Desi Academia Podcast

In this episode of DAP, Megh, Vatsal, Aditya, and friend of the pod Sumaira talk about their post-doctoral lives. In this rant session, we discuss the uniqueness of this title, why this job treats us like trainees, who trains and builds a postdoc, and what there is to build. We also talk about the problems in academia, our backup plans, and much more. Join us for a freewheeling conversation, and if you relate, DM us on our Twitter!

​Recommendations
◦Aditya
▪Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are' - Frans de Waal
▪Attenborough's 100th bday, the Netflix Documentary `Gorilla Story' (not to be confused with Kerala Story)
◦Sumaira
▪Dapaan: Tales from Kashmir's ConflictBook by Ipsita Chakravarty
▪Hari Sarkar Parsai
◦Vatsal
▪Cobalt Red- How the blood of Congo powers our lives
▪Your friends and neighbors
◦Megh
▪The Boys
▪Wildlife trade drives animal-to-human pathogen transmission over 40 years
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw5518?__cf_chl_f_tk=Ss78lNpRMCYFYsv8.XyhEAhkUA5QvUtaw6RPDFRsN6c-1783283683-1.0.1.1-LqKFdHYN6foCerdZg5ipzkl6shAEPdxg.LAP6JAw6oo

In this episode of DAP, Megh and Vatsal are joined by Dr. G. V. Pavan Kumar. Dr. Kumar is a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India. In his own words, he is a student of science, its history, and its philosophy.
In this episode, we talk about a very important and often ignored aspect of science: the philosophy of science. Join us as Dr. Kumar answers our questions about what it entails, why it is essential, what it means to humanize science, and much more.

Dr. Kumar's blog post: https://historyofscience.in/
Podcast: Pratidhavni
https://open.spotify.com/show/14ArkETgfASwpoVXJNFkcF?si=ab835aabe9b5457c
Recommendations:
Pavan
◦Hessen Chang Realism for Realistic people, a paradigm for phil of science
◦Inventing temperature
◦Horizons: global history of science
◦Ram guha’s the cooking of books
◦podcast : History of Philosophy without any gapsMegh
◦Cobra Kai
◦The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell 1857
◦Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction
◦Lingthusiasm Podcast, Episode 109, “On the Nose”
◦The Linguistics Wars Randy A. HarrisVatsal
◦jamhoor.org

We are joined by friend of the pod, Hassaan Saleem as we talk about the anti-SciComm grift economy in the physics and mathematics space, why billionaires need everyone to know that they are mathematics/ physics geniuses, Cosmism and the falsifiability of science. We ask Hassaan why he keeps fighting with people on Twitter, and discuss ways to escape belief systems.

Recommendations:
The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power by Max Chafkin

The works of Andre Grekoff 

The Peter Theil episode from Tech Won’t Save Us

The work of Sonia Contera

Talking to Strangers, Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

Youtube video: “conspiracy physics and you (and also me), Angela Collier, “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miJbW3i9qQc

The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail – But Some Don't,  Nate Silver 

“The Penicillin Myth” https://press.asimov.com/articles/penicillin-myth

Steven Pinker : when everyone knows

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism by Anne Applebaum

Aman Bhargava is a UI/UX designer by training, who found his calling in data visualisation. He works for Revisual Labs,  an information design agency based in India that specialises in data storytelling and design. In today’s episode we talk about his journey from an R stats and plotting class at Shrishti School of Design to building a career creating high-impact data graphs for clients like Reuters and UNHCR, the intersection between data analysis and policy, and what motivates him to seek new projects on the internet. We also discuss the impact AI has had on reducing the entry costs into this field, hallucinations, and what the future holds. Aman also walks us through his recent passion project, “Analyzing Film Censorship in India: CBFC Watch”, and how he was able to go from publicly available information to a searchable, robust and user-friendly dashboard.
Recommendations:
Megh

A Complete Unknown

FOOD, CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN INDIA: Social, Political, Economic and Cultural Perspectives, Edited by Rituparna Patgiri and Gurpinder Singh Lalli

Freakerier Friday

Nehru’s India 

Sounds like a Cult podcast

Vatsal

All Her Fault - show

Aman

Visionscarto - Blog about map visualization.

https://pudding.cool/

https://orangedatamining.com/

Aman’s newsletter, Diagram Chasing, https://diagramchasing.fun/

The Powerbroker

Fall of Civilizations- book/podcast

In this new episode of DAP, Megh and Vatsal are joined by Dr. Robin Sharma. A friend of the pod, Dr. Sharma is a creator of science-based Digital Learning Environments (DLEs). He studies the effects of such DLEs on academic achievement, attitudes, and acceptance. He has more than seven years of professional experience in Ed.Tech. at international non-profits, the video game industry, and of course, academia.
He talks to us about his academic journey that started from a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics to learning science. We also get a quick primer on learning science, DLEs, and what it takes to develop games to aid learning. Join us for an enriching conversation!

Recommendations:
​Megh
◦Book: Rebel with a Cause: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/rebel-with-a-clause-ellen-jovin?variant=43095339040802
◦Movie: Minsara Kanavu “spring mudi”
◦26th Jan parade
◦Boardgames - Through the Ages, John Company, T’zolkin The Mayan Calendar, Indonesia, SplendorRe-recommendation: Pluribus
​Vatsal
◦Movie: Bugonia
​Robin
◦Website: https://chaturbhuj.notion.site/Robin-Sharma-1130d1f78dfe806bb041dd8c97c84bf3
◦The Mathematical Universe - Max Tegmark
◦Explaining Life through Evolution - Prosanta Chakrabarty
◦Game: Assassin Creed* Robin's DLEs can be found here: https://chaturbhuj.notion.site/Learning-Environments-1ef0d1f78dfe80dabfd2d90ff6d822cc