Ep 15: Goodbye and All That
Econ Central
Sad news, folks: this is it for Econ Central. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul explain why they are ending this show at just episode 15 -- and also recommend a whole bunch of books to read as a goodbye gift. Also check out: 1. -- Anthony Horowitz. 2. -- Ken Liu. 3. -- Ken Liu. 4. -- Catherine Ryan Howard. 5. -- Joseph O'Neill. 6. -- Richard Osman. 7. -- Alice Munro. 8. -- Alice Munro. 9. -- Alice Munro. 10. on Amazon. 11. -- Tim Harford. 12. Archives of ....
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Ep 14: The Big Deal About the IPL
Econ Central
The IPL starts this weekend. It is much more than a tamasha. It saved and revitalized cricket. In episode 14 of Econ Central, Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul turn the economic lens towards cricket and cricket strategy. Also check out: 1. (2008) — Amit Varma. 2. — Ludwig Wittgenstein. 3. (2016) — Amit Varma. 4. (2014) -- Amit Varma. 5. (2018) -- Amit Varma. 6. (2017) -- Amit Varma. 7. (2016) -- Amit Varma. 8. (2019) -- Amit Varma. 9. (2019) -- Amit Varma. 10. -- Amit Varma....
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Ep 13: Everyone Has Lost It!
Econ Central
Our media, our society and our politics have all gone nuts. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul examine this drift to the extremes in episode 13 of Econ Central. Also discussed: the real estate dudes fight the bankers, and why football isn't taking off in India. Also check out: 1. -- Amit Varma. 2. -- Episode 8 of Econ Central. 3. . 4. Some tweets about SSR's Covid patent and invention of Fau-G: , , , . 5. -- Episode 6 of Econ Central (about the game theory of Congress rebellion). 6. — Amit Varma. 7. -- Anthony Downs....
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Ep 12: Gegenpressing GDP
Econ Central
Our economy's contracted. And Lionel Messi's looking for someone new to contract with. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul dissect both situations in episode 12 of Econ Central. Also discussed: Amitabh Bachchan's crocodile. Also check out: 1. -- Episode 130 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rajeswari Sengupta). 2. -- Episode 188 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Arvind Subramanian). 3. -- Episode 153 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 4. — Episode 85 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan). 5. The Seen/Unseen episodes on GST: , , . ...
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Ep 11: Congress Rebellion Revisited
Econ Central
Game theory explains the complexity of rebelling against the Gandhis -- and theory has now become practice. As fires rage in the house that Congress built, Amit Varma and Vivek revisit the incentives of the players involved. Also discussed: Shaktikanta Das's views on the stock market and why Naseeruddin Shah excused Raj Kumar's hamming. Also check out: 1. — Amit Varma. 2. -- Sunil Prabhu. 3. -- Episode 6 of Econ Central (with an earlier discussion on Congress rebellion). 4. on the incentives of the rebels. 5. -- Vivek Kaul....
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Ep 10: Dhoni and India
Econ Central
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's career is so resonant for most Indians. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul get together in episode 10 of Econ Central to discuss how Dhoni, when he emerged, represented a new India empowered by liberalisation. He was a disruptor from a small town who led Indian cricket into a new age -- but also failed to adapt when cricket changed again. Also check out: 1. -- Episode 186 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pratap Bhanu Mehta). 2. -- Episode 185 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Karthik Muralidharan). 3. -- Vivek Kaul. 4. Siddhartha...
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Ep 9: Do We Need Billionaires?
Econ Central
In a world full of pain and suffering, some say that it is perverse that billionaires exist. Do we need them? Yes, we do, argue Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul in episode 9 of Econ Central. Listen in for the argument, and the caveat, because hey, there's always a caveat. Also discussed: why the Congress Party's actions are the opposite of their words, and how we should think about economic reform. Also check out: 1. -- Amit Varma. 2. , and the responses by and . 3. . 4. -- Episode 2 of Econ Central, which discusses the Zero-Sum...
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Ep 8: Out-Arnabing Arnab
Econ Central
There is a race to the bottom in Indian media. It is rational. Its reasons are structural. The state and society must share the blame. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul explain why in episode 8 of Econ Central. Also discussed: public sector banks, our love for simple narratives and Raat Akeli Hai. Also check out: 1. -- Honey Trehan. 2. -- The Times Now tweet. 3. -- Episode 27 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ashok Malik). 4. -- Ashok Malik. 5. on Substack. 6. -- Kevin Kelly. 7. -- Li Jin. 8. — Episode 46 of...
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Ep 7: The Deep State of Real Estate
Econ Central
The Indian real estate market is an unusual beast: there is as much politics in it as economics. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul get together in episode 7 of Econ Central to dissect its innards. Also discussed: why Joe Biden is like Rahul Roy, and MCBC gaalis reflect a toxic mindset and should be abandoned by us. Also check out: 1. -- Episode 30 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 2. -- Vivek Kaul for Newslaundry. 3. -- Vivek Kaul. 4. -- Amit Varma on DeMon. 5. -- Devesh Kapur & Milan Vasihnav. 6. -- Episode 114...
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Ep 6: The Hype Around the Stock Market
Econ Central
Our economy goes down, down, down. Our stock market is hyped up, up, up. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul make sense of this paradox in episode 6 of Econ Central. Also discussed: The economic principles behind good writing, the game theory behind rebellion in the Congress, and how both Amit and Vivek are enemies of Lutyens. Also check out:1. -- Amit Varma (on decision fatigue). 2. -- Amit Varma (on opportunity cost). 3. -- Amit Varma. 4. -- Michael Henderson. 5. -- Vivek Kaul. 6. -- Debashis Basu. 7. -- Mervyn...
info_outlineThere is a race to the bottom in Indian media. It is rational. Its reasons are structural. The state and society must share the blame. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul explain why in episode 8 of Econ Central. Also discussed: public sector banks, our love for simple narratives and Raat Akeli Hai.
Also check out:
1. Raat Akeli Hai -- Honey Trehan.
2. 'Does he look depressed?' -- The Times Now tweet.
3. Television Price Controls -- Episode 27 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ashok Malik).
4. Why Are Indian News Channels so Disappointing? -- Ashok Malik.
5. The top paid newsletters on Substack.
6. 1000 True Fans -- Kevin Kelly.
7. 1,000 True Fans? Try 100 -- Li Jin.
8. The State of the Media — Episode 46 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Prem Panicker).
9. The State of the Media 2 — Episode 89 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Sidharth Bhatia & Peter Griffin).
10. What Happened to Our Journalism? -- Episode 178 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Nidhi Razdan).
11. Persuasion -- Yascha Mounk's newsletter.
12. Fighting Fake News -- Episode 133 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pratik Sinha).
13. Non-Performing Assets -- Episode 32 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul).
14. IL&FS and the Indian Financial System -- Episode 91 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul and Ashutosh Datar).
15. Overdraft -- Urjit Patel.
16. Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India -- Viral Acharya.
17. The govt and RBI face a trilemma regarding PSBs -- Vivek Kaul.
18. RBI’s forecast on NPAs has often missed the mark -- Vivek Kaul.
19. Indian banks are in for a ₹20-trillion hole -- Vivek Kaul.
20. Privatisation of banks is a great idea, and will remain so -- Vivek Kaul.
21. Urjit Patel Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai? -- Vivek Kaul.
22. Whose Money is it Anyway? -- Amit Varma (on Milton Friedman's four ways of spending money).
23. Indian Board President's XI vs England XI, Vadodara, 2006.
24. The Evolution of Everything -- Episode 96 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Matt Ridley).
25. Who Broke Our Republic? -- Episode 163 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Kapil Komireddi).
26. The Economics of the Chilling Effect -- Episode 5 of Econ Central.
27. Facts Don’t Matter. Stories do -- Amit Varma (on Donald Trump & simple narratives).
Do subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter, Amit's new project. And pick up Bad Money, Vivek's bestselling book.