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Ep 348: Devangshu Datta Traded His Corduroy Pants

Ep 348: Devangshu Datta Traded His Corduroy Pants

FromThe Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma


Ep 348: Devangshu Datta Traded His Corduroy Pants

FromThe Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit Varma

ratings:
Length:
329 minutes
Released:
Sep 25, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

From Ganja Park in Kolkata to lock-ups in 13 countries, he has travelled the world and lived through mad times. Devangshu Datta joins Amit Varma in episode 348 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss Bengalis who make bombs, Gujaratis who make fetish costumes, his river pirate ancestors and how Only Fans has disrupted Pornhub. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Devangshu Datta on Twitter and Business Standard. 2. Previous (miniature) episodes of The Seen and the Unseen with Devangshu Datta: 1, 2, 3. 3. The Life and Times of Nilanjana Roy — Episode 284 of The Seen and the Unseen. 4. Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India — Akshaya Mukul. 5. The Gita Press and Hindu Nationalism — Episode 139 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Akshaya Mukul). 6. Private Truths, Public Lies — Timur Kuran. 7. Godwin's Law. 8. The End of History? — Francis Fukuyama’s essay. 9. The End of History and the Last Man — Francis Fukuyama’s book. 10. Fixing Indian Education — Episode 185 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Karthik Muralidharan). 11. Our Unlucky Children (2008) — Amit Varma. 12. Aakash Singh Rathore, the Ironman Philosopher — Episode 340 of The Seen and the Unseen. 13. The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama -- David Remnick. 14. VP Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India — Narayani Basu. 15. India’s Greatest Civil Servant — Episode 167 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Narayani Basu, on VP Menon). 16. 'How big is your Madhya Pradesh?' -- Mamata Banerjee asks a party worker to lose weight. 17. Patriots, Poets and Prisoners: Selections from Ramananda Chatterjee's The Modern Review, 1907-1947 -- Edited by Anikendra Sen, Devangshu Datta and Nilanjana S Roy. 18. The State of Indian Sport — Episode 238 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Joy Bhattacharjya & Nandan Kamath). 19. Early Indians -- Tony Joseph. 20. Early Indians — Episode 112 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Tony Joseph). 21. All Quiet on the Western Front -- Erich Maria Remarque. 22. The Dosadi Experiment (featuring Jorj X. McKie) -- Frank Herbert. 23. A Deep Dive Into Ukraine vs Russia -- Episode 335 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ajay Shah). 24. Lost Victories -- Erich von Manstein. 25. Basic Chess Endings -- Reuben Fine. 26. The Tamilian Gentleman Who Took on the World — Amit Varma. 27. The New World Upon Us -- Amit Varma on Alpha Zero. 28. Alpha Zero -- Episode 51 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Devangshu Datta). 29. Google’s AlphaZero Destroys Stockfish In 100-Game Match — Mike Klein (with Peter Heine Nielson's quote on a superior species playing chess). 30. Skynet (Terminator). 31. Neuromancer -- William Gibson. 32. Snow Crash --  Neal Stephenson. 33. Why Children Labour (2007) — Amit Varma. 34. The Poetic Feminism of Paromita Vohra — Episode 339 of The Seen and the Unseen. 35. Satisfaction: The Art of the Female Orgasm -- Kim Cattrall and Mark Levinson. 36. Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones. 37. The Matunga Racket (2007) -- Amit Varma. 38. Colleen Hoover on Amazon, Instagram, Wikipedia and her own website. 39. The Business of Books — Episode 150 of The Seen and the Unseen (w VK Karthika). 40. New in Chess. 41. Amartya Ghosh on Spotify. 42. The Universe of Chuck Gopal — Episode 258 of The Seen and the Unseen. 43. 'Wet Streets Cause Rain' -- Michael Crichton explains Gell-Mann Amnesia. 44. How to generate black money in India (2013) -- TEDx Talk by Devangshu Datta. 45. Poker and Stock Markets — Episode 47 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Mohit Satyanand). 46. Once Upon a Prime -- Sarah Hart. 47. Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe on Amazon. 48. Professor Moriarty. 49. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time -- Mark Haddon. 50. A Gentleman in Moscow -- Amor Towles. 51. NK Jemisin and Ursula K Le Guin on Amazon. 52. The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 -- Antony Beevor. 53. The Spanish Civil War (playlist with all six parts of the docu-series). 54. The Sandman on Netflix. 55. The Sandman -- Neil Gaiman. 56. The Life and Games of
Released:
Sep 25, 2023
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.