In February this year Facebook celebrated its 20th birthday. Tom Wainwright, tech and media editor of The Economist has written a brilliant cover story on the company's evolution since it began in a dorm room at Harvard. With a market capitalisation of $1.2trn and 3bn users, Facebook operates in a new social media order. Tom writes that "public posting is increasingly migrating to closed groups, rather like email. What Mr Zuckerberg calls the digital “town square” is being rebuilt—and posing problems." How is the outfit grappling with these changes? Over the years it has mastered the art (and science by relying on data) of cloning features and sometimes copying competition while managing to stay relevant. What does the future hold for the behemoth? How is Artificial Intelligence changing the industry? Tom covers a lot of ground in the podcast.

Tom Wainwright on Facebook turning 20

Do nice guys finish last? Not quite. David Bodani’s brilliant book, “The Art of Fairness:The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean” is filled with anecdotes of leaders from various fields who may have been fair and firm to get the job done but never mean or condescending. In this podcast David shares some of his thoughts on why it might be worth emulating the Satya Nadellas of the world instead of the Steve Ballmers. Drawing from examples on the sports ground to battlefields, David makes a convincing argument that you can indeed succeed without being a jerk.

David Bodanis on his book, “The Art of Fairness:The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean”

India's Supreme Court vetoed a scheme that allowed folks to donate to political parties anonymously. Among the more popular vehicles was the electoral bond scheme introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Whereas the BJP figured it might make the whole thing more transparent by doing away with cash donations, critics retorted that it made the process more opaque. In business, Paytm is in big trouble after the Reserve Bank of India ordered the outfit's payments bank to wind down operations in light of "persistent non-compliance" and "continued material supervisory concerns". And in science, scientists are exploring an idea to stop global warming by sending umbrellas in space to shield the sun's rays.

Indicast #248: India's Supreme Court bans electoral bonds

The cryptosphere is, well, cryptic. Even the best of the best find it hard to explain the whole thing without fumbling. Zeke Faux has managed to put it all together in his fascinating book, "Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall". Zeke planted himself within the crypto-mad community to learn more about the trade. He has interviewed Sam Bankman-Fried, among others, to understand what the biggies were up to. Incidentally, "Number Go Up" was referenced a few times during the former crypto king's recent trial where he was charged with multiple counts of fraud. To research the wider consequences, Zeke visited Cambodia to uncover the underbelly of the industry where people are being held captive or trafficked. We are yet to see a solid application of the technology that powers cryto. When that will be is anybody's guess. Until then, if there is one book that you should read to understand where we stand so far, read this one.

Zeke Faux on his book, “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall”

Deep fake is a real and present threat to humanity. With India's general election round the corner, the government has urged both social media platforms and netizens to beware of such videos. The Ram Mandir is slated to open in January. And in sports, India and South Africa play the shortest match in the history of Test cricket.

Indicast #247: Deep fake is on steroids

We spend almost a third of our lives sleeping. Give or take. And yet until fifty years ago, scientists didn’t know much about sleep. Kenneth Miller shines a spotlight on the subject in his fabulous book, Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep. Why do we sleep and why is it important that we get enough of it? What happens when we don’t? Who are those scientists whom we owe some amount of gratitude for helping us understand something that can literally be a matter of life and death? In this podcast Mr Miller, relying on years of research, takes a crack at explaining what was an esoteric topic not too long ago.

Kenneth Miller on his book, “Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep”

In this podcast, Daniel Knowles reflects upon a world with fewer cars. The use of a car becomes less effective once everyone has got one. Anyone who has been stuck for hours in Mumbai or New York traffic should know. Are electric cars a solution? What can we learn from places like Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam and London? It is reassuring that most of these cities made amends over the course of many decades. Today, the younger folk in some Western countries prefer taking the public transport wherever possible. But there is still a long way to go.

Daniel Knowles on his book, “How Cars Make Life Worse and What to Do About It”

After 17 harrowing days 41 men were rescued from a collapsed tunnel in Uttarkhand. It was one heck of an effort. The International Clown festival concluded earlier this year. In this episode, we talk about all things clowning and delve into its history. And the Indian Space Research Organisation has taken off like never before.

Indicast #246: Clowning glory

Surat's diamond industry has suffered from the prolonged war in Ukraine. Nine out ten diamonds on the planet are polished in the diamond capital of India. But after America slapped sanctions on trade with Russia, workers in Surat suddenly find themselves with lesser work than before. Wages have been hit. Australia lifted the ICC men's Cricket World Cup. Well deserved. And hard luck India. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, had one heck of a ride last week. Its boss was sacked only to be reinstated a few days later. How can the industry be regulated and what does it mean for all of us?

Indicast #245: How the Ukraine war has impacted Surat's diamond industry

India has a junk food problem. It is a big one. In this episode we talk a bit about why that is happening and some of the science behind it all. And have you tasted the world's fourth best cheese? It's from India. A year after FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange folded, Sam Bankman-Fried, the firm's infamous boss has been convicted of multiple counts of fraud. And India will play Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup finals. Fingers crossed.

Indicast #244: India loves junk food

Firstly, a very Happy Diwali to everyone. Indian couples are increasingly embracing In Vitro Fertilization, often the last hope for having a baby. While it is a boon for millions of new parents, it is also a painful and demanding process on women. India has placed a multi-billion dollar order on new planes in recent times. Also, what do airlines do to save costs? According to one study by the University of Chigago, life of those who live in Delhi has been shortened by ten years due to air pollution. What could we do about it? And India continues its stellar run at the ICC World Cup.

Indicast #243: India embraces IVF

It has been quite the year. And some of it has been rather grim. The Israel and Hamas conflict has been deadly. Thousands of civilians have lost their lives. Closer home, some folks insist on renaming India to Bharat. In cricket, the World Cup is on and India is on song. And Bishan Singh Bedi just passed away.

Indicast #242: India wants Bharat or does it

Kiran Verma has pledged to walk a staggering 21,000 km across India to raise awareness around blood donation in the country. His NGO, Simply Blood, world's first virtual blood donation platform, connects donors and seekers in real time. In this podcast Kiran talks about what got him to quit his day job and pursue his cause. "Nobody should die waiting for blood", he says. Many believed him to be crazy at first. Today, with over 15,300 km across 16 states, his walk has prompted officials to change things on ground. Thus far 26,252 people have donated blood to support his walk at 123 blood donation camps. "You have to be a little crazy if you wish to change the world".

Kiran Verma, on a 21,000 km walk to raise awareness on blood donation

Dr Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist and the chief of the Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. She has treated patients with addiction of all kinds including alcoholism and drug use. And behavioural ones such as smartphone and the internet. Her book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the age of Indulgence is a brilliant read. It brings to life real stories of her patients and how they struggled through addiction and broke it. In this podcast Dr Lembke recommends steps to avoid the trap of falling for our immediate impulses. How does the pleasure and pain balance work in our brains? When is it the best time to introduce technology to kids? Why dopamine is important and how we can make it work for us? And lots more.

Dr Anna Lembke on her book, "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence"

You don't need to be an economics buff to enjoy Gavin Jackson's "Money In One Lesson". The fascinating book breaks down money and charts its history in a user-friendly manner.  In this podcast Gavin talks about stuff like this: What's common between most of the monetary system, including banks, and the hawala system? How has it inspired entrepreneurs to enable peer-to-peer lending? How cryptocurrency takes a few lessons from the centuries-old diamond trade in Surat where angadias or young couriers in Gujarat transfer millions of dollars worth of diamonds everyday to rank strangers solely on trust. What did we learn from the 2008 financial crisis? It's almost always better, he says, to be faster at cleaning up the aftermath than to let banks live in their mess as a punishment. More recently, why did the Silicon Valley Bank implode despite all those learnings? In Dante's Inferno, sodomites and money lenders occupy the same circle of hell. Why does money get a bad rep? And a lot more.

Gavin Jackson on his book, "Money In One Lesson"

Ludwig Siegele, considered among the top tech gurus at The Economist, has covered the global tech industry since 1995. He sees the same excitement and chatter around ChatGPT in the Silicon valley as there was when the internet was born. In this podcast, Ludwig shares his views on the new sensation, which can do itself some good if it can slow itself down a bit. Also, is the future in a hybrid open model which will only dig into text from verified research reports and news articles before responding to the user's questions? Should Google be worried? And can the whole thing be monetised?

Ludwig Siegele, The Economist's top tech guru on ChatGPT

Annie Lowrey's "Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World" is a richly reported book which brings to light some personal and often harrowing accounts of folks who could benefit instantly through cash transfers. Annie travelled to the boondocks in India and villages in Kenya where it was considered too rude to eat in the open, given the lack of food going around. Her trips to the sticks in South Korea and America gave her a peek into the life of ordinary citizens grappling to get by while battling a thicket of regulations and bureaucracy. In this podcast Annie offers compelling reasons why a UBI is a simple but effective solution to address deep poverty. She cites examples of countries and cities that have successfully experimented with such programmes and saw a perceptible rise in standard of living and dignity. Indeed it cannot replace all welfare schemes or subsidies but officials around the world could do well to give UBI a decent shot.

Annie Lowrey on her book, "Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World"

Philip Coggan's "Surviving the Daily Grind: Bartleby's Guide to Work" is an amusing account on corporate world's oddities. For instance, "Why so many managers pollute their utterances with so much inane jargon?" If we had a rupee for each time someone uses the word, "holistic" or recommends others to step outside their "comfort zone", we would all be rich. In this podcast, Philip talks about the merits of using normal English while citing examples of how it can help the bottom line. How has email changed our communication? What are some wacky ways of hiring people? What is the point of all those lenghtly meetings? Why lack of "empathy" from managers who rule with an iron hand can have dire consequences? And finally, what makes a good manager?

Philip Coggan on his book, "Surviving the Daily Grind: Bartleby's Guide to Work"

Tom Standage has authored seven history books. His most recent one charts the history of the wheel to self-driving cars and everything in between. Whereas the wheel remains among the most important inventions of mankind, it took thousands of years before we found mass applications for it. In this podcast Tom motors along different eras while describing the invention's bumpy ride and how it has shaped our society. Today, how have smartphones inherited the legacy of the car? Why are these pocket-sized gadgets an "internet of motion" and "a ticket to mobility"? How is the "Netflix for cars" model working out for startups? Back in the day how did McDonald's learn from Ford? And why spending more money on a mattress may be more expedient than on a car? Listen to this and more from the deputy editor of The Economist who also plays the drums in his band, Sebastopol when he isn't writing.

Tom Standage on his book, "A Brief History of Motion"

The Adani Group has been hit with a bunch of allegations from Hindenburg Research, an American investment firm that specialises in making bets against companies that it considers are overvalued. What does it mean for the conglomerate? Tech layoffs may have made the news but how bad will the impending recession in America turn out? Not half bad is what we learn in a podcast where we try to understand the definition of recession itself. In sports, football introduced the white card. By the way, did you know the colourful and bloody history of yellow and red cards? And Indian women's cricket is in rude health.

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