Best Shruti Rajagopalan Podcasts (2026)

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Episode 153: Sam Enright discusses lifelong learning 43:25

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3d ago43:25

43:25

In the latest episode of Elucidations, Sam Enright (Progress Ireland, The Fitzwilliam) instructs us in the delicate art of learning forever. If you’re one of those people who responds well to formal education, chances are you’ve spent 10-20 years of your life as a student. When you finally graduate, it can feel jarring, like you’re kissing all this…

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Snigdha Poonam on the Political Economy of Transnational Scams 1:27:59

4d ago1:27:59

1:27:59

Today my guest is Snigdha Poonam who is a journalist and writer. She is the author of the new book Scamlands and also the author of the 2018 award winning book Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World. We talked about the scam industrial complex in different states like Jharkhand, Assam and Tamil Nadu in India, the interaction between t…

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Ep 434: An Ode to Meanderness 2:55:19

8d ago2:55:19

2:55:19

Enough serious talk about economics and geopolitics. As the year draws to an end, it's time to sit and chill with friends -- and let the mind meander. Shruti Rajagopalan and Pranay Kotasthane join Amit Varma in episode 434 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about friendship, horses, second acts -- and more! (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUN…

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2025 in Review 1:10:36

14d ago1:10:36

1:10:36

Shruti and Ideas of India producer Dallas Floer sit down for the 2025 end-of-year episode. They look back at key themes and top episodes from the past year, address listener questions, and look forward to what's in store for Shruti and the show in 2026. Recorded December 16th, 2025. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Learn more abo…

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Ep 433: The Life and Times of the Takshashila Institution 3:48:34

22d ago3:48:34

3:48:34

India's policy ecosystem was once a desolate landscape, stuck in bad ideas of the past. One institution shook it all up. Nitin Pai and Pranay Kotasthane join Amit Varma in episode 433 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe their journey building the Takshashila Institution. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Nitin…

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Ammu Lavanya on How Foreign Capital Changed Indian Bank Lending 54:10

1M ago54:10

54:10

Our seventh and final scholar in the series is Ammu Lavanya, a PhD candidate in Economics at George Washington University. Her research is in the areas of International Finance, Monetary Economics, Empirical Banking and Financial History. We spoke about her job market paper titled International Financial Flows, Credit Allocation and Productivity. W…

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Ep 432: Vasant Dhar's Lifetime in Artificial Intelligence 3:27:40

1M ago3:27:40

3:27:40

He's been working in AI since the late 1970s, and started a pioneering machine learning hedge fund in the 1990s. Now he's a professor, a podcaster, a Substacker, a yoda -- and has just written a cracking book on the subject. Vasant Dhar joins Amit Varma in episode 432 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the life and times of AI through the life a…

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Epsiode 152: Luca Gattoni-Celli discusses the housing crisis 43:25

1M ago43:25

43:25

This time around, Matt talks to Luca Gattoni-Celli about why it’s so expensive to buy a house. In the 80s, people from all sorts of socioeconomic backgrounds were able to afford apartments and houses in places like New York City, San Francisco, or London. Now, on the other hand, even many wealthy people are getting priced out of the city. And indee…

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Nayantara Biswas on Demand- and Supply-Side Interventions in India's Maternal Health Policy 47:31

2M ago47:31

47:31

Our sixth scholar in the series is Nayantara Biswas is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Clark University. Her research focuses on health equity impact evaluations of small-scale interventions and large-scale public policies. We spoke about dissertation titled, The I…

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Ep 431: Ghazala Wahab and the Hindi Heartland 3:39:18

2M ago3:39:18

3:39:18

Our Hindi Heartland has more people than the USA and Western Europe combined -- and is arguably more diverse. Ghazala Wahab joins Amit Varma in episode 431 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe her research into those states -- and much else, including being an outspoken Muslim woman in India, and the future of warfare. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES…

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Karthik Narayan on Measuring the Effects of Unscheduled vs. Scheduled Monetary Policy Announcements 48:54

2M ago48:54

48:54

Our fifth scholar in the series is Karthik Narayan, who is a doctoral candidate in Economics at Nuffield College and at the Department of Economics, University of Oxford. His research focuses on monetary policy, macroeconomics and finance in developing countries. We spoke about his job market paper titled, Macroeconomic Effects of Scheduled and Uns…

