Everything is Everything

Once upon a time, Indian firms thought local. Then they started thinking national. Do they need to think local again? Welcome to Episode 37 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit discuss the great waves in the evolution of Indian firms. Until the 1980s, firms thought local, and the branch manager of a firm was like a regional satrap. In the 90s, technology enabled them to nationalise and bring in best practices and processes. But they need to evolve further, as India is not one homogenous market, but is deeply diverse, much more so than Aurope or Africa. On a related note, do we need to rethink the very design of firms? This episode was first published on YouTube on March 8, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

How do we bring about change? How should we think about changing the state, changing society, changing ourselves? Welcome to Episode 36 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit discuss discuss theories of change in different contexts, with one common theme: we need to play the long game. This episode was first published on YouTube on March 1, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

We are monkeys -- and yet, we don't spend enough time in nature. We should go hiking more! Welcome to Episode 35 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay talks about his lifelong love for hiking, which emerges naturally from his love for nature. He tells hiking stories, and gives us all tips on how to get into hiking -- and how the hiking mindset can help us live better lives. This episode was first published on YouTube on February 23, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Family Firms get a bad rap -- but the professional CEO is often not the solution, but an added problem. The modern firm has evolved to solve this. Welcome to Episode 34 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay gives us a masterclass in the different ways in which is family firm can be structured, and the incentives those structures bring with them. He takes us through the four stages of its evolution, from a one-person business to the modern company with dispersed shareholders and a board of directors. This is particularly important an an Indian context, where family firms abound -- and so do misconceptions about them. This episode was first published on YouTube on February 16, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

We tend to think of the government as the solution to all our problems. But governments are people. And people respond to incentives. Welcome to Episode 33 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay talk about a branch of economics that they both love: Public Choice Theory. This is the study of how politicians, bureaucrats, special interests and voters all respond to incentives -- and why this often goes against the interest of We the People. This is why government failure is ubiquitous. This episode was first published on YouTube on February 9, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Unix is the backbone of the world's technology. It is also a way of living that can help us discover purpose and beauty. Welcome to Episode 32 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. This is the long-awaited episode in which Ajay explains to the world, with an incredible screencast, how to use Unix. But before that, Ajay and Amit discuss the history and philosophy of Unix -- and why it contains life lessons that are priceless. This episode was first published on YouTube on February 2, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Is the Indian military well-equipped for the challenges that face India? What's wrong with it -- and how do we fix it? Welcome to Episode 31 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this conversation, Ajay uses an analysis by cult YouTuber Perun to launch an educational deep dive into how we should think about the Indian Armed Forces. This episode was first published on YouTube on January 26, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Are we slaves to the things that own us? To find ourselves, do we need to lose the mess around us? Do we need to declutter? Welcome to Episode 30 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this conversation, Amit and Ajay share their philosophies towards decluttering -- and towards things. What should we buy? What should we give away? Do we need... stuff? Can Bengalis run? This episode was first published on YouTube on January 19, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

They are grand. They are intimate. They're incredible stories, and they need to be told! Welcome to Episode 29 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. This week, carrying on from episode 23's dream of presenting stories that should be films, Amit and Ajay talk about the hardest decision of WW2, a couple that drifts apart because they hear the world differently, air raids into Japan, the making of a nation and a man who refused to flee. The fate of the world is at stake -- till you zoom in, and its one person and one problem, and that person is you. The power of storytelling! This episode was first published on YouTube on January 12, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

India did not become completely free in 1947. For decades after that, a group of people worked behind the scenes to reform our oppressive state and expand our freedoms -- especially our economic liberty. Welcome to Episode 28 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. This week, carrying on from episode 23's dream of presenting stories that should be films, Amit and Ajay lay out the plan for what could be an incredible web series -- the story of a silent Freedom Movement that still continues. The story of The Reformers. This episode was first published on YouTube on January 5, 2024. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.