Everything is Everything

It is the moral imperative of every poor country to lift all its people out of poverty. And yet India, like so many other poor countries, has failed to do this. Development Economics carries much of the blame for this. Wrong beliefs and dangerous fashions within this field have mostly failed to help -- and sometimes caused much harm. Welcome to Episode 57 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Everyone is raving about India's digital public goods -- or its digital public infrastructure, aka DPI. But is the picture all rosy? What is the flip side of this technological achievement? Welcome to Episode 56 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit talk about how such a government monopoly cannot be a good thing. In the long run, suppressing competition will hurt us. Firstly, it empowers the state more than it should, and power corrupts. Secondly, it stifles competition, and thus, innovation. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

It is considered a truism that building infrastructure is always great for the economy. Roads, ports, airports & bridges always have huge positive externalities. But is this truism true? Yes -- and no. There is a good story; and there is a bad story. Welcome to Episode 55 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay talks about how infrastructure enabled a services revolution in India -- but did not move the needle when it became to goods. What's more, while big infrastructure projects once gave us great bang for the buck, that is no longer true. We need to think about why that is the case -- and where our money is best spent. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Education in India is broken. It is a tragic waste of our potential. How can it be fixed? Why will pumping in more spending solve nothing? What is the link between education & development? Why do we need to redefine education? Welcome to Episode 54 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay give a comprehensive lay of the land in the field of education in India, challenging many conventional notions on the way. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here⁠⁠⁠.

Cycling is physically one of the most gruelling sports in the world -- and it requires as much of the mind as of the body. Welcome to Episode 53 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit explains his passion for cycling by telling us how the sport works. Amit and Ajay discuss the kinds of races and the kinds of racers. They discuss why it is a team sport. They get into deep nuances of strategy -- and the drama of some of the great stories in modern cycling. Get into the slipstream! For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠click here⁠⁠.

We love chess -- and now, as it has exploded as a spectator sport, so do millions of others. But why do we love it so much? What does it mean for India that D Gukesh has qualified for the World Championship match? How did Vishy Anand inspire a generation of grandmasters to emerge? What role do computers play? Welcome to Episode 52 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit takes us through a history of the World Chess Championships, all the way from 1886 to now. He discusses the intellectual evolution of the game -- and the geopolitics of it. He parses the role of computers, and explains why the game is more exciting now than ever before. Ajay adds in some higher-order thoughts about chess and society. And finally, right at the end, the two of them even play a game! For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠click here⁠.

We have normalized lines on maps -- but they are unnatural to the way we live. They are toxic in the ways they push us to think of people in categories decided by the accidents of geography and politics. We must free our minds. We must tear down these walls. Welcome to Episode 51 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Hooray! We've reached episode 50, and it's time for an AMA. In this episode, Amit and Ajay answer questions from gentle readers that were solicited through Twitter and elsewhere. No holds barred, straight from the heart! This episode was first published on YouTube on June 7, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Podcasting is such an exciting medium. Would YOU like to start a podcast? Do you have questions about first principles & what you need to get started? Here's our attempt at a podcasting masterclass! Welcome to Episode 49 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma & Ajay Shah. Started in 2017, The Seen and the Unseen went against conventional wisdom & built up a cult audience. In this episode, Amit shares everything he has learnt about podcasting, all the way from higher-order thinking to the brasstacks of starting. Enjoy! This episode was first published on YouTube on May 31, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

In these insular times of shrill nationalistic rhetoric, there is a danger that we may become less globalised instead of more. But internationalisation (aka I18N) is key to India's progress. The more Indian firms learn to compete in the global marketplace, the more our nation will prosper. Welcome to Episode 48 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay shares his thinking around what I18N implies, how it involves more than exports, and how Indian firms can make that journey. This episode was first published on YouTube on May 24, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.