Everything is Everything

Vaccines are a modern miracle. Individual freedom is a value we shoud cherish. We love both! Welcome to Episode 27 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit rave about how beautiful vaccines are -- and ask the thorny question, should the state step in to produce vaccines, & coerce people into getting them? They use the toolkit laid out in the previous two episodes to dig deep into when state coercion is justified. Spoiler alert: most of the time, it's not. This episode was first published on YouTube on December 29, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

What is the duty of the state? It's limited. When should it intervene? Only at specific times. In this episode, we lays out a framework for looking at this question, with freedom as a default. Welcome to Episode 26 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. This episode was first published on YouTube on December 22, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

What do we mean when we use the words 'the state'? Why did it evolve? What should its limits be? What have we normalized about it that should terrify us? Are we all part-time slaves? Welcome to Episode 25 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay talk about how the existence of the state is itself an act of violence -- a necessary one, as we need it to protect our rights. But we should consider, whenever we recommend government action, that every act of government is an act of violence. It carries a moral cost, and so we should set its limits accordingly. A useful prism to think of this is the one of scope and strength. Oh, and Ajay walked into a glass wall! This episode was first published on YouTube on December 15, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Our universities are broken. The academy is a circlejerk. Our intellectuals have failed us. To nurture a Knowledge Society, we need to rethink how we make knowledge, how we diffuse it, and how we use it to make the world a better place. Welcome to Episode 24 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. This episode was first published on YouTube on December 8, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

The nonviolent resistance of a supposedly warrior tribe. The fat frogs who played a pivotal role in World War 2. The fierce will of a child widow who remakes herself and her world. The crucible of democracy, the soldiers who had to kill their own, the author whose book was lost, the young man who went missing. Welcome to Episode 23 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay share seven great stories that they think should be films or web series. And what stories! This episode was first published on YouTube on December 1, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Firms tend to grow, and even innovate, along predictable paths. But sometimes a firm does something truly audacious, involving a leap of imagination that seems to come out of thin air. Today's episode is about three such great leaps. Welcome to Episode 22 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay discusses three great leaps by three great firms: Sun Microsystems, Google and Amazon. Amit talks about how such leaps of imagination are more an act of creative storytelling than linear business logic. What is your story about yourself? How could you reimagine it? This episode was first published on YouTube on November 24, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

Human progress is enabled by the world of finance -- a world that seems dreadfully complicated from the outside. But once you understand its historical context, and how it evolved, everything about finance makes sense. Welcome to Episode 21 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay demystifies finance by giving us a guided tour of its history -- from primitive times to limited liability companies to banking to modern finance to derivatives. Finance is essential to our progress -- and yet, in India, we don't understand its beauty well enough, and the heavy hand of the state often messes things up. Amit then shares the insights of Timur Kuran on why the Middle East lagged behind in evolving financially and economically -- a story that truly will blow your mind! This episode was first published on YouTube on November 17, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

We've been taught for generations that India's biggest problem is its population. This is a lie. Our population is our greatest strength. People are brains, not stomachs. Welcome to Episode 20 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit discusses the origin of the flawed belief that population is a problem -- and states his case for why population density is the greatest driver of prosperity. Most problems ascribed to population are actually problems of governance. He goes over India's troubled history with population control, which is premised on the evil belief that the state can control the bodies of its citizens. Ajay then makes a case for why we should never fear population booms -- and instead be wary of fertility busts. Both men also recommend great books written long ago about the present time. This episode was first published on YouTube on November 10, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

To truly understand cricket, or life for that matter, we need to learn from poker. We need to understand the concept of Expected Value. We also need to learn from economics, and understand Opportunity Cost. Welcome to Episode 19 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit shares what he learnt about cricket from being a professional poker player and understanding economics. Amit and Ajay then apply those concepts to life itself. Never again will you be results-oriented. Never again will you be judgemental and insufferable. Welcome to the new humble you. This episode was first published on YouTube on November 3, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

India's farmers are suffering. Indian agriculture has been in crisis since we gained Independence. Why? What can we do about it? Welcome to Episode 18 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss the many complicated problems of Indian agriculture, breaking them down one by one. Spoiler alert: the oppressive hand of the state is at the heart of it all. Us city slickers take some of our freedoms for granted -- but our farmers are still denied basic liberties. It's a tragedy. This episode was first published on YouTube on October 27, 2023. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.