How would NISAR expand our understanding of the Earth?

On July 30, the India-US space collaboration crossed a historic milestone with the successful launch of NISAR, or the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, a flagship earth observation mission jointly developed by the two nations’ space programmes. It is the first satellite to use radars of two frequencies — the L-band radar by NASA and the S-band radar by ISRO — to continuously monitor the earth’s surface. NISAR is expected to provide unprecedented data on land deformation, ice-sheet dynamics, forest biomass, and natural disasters like earthquakes and floods. With its high-resolution, all-weather, day-night imaging capabilities, NISAR aims to enhance climate resilience, agricultural monitoring, and disaster response. Beyond science, NISAR also holds commercial promise to enable new data services, geospatial analytics, and early-warning systems across sectors such as insurance, infrastructure, and agriculture.  Guest: Dr. Karen  St. Germain, director of the Earth Science Division at the Science Mission Directorate at NASA  Hosts:  Mukunth V, Deputy Science Editor, The Hindu  Kunal Shankar, Deputy Business Editor, The Hindu  Video edited by Shivaraj S  Audio edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Richter scale is used to measure the strength of an earthquake. Theoretically, the maximum reading that’s possible is 10. The most powerful quake ever recorded was 9.5, which happened in Chile in 1960. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami for instance, was caused by a quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, and it led to the death of 228,000 people. The 2011 Tohoku quake in Japan measured 9 on the Richter scale – it caused the Fukushima nuclear accident, and led to more than 19,500 deaths.  On July 30, the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 – not far behind the deadly quakes of 2004 and 2011. It is the sixth most powerful quake ever recorded. It led to tsunami alerts in a dozen countries. But amazingly, and fortunately, for such a powerful quake, there were zero casualties.  Kamchatka is on the Circum-Pacific seismic belt or the so-called ‘Ring of Fire,’ and is prone to seismic activity. So how did the region escape such a major earthquake with no casualties?  Guest: Christina Malyk, special correspondent with Sputnik, based in Moscow.  Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu  Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Note: The term ‘Richter scale’ used in the podcast and in the note above is meant to denote the strength of the quake on the moment magnitude scale, and not the Richter scale, which is no longer in use. The Kamchatka quake measured 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale. The term Richter scale remains a familiar one for the public and is frequently used but is technically incorrect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 23, 2025, announced countries and territories are obligated to combat climate change through efforts to the best of their capabilities. Climate change poses an “urgent and existential threat,” the court said. It held that climate action is not based on any one law but is rather a mix of international law provisions like the UN charter, and international treaties like the Kyoto Protocol, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Paris Agreement, among others, and that they should influence the actions that member states take to protect the environment. The Court also ruled that countries bear the responsibility of protecting the earth’s climate systems, reduce emissions and limit global warming.Several countries have hailed the Court’s decision,  saying that it adds heft to humanity's fight against climate change. The ruling hits all the right notes - it places human rights at the forefront of the fight against global warming. But, is it merely symbolic, given it is an advisory opinion and not enforceable? Guest: Dr. Vaibhav Chaturvedi, The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) Host: Nivedita V Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast episode features interviews with the four journalists behind Taking on the Heat, a data-driven story on heat stress in Chennai. The story follows the daily experiences of four working-class individuals with varying levels of exposure to direct sunlight. Each participant was equipped with a device that recorded temperature and humidity data throughout their workday.   The analysis sheds light not only on their exposure to heat but also on how they manage it—and what kind of support the State could offer to ease their burden.  Guests: Vasudevan Mukunth, Nitika Francis, Srinivasan Ramani, and Areena Arora  Host: Vignesh Radhakrishnan  Camera: Shivaraj S, Thamodharan B, and Kailas Krishna Editing: Shivaraj S and Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Produced by: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly all of us have seen an instance of it: a child working at a streetside tea shop, begging at a traffic light or perhaps even as a domestic help at some homes. Not many of us realise perhaps that a large number of these children are trafficked: taken away from their families and forced into exploitative, abusive labour. July 30 is observed as the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. In today’s podcast, we are joined by Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of the organisation Just Rights for Children and a child rights activist to talk about the scope of the problem in India, the government’s response and most importantly, what more needs to be done, to protect every child in our land. Guest: Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children and Child Rights Activist Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than a year ago, on options expiry days, which are trading sessions when bets are settled, Mayank Bansal began to notice something odd. Prices were moving just before the close in ways that felt too precise. Someone was winning too perfectly. Mayank, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based hedge fund manager, had spent years studying options — cheap, high-risk contracts that let you bet on where markets will go. If you're right, the profits can be huge. If you're wrong, which is what most retail investors are, you lose everything. A U.S. court case would later point to Jane Street — one of the world’s most powerful proprietary trading firms, which means it trades using its own money, not clients’. Known for its lightning-fast algorithms and puzzle-solving traders, Jane Street had made over $4 billion in India in just two years. India’s market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) says Jane Street placed large trades in a few key stocks just before the market closed. These trades pushed the index in just the right direction to make their options bets pay off, a tactic that SEBI calls a “well-planned and sinister” scheme. Jane Street denies any wrongdoing. In this episode, Mayank tells us what he saw and why it raises serious questions about who really wins in India’s booming options market. Guest: Mayank Bansal, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based hedge fund manager Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Produced by Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 11, the upcoming 2025–26 season of the Indian Super League was abruptly put on hold by its organiser, Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), citing uncertainty over the Master Rights Agreement with the AIFF. This unprecedented move has left players, clubs and fans in limbo, and raises fresh questions about the governance and sustainability of Indian football’s top-tier league. What exactly is behind this standoff? Does it signal deeper structural issues in Indian football? And how is the Indian football ecosystem affected by this? Guest: Amitabha Das Sharma from The Hindu's sports bureau Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2016, Tesla began taking preorders from Indian customers with no timeline for delivery. Now, nine years later, it’s officially arrived — but much has changed. The Indian EV space is more competitive, homegrown players like Tata and global brands like BYD have made inroads and import duties remain steep. And in the premium segment that Tesla is targeting, it’s not the first mover. German brands like Mercedes, BMW and Audi have been here for years. What took Tesla so long? Why did early adopters like Vishal Gondal cancel their bookings? And is India ready — in terms of infrastructure, pricing and policy — for what Tesla offers? Guest: Vishal Gondal, tech entrepreneur and early Tesla hopeful Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran Produced and edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The buzzword of late, has been wellness. Wellness in mind and body is something all of us strive for. But wellness has also become an entire industry in itself – with products, services and clinics all claiming to offer it in different forms. The nutraceuticals industry for instance, is growing rapidly, projected to be worth 64 billion dollars by 2030, while aesthetic medicine is projected to triple its value by 2029. From protein powders to supplements, anti-ageing lotions to treatments at wellness lounges, there is no dearth of offerings and advertisements. But how safe are these products and procedures? Do what they claim in their advertisements match what offer in reality? What goes into these products and who regulates them? Guest: Prashant Reddy Co-author, Truth Pill: Myth of Drug Regulation Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the Union Education Ministry, Indian universities have achieved their best-ever performance in the World University Rankings 2026. The rankings are done by a British company, Quacquarelli Symonds, also known as QS.  The new QS rankings feature a total of 54 Indian universities, which makes India the 4th most represented country, with only the US (192), the UK (90) and China (72) having more universities ranked than India. Among Indian universities, 48% have also  improved their rankings compared to the previous year, with six featuring in the top 250. IIT, Delhi is the highest ranked Indian university in the list, coming in at #123.  The government has claimed that the numbers indicate a revolutionary transformation of India’s educational landscape.  How exactly are the QS rankings arrived at? What idea of the university is being evaluated in these rankings? Are the metrics relevant to the Indian context and Indian students?  Guest: Professor Anita Rampal, former Dean, Faculty of Education, at Delhi University. Anita, welcome to the pod.  Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu  Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices