Ep 100: David Ko, From Panic to Purpose
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Release Date: 11/19/2025
Ep 108: Prashanth Chandrasekar: Community and the AI Pivot
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Prashanth Chandrasekar, CEO of Stack Overflow, joins Vasant Dhar to discuss the company's pivot to reinvent the platform and the way forward in an AI-native world. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. - 6. - Tuhin Chakrabarty, Paramveer S. Dhillon 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Ep 107: Rule Breaker Investing — David Gardner on Staying the Course
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
David Gardner, co-founder of The Motley Fool, joins Vasant Dhar to discuss his approach to investing - the case for holding great companies for decades, and candid takes on stocks as long-term bets. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. , CEO, The Motley Fool 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. - David Gardner 9. 10. - David Gardner, Tom Gardner 11. - 12. David Gardner’s Stock Picks: , , , , , , , , , 13. 14. 15. 16. - 17. 18. 19. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Ep 106: Luca Turin On Decoding Smell
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Smell is the most mysterious of our senses and we've been getting it wrong. Biophysicist Luca Turin joins Vasant Dhar to reveal why and how our noses detect vibrations and what that could mean for disease diagnosis, security, and the future of AI. Useful Resources: 1. . 2. - Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez. 3. - Luca Turin. 4. - Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez. 5. - Luca Turin. 6. - Leslie B. Vosshall. 7. - Ross D. Hoehn, David E. Nichols, Hartmut Neven, Sabre Kais. 8. - Eric Block, Seogjoo Jang, Hiroki Matsunami, Hanyi Zuhang. 9. - Andreas Keller and Leslie B. Vosshall. 10. - Linda Buck,...
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Ep 105: Nicholas Christakis on The Impacts of Machines on Human Groups
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Your networks shape you more than you know. Nicholas Christakis joins Vasant Dhar to reveal how machines inserted into human groups quietly rewire the way people cooperate, coordinate, and trust — and why a little artificial noise might be exactly what we need. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. - and 4. 5. - and 6. - and 7. 8. 9. - , and 10. 11. 12. - , and 13. - Paul G. Hiebert 14. 15. 16. - 17. - , , , , , , 18. - , 19. - , , , 20. 21. - 22. - and 23. 24. 25. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Ep 104: Leslie Kay on Smell, Memory and the Brain
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Your nose knows more than you think. Professor Leslie M. Kay joins Vasant Dhar to reveal how smell is wired directly into the brain's emotional core — and how every breath you take is quietly synchronising your mind. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. and 7. , 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. - Lucia F Jacobs 15. 16. , 17. - , , and 18. - Maxwell Mozell 19. - Leslie M. Kay 20. - UK Biobank 21. 22. - Asifa Majid Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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EP 103: Léon Bottou on Fiction Machines and the Limits of AI Alignment
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
What separates fluency from understanding? Léon Bottou joins Vasant Dhar in Episode 103, Brave New World, to explore the deep question at the heart of AI. Useful Resources: 1. 2. Léon Bottou - 3. 4. 5. , and - 6. - 7. - 8. 9. 10. - 11. 12. 13. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Ep 103: Jayant Sinha on AI Governance In A Fragmented World
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
AI is reshaping national power and governance. Drawing on India’s digital public infrastructure, Jayant Sinha and Vasant Dhar discuss innovation and sovereignty over compute, data consent and privacy by design in Episode 103 of Brave New World. Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. . 12. . 13. 14. 15. , , . 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Ep 102 - Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland on Humanizing Technology
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Professor Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland, one of the most renowned computational scientists in the world, joins Vasant Dhar in Episode 102 of Brave New World to discuss the state and development of human-centric AI. Useful Resources: 1. . 2. . 3. . 4. , . 5. , . 6. . 7. . 8. . 9. . 10. . 11. . 12. . 13. . 14. . 15. , . 16. . 17. . 18. 19. . 20. . 21. . 22. . Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasan Dhar’s new book, Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasan Dhar’s new book,
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Ep 101: Deepak Chopra On Consciousness and Reality
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Useful Resources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. . 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. Check out on Substack. The subscription is free! Order Vasant Dhar’s new book,
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Ep 100: David Ko, From Panic to Purpose
Brave New World -- hosted by Vasant Dhar
Episode 100 of Brave New World features David Ko, CEO of Calm, a digital health company focused on mental wellness and mindfulness. From experiencing panic attacks as a teenager to being the driving force behind Calm, his journey is an inspiring exploration of resilience, purpose, and the intersection of vulnerability and innovation. Useful Resources: 1. , CEO of 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Order - Vasant Dhar Check out on Substack. The subscription is free!
info_outlineEpisode 100 of Brave New World features David Ko, CEO of Calm, a digital health company focused on mental wellness and mindfulness. From experiencing panic attacks as a teenager to being the driving force behind Calm, his journey is an inspiring exploration of resilience, purpose, and the intersection of vulnerability and innovation.
Useful Resources:
1. David Ko, CEO of Calm
2. Recharge: Boosting Your Mental Battery, One Conversation at a Time - David Ko
3. Jonathan Haidt
4. Brave New World Episode 08: How Social Media Threatens Society
5. Severance
6. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
7. Recharge with David Ko
Order Thinking With Machines: The Brave New World of AI - Vasant Dhar
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