E54: Aashima Dogra, Nandita Jayaraj - How can women in Indian science no longer be the exception but the norm?
Release Date: 11/07/2023
E55: Kumi Naidoo - How human rights and climate justice go hand in hand
Maharani Talks
My guest this episode is the distinguished Kumi Naidoo - a human rights and climate justice activist. Naidoo first began his journey at the age of 15 fighting against the then apartheid government in South Africa by organising school boycotts. He was arrested several times for civil disobedience and when the government imposed a state of emergency, he was forced to go underground and flee to the UK, where he became a Rhodes scholar. He eventually returned to South Africa in 1990 when Mandela was released from jail, and went onto play a vital role in shaping the then African National Congress....
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E54: Aashima Dogra, Nandita Jayaraj - How can women in Indian science no longer be the exception but the norm?
Maharani Talks
What is it like to be a woman scientist in India? Why don’t we see enough of them? If you’re quick to point the superstar ones, sadly they’re not always the norm. In fact, research has shown that women in academia are expected to be much more competent than their male counterparts to be considered for the same role. It’s this bias that got Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj to start ‘The Life of Science’ web portal to document stories of regular women in science, and the systemic bias they fight in their everyday lives. Having began their journey in 2016, it has now given rise to...
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E53: Ankush Sabharwal - Are we ready for AI?
Maharani Talks
Artificial intelligence or AI is quite the buzzword these days. Many of us would not have missed the news pouring in about AI - sometimes it is promising and at times, it isn’t reassuring. But Ankush Sabharwal, founder and CEO of CoRover, believes AI is more than a buzzword. It is here to stay - simply because an average human is already relying on AI in ways that they don’t realise. CoRover is a platform for conversational AI. The kind of AI Chatbot-as-a-service (CaaS) that we encounter through customer support with organisations. The company is also the brainchild behind AskSarkar, an...
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E52: Smish Designs - The Art of Protest
Maharani Talks
How often have you shared a digital artwork on social media to simply convey your thoughts on an issue? The power of digital art to convey dissent or to protest has grown to become one of the most preferred ways to vent frustration or show solidarity. Its creation is not intended to sell (maybe that will soon change), but it does often cause one to react. A reason probably why many of these artists choose to be anonymous. Smish Designs is a digital artist and illustrator whose work is a searing commentary on the socio-political events that happen in our country. Some of her designs have...
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E51: Anjali Gopalan - The way forward for the Indian queer community
Maharani Talks
In many ways, Anjali Gopalan has been a torchbearer for the LGBTQIA+ community. She started Naz Foundation in 1994 to lead a dedicated fight against HIV/AIDS issues and defend those marginalised due to their sexuality. Naz Foundation is the original petitioner to challenge Section 377 criminalising homosexuality, an archaic law which was struck down by the Supreme Court four years back. Honouring her persistent fight for equality, she has received the Knight of the Legion of Honour, one of the highest honours from the French Government in 2013, shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005,...
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E50: Chef Thomas Zacharias - Taking the #Indianfoodmovement back to its roots
Maharani Talks
The Bombay Canteen is considered as one of the most popular restaurants in the country and its food most sought out. It has been adjudged as The Best Restaurant in India in 2018 by Conde Nast Traveller and was also included in its list of 100 places in the world to eat. And as the restaurant’s former Executive Chef, Thomas Zacharias’ constant innovation of the Indian food became its pièce de résistance. Through his latest venture, The Locavore, Chef Zacharias is keen to create a community around our rich Indian food legacy and in the process put the spotlight back on the best (and...
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E49: Dr. Susmita Mohanty - Exploring space missions beyond NASA
Maharani Talks
As someone who has a keen interest in space, I’m very excited to finally feature Dr. Susmita Mohanty, spaceship designer and a serial space entrepreneur, who started India’s first private space startup, Earth2Orbit - at a time when the Indian space industry didn’t welcome private players. She had also previously founded MoonFront and LIQUIFER, worked briefly with NASA & Boeing and as a climate activist, visited both the Artic & Antarctica on invitation. A protégée of Arthur C. Clarke, she has been featured in numerous publications such as Fortune, Vogue and Bloomberg. Dr....
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E48: Raksha Muthukumar - Tech unions keep Big Tech in check
Maharani Talks
Tech unions are considered a rarity in Silicon Valley. So, when Google employees announced the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), named after Google’s parent company, it ended up becoming a catalyst for white collar workers to stand up against injustices in the workplace. Raksha Muthukumar was one of the union’s earliest members and helped in its formation. A GeorgiaTech graduate, during her work stint with Google, she saw the growing discontent among employees over Google’s sexual discrimination practices, which led to the 2018 global walk out by Google employees, and over its ethical...
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E47: Priyadharsini - Who are the voices behind our news?
Maharani Talks
Who make up the Indian newsrooms? Do journalists cover diverse voices? Priyadharsini is the founder director of The Blue Club (TBC), a grassroots media organisation that amplifies stories of women from marginalised communities and the LGBTQIA. TBC is solely led by a team of members from such discriminated communities. An Oxfam India report in 2019 shows how badly skewed representation of varied communities is in our newsrooms. A case in point - the report states that of the 121 newsroom leadership positions across newspapers, TV news channels, news websites, and magazines under study,...
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E46: Dr. Anup Surendranath - Should we hang those who commit heinous crimes?
Maharani Talks
I’ve been of the opinion that death penalty is justified for those convicted of heinous crimes. But in doing so, am I completely isolating the perpetrator and their actions to this one crime? Does the onus of the death penalty fall majorly on those marginalised in our society? My guest this episode is Dr. Anup Surendranath. He is the Executive Director of Project 39A and an Assistant Professor of Law at National Law University in Delhi. Project 39A’s Death Penalty India report is the first empirical research done on capital punishment, the way it is administered in India and about...
info_outlineWhat is it like to be a woman scientist in India? Why don’t we see enough of them? If you’re quick to point the superstar ones, sadly they’re not always the norm. In fact, research has shown that women in academia are expected to be much more competent than their male counterparts to be considered for the same role.
It’s this bias that got Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj to start ‘The Life of Science’ web portal to document stories of regular women in science, and the systemic bias they fight in their everyday lives. Having began their journey in 2016, it has now given rise to their book ‘Lab Hopping: A Journey to find India’s Women in Science’. Backed by research, it makes the reader come to terms with unsettling facts plaguing Indian academia, when it comes to gender and caste diversity. In our conversation, we bring some of these issues to light and what can be done to remedy it.
To learn more about The Life Of Science or order the book, visit: https://thelifeofscience.com/
You can reach me at [email protected] or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/
MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic