Econ Central
A weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma & Vivek Kaul that demystifies economic news in India, and looks at events there through the lens of economic thinking.
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Ep 15: Goodbye and All That
09/24/2020
Ep 15: Goodbye and All That
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 . 13. -- Tim Harford. 14. -- Mark Strand. (.) 15. -- Kay Ryan. 16. -- Yoko Ogawa. 17. -- Steven Pinker. 18. -- Matt Ridley. 19. -- Clayton M Christensen. 20. -- Matt Ridley. 21. -- Episode 96 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Matt Ridley). 22. -- Frédéric Bastiat. 23. -- Frédéric Bastiat. 24. -- Stephanie Kelton. 25. . 26. -- Michael Henderson. 27. -- George Orwell. 28. -- George Orwell. Amit and Vivek will continue to do whatever else they are doing. You can keep listening to Amit's podcast, , and reading . Do also check out his online course, . Vivek writes regularly at . Do browse or elsewhere.
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Ep 14: The Big Deal About the IPL
09/17/2020
Ep 14: The Big Deal About the IPL
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. 11. (2015) -- Amit Varma. 12. -- Episode 41 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gideon Haigh and Prem Panicker). 13. -- Episode 10 of Econ Central. 14. -- Episode 126 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Joy Bhattacharjya). 15. . 16. . 17. -- Episode 44 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 18. -- RC Bhargava. 19. -- Vivek Kaul. 20. -- Episode 5 of Econ Central. 21. -- Episode 188 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Arvind Subramanian). 22. -- Episode 117 of The Seen and the Unseen (w David Boaz). 23. -- EO Wilson. 24. -- Episode 174 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Saba Dewan). Do also check out Amit’s writing course, , as well as . Also, Vivek’s new website at and on Amazon.
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Ep 13: Everyone Has Lost It!
09/10/2020
Ep 13: Everyone Has Lost It!
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. 8. (Wikipedia). 9. -- Episode 5 of Econ Central. 10. -- Christopher Booker. 11. -- Christopher Booker. 12. -- Christopher Booker. 13. -- Episode 12 of Econ Central. 14. -- Vivek Kaul. 15. -- Vivek Kaul. 16. -- TNN 17. -- Raghuram Rajan and Luizi Zingales. 18. (Wikipedia). 19. -- Amit Varma. 20. -- Episode 7 of Econ Central. 21. -- Friedrich Hayek. 22. -- Episode 126 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Joy Bhattacharjya). 23. -- David Harsanyi. 24. -- Vivek Kaul. 25. -- Amit Varma. 26. . Do also check out Amit’s podcast, , as well as . And ah, Vivek’s new website at and on Amazon.
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Ep 12: Gegenpressing GDP
09/03/2020
Ep 12: Gegenpressing GDP
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: , , . 6. -- Amit Varma. 7. The Seen/Unseen episodes on Covid-19: , , . 8. -- Vivek Kaul. 9. -- Vivek Kaul. 10. -- D Subbarao. 11. -- Jonathan Wilson. 12. Wikipedia articles on the , , the and the . 13. (2007) -- Amit Varma. 14. -- Full movie on YouTube. 15. -- Sidharth Bhatia. 16. -- Ruchir Sharma. 17. -- Ruchir Sharma. 18. -- Episode 9 of Econ Central. 19. -- Thomas Philippon. 20. -- Episode 6 of Econ Central. Do also check out Amit’s writing course, , as well as . And ah, Vivek’s new website at and on Amazon.
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Ep 11: Congress Rebellion Revisited
08/27/2020
Ep 11: Congress Rebellion Revisited
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. 6. -- David Kleinhandler. 7. -- Amit Varma. 8. -- Episode 186 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pratap Bhanu Mehta). 9. . 10. -- Naseeruddin Shah. 11. : Indian Express report. 12. -- Jash Kriplani. (The piece with 'de-grow.') 13. -- Alan Greenspan's speech. 14. with Vivek Kaul. 15. -- Puja Mehra. 16. -- Episode 116 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Puja Mehra). 17. -- Episode 169 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan). 18. -- Episode 176 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Anup Malani). 19. -- Episode 177 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). Do also check out Amit's writing course, , as well as . And ah, Vivek's new website at and on Amazon.
