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Ep 221: Science and Covid-19

Ep 221: Science and Covid-19

FromThe Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma


Ep 221: Science and Covid-19

FromThe Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

ratings:
Length:
189 minutes
Released:
Apr 18, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

These are difficult times. How do we make sense of what is happening around us? Well, there is science. Anirban Mahapatra joins Amit Varma in episode 221 of The Seen and the Unseen to share his insights on the science of Covid-19 -- and on the state of science and scientific writing in general. Also check out: 1. Covid-19: Separating Fact from Fiction -- Anirban Mahapatra. 2. Anirban Mahapatra on Twitter and Google Scholar. 3. The Age of Pandemics -- Chinmay Tumbe. 4. India's Tryst With Pandemics -- Episode 205 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Chinmay Tumbe). 5. Other episodes of The Seen and the Unseen on the pandemic: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 6. Publish and Perish -- Agnes Callard. 7. The Tragedy of Our Farm Bills -- Episode 211 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ajay Shah). 8. A Scientist in the Kitchen -- Episode 204 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Krish Ashok). 9. Gell-Mann Amnesia. 10. The Prem Panicker Files -- Episode 217 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Prem Panicker). 11. How Zeynep Tufekci Keeps Getting the Big Things Right -- Ben Smith. 12. Zeynep Tufekci's newsletter, Twitter and column archive. 13. Mendelay. 14. Marginal Revolution. 15. Human and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare -- Episode 4 of Brave New World (Vasant Dhar in conversation with Eric Topol.) 16. Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again -- Eric Topol. 17. Calling Bullshit: The Art of Scepticism in a Data-Driven World -- Jevin West and Carl Bergstrom. 18. The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop -- Adam Kucharski. 19. Eric Topol, Dr Angela Rasmussen, Natalie Dean, Carl Bergstrom, Adam Kucharski, Ed Yong, Carl Zimmer, Helen Branswell, News From Science and Nature News & Comment on Twitter. 20. The Nature Newsletter. 21. The Scientist. 22. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark -- Carl Sagan. 23. The World According to Physics -- Jim Al-Khalili. 24. Brian Greene, Michio Kaku and Michael Benton on Amazon. 25. Feeding the Hungry in the Pandemic -- Episode 210 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ruben Mascarenhas). 26. We Are Fighting Two Disasters: Covid-19 and the Indian State -- Amit Varma. 27. A Meditation on Form -- Amit Varma. 28. The Selfish Gene -- Richard Dawkins. 29. Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett on Amazon. 30. Early Indians -- Episode 112 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tony Joseph).  31 Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From -- Tony Joseph. 32. Beware of Quacks. Alternative Medicine is Injurious to Health -- Amit Varma. 33. Self-Esteem (and a Puddle) -- Amit Varma. 34. Unlikely is Inevitable -- Amit Varma.  Please subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter. It’s free! And check out Amit’s online course, The Art of Clear Writing.
Released:
Apr 18, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

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 podcast that aims to examine both the seen and the unseen effects of our actions. Presented by Amit Varma (a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, and winner of the prestigious Bastiat Prize for journalism in 2007 and 2015 -- the only person to win it twice), the show takes on a specific public policy in every episode, and dissects its seen and unseen effects. For example: the ban on surge pricing by Uber in Delhi. What is seen is that Uber no longer costs so much; what is unseen is that you cannot get an Uber at all, because of the scarcity that is a direct result of the price control. The host explains the economic reasoning at work, and talks to an expert who breaks it down further. The host will have a panel of experts at his disposal, from a variety of disciplines, and will speak to a relevant expert in every episode. Subjects covered will range from broad ones like the state of education in India, to narrower ones like the banning of 'victimless crimes' like prostitution and gambling.