Ideas of India

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Arkadev Ghosh on Religious Divisions and Production Technology Oct 14, 2021

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This episode is the first in a mini-series of weekly short episodes featuring young scholars entering the academic job market who discuss their latest research. In this episode, Shruti speaks with Arkadev Ghosh about his job market paper titled, Religious Divisions and Production Technology: Experimental Evidence from India. They discuss the effects of inter-religion work groups on team productivity, how wider political tensions can affect the workplace and much more. Ghosh is a Ph.D. candidate in economics at the University of British Columbia. He obtained his master's in economics at the London School of Economics and his bachelor's degree at the University of Edinburgh.

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Pratap Bhanu Mehta on The Theory of Moral Sentiments Sep 30, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti speaks with Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta about Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments," spectatorship and imagination, self-interest, federalism, the Scottish Enlightenment as applied to Indian politics and much more. Mehta is the Laurence Rockefeller Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. He is also a contributing editor and columnist at the Indian Express and former president and chief executive of the Center for Policy Research, New Delhi. He has written extensively on intellectual history, constitutional law and theory, political theory, India's social transformation and world affairs. He is the recipient of the Infosys Prize, the Adiseshiah Prize and the Amartya Sen Prize.

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Alice Evans on Female Friendships and Fraternal Capital Sep 16, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti talks with Alice Evans about fraternal capital, women's limited mobility, female friendships, representations of women in art and much more. Evans is a lecturer at King's College London and a faculty associate at the Center for International Development at Harvard's Kennedy School. She has published on topics such as women's labor force participation, urbanization and social change, pro-worker reforms, what drives support for gender equality and more. Her book "The Great Gender Divergence" is forthcoming from Princeton University Press.

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Uday Bhatia on the Hindi Gangster Film Tradition Sep 02, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti talks with Uday Bhatia about Hindi gangster films, particularly "Satya" and its legacy. They discuss vigilante cops, corrupt politicians and other movie tropes, as well as how the Indian gangster film has evolved over time. Bhatia is a film critic with Mint Lounge. He has previously worked with Time Out Delhi and The Sunday Guardian. His writing has appeared in The Caravan, GQ, The Indian Quarterly, The Indian Express and The Hindu Business Line. Bhatia is also the author of "Bullets Over Bombay," a book about the iconic Indian film "Satya" and its legacy.

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The 1991 Project Aug 19, 2021

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Ideas of India is a podcast in which Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Shruti Rajagopalan examines the academic ideas that can propel India forward. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, Stitcher or the podcast app of your choice.

In this episode, Shruti talks with Shreyas Narla and Prakhar Misra about India's 1991 economic reforms. They discuss the role of Prime Minister Rao and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, India's transition from socialism to a market economy, the continued relevance of the 1991 reforms today and much more. Narla and Misra are research associates in the field of Indian political economy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

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Salil Tripathi on Lessons from Bangladesh for India Aug 05, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti talks with Salil Tripathi about Bangladesh's economic prosperity, cultural similarities and differences with India, religious and linguistic identity, and about what India can learn from Bangaladesh on its 50th anniversary. Tripathi is an Indian journalist, author and editor, currently the chair of PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee. and he is the Senior Advisor on Global Issues at the Institute for Human Rights and Business. He is the author of "Offence: The Hindu Case," "Detours: Songs of the Open Road" and "The Colonel Who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and Its Unquiet Legacy."

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Amartya Lahiri on Fostering Economic Growth Jul 22, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti and Amartya Lahiri discuss the Indian economy in light of the country's socialist past, distrust of markets, current monetary policy and continuing challenges. Lahiri is a professor at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia. He has previously held positions at the University of California Los Angeles and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His current research interests include macro- and microeconomic developments in India over the past three decades.

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Krish Ashok on Indian Food, Carnatic Music, and the Future of the Workplace Jul 08, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti and Krish Ashok discuss different Indian cuisines, oral versus written tradition, the fusion of different musical styles, the challenges of working remotely and much more. Krish is the global head of digital workplace practice at Tata Consultancy Services in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He is also a classical violinist, guitarist and cellist, and he has written a book, Masala Lab, on the science of Indian cooking.

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Yashica Dutt on Coming Out as Dalit Jun 24, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti and Yashica Dutt discuss India's caste system, being Dalit and "passing" as non-Dalit, the intersection of caste and gender, reservations in the Indian educational system and much more. Dutt is an Indian writer and journalist who has written on a broad range of topics including fashion, gender, identity, culture and caste. She has worked with the Hindustan Times, LiveMint, Scroll.in, The Wire and HuffPost India. Her new book, "Coming Out as Dalit," is a memoir of her experience as a Dalit woman and the history of the Dalit movement.

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Keshav Desiraju on Indian Classical Music and the Legacy of M. S. Subbulakshmi Jun 10, 2021

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In this episode, Shruti and Keshav Desiraju discuss Indian musical traditions, devadasi women and the music of M. S. Subbulakshmi. Desiraju is the author of "Of Gifted Voice: The Life and Art of M. S. Subbulakshmi." He has recently retired from a career with the Indian Administrative Service and in 2013 was Secretary of Health & Family Welfare to the Government of India. He has held many positions with the Government of Uttarakhand, the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Government of India. He continues to remain engaged with issues in public health, particularly mental illness, primary healthcare and community health, and he serves on the board of several nonprofit organizations.

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