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Ep 10: Dhoni and India
08/20/2020
Ep 10: Dhoni and India
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 Vaidyanathan's pieces on Dhoni: , , , , , . 5. -- Sidharth Monga. 6. -- Amit Varma. 7. -- Mukul Kesavan. 8. -- Mark Johnson. 9. -- Amit Varma. 10. -- Amit Varma. 11. (2018)-- Amit Varma. 12. (2018) -- Amit Varma. 13. (2008) -- Amit Varma 14. (2014) -- Amit Varma. 15. (2016) -- Amit Varma. 16. (2018) -- Amit Varma. 17. -- Mukul Kesavan. 18. -- Abhishek Purohit. 19. -- Josy Joseph. 20. -- Bharat Sundaresan. 21. -- Episode 132 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Namita Bhandare). 22. -- Episode 9 of Econ Central. 23. -- Episode 14 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Alex Tabarrok). 24. -- Episode 26 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan). 25. - The Original Economics Rap Battle! 26. - Economics Rap Battle Round Two. 27. -- Episode 182 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Russ Roberts). Also, hop on over to as well as . September batches for Amit's course, , begin soon. And do check out !
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Ep 9: Do We Need Billionaires?
08/13/2020
Ep 9: Do We Need Billionaires?
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 Fallacy. 5. -- Burton Folsom. 6. -- Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar. 7. -- Amit Varma. 8. -- John Stossel. 9. -- Caitlin McFall. 10. -- Jonathan Rauch. 11. -- Episode 8 of Econ Central. 12. -- Ruchir Sharma. 13. -- Satyajit Das. 14. on interest rates. 15. -- Vivek Kaul. 16. -- Vivek Kaul. 17. -- Vivek Kaul. 18. India Today's . 19. of the Congress shooting the messenger. 20. on DeMon. 21. -- Amit Varma. 22. -- Episode 6 of Econ Central (explaining the Congress's game theory problem). 23. -- ET Bureau. 24. -- PTI. 25. -- Anurag Dwary. 26. -- Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah. 27. -- Episode 1 of Ideas of India, Shruti Rajagopalan's podcast. 28. -- Episode 154 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah). 29. -- AN Shanbhag and Sandeep Shanbhag. 30. -- Episode 185 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Karthik Muralidharan). 31. -- Amit Varma. Do subscribe to , Amit’s new project, and check out his writing course, . And have a look at , especially .
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Ep 8: Out-Arnabing Arnab
08/06/2020
Ep 8: Out-Arnabing Arnab
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 The Seen and the Unseen (w Prem Panicker). 9. — Episode 89 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Sidharth Bhatia & Peter Griffin). 10. -- Episode 178 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Nidhi Razdan). 11. -- Yascha Mounk's newsletter. 12. -- Episode 133 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pratik Sinha). 13. -- Episode 32 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 14. -- Episode 91 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul and Ashutosh Datar). 15. -- Urjit Patel. 16. -- Viral Acharya. 17. -- Vivek Kaul. 18. -- Vivek Kaul. 19. -- Vivek Kaul. 20. -- Vivek Kaul. 21. -- Vivek Kaul. 22. -- Amit Varma (on Milton Friedman's four ways of spending money). 23. , Vadodara, 2006. 24. -- Episode 96 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Matt Ridley). 25. -- Episode 163 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Kapil Komireddi). 26. -- Episode 5 of Econ Central. 27. -- Amit Varma (on Donald Trump & simple narratives). Do subscribe to , Amit's new project. And pick up , Vivek's bestselling book.
