The Signal Brief

A dozen of Amazon Ring Cameras in the US in 2020 got hacked and made fake emergency calls to the local police. And now two people have been charged with conspiracy to access computers without authorization. Tune in to this episode of The Signal Daily to find out the details! For our intro segment we are talking about Domino's PIzza's new big bet. The 20-minute delivery promise! How will it achieve...

The UK government wants to regulate OTT platforms. According to reports, the new law gives Ofcom's jurisdiction the authority to fine these OTTs up to 250,000 pounds if the platforms don't comply with the new laws. And for the main segment we are taking a closer look at the new pledge signed at COP15. Nearly 200 countries signed what is being touted as a 'historic agreement' to arrest biodiversity...

According to the business information platform Crunchbase, currently, more than 80 drug companies are working on psychedelic compounds like Ketamine, MDMA, LSD and DMT. They are trying to tweak their structures. In other news, we are talking about the World Cup 2022. A dramatic final, indeed. Although the match was between France and Argentina, this is really Qatar’s win. How? Tune in to The Signa...

Indians have found a new way of getting visas, do you know what it is? Praying at a Visa temple.  As per a Bloomberg report, several US and UK Visa seekers are seen flocking to Visa temples to pray that their visa interviews go smoothly. For our main segment, we are talking about Byju's controversies. Few days back it was their mass layoffs that violated labour laws, then they were accused of an e...

Looks like Elon Musk is not quite done selling his Tesla shares. According to a recent financial filing, he has sold around 22 million more shares of the company worth around $3.6 billion. On the surface it almost looks like Musk is trying to bring down his own company or perhaps he has a plan? For our main segment we dive into the pump-and-dump stock scheme that got eight ‘finfluencers’ charged w...

US President Joe Biden signed a historic bill bringing same sex interracial marriages under federal protection. While we cheer for that, we can't ignore the surge of conservative policies on gender issues in America. Are lawmakers still largely falling behind in advocating equal rights for the LGBTQIA community? In our main segment, we look at the developments in Microsoft's bid to acquire Activis...

From the crypto king to the disgraced CEO of FTX — Sam Bankman Fried's life will surely become the plot of a Hollywood movie very soon. SBF was arrested in the Bahamas on 12 December, after prosecutors in the US filed criminal charges against him. FTX's downfall has obviously invited scrutiny into the world of crypto — both legal and otherwise. We invited Roshni Nair, the Executive Editor of The S...

It looks like Apple is scaling back on its ambitious dreams. According to a Bloomberg report, the company is opting for a more practical design for both its automated self-driving car and AR glasses. The ‘Apple Car’ will have a steering wheel and pedals after all, while the AR glasses will now be mixed reality glasses. But why the pragmatic approach? In this episode, we are joined by our in-house...

The United Kingdom are struggling to cobble up enough funds. And looks like the UK is really banking on Indian enrolments for tuition fees.  In other news, the recession is now coming for influencers. Brands are growing more picky about the creators they collaborate with. It appears that the rise of artificial intelligence is also having an impact on the content creator economy. Tune in to know mo...

Dalal street must make way for a wine producer now. According to recent developments, Sula Vineyards, India's largest wine producer, is ready launch its IPO in the coming week. How did the brand carve out a space for itself in India’s alcohol market? Dive in to some fine wine, because it's 5 o'clock somewhere!  For our main segment we talk about the DC universe’s new roadmap. Neither Wonder Woman...

With the winter chills and the year coming to an end, the Parliament commenced the Winter Session yesterday. This is going to be a short Parliamentary session with just 17 sittings spread over 23 busy and packed working days. In all, 23 Bills are being tabled this session. What are the key bills that are going to be taken up and which ones are missing? To talk about it, we invited Mr Chaksu Roy, t...

As per reports, the Swedish furniture company, IKEA is displaying and selling second hand and damaged pieces to promote sustainable living. Turns out fast furniture waste is as bad for the planet as fast fashion waste is. In other news, OpenAI's ChatGPT, the chatbot powered by artificial intelligence has gained massive popularity. ChatGPT is conversational and has a wide range of knowledge on vari...

We’ve long been aware that underneath the flourishing world of Kpop, there's a dark side. We've heard of the strict diet regimes, and the bizarre rules like no dating, no social media and no phones. But sometimes the price of fame and glamour is heftier than that.  In other news, governments want big tech companies to pay up for content. Canada wants these companies to pay C$1 billion ($750 millio...

Sometimes a pair of sneakers can cost a lot like the Air Jordan 12 OVO (Drake Edition) which is currently priced at 100,000 USD. It is an unbelievable price to buy sneakers but that’s not deterring the sneaker-loving community which has been growing all over across the world and in India.  The layoff wave continues. Following a tough Q3 earnings season, media companies continue to report significa...

The economic slowdown is bleeding out the companies and employees are facing the brunt of it. We are already aware of the huge layoffs in major tech companies like Twitter and Meta but now the major international law firms based in the US, are following the same footsteps. In other news, Kerala's Vizhinjam Port —  touted as the only transshipment hub in the Indian subcontinent, is in troubled wate...

Alexa is not doing so well. Amazon embarked on the dreaded layoff season a couple of weeks back. It's something that most of the other big tech companies have gone through, and it's the Alexa division that has taken one of the worst hits.  In other news, Indian art lovers have found a new guru. Folks at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad or IIMA launched a new index, which is essentially an...

Elon Musk seems to have started another fire before dousing the previous ones! This time he's picked up a fight with Apple. Or, to put it in his own words, he's "ready to go to war" with the iPhone maker, after he accused the company of cutting down its advertising with Twitter sans any explanation. In other news, after an initial blockchain-powered effort yielded conflicting results, India's Tele...

Healthtech appears to be in the fast lane. Speaking of which, the team that was behind Apple’s Face ID feature is working on a very interesting project that they hope will help to treat tricky diseases.  In other news, the protests in China against the country's zero-covid policy are showing no signs of quelling!  You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Andro...

The Department of Consumer Affairs has published guidelines designed to stop people from giving fake ratings and misleading reviews on products they've bought on e-commerce marketplaces. How will it work? In our main segment, we deep dive into the raging protests in China against the country's strict Covid-19 restrictions. Tune in! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bisleri is expected to be acquired by Tata Consumer in a deal worth Rs 6000–7000 crore. Why? As per Ramesh Chauhan, the owner of the packaged water company said, his only daughter Jayanti Chauhan has no interest in taking over the family company. Which simply means, he has no successor to carry on the legacy.  In other news, in the latest fiasco surrounding Taylor Swift fans and Ticketmaster, the...

India's richest men Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani are gearing for a face off. This time they are set to compete over the distressed thermal power plant — Lanco's Amarkantak Power. In other news, Manchester United is in trouble. For starters, Ronaldo has left the club with immediate effect, and the after close to two decades of American involvement at Old Trafford, the Red Devils have been offered...

The Indian government wants to produce and use “cleaner” jet fuel, meaning sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) instead of conventional fuel that emits heavy smog and pollution.  In other news, a mother of all mergers in the world of publishing was almost about to happen until it didn't. We are talking about Penguin Random House or PRH wanting to buy its rival Simon & Schuster as a part of its plan...

FIFA World Cup 2022 kicked off with a grand opening ceremony, with BTS member Jung Kook performing this year’s World Cup song alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al Quabaisi. But the opening game didn’t go as planned for the host nation. In other news, Walt Disney Co. ousted its CEO Bob Chapek a few months before his term was set to expire formally. And who do they bring back for the top post but their...

The Centre finally released the revised draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2020, three days back, on 18 November. If you remember, an earlier version of this bill was rolled back after it faced some stiff criticism from the public and big tech companies.  In other news, in a historic victory for developing and low and middle income nations, the COP27 delegates approved the creation...

So, as per a Vice article, many public libraries in the United States and Canada have decided to build their own music streaming services in an effort to support local musicians and regional music scenes. In other news, we have some new updates from the FTX fiasco. Tune in to know more! Find our previous episodes here and here. You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast...