nilekani's talk. 6. Why the US needs public-private partnerships for digital infrastructure -- Vasant Dhar. 7. 3 ways to increase social media platforms’ transparency -- Vasant Dhar. 8. On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog — New Yorker cartoon. 9. Who controls your data? India may pass a law ensuring that you do -- Vasant Dhar. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

We need to change the way we do philanthropy: it should be about sharing, not giving. Anshu Gupta joins Vasant Dhar in episode 49 of Brave New World to discuss his journey in building Goonj -- and why we need to rethink our frames. Useful resources: 1. Anshu Gupta on Goonj, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and his own website. 2. Goonj. 3. James Robinson on What Makes a Successful State -- Episode 19 of Brave New World. 4. The Narrow Corridor: How Nations Struggle for Liberty — Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson. 5. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty —  Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson. 6. Joseph Aoun on Becoming Robot-Proof -- Episode 45 of Brave New World. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Is Bitcoin just a bubble, or the first face of the future? What about blockchain and DeFi? Hanna Halaburda and Yannis Bakos join Vasant Dhar in episode 48 of Brave New World to dig deeper into these questions. Useful resources:1. Hanna Halaburda at NYU Stern, Twitter and Google Scholar. 2. Yannis Bakos at NYU Stern and Google Scholar. 3. On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog -- New Yorker cartoon. 4. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System -- Satoshi Nakamoto. 5. Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money -- Lex Fridman Podcast #276. 6. Artifact of the Month: Ross William Ulbricht's Laptop. 7. How FBI caught Ross Ulbricht, alleged creator of criminal marketplace Silk Road -- Tim Hume. 8. Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets -- Nick Szabo. 9. Obelix and the Sleeping Cups -- Vasant Dhar. 10. Antoinette Schoar on Decentralized Finance & Crypto -- Episode 42 of Brave New World. 11. David Yermack on The Crypto Revolution -- Episode 30 of Brave New World. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

How did Covid-19 affect black Americans? What are the obstacles to their mobility and what can you do about it? Shelley Stewart joins Vasant Dhar in episode 47 of Brave New World to discuss his work at McKinsey trying to make an impact on black America. Useful resources: 1. Shelley Stewart at McKinsey & Company. 2. COVID-19: Investing in Black lives and livelihoods. 3. Soumitra Datta on Measuring Innovation -- Episode 46 of Brave New World. 4. Jeff Teper on the Post-Covid Workplace -- Episode 36 of Brave New World. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

How can we tell if one country is more innovative than another? What drives that difference? And hey, what is innovation to begin with? Soumitra Datta joins Vasant Dhar in episode 46 of Brave New World to share his insights on innovation, and the lessons they hold for us. Useful resources: 1. Soumitra Datta on Twitter, Wikipedia and Saïd Business School. 2.  Does IT Matter? -- Nicholas Carr. 3. Global Innovation Index 2020 -- Edited by Soumitra Datta, Bruno Lanvin and Sacha Wunsch-Vincent. 4. India Innovation Index 2021: NITI Aayog. 5. Nandan Nilekani on an Egalitarian Internet -- Episode 15 of Brave New World. 6. The Swedish Hitmaker Behind Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and the Weeknd -- Neil Shah in the Wall Street Journal. 7. 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer. 8. Why Nations Fail -- Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. 9. The Narrow Corridor --  Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. 10. James Robinson on What Makes a Successful State -- Episode 19 of Brave New World. 11. That Fancy University Course? It Might Actually Come From an Education Company -- Lisa Bannon and Rebecca Smith in the Wall Street Journal. 12. The Innovator’s Dilemma — Clayton M Christensen. 13. Law and Education in Our Modern World -- Episode 5 of Brave New World (w John Sexton). 14. Too much efficiency not good for higher education, March argues -- Stanford University News Service. 15. Uplift the Unremarkables -- Episode 2 of Brave New World (w Scott Galloway). Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

If robots and AI are replacing us, we need to reinvent ourselves. Joseph Aoun joins Vasant Dhar in episode 45 of Brave New World to discuss the role of education in making humanity robot-proof. Useful resources: 1. Joseph Aoun on Twitter, Google Scholar and Northeastern University. 2. Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence -- Joseph Aoun. 3. The Innovator's Dilemma -- Clayton Christensen. 4. Caitlin Zaloom on the Explosion of Student Debt -- Episode 37 of Brave New World. 5. Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost -- Caitlin Zaloom. 6.  Daniel Kahneman on How Noise Hampers Judgement -- Episode 21 of Brave New World. 7. The Future of Liberal Education -- Episode 11 of Brave New World (w Michael S Roth). 8. How Humans Judge Machines -- César Hidalgo. Check out Vasant Dhar’s newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!