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Back in the day while we were roommates in Chennai and Bangalore, we would have many long debates and conversations on the country and the many forces making it what is today. Now, with a pond separating us with Uday in London, and me in Bangalore, we want to continue these conversations, over a podcast so we can have you join in with your views. We intend to come back with an episode as often as we can, the moment we find matters that require pontificating across the pond.
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On May 18, 1974, India conducted a 'peaceful' nuclear explosion - which came on the heels of vivisecting Pakistan. The intervening decades have seen nuclear adventures and misadventures, plans for pre-emptive strikes created and shelved and we ended the millennium with nuclear tests on both sides of the border. India's journey since, has been respo…
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Episode 10 - US Oil's Descent into Anarchy and the Special Forces Debate Rages on
48:24
48:24
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WTI's May Contract exchanged hands at -$37/bbl a day before expiry. Is this indicative of a wider supply glut or do US's unique inland dynamics make this a one-off? More importantly, can India expect to get free oil? The Special Forces debate in India is an old one and re-surfaced when 5 soldiers from the elite 4 Para (SF) lost their lives combatin…
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Episode 9 - A Leadership Crisis During A Crisis
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As the Covid-19 pandemic sweeps across the world - Som and Uday talk about the twin crises of leadership and the pandemic itself. The pain this pandemic has inflicted is not to be trifled with - but when we do come out the other end, what will our relationship with our governments look like? Business as usual or a brave new world?…
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Episode 8 - Houston, we have Modi and a CDS
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"India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi went on a charm offensive in the US. Som and Uday discuss what this means for India's foreign policy, that is, if it means anything at all. But more importantly, how India might be using a civilisational approach to her diaspora. In his Independence speech, Modi also announced the creation of the role of a Chi…
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The Indian government scrapped Article 370, which granted Jammu & Kashmir special status, on 5 August 2019. This historic move has seen many reactions and repucussions - but Som and Uday delve deeper into why the Western press has seen fit to be (intentionally) one sided and omit key facts, why the Kashmiri identity is NOT threatened and how the "K…
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Operation Vijay - the operation to evict Pakistani infiltrators from the commanding heights in Drass, Kargil, Leh and Mushkoh valley was successfully concluded on 26 July 1999. Som and Uday, in this episode, discuss the events leading up to Kargil, but from a Pakistani point of view. India debunked some Pakistani assumptions emphatically - while fa…
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Episode 5 - Breaking down a pivotal budget and the most important company in the world!
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In this episode, Som and Uday delve deeper into the budget - not the 'bahi-khata', but its contents. Uday tries to explain why lowering the fiscal deficit target in a slowing economy is seldom a good move, but with states spending massively and the large off-budget spending, the meaning of the fiscal deficit itself is diluted. Over at the RBI - an …
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Episode 4 - A view of Kashmir and the journey of Political Satire
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In this episode, Som and Uday discuss Kashmir - the past which brought us to the present and what the future holds as Sardar Patel's second coming assumes the Home Affairs portfolio. Political satire has a rich and long history in democracies across the world, but what role does it play when truth becomes the best form of political satire? Uday's w…
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Episode 3 - The AFSOD, the Elections Finale and our Leadership Crisis deep dive.
1:08:00
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In this episode, we talk about the new Armed Forces Special Operations Command (AFSOD) and what it means for our security architecture. Why the high hopes for Modi 2.0 are justified and what economic and social agenda are high priority. Leadership and why oranizations can become rudderless under ineffectual leaders - bonus points for linking this t…
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Episode 2 - Masood Azhar, Indian Web Series and the Elections
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In this episode we break down the Masood Azhar story and it’s impact on India and it’s neighbors, and the world as a whole. We also talk about Indian web series that are piquing our interest and the countdown to the results of India’s most defining elections.
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Pontificating Across The Pond - Ep 1 - Balakot, Elections and Things We Are Watching
1:24:18
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Back in the day while we were roommates in Chennai and Bangalore, we would have many long debates and conversations on the country and the many forces making it what it is today, right from politics to culture to it's history. We used to also have long conversations over many cups of coffee on the many happenings across the world. All in all, it's …
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