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Ep 7: The Deep State of Real Estate
07/29/2020
Ep 7: The Deep State of Real Estate
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 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Milan Vaishnav). 7. -- Urjit Patel. 8. The episodes of The Seen and the Unseen on and with Alex Tabarrok. 9. -- Episode 138 of The Seen and the Unseen (Shruti Rajagopalan, Rajeswari Sengupta & Vivek Kaul). 10. -- George Akerlof. 11. -- Ajay Shah. 12. -- Amit Varma. 13. -- Alexander Burns in the New York Times.14. (1990) -- Rahul Roy's debut film. 15. -- Produced by B Subhash and starring Rahul Roy. 16. -- Frédéric Bastiat. 17. -- Frédéric Bastiat. 18. -- Episode 182 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Russ Roberts). 19. -- Henry Hazlitt. 20. -- Amit Varma. 21. -- Episode 6 of Econ Central. 22. on the decline in smoking rates. Do check out Amit's course, , as well as , including .
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Ep 6: The Hype Around the Stock Market
07/23/2020
Ep 6: The Hype Around the Stock Market
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 King & John Kay. 8. -- Amit Varma. 9. -- Pradeep Chibber & Rahul Verma. 10. -- Episode 131 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rahul Verma), 11. -- Episode 157 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ram Guha). 12. by Barkha Dutt. 13. -- D Subbarao. 14. -- Vivek Kaul. 15. -- Vivek Kaul. 16. -- Episode 2 of Econ Central (w discussion on poverty and inequality at the end). 17. -- Amit Varma. 18. Books by , , , & . 19. -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb. 20. -- Steven Pinker. 21. -- Philip Tetlock & Dan Gardner. 22. -- Per Bylund. 23. -- Episode 182 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Russ Roberts). 24. -- Amit Varma (on GMO foods). 25. -- Episode 11 of Publishing Perspectives (w Amit & Arcopol Chaudhuri among others). Registrations for the August batches of Amit's course, , are now open. Rush! And do check out and
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Ep 5: The Economics of the Chilling Effect
07/15/2020
Ep 5: The Economics of the Chilling Effect
Dissenters are arrested, comedians are forced to apologise, online mobs are on the rampage. The incentives are aligned towards shutting up. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul get together in episode 5 of Econ Central to talk about the economics of the chilling effect. Also discussed: the significance of Amitabh Bachchan getting Covid, and the dangers of dead capital. Also check out: 1. , and on Amazon. 2. -- Priya Ramani. 3. -- Episode 178 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Nidhi Razdan). 4. -- Amit Varma (on group polarization). 5. -- Transcript of episode 49 of The Seen and the Unseen (solo episode on political discourse). 6. -- Yascha Mounk. 7. from the New York Times. 8. -- Thomas C Schelling. 9. -- Richard Thaler. 10. -- Thomas C Schelling. 11. . 12. -- Gary Lawyer's anti-smoking commercial. 13. -- Amit Varma. 14. -- Hernando de Soto. 15. -- The full documentary on YouTube. 16. -- Episode 26 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan). 17. -- Episode 140 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra). 18. -- Episode 11 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Alex Tabarrok). 19. -- Episode 138 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan, Rajeswari Sengupta & Vivek Kaul). 20. -- Thomas Sowell. 21. -- Frédéric Bastiat. 22. & on Amazon. 23. -- Henry Hazlitt. 24. -- Amit Varma. 25. -- John Lanchester. 26. -- John Lanchester. 27. -- Amit Varma. 28. . You can show your appreciation by buying us coffee or a book . Do pick up Vivek’s books, and . And check out Amit's online course, .
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Ep 4: The Roving Bandits of Uttar Pradesh
07/09/2020
Ep 4: The Roving Bandits of Uttar Pradesh
When gangster Vikas Dubey's men gunned down eight policemen in UP recently, they were responding to incentives, both ancient and modern. Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul lay them bare in episode 4 of Econ Central. Also discussed: the unseen effects of the PMGKAY, a book you must read to understand India's post-independence economics and why no country has an 'ideal' economy. Also check out: 1. -- Harish Damodaran. 2. -- Economic Survey 2015-16. 3. -- Episode 44 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 4. -- Vivek Kaul. 5. — Episode 86 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gunvant Patil). 6. — Episode 140 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra & Kumar Anand). 7. — Episode 154 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vijay Kelkar & Ajay Shah). 8. — Vijay Kelkar & Ajay Shah. 9. -- NC Asthana. 10. -- Mancur Olson. 11. -- Amit Varma. 12. -- Episode 96 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Matt Ridley). 13. -- Gurcharan Das. 14. -- Johan Norberg. And do pick up Vivek's books, and !
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Ep 3: Petrol, Diesel and Custodial Murder
07/02/2020
Ep 3: Petrol, Diesel and Custodial Murder
Why are petrol and diesel prices rising? What can the economic way of thinking reveal about custodial murder and the rule of law? Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul get together in episode 3 of Econ Central to discuss the events of the week gone by. The Book of the Week is The Power Broker by Robert Caro. And the AMA features two outstanding questions. Also check out:1. -- Episode 1 of Econ Central. 2. -- Episode 2 of Econ Central. 3. — Episode 177 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 4. — Episode 153 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 5. -- Philip Coggan. 6. -- Megha Kavery for The News Minute.7. — Robert Caro. 8. — Jane Jacobs. 9. -- Robert Caro. 10. . 11. -- Amit Varma. 12. -- Amit Varma (on DeMon). 13. -- Episode 85 of The Seen and the Unseen. 14. GST episodes of The Seen and the Unseen: , , . 15. — Episode 142 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 16. -- an old short story by Amit Varma. Do also check out Vivek’s book, , as well as Amit’s online course, .
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Ep 2: Green Shoots in the Desert Sand
06/25/2020
Ep 2: Green Shoots in the Desert Sand
What are these green shoots India's government is speaking of? Is our economy getting better? Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul give context to the hype in episode 2 of Econ Central. They also discuss the incentives of politicians in the Indo-China conflict and bust the Zero-Sum Fallacy. Also check out: 1. -- Episode 1 of Econ Central. 2. -- Episode 177 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 3. -- Episode 176 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Anup Malani). 4. -- Episode 153 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 5. -- Episode 86 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Gunvant Patil). 6. -- Episode 140 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Barun Mitra & Kumar Anand). 7. -- Episode 79 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Pranay Kotasthane & Hamsini Hariharan). 8. -- Episode 11 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Srinath Raghavan). 9. -- Nitin Pai. 10. -- Episode 175 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Lt Gen Prakash Menon). 11. -- Hyman Minsky. 12. -- L Randall Wray. 13. -- Episode 142 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 14. -- Episode 116 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Puja Mehra). 15. -- Amit Varma. 16. -- Amit Varma. 17. -- Harry Frankfurt. And hey, do also check out Vivek’s book, , as well as Amit’s online course, .
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Ep 1: Should We Be Aatma Nirbhar?
06/17/2020
Ep 1: Should We Be Aatma Nirbhar?
Should we boycott goods from China? It isn't possible, says Vivek Kaul. It isn't desirable, adds Amit Varma. Welcome to episode 1 of Econ Central, a new weekly podcast that looks at India through the lens of economic thinking. Amit and Vivek also discuss parottas, chocolate sandesh and the masterpiece Ghachar Ghochar. Also check out: 1. -- Preview episode of Econ Central. 2. -- Episode 177 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul)). 3. -- Vivek Kaul. 4. -- Vivek Kaul. 5. -- Vivek Kaul. 6. -- Amit Varma. 7. -- Amit Varma. 8. -- Tim Harford. 9. -- Leonard Read. 10. -- Episode 117 of The Seen and the Unseen (w David Boaz) 11. -- David Boaz. 12. -- Aanchal Magazine. 13. -- Episode 3 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Devangshu Datta). 14. -- Episode 28 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vivek Kaul). 15. -- Episode 74 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Shruti Rajagopalan). 16. -- Vivek Shanbhag (translated by Srinath Perur). 17. Lists of suicide prevention helpline numbers: , , . And hey, do also check out Vivek's book, , as well as Amit's online course, .
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Ep 0: Econ Central Kicks Off
06/12/2020
Ep 0: Econ Central Kicks Off
In the preview episode of Econ Central, hosts Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul explain what this new weekly show on economics will cover.
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