Amit had a minor heart attack recently. As he was put back together, he reflected on how the miraculous technology that was reviving & renewing him was a result of rebels questioning conventional thinking. Indeed, all progress depends upon that.

Welcome to Episode 86 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss some rousing stories of heretics who reshaped the foundational thinking of their fields -- from the pioneers of angiography & angioplasty to underdog Sri Lankan cricketers to an audacious upstart that first disrupted the behemoth of their sector, and then disrupted themselves.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging00:13 Intro: A Life Update13:43 Chapter 1: Rethink the Fundamentals16:18 Chapter 2: Matters of the Heart29:15 Chapter 3: More Matters of the Heart42:37 Chapter 4: Matters of Sport54:20 Chapter 5: Watching Movies1:03:30 Chapter 6: A Personal Story1:10:15 Chapter 7: Closing Thoughts

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Our longest episode so far might also be the most fun. In episode 85 of Everything is Everything, Amit Varma and Ajay Shah tackle a barrage of words & concepts & names thrown at them with responses of Underrated, Overrated or Complicated -- and then they explain why they feel that way.

Enjoy the lively disagreements! :)

For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes,click here.

War has changed. Sometimes, an act of war doesn't seem like war at all. Often it can't be detected, or attributed, or responded to. It's a messy world.

Welcome to Episode 84 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Ajay lays out the many kinds of Hybrid Warfare in this modern world -- and the incentives that drive them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: 'Not in an amorous way' 02:10 Chapter 1: The Middle Zone of Hybrid War 06:51 Chapter 2: The Different Elements of Hybrid Warfare 33:06 Chapter 3: The Incentives 59:15 Chapter 4: Complicating Factors 1:09:41 Chapter 5: The India Story 1:16:06 Chapter 6: How Do We Better?

For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

What is atheism? Is it a belief system? Is it political? Don't we need religion in our lives?

Welcome to Episode 83 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit describes the thought processes that led to him becoming a non-believer -- and busts common myths around atheism.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: Why Atheism? 02:34 Chapter 1: Atheism is Not a Belief But an Absence of Belief 06:24 Chapter 2: Atheist & Agnostic 12:09 Chapter 3: Why Religion Exists 26:51 Chapter 4: New Atheism and the Four Horsemen 38:20 Chapter 5: Closing Thoughts

For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.

A policy that works in one country often cannot simply be transplanted onto another. The invisible infrastructure that is needed to make it work may not exist.

But what is this invisible infrastructure? Why is it invisible? Why do specialists often get it wrong? Why is everything everything?

Welcome to Episode 82 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Ajay elaborates on his frequent exhortation that before we talk about policy, we must consider the invisible infrastructure that will determine its success or failure.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: Finding Life Lessons 01:22 Chapter 1: What is Invisible Infrastructure? 07:21 Chapter 2: A Concrete Example 11:56 Chapter 3: ‘Think of It as an API Call’ 18:53 Chapter 4: One Example – Privacy in India 26:06 Chapter 5: The New York Taxi Driver 29:57 Chapter 6: What is to be Done? 32:37 Chapter 7: Be Wary of Specialisation 41:18 Chapter 8: Everything is Everything 42:23 Chapter 9: Think About Incentives 45:05 Chapter 10: Think Locally 47:29 Chapter 11: Sometimes, We Should Do Nothing 52:39 Chapter 12: Focus on the Foundations 58:05 Chapter 13: An Idea For a Future Episode

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Chess is a beautiful game -- and holds many lessons for life.

A lot happened in chess in 2024: Gukesh Dommaraju won the World Chess Championships, Arjun Erigaisi reached 2809, India won Olympiad golds, Magnus Carlsen threw his weight around -- and there are Life Lessons in it for all of us.

Welcome to Episode 81 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit shares the nuances in the events in chess in 2024 -- and draws timeless learnings from them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: Finding Life Lessons 01:35 Chapter 1: The Last Blunder 13:45 Chapter 2: The Game Outside the Game 25:50 Chapter 3: The Different Journeys of Gukesh and Arjun 42:13 Chapter 4: The Decline of Classical Chess 52:24 Chapter 5: Magnus’s Misbehaviour 1:10:44 Chapter 6: Computers and Coverage 1:14:14 Chapter 7: Sagar and Amruta

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Firms are awesome. So is creative destruction. In a well-functioning market, firms die, new firms are born, there is rebirth and renewal.

For this to play out smoothly, there has to be a good bankruptcy process, so that resources & people are not tied up in unproductive zombie firms.

Welcome to Episode 80 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma & Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Ajay lays out a masterclass on a) how to think about bankruptcy; & b) how bankruptcy happens in practice in India.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: We Love Firms! 00:32 Chapter 1: Creative Destruction 06:27 Chapter 2: What is a Firm? 10:48 Chapter 3: Don’t Be Sentimental 17:59 Chapter 4: Intangible and Tangible Capital 23:47 Chapter 5: The Committee of Creditors 27:18 Chapter 6: What is the Endgame? 31:50 Chapter 7: What is an Ideal Bankruptcy Code? 34:24 Chapter 8: The History of Bankruptcy Law 39:34 Chapter 9: Our Bankruptcy Code in the Real World 46:09 Chapter 10: What Happens to the Promoter? 50:04 Chapter 11: The Role of the Courts 51:12 Chapter 12: A New Regulator 53:57 Chapter 13: The Indian Non-Rule of Law 55:36 Chapter 14: A Useful Framework 1:08:10 Chapter 15: Recommendations

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There is a man who steals the electricity bills of everyone in his apartment block. Why? Can he find love and redemption? Two young Sikhs take a stand defending a bridge. Why? What do they really want? Two great chess players take each other on. Are they playing the game on the board, or some other game? There is a child in the mail. What? A child in the MAIL?

Welcome to Episode 79 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay lay out four more stories that should be films. Great fun -- and much to think about!

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: More Stories! 00:54 Story 1: Collector of Bills 23:04 Story 2: The Khalsa Bridge 38:13 Story 3: Two Chess Stories 48:02 Story 4: Postal Boy

For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, click here.