The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

Amit Varma

All Episodes

Mar 07, 2017

Ep. 08: The Medical Council of India

Healthcare in India is in a dismal state, and so is the state of medical education. Pavan Srinath joins Amit Varma to discuss the role of the Medical Council of India in this mess. Is it a responsible industry...

21 mins

Feb 28, 2017

Ep. 07: MRP (Maximum Retail Price)

For any shopper in India, there is no acronym as comforting as MRP: Maximum Retail Price. When you see that on any packaged good, you feel assured that you won't be ripped off. But is it really that simple? Pri...

25 mins

Feb 21, 2017

Ep. 06: Surgical Strikes

On September 18, 2016, a group of terrorists attacked an Indian army brigade headquarters near the town of Uri in J&K. Nineteen people died, and there was immense pressure on the Indian government to retaliate....

18 mins

Feb 14, 2017

Ep. 05: This is all because of Rupal Ben

A few years ago, a photo studio in Ahmedabad offered its customers free passport photographs. There was no catch, no small print. It was a free lunch. Amit Varma is joined by Mohit Satyanand, as they explore ho...

12 mins

Feb 07, 2017

Ep. 04: Immigration

In Episode 4 of The Seen and the Unseen, Amit Varma discusses Immigration with Shikha Dalmia. Are the demagogues right about immigration being a bad thing? Do immigrants take jobs away from locals? Are they a s...

33 mins

Jan 31, 2017

Ep. 03: GST (Goods and Services Tax)

There are two kinds of diversity in India, one good, and one not so good. Our greatest strength is our diversity of people and cultures and languages. But one of our great weaknesses is our diversity of taxes,...

31 mins

Jan 24, 2017

Ep. 02: Demonetisation

On November 8, 2016, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi announced that 500- and 100-rupee notes would cease to be legal tender from midnight that day, which removed 86% of the cash from circulation. Demonetis...

39 mins

Jan 17, 2017

Ep. 01: Entry and Exit in Agriculture

India has a panoply of laws that prevent corporations from getting into farming, and which prevent farmers from escaping agriculture, by virtue of not being able to sell their farm land for non-agricultural pur...

20 mins

Dec 30, 2016

Preview - The Seen And the Unseen

All public policies -- indeed, all actions by humans -- have two kinds of effects: the effects that are intended, and visible; and unintended consequences, which are invisible. The Seen and the Unseen is a podc...

5 mins