Ideas of India

In this episode, Shruti spoke with Vatsal Khandelwal, who is a junior research fellow at Merton College and an associate member of the Department of Economics at University of Oxford. His main research interest are development and behavioral economics, with a focus on social and economic networks. They discussed his job market paper titled “Silent Networks: The Role of Inaccurate Beliefs in Reducing Useful Social Interactions,” (coauthored with Ronak Jain). They spoke about pessimistic beliefs and their impact on individual’s well-being, the methods to correct incorrect beliefs about social norms, the importance of social networks, support groups, students’ expectations’ impact on performance more. Recorded September 21st, 2023. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Follow Vatsal on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Shruti spoke with Sarath Pillai, who is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for the Advanced Study of India at University of Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Chicago, a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School, a MA in history from the University of Delhi, and a Postgraduate Diploma in archives and records management from the National Archives of India, Delhi. They discussed his job market paper titled “German Lessons: Comparative Constitutionalism, States’ Rights, and Federalist Imaginaries in Interwar India,” recently published in “Comparative Studies in Society and History.” They spoke about how the views of the princely states on federalism and constitutionalism are different from the view of the Indian nationalists; the influence of German thought on India in the early twentieth century; subnationalism and federalism in modern day India and more. Recorded September 6th, 2023. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Follow Sarath on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Shruti spoke with Rithika Kumar, who is a Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She received her PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in August 2023. Her research lies at the intersection of gender, urbanization and politics in India. Shruti and Rithika discussed her job market paper titled “Left Behind or Left Ahead?” and the feminization of politics, political and social impact of migration, norms holding back women, and much more. Recorded September 6th, 2023. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Follow Rithika on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Vanisha Sharma, researcher on the effects of social media on farmers, discusses her research on how social media impacts farmers, including their farm expenditures and battle against pests. The podcast explores the impact of WhatsApp groups on farmers in rural India, the differences between in-person and virtual interventions in developing communities, language barriers faced by farmers, and the various areas in which digital technology has revolutionized India.

Duncan Webb is a Ph.D. candidate in economics at the Paris School of Economics. He received his B.A. in PPE at Oxford University and his masters in economics at Paris School of Economics. His research lies at the intersection of development and behavioral economics. We spoke about his job market paper titled, “Silence to Solidarity: Using Group Dynamics to Reduce Anti-Transgender Discrimination in India.” Shruti and Duncan talked about deep-rooted prejudice versus marginal prejudice, preference falsification, behavior in group settings, endogamy, caste prejudice and more.  Recorded August 31st, 2023. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Follow Duncan on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Amit Ahuja and Devesh Kapur discuss violence and order in India, including reasons behind declining violence, the contradiction of decentralization and centralization in governance and security, unrest and violence in India, failure in the Northeast region, implications of communication blackouts, challenges faced by police forces, road traffic fatalities, challenges of policing, and reflecting on fault lines and hope for future discussions.

Shreyas Narla and Kadambari Shah discuss women's absence from decision-making tables, trends in female labor force participation, and the challenges faced by women economic policy makers in India. They also highlight the progress made and the need for greater representation of women in these roles.

In this episode, Shruti speaks with Saurabh Kirpal about the constitutional roots of marriage equality, fundamental rights, the role of the state, problems and challenges of the Indian courts and much more. Kirpal is a senior advocate at the Delhi High Court, the author of “Fifteen Judgments: Cases That Shaped India’s Financial Landscape” and the editor of the anthology “Sex and the Supreme Court: How the Law Is Upholding the Dignity of the Indian Citizen.” Recorded June 26th, 2023. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Follow us on Twitter Follow Shruti on Twitter Follow Saurabh on Twitter Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Peter J. Boettke discusses Hayek's economics, AI limitations in solving knowledge problems, challenges of socialist calculation, dynamic markets, entrepreneurship, role of prices in economy, human vs. computer adaptability, value-based food choices, technology intersecting human cognition, knowledge acquisition in economics, and benefits of diversity and decentralization in society.

In this episode, Shruti speaks with Aditi Mittal about how to build a comedy career, why she curses and makes jokes about sex, the logistical difficulties of being a woman in comedy, male vs. female spaces and much more. Mittal is a comedian, writer and actor. She has two Netflix specials, “Things They Wouldn’t Let Me Say” and “Girl Meets Mic,” which is part of the Comedians of the World series. Her third show, “Mother of Invention,” is on Amazon Prime U.K. and AUS and on NextUp Comedy. She’s also the host and executive producer of the podcast Women in Labour. Recorded May 30th, 2023 Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Follow us on Twitter Follow Shruti on Twitter Follow Aditi on Twitter Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox.