One of the giants of 20th century statistics died a few weeks ago. He was Indian. His name was CR Rao, and he was the finest product of the Bengal Renaissance. Welcome to Episode 15 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay tells us the story of his great hero, CR Rao. The love for statistics is infectious, and so is the storytelling, as Amit follows up with stories about Abraham Wald, PC Mahalanobis, JBS Haldane, the Bharat Sadhu Sam...
Jun 07, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 15
How is the Ukraine counteroffensive going? Some are disappointed at not seeing the tactical blows they expected -- but Ukraine might just be playing a positional masterpiece. Welcome to Episode 14 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay follows up his cult masterclass on The Seen and the Unseen with an update on where the war stands today. What exactly is going on in Ukraine? Why does it matter? How should we look at Putin? How has ...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 14
He is not just a Rock and Roll star, he is a great artist -- and his work is literature. Happy 74th Birthday, Bruce Springsteen! Welcome to Episode 13 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay describes what Bruce Springsteen's music means to him at a personal level. And Amit talks about the different aspects of Springsteen's work that he admires. This episode was first published on YouTube on September 22, 2023. For magnificent, deta...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Most of what we think of as quintessentially Indian originated elsewhere. So what? Culture is a khichdi -- and that's delightful! Welcome to Episode 12 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay talk about the amazing khichdi called culture -- and how food, clothes, language, architecture all evolve in a giant melting pot of influences. Just as salmon sushi is not from Japan, most Indian food is not from India, and that's fine...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 12
The road from desire to action is long & painful. How can we make it a smooth journey? Welcome to Episode 11 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit shares his learnings on productivity, beginning with the inspiring story of a young Goan boy, speechless in a grand hall in Lisbon in the 18th century, finding his wits when his father hisses at him -- and at us -- the greatest productivity mantra ever: Kaator Re Bhaaji. Amit explai...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Humanity progresses when people are free. India still hasn't learnt that lesson. Welcome to Episode 10 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay talk about how freedom is the only route to prosperity -- and India has suffered for decades from its lack of freedoms of all kinds. They trace India's economic history from before Independence to the present day, examining the peaks & troughs in between. This episode was first p...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Everything that we were taught about nutrition and diabetes back in the day was wrong. Today we know that sugar is poison and fat is fine. And that Type 2 diabetes can be reversed. Welcome to Episode 9 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit talks about how he reversed his Type 2 Diabetes -- and along the way, he tells us the history of how the Sugar Lobby of America shaped a dangerous consensus that led to the Obesity Epidemic. The...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 9
To make the most of your talent, you often need to be in the right place with the right people. Welcome to Episode 8 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit talks about what the Challenger explosion of 1986 teaches us about Bollywood and Silicon Valley. Ajay talks about how a government is exile cannot learn to act like a state by mere play-acting. And there is Orwell, Gandhi and why development economists get so much wrong. This ep...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Isaac Newton was not just a great scientist, but the last of the magicians. Mohandas Gandhi was a black swan event: a flawed, complex man who shaped history. Welcome to Episode 7 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay talks about Isaac Newton, and why he was a product of historical forces. Amit cites Mohandas Gandhi as an example of why historical currents aren't everything, and historical accidents can produce a man like Gandhi wh...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Frédéric Bastiat taught us to seen the Unseen effects of our actions. Friedrich Hayek showed us how economies and societies really function. Welcome to Episode 6 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss the powerul ideas of two great Freddies. We learn how our government, like most goverments, redistributes FROM THE POOR TO THE RICH. We understand how economies work -- not through central planning, but the decentrali...
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 6
J Robert Oppenheimer was an extraordinary man who dedicated himself to his field and his country -- and faced persecution from the mediocre and the venal. Welcome to Episode 5 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay tells us the moving story of his hero, Oppenheimer -- and why that resonates with him. Amit talks about building cities and how power can corrode character. Listen in! This episode was first published on YouTube on July ...
Jun 07, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Is OPEC an evil cartel? What mistakes has the Indian state made both in Kashmir and in our Naxal areas? What book should you read this week? What film should you see? Welcome to Episode 4 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay discusses why fears of OPEC manipulating oil prices as a cartel were always overblown. Amit speaks about how fighting guerrillas and militants is completely different from fighting a conventional war -- and h...
Jun 07, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 4
We could all be many things, but we often allow ourselves to get boxed into one version of us. And we don't even realise this. Welcome to Episode 3 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay talk about the dangers of allowing yourself to be frozen into one version of you. They also discuss how the process of investigation & prosecution need to be fixed in India. If the incentives are right, it will not be easy for a party ...
Jun 07, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode, Amit Varma and Ajay Shah talk about artificial intelligence. How will it change the world? How excited should we be? How scared should we be? Also discussed: pioneering feminists, pioneering monsters and pioneering masala chai. For full show notes, go to the YouTubePage for this episode .
Jun 07, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 2
Welcome to Episode 1 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. This is a video show on YouTube, and you will find full show notes for this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG9jDXRaXOo
Jun 07, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 1