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Ep 430: Aneesh Pradhan: A Life in Hindustani Music 4:46:03

2M ago4:46:03

4:46:03

When it comes to Hindustani music, he is both a doer and a thinker. A great tabla player, he has written books about the history and theory of music. Aneesh Pradhan joins Amit Varma in episode 430 of The Seen and the Unseen to chat about his life, his music and this world we inhabit. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out…

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Asad Tariq on Electoral Redistricting and Public Goods Provision in India 42:49

2M ago42:49

42:49

Our fourth scholar in the series is Asad Tariq, who is a doctoral candidate in Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi. His research focuses on the political economy of development, with a particular interest in religion, politics and public service delivery in India. We spoke about his job market paper titled, Constituencies of …

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Ep 429: Rudraneil Sengupta is Embedded 3:25:58

3M ago3:25:58

3:25:58

He wrote the definitive history of Indian wrestling. His longform reportage has taken him into strange territories. He embedded himself with the Delhi police and has now come out with his first crime novel. Rudraneil Sengupta joins Amit Varma in episode 429 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about he throws himself into both his life and his work. …

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Chetana Sabnis on The Intimacy Contract and the Indian State 51:24

3M ago51:24

51:24

Our third scholar in the series is Chetana Sabnis, who is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Political Science at Yale University. Her research focuses on how states regulate intimate relationships and construct hierarchies of familial belonging. We spoke about her job market paper titled, The Intimacy Contract in Action: How Indian Courts D…

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Ep 428: The Solitary Writer Meets the Impossible Man 4:24:26

3M ago4:24:26

4:24:26

Writing biographies is solitary and difficult -- even when the subject is way more interesting than anything you could make up. Narayani Basu joins Amit Varma in episode 428 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss writing, friendship, hustling, ageing, intentionality and the subject of her latest book, the impossible KM Panikkar. (FOR FULL LINKED SHO…

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Sunny Rai on Using Large Language Models to Understand the Depiction of Shame and Pride in Bollywood versus Hollywood 38:01

3M ago38:01

38:01

Our second scholar in the series is Sunny Rai, who is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Computer and Information Science University of Pennsylvania. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from University of Delhi. Her research focuses on misinformation, mental health and cross-cultural variations in human language. We spoke about h…

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Ep 427: The Boy Who Loved Cricket -- The Vijay Lokapally Story 3:41:11

4M ago3:41:11

3:41:11

Cricket isn't just what happens across 22 yards, and great cricket writers always go beyond the boundary. Vijay Lokapally joins Amit Varma in episode 427 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the joys and heartbreaks of a lifetime of writing about cricket -- and much else. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Vijay …

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Kartik Srivastava on Referral-Based Hiring, Caste Networks, and Breaking Barriers in India's Labor Markets 47:41

4M ago47:41

47:41

Our first scholar in the series is Kartik Srivastava, who is a PhD candidate at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. Before this, he received his bachelor's degree from Yale University, where he majored in Economics and Engineering Sciences. His research focuses on development economics, labor economics, and political economy. We spoke about h…

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Ep 426: The Life and Music of Shubha Mudgal 4:45:55

4M ago4:45:55

4:45:55

She's straddled the worlds of Hindustani classical and popular music, and is a legend in both spaces. Shubha Mudgal joins Amit Varma in episode 426 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss her life, her music and this changing world. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Shubha Mudgal on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, Wik…

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Narayani Basu on K. M. Panikkar: India's Impossible Man 1:20:03

4M ago1:20:03

1:20:03

Today my guest is Narayani Basu, who is a historian and the author of the latest book, A Man for All Seasons: The Life of K. M. Panikkar. Her last book was a biography of V.P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India. We talked about KM Panikkar, his comparison with VP Menon, the Indian nationalist movement in the interwar years, the origins of …

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Ep 425: The Life and Times of Gurcharan Das 7:54:14

4M ago7:54:14

7:54:14

He reached the top of the corporate world -- and then gave it up to become a writer, with books that probed our deepest questions, and influenced millions of people. Gurcharan Das joins Amit Varma in episode 425 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life and learnings. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Gurcha…

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Yamini Aiyar Schools Us on Education Policy in India 1:29:25

5M ago1:29:25

1:29:25

Today my guest is Yamini Aiyar, who is currently a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University and the author of the recent book Lessons in State Capacity from Delhi's Schools. Her main research interests are contemporary politics, state capacity, welfare policy, and federalism. We talked about the ch…

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Ep 424: Gitanjali Babbar and the Didis of GB Road 3:55:28

5M ago3:55:28

3:55:28

Trained as a journalist, but driven by a desire to make a difference, she spent over a decade working with sex workers in Delhi to understand and improve their lives. Gitanjali Babbar joins Amit Varma in episode 424 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss her learnings about GB Road -- and our strange and twisted society. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES,…

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Rathin Roy on How India Slices the Fiscal Pie 1:28:44

5M ago1:28:44

1:28:44

Today my guest is Rathin Roy, who's a Distinguished Fellow at the Kautilya School of Public Policy and a Visiting Senior Fellow at ODI Global. His main research interests are political economy, public finance, and development economics, and he also served on the 13th Finance Commission. We talked about India's fiscal resources are distributed acros…

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Ep 423: Minar Pimple's Life in Social Work 9:24:54

5M ago9:24:54

9:24:54

He founded the iconic organisation Yuva 50 years ago when he was in his early 20s, pioneered social work in India, and went on to drive change for the UN and Amnesty. Minar Pimple joins Amit Varma in episode 423 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about his life, his learnings and the ceaseless tumult in our society. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO …

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Chitrakshi Jain and Prashant Reddy T. on the Dysfunction in India's District Courts 1:37:48

6M ago1:37:48

1:37:48

Today my guests are legal scholars Chitrakshi Jain and Prashant Reddy T, the authors of the recent book Tareekh pe Justice, Reforms for India's District Courts. We talked about the dysfunction in India's lower courts, opacity in the evaluation of district court judges, the problems with judicial data, and much more. Recorded July 1st, 2025. Read a …

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Ep 422: The Past and Present of Cricket 3:00:19

6M ago3:00:19

3:00:19

Cricket is the most unusual of games with the most unusual of histories -- which can reveal so much about our society and our times. Tim Wigmore joins Amit Varma in episode 422 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the history of Test cricket -- and how the game is changing today. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1…

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M.R. Sharan Examines Decentralization and Local Representation in India 1:22:00

6M ago1:22:00

1:22:00

Today my guest is M.R. Sharan, an assistant professor in the department of agricultural and resource economics at the University of Maryland College Park. He is the author of numerous papers and the book Last Among Equals: Power, Caste, & Politics in Bihar's Villages. His main research interests are development economics and political economy. We t…

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Ep 421: Ira Mukhoty's Quest for Unseen Histories 6:04:22

6M ago6:04:22

6:04:22

Too much of our history is looked at through either a colonial lens or a patriarchal one. Ira Mukhoty joins Amit Varma in episode 421 of The Seen and the Unseen to share her gaze on India's history, and all that it has taught her. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Ira Mukhoty on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads and …

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Rakesh Mohan Reflects on Dismantling the License Permit Raj 1:47:11

7M ago1:47:11

1:47:11

Today my guest is Rakesh Mohan. He is the President Emeritus and Distinguished Fellow at Center for Social and Economic Progress in New Delhi. He has previously served as Executive Director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund and as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. We talked about his work with the Government of India since…

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Ep 420: Siddhartha Basu Is in the Hot Seat 4:10:06

7M ago4:10:06

4:10:06

Circumstance made him a legend of the quizzing world, but Siddhartha Basu is a man of many parts. He joins Amit Varma in episode 420 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about life, India, the art of asking questions and the answers he has found. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Siddhartha Basu on Wikipedia, Twitt…

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Ramachandra Guha on the Origins of Indian Environmentalism 1:20:29

7M ago1:20:29

1:20:29

Today my guest is environmental scholar, historian and biographer Ramachandra Guha. He is the author of a number of books, including a two-volume biography of Gandhi and the award-winning book "India After Gandhi." We talked about his latest book, "Speaking with Nature: The Origins of Indian Environmentalism." We spoke about global versus local com…

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Ep 419: India's MSME Landscape -- Some Useful Frameworks 4:40:23

7M ago4:40:23

4:40:23

Firms are the means of economic progress. India's micro, small and medium enterprises have been hobbled for decades, and flounder even today. Sudhir Sarnobat and Narendra Shenoy join Amit Varma in episode 419 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss this landscape -- and Sudhir's brilliant new venture that aims to tackle this. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NO…