Everything is Everything

The world is at war -- and not all of it is in the obvious ways. There is a war around technology, and using technology, and the US and China are at the heart of it. Welcome to Episode 64 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit discuss the contours of the global tech wars playing out on the geopolitical stage. It is fundamental, it is fierce and it affects us all. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: But a Distant Memory? 04:37 Chapter 1: What is This Great Drama? 07:19 Chapter 2: How This War is Playing Out 13:00 Chapter 3: It All Goes to Hell. Why? 38:31 Chapter 4: What Can Happen Next? 54:14 Chapter 5: Recommendations For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We often assume that all knowledge is recorded, and every generation builds on the knowledge of past generations. This is not true. Much knowledge is lost -- and some is regained. Welcome to Episode 63 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss precious knowledge of remarkable things that we lost over time -- some of which we are slowly regaining! TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: The Witch Casts a Spell 13:08 Chapter 1: Silphium/Silpheon 20:00 Chapter 2: Dhaka Muslin 29:11 Chapter 3: Fogbank 36:43 Chapter 4: Artemisinin 49:07 Chapter 5: Reconstructing Germany and Japan After WW2 For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In academia and research, the pursuit of knowledge very often culminates in a paper. But even outside that field -- within any field, in fact -- knowledge must be pursued, parsed, processed and put down on paper. Everyone should know how to do this, even if you never want to write a paper in your life. Welcome to Episode 62 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay distills his experience of many decades of writing papers into a masterclass that will help you not just be a better writer, but a better thinker. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Chapter 1: The Sociology of How This Machine Works 15:29 Chapter 2: The Elements of a Paper 20:24 Chapter 3: What Makes for a Good Paper? 25:59 Chapter 4: Put the Reader First 34:39 Chapter 5: The Structure of a Paper 47:21 Chapter 6: The Act of Writing 55:38 Chapter 7: Getting It Out There 1:01:11 Chapter 8: Ajay’s Insights About Writing Papers 1:06:39 Chapter 9: Recommendations For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The people who change the world are people who go against the grain. And yet, challenging conventional wisdom, or living an unconventional life, can make you an Outlaw. Welcome to Episode 61 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss a group of people who were ignored or reviled in their lifetimes -- and who we now remember as pathbreakers. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Firms are awesome. They are the source of a country's prosperity. And so, some people make the blunder of assuming that you should run a country like a company. This is a terrible mistake. Welcome to Episode 60 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Should the state have a role in amplifying innovation? If so, what should it do? Welcome to Episode 59 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit argue furiously about whether the state should spend its resources trying to make innovation happen. But while they disagree on the Why, they agree on what How and the What: the blueprint laid out in Ajay's brilliant paper with RA Mashelkar and Susan Thomas. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

There is great natural beauty in India -- but we get tourism wrong. We allow beautiful places to become tourist traps. The local people do not benefit enough. We don't care about sustainability. It need not be this way. Welcome to Episode 58 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit, recording the last of The Bir Sessions, discuss how Himalayan states can build tourism and grow their economies in a way that benefits the local people and is sustainable. Win-win all around. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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.