Shortcast over Coffee

My guest today is Mohit Satyanand. Mohit is an entrepreneur and investor among many many other things. He founded several successful companies including the major snack food brand Crax and Teamwork Arts which produces prestigious arts festivals including the Jaipur Literature festival. He is a consultant and policy expert who is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the think-tank Liberty Institute...

My guest today Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma. Varmaji as his students love to call him, has gained worldwide recognition for his mastery of classical singing and veena skills. He has given performances at many prestigious venues around the world. The clarity of his tones and precise articulation of lyrics are striking features of his singing. Additionally, he is renowned for narrating intriguing bac...

My guest today is chief Tim Chavez from the State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also called Calfire. As many of you would know Wildfires are a major threat in California, especially during the hot, dry summer and fall months. Massive wildfires frequently break out across the state, burning hundreds of thousands of acres. These intense fires are difficult to contain and o...

My guest today is Dr. Aruna Ramakrishnan. Aruna earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota and has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay. She is the co-founder and CTO of the Boston-based startup Copernic Catalyst. Copernic Catalyst designs novel chemical catalysts to reduce the energy use and carbon footprint of bulk chemical reactions. This will be a two part episo...

My guest today is Dr. Aruna Ramakrishnan. Aruna earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota and has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from IIT Bombay. She is the co-founder and CTO of the Boston-based startup Copernic Catalyst. Copernic Catalyst designs novel chemical catalysts to reduce the energy use and carbon footprint of bulk chemical reactions. This will be a two part episo...

In early 1900s, Fritz Haber discovered how to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen gases. Carl Bosch scaled up Haber's method at BASF to produce synthetic ammonia, enabling artificial fertilizers. This ammonia synthesis also became basis for munitions, with Haber pioneering chemical weapons for Germany in WW1. While ammonia synthesis revolutionized agriculture, it had the dark side of...

The Asia Cup is a prestigious cricket tournament that showcases the immense talent of Asian cricketing nations. It serves as a platform for intense rivalries, thrilling matches, and moments of cricketing excellence. Every edition of the Asia Cup unites fans across the continent in celebration of the sport we love. The tournament features teams like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and other...

A QR code, short for Quick Response code, is a two-dimensional barcode that stores information such as text, URLs, or contact details. It consists of black squares arranged on a white square grid and can be scanned using a smartphone or QR code reader. QR codes are widely used for various applications, including mobile payments, ticketing, and marketing campaigns, as they enable quick and convenie...

The US healthcare system relies heavily on chargemasters - comprehensive lists of prices for each procedure and service at hospitals. Chargemasters are kept secret and lead to highly inflated costs. Insurers negotiate discounts, but uninsured patients can face massive bills based on inflated chargemaster prices. Lack of standardization and transparency in chargemasters contributes to high healthca...

My guest today is the current mayor of the city of Carmel, Indiana, Jim Brainard. Jim has served as the mayor of Carmel since 1996. First elected in 1995, Brainard is currently in his seventh term as mayor of this fast-growing, affluent city just north of Indianapolis. Under Brainard's leadership, Carmel has transformed from a sleepy Midwestern town to a thriving hub of economic development an...

My guest today is Dr Ajay Shah. Ajay is a prominent Indian economist and researcher who has made significant contributions in the field of public policy. He is a Senior Research Fellow and Co-Founder of XKDR Forum, an independent research organization. He co-hosts the podcast Everything is Everything on YouTube with veteran writer Amit Varma. He graduated with a BTech in Aerospace Engineering from...

Today my guest is stand-up comedian Srijan Kaushik. Srijan has been creating waves in stand-up comedy circles with his poker-faced delivery of hilarious jokes. Not only that, he has an MBA from the Indian School of Business, one of India's premier institutes for management, and works full-time for the international Finance Corporation, a private arm of the World Bank. We will touch on all this...

My guest today is neurobiologist Dr. Vidita Vaidya, a professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. She received her Ph. D. from Yale University in 1998 and did postdoctoral research at the Karolinska Institute and Oxford University before joining TIFR in 2000. Dr. Vaidya is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Natio...

Today’s is a Tales from the Past episode. Tales from the past unearths fascinating and little-known stories from history. In each bite-sized episode, I'll take you on a journey through time to highlight intriguing events, people and anecdotes you likely never learned in school.

Today we have with us Dr. Annapurni Subramaniam, the director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Dr. Subramaniam received her Ph. D. in Physics - Astronomy in 1996 from the Indian Institute of Science. She has contributed significantly to research on the Magellanic Clouds, among numerous other areas. She is also an accomplished violinist. In our conversation today, we will be talking about D...

Today’s is a Tales from the Past episode. Tales from the past unearths fascinating and little-known stories from history. In each bite-sized episode, I'll take you on a journey through time to highlight intriguing events, people and anecdotes you likely never learned in school.

Today we have with us an exceptional young violinist, Kamalakiran Vinjamuri. Though only in his early twenties, he has already gained recognition for his prodigious talent and moving performances. Kamalakiran initially trained under his father, the renowned violinist Subhash Vinjamuri, before taking lessons from the legendary violinist A. Kanyakumari. Kamalakiran has toured internationally, includ...

Today we are starting a new series called Tales from the Past - that unearths fascinating and little-known stories from history. In each bite-sized episode, I'll take you on a journey through time to highlight intriguing events, people, and anecdotes you likely never learned in school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_currents

If you are a coffee connoisseur, this episode is just for you. Not many people start their day without a cup of coffee, it maybe drip coffee from a nearby convenient store or a fancy white chocolate mocha. I sit down with Social anthropologist and the author of the book Making Better Coffee Dr. Edward Fischer to discuss the history, evolution and waves of coffee culture. This is part 1 of a two pa...

This episode is not quite a shortcast, as we are joined by internet sensation Ricky Pond, more popularly known as the dancing dad! In this episode, we are going to go through Ricky's early education, career, his love for dance, and many other things. Ricky Pond https://www.instagram.com/ricky.pond/ https://www.tiktok.com/@rickypond?lang=en  @OfficialRickyPond  on Youtube Reach out to the host...

Today my guest is Lakshmi Sharath. Lakshmi is a well-known traveler and writer who has visited 50 countries...and counting! She is an inspiration for solo women travelers and motivates them to explore the world on their own. She was also the recipient of India's Best Travel Blog award in 2008. She shares tips, itineraries and stories from her trips on her blog @lakshmisharath.com. She is also a br...

My guest today is Dimitris Nikolau. Dimi is the cofounder of Wondercraft.ai which uses speech to text technology to make podcasting easier. With Wondercraft, anyone can easily turn their content (like newsletters, blogs, interviews, and recordings) into professional-quality podcasts in minutes. In this episode, I talk to Dimi about his college, Y Combinator and his startup Wondercraft.ai About Dim...

Our guest today is Dr. Nandita Iyer. Nandita is an author and food blogger who truly embodies the Hippocrates philosophy of "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." A qualified doctor and nutritionist, she is also a social media influencer and busts some popular misconceptions about food. Her blog, Saffron Trail at www.saffrontrail.com, is a fantastic repository of healthy ve...

Our guest today is Dr. Nandita Iyer. Nandita is an author and food blogger who truly embodies the Hippocrates philosophy of "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." A qualified doctor and nutritionist, she is also a social media influencer and busts some popular misconceptions about food. Her blog, Saffron Trail at www.saffrontrail.com, is a fantastic repository of healthy ve...

Today my guest is Lakshmi Sharath. Lakshmi is a well-known traveler and writer who has visited 50 countries...and counting! She is an inspiration for solo women travelers and motivates them to explore the world on their own. She was also the recipient of India's Best Travel Blog award in 2008. She shares tips, itineraries and stories from her trips on her blog @lakshmisharath.com. She is also...