The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

Amit Varma

All Episodes

Apr 10, 2017

Ep. 13: Anti-Defection Law

It is a sad day for any democracy when MPs and MLAs sell themselves to the highest bidder. Horse-trading is monstrous. It was to prevent exactly this that the Anti-Defection Law was passed in 1985. But did it e...

21 mins

Apr 03, 2017

Ep. 12: Futures Markets in Agriculture

For decades now, India has either banned or heavily regulated futures markets in agriculture. The conventional wisdom is that futures markets can turn farmers into gamblers. But what if the Unseen Effect of suc...

17 mins

Mar 27, 2017

Ep. 11: FSI (Floor Space Index)

Mumbai is one of the most expensive cities in the world, and one of the reasons is that there is too little land and too much sky. Alex Tabarrok joins Amit Varma to discuss Mumbai's insanely low Floor Space Ind...

18 mins

Mar 20, 2017

Ep. 10: Digital India

Big Brother is watching you, and you have no protection. There has been much hype about how 'Digital India' will transform our lives, but there are unseen elements to it that should make you worry. Devangshu Da...

28 mins

Mar 13, 2017

Ep. 09: The Profit Motive in Education

Jawaharlal Nehru once said that profit is a 'dirty word'. He wasn't alone in his distrust of the profit motive, which is effectively banned in education in India. Amit Varma chats with education reformer Parth...

27 mins

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