Brave New World - hosted by Vasant Dhar

Latest Episodes:

Ep 50: Pramod Varma on India's Digital Empowerment Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

India has achieved a technological miracle by empowering hundreds of millions of people with the power of identity. Pramod Varma joins Vasant Dhar in episode 50 of Brave New World to discuss his pioneering role in setting up large scale digital public infrastructure. Useful resources: 1. Pramod Varma on LinkedIn and Twitter. 2. India Stack, Aadhaar, E-Sign, DigiLocker and United Payments Interface. 3. The Beckn Protocol. 4. Nandan Nilekani on an Egalitarian Internet -- Episode 15 of Brave New World. 5. Data Democracy: People and Power in the Digital Age -- Nandan Nilekani's talk. 6. Why the US needs public-private partnerships for digital infrastructure -- Vasant Dhar. 7. 3 ways to increase social media platforms' transparency -- Vasant Dhar. 8. On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog — New Yorker cartoon. 9. Who controls your data? India may pass a law ensuring that you do -- Vasant Dhar. Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Ep 49: Anshu Gupta on Using Waste For Good Nov 17, 2022

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We need to change the way we do philanthropy: it should be about sharing, not giving. Anshu Gupta joins Vasant Dhar in episode 49 of Brave New World to discuss his journey in building Goonj -- and why we need to rethink our frames. Useful resources: 1. Anshu Gupta on Goonj, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and his own website. 2. Goonj. 3. James Robinson on What Makes a Successful State -- Episode 19 of Brave New World. 4. The Narrow Corridor: How Nations Struggle for Liberty — Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson. 5. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty — Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson. 6. Joseph Aoun on Becoming Robot-Proof -- Episode 45 of Brave New World. Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Ep 48: Hanna Halaburda and Yannis Bakos on Bitcoin, Blockchain and DeFi Nov 03, 2022

Show notes

Is Bitcoin just a bubble, or the first face of the future? What about blockchain and DeFi? Hanna Halaburda and Yannis Bakos join Vasant Dhar in episode 48 of Brave New World to dig deeper into these questions. Useful resources:1. Hanna Halaburda at NYU Stern, Twitter and Google Scholar. 2. Yannis Bakos at NYU Stern and Google Scholar. 3. On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog -- New Yorker cartoon. 4. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System -- Satoshi Nakamoto. 5. Michael Saylor: Bitcoin, Inflation, and the Future of Money -- Lex Fridman Podcast #276. 6. Artifact of the Month: Ross William Ulbricht's Laptop. 7. How FBI caught Ross Ulbricht, alleged creator of criminal marketplace Silk Road -- Tim Hume. 8. Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets -- Nick Szabo. 9. Obelix and the Sleeping Cups -- Vasant Dhar. 10. Antoinette Schoar on Decentralized Finance & Crypto -- Episode 42 of Brave New World. 11. David Yermack on The Crypto Revolution -- Episode 30 of Brave New World. Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Ep 47: Shelley Stewart on Black Economic Mobility Oct 20, 2022

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How did Covid-19 affect black Americans? What are the obstacles to their mobility and what can you do about it? Shelley Stewart joins Vasant Dhar in episode 47 of Brave New World to discuss his work at McKinsey trying to make an impact on black America. Useful resources: 1. Shelley Stewart at McKinsey & Company. 2. COVID-19: Investing in Black lives and livelihoods. 3. Soumitra Datta on Measuring Innovation -- Episode 46 of Brave New World. 4. Jeff Teper on the Post-Covid Workplace -- Episode 36 of Brave New World.

Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Ep 46: Soumitra Datta on Measuring Innovation Oct 06, 2022

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How can we tell if one country is more innovative than another? What drives that difference? And hey, what is innovation to begin with? Soumitra Datta joins Vasant Dhar in episode 46 of Brave New World to share his insights on innovation, and the lessons they hold for us. Useful resources: 1. Soumitra Datta on Twitter, Wikipedia and Saïd Business School. 2. Does IT Matter? -- Nicholas Carr. 3. Global Innovation Index 2020 -- Edited by Soumitra Datta, Bruno Lanvin and Sacha Wunsch-Vincent. 4. India Innovation Index 2021: NITI Aayog. 5. Nandan Nilekani on an Egalitarian Internet -- Episode 15 of Brave New World. 6. The Swedish Hitmaker Behind Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and the Weeknd -- Neil Shah in the Wall Street Journal. 7. 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer. 8. Why Nations Fail -- Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. 9. The Narrow Corridor -- Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. 10. James Robinson on What Makes a Successful State -- Episode 19 of Brave New World. 11. That Fancy University Course? It Might Actually Come From an Education Company -- Lisa Bannon and Rebecca Smith in the Wall Street Journal. 12. The Innovator's Dilemma — Clayton M Christensen. 13. Law and Education in Our Modern World -- Episode 5 of Brave New World (w John Sexton). 14. Too much efficiency not good for higher education, March argues -- Stanford University News Service. 15. Uplift the Unremarkables -- Episode 2 of Brave New World (w Scott Galloway). Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Ep 45: Joseph Aoun on Becoming Robot-Proof Sep 22, 2022

Show notes

If robots and AI are replacing us, we need to reinvent ourselves. Joseph Aoun joins Vasant Dhar in episode 45 of Brave New World to discuss the role of education in making humanity robot-proof. Useful resources: 1. Joseph Aoun on Twitter, Google Scholar and Northeastern University. 2. Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence -- Joseph Aoun. 3. The Innovator's Dilemma -- Clayton Christensen. 4. Caitlin Zaloom on the Explosion of Student Debt -- Episode 37 of Brave New World. 5. Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost -- Caitlin Zaloom. 6. Daniel Kahneman on How Noise Hampers Judgement -- Episode 21 of Brave New World. 7. The Future of Liberal Education -- Episode 11 of Brave New World (w Michael S Roth). 8. How Humans Judge Machines -- César Hidalgo. Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Ep 44: Maneka Gandhi on Animal Rights Aug 04, 2022

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Perhaps the greatest human sin is how we treat animals. Maneka Gandhi joins Vasant Dhar in episode 44 of Brave New World to share her learnings from decades as an animal activist. Useful resources: 1. Maneka Gandhi on Instagram, Twitter and Wikipedia. 2. Animal Liberation -- Peter Singer. 3. Animal Farming and Protein -- Vasant Dhar. 4. Slaughterhouses and Increased Crime Rates -- Amy J Fitzgerald, Linda Kalof and Thomas Dietz. 5. The Jungle -- Upton Sinclair. 6. The Draize Test. 7. Animals in Cosmetics Testing. 8. Animals Should Be Off The Menu -- Philip Wollen. 9. How Oprah Got Sued for Dissing a Burger -- Brian Duignan. 10. Is Milk the Best Source of Calcium? -- Alisa Fleming.

Ep 43: Bernard Haykel on Islam and the West Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

How is the relationship between Islam and the West evolving? Is there is a clash of civilizations or a clash within Islam? Bernard Haykel joins Vasant Dhar in episode 43 of Brave New World to share his insights. Useful resources: 1. Bernard Haykel at Princeton, Project Syndicate, Amazon and Google Scholar. 2. The Quran. 3. Brave New World -- Aldous Huxley. 4. 'Tell me about your dream mosque' -- Sacha Baron Cohen in Kingman, Arizona. 5. James Robinson on What Makes a Successful State -- Episode 19 of Brave New World. 6. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order -- Samuel Huntington. Check out Vasant Dhar's newsletter on Substack. Subscription is free!

Ep 42: Antoinette Schoar on Decentralized Finance & Crypto Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

Will cryptocurrencies save the world or create a new can of worms? Antoinette Schoar joins Vasant Dhar in episode 42 of Brave New World to take us on a dispassionate tour through the world of Bitcoin, blockchains and DeFi. Useful resources: 1. Antoinette Schoar At MIT Sloan School of Management and Google Scholar. 2. Cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) -- Igor Makarov and Antoinette Schoar 3. David Yermack on The Crypto Revolution -- Episode 30 of Brave New World. 4. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System -- Satoshi Nakamoto. 5. Are Cryptocurrencies Currencies? Bitcoin as Legal Tender in El Salvador -- Fernando Alvarez, David Argente and Diana Van Patten. 6. Incomplete Contracts and Control -- Oliver Hart's Nobel Prize Lecture.

Ep 41: David Chalmers on the Nature of Reality Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

What are the philosophical implications of virtual reality? Do we exist "physically" or "virtually" and does it matter? Is virtual reality real? How is reality different from consciousness? David Chalmers joins Vasant Dhar in episode 41 of Brave New World to talk about the big questions at the intersection of philosophy and AI that are are being driven by advances in neuroscience and virtual reality. Useful resources 1. David Chalmers at NYU, Google Scholar, Amazon and his own website. 2. Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy -- David Chalmers. 3. The Conscious Mind -- David Chalmers. 4. Douglas Hofstadter on Amazon. 5. Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain -- Patricia Churchland. 6. Anthony Zador on How our Brains Work -- Episode 35 of Brave New World. 7. White Christmas -- Episode 4 of Season 2 of Black Mirror. 8. It From Bit -- John Archibald Wheeler. 9. John Conway's Game of Life. 10. Nick Bostrom on Amazon. 11. The Simulation Hypothesis. 12. World on a Wire -- Rainer Werner Fassbinder. 13. The Matrix -- The Wachowskis. 14. The Naked Sun -- Isaac Asimov. 15. Descartes' Evil Demon. 16. What Is It Like to Be a Bat? -- Thomas Nagel. 17. Integrated Information Theory -- Giulio Tononi. 18. The Nature of Intelligence -- Episode 7 of Brave New World (w Yann LeCun). 19. The Turing Test. 20. The Consciousness Prior -- Yoshua Bengio.

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