In Focus-Parley | Has a weakening of unionisation hurt workers?

In this weekender episode, Adrian Wolfson talks us about his new book titled On the Future of Species. Artificial intelligence, he says, one day, could surpass Darwin’s evolutionary narrative on natural selection, and in this new world, he predicts AI not just editing, but authoring entirely new species using what he calls artificial biological intelligence. While we have managed to piece together the genomes of simple organisms like viruses, we will eventually write out the genome of our own species to help eradicate disease and lengthen our lifespan. Along the way, he says, we could even resurrect the extinct woolly mammoth and the dodo. The book is both dystopian and full of hope. Tune in to know how AI can reshape the future of species. Host: Divya Gandhi Producer: Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Workers in the industrial belts of the NCR region and beyond have been agitating for better wages since February 2026 On April 13, a protest in Noida over salary disparities descended into violence. Around 50 vehicles were burn. Police resorted to lathi-charge. Over 300 workers were arrested. Many are still in jail, and serious charges have been framed against them. Trade union activists have claimed that the workers were demonstrating peacefully and had no incentive to resort to violence. State governments are mandated to revise the minimum wage rate every five years. But the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments hadn’t done so for over 10 years. But now, following the workers’ protests, they have announced modest hikes. What really went down on April 13 in the Noida strike? What has been the on-ground impact of the four new Labour Codes notified by the government? How challenging it is for workers in India to agitate peacefully for their rights? Guest: Shreya Ghosh from the Centre for Struggling Trade Unions (CSTU) Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited and produced by: Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since March, the country has witnessed a number of agitations by workers, particularly by those in manufacturing sector. In the background of these protests for minimum wages, for expansion of social security ambit and against contractualisation of jobs, the role of trade unions have come up for discussion. There have been concerns about the impact of deunionisation on the workers. In this episode of In Focus-Parley, we discuss the issue of deunionisation and woes of workers Guests: Kingshuk Sarkar, Professor and Area Chair for general management and economics, Goa Institute of Management; Fredy K Thazhath, National President, Trade Union Centre of India. Host: Jigeesh AM Producer: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

India now operates the third-largest metro network in the world by length. But can scale alone make a transit system transformative? This episode explores whether the metros across 26 cities are being built to serve the larger needs of urban mobility. We discuss what must align for metro networks to evolve from landmark infrastructure into the preferred, everyday choice for how most people move through their cities — from last-mile connectivity and station area design, to fare policy and unified transport authorities. Further, if all of this can bridge the gap between metro ambition and impact. Guest:  Shalini Sinha, Professor of Faculty Planning at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, and Centre Head of the Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport (CoE-UT) Host: Vibha B. Madhava Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 20 this year, the patent for semaglutide, which is the active ingredient of blockbuster drug Ozempic, expired in India. The country was ready: nearly 40 generics are either in the market now or will be out soon. The story of Ozempic and weight-loss drugs falling under the GLP-1 category, is now a few years old, though studies continue to research how these drug impact the human body. Up until now, its costs had put it out of the reach of most Indians. That has changed now, with the costs of the generics much lower than that of the original. In a country where nearly a quarter of the population is either overweight or obese and where 1 in 10 adults live with diabetes, how is this going to impact obesity and diabetes treatment? And should these drugs be all we rely on? Listen in. Guest: Dr. V. Mohan, chairman, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai Host: Zubeda Hamid Producer: Jude Francis Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CAR-T cell therapy, a breakthrough treatment that has transformed certain cancer outcomes, is now showing early promise in tackling autoimmune diseases. In a recent case in Germany, a patient with multiple severe autoimmune conditions entered treatment-free remission after receiving the therapy, raising fresh questions about its potential beyond cancer. In this episode, we break down how CAR-T works, why autoimmune diseases are so difficult to treat, and whether this approach could offer long-term remission or even a cure. We also look at the risks, costs and what this could mean for patients in India. Host: Reuben Joe Joseph Guest: Roshan Samuel Mathews, PhD candidate, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tamil Nadu is often seen as one of India’s strongest economic performers, recording 7.4% growth in 2025-26, with manufacturing registering real growth rate of 14.74% in 2024-25, well above the national average. Real growth stood at 11.2%, among the highest for major states. Exports have nearly doubled in just four years, and incomes remain among the highest in India. The state is now aiming for a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030, backed by rising incomes, expanding infrastructure, and a welfare model it argues actually drives growth. While unemployment levels have fallen, even as concerns persist around job quality, workforce participation, and potential disruption from automation and AI. There is also an ongoing debate over the fiscal sustainability and economic impact of welfare spending. What is driving Tamil Nadu's growth, and where are the gaps? With Tamil Nadu heading to the polls, we take a deep dive into the state’s economy, its strengths, and the challenges that lie ahead. Guest: J. Jeyaranjan, Vice Chairman of the State Planning Commission Host: Nivedita V Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon came into effect from midnight of April 16, 2026. The truce, announced by US President Donald Trump, could offer some relief to Lebanese civilians who have been facing relentless attacks from Israeli air and ground forces since March. More than 2,100 Lebanese have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2026. The attacks – a combo of air and ground operations -- have injured over 7,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million across Lebanon.  But even as the bombardment continued, with Hezbollah putting up enough resistance to slow Israeli troop advances, Lebanese and Israeli representatives gathered in Washington DC earlier this week for peace talks, and the ceasefire announced by Mr Trump was the outcome. Will it be respected by Israel and the Hezbollah militia, given reports of violations in the early hours of the ceasefire? How will Lebanon disarm Hezbollah – a key demand of the Israelis during the talks? And what is needed for this truce to yield long-term peace?  Guest: Iftikhar Gilani, senior Indian journalist based in Ankara, Turkey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 7, the AI firm Anthropic, which makes the popular Claude product, said that a new model it’s been working on, Mythos, is so powerful at finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities that it would not release it publicly. Instead, the company said, it would share the model with tech firms that make the foundational critical software that are widely used across the economy. The initiative, known as Project Glasswing, has led to cybersecurity concerns at most firms, who must now contend with AI-enabled attackers using so-called “zero-day” exploits which are unknown even to a given piece of software’s developers, and therefore are not patched through software updates. Mythos, Anthropic says, has already found — and enabled patches for — bugs over a decade old in software that has been intensely audited by humans and automated systems millions of times. The Hindu reported last week that the Union government and the Indian IT sector’s main cybersecurity body are both studying the implications of Mythos. Guests: Aseem Jakhar and Sharda Tickoo Host: Aroon Deep Producer: Jude Weston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ashok Vardhan Shetty is one of the three members of the Justice Kurian Joseph Committee, appointed by the DMK government headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to study Union–State relations. The committee recently submitted Part 1 of its report to the Chief Minister, who has since tabled it in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.  Tamil Nadu has historically been very vocal about issues such as decentralisation, state autonomy and federalism. As early as 1969, the late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi appointed the Justice Rajamannar Committee to examine the relationship between the Centre and the States.  Against this backdrop, we speak to Mr. Shetty understand the recommendations and ideas presented in the report.  Guest: Ashok Vardhan Shetty, Fomer IAS, Member of Justice Kurian Joseph High-Level Committe on Union-State Relations  Host: Bhagavathi Sampath K J  Edited and produced by Shiksha Jural Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices