Indicast #252: The solar eclipse saga

President Trump and President Zeleksky, in front of the world media, had a go at each other when they met on February 28th. The shouting match is not what the world needed to see. It could have dire consequences. In India the world of quick commerce has shaken up the kiranas and is now a part of our daily lives. Aditya launches Beacon, a superapp purpose-built for immigrants to Canada. Indicast listeners will get preferential treatment. Listen to find out more.Picture credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

India's young adults are gambling their savings way in the stock markets. Researchers in Japan have figured out a way to regrow teeth. This month also saw the birth of the world's youngest dart champion in Luke Littler, a 17-year-old who has darted his way to the top by beating his peers consistently for the last couple of years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We pay tribute to tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and former Indian prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh who passed away recently. In sports, Dommaraju Gukesh becomes the youngest world Chess champion after beating China's Ding Liren. We talk a bit about our new year resolutions, one among which is to get 50 episodes of Indicast out in 2025. If you have any topics that you think we should cover, please write to us. We are @Indicast on X. Or drop a note to [email protected] credit: National Endowment for the Arts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

India beat South Africa to lift the T20 World Cup. The finals, at Barbados, was a closely fought affair with both sides being on top of the other throughout the match. In India 67 students scored a perfect score in the recent NEET-UG exam to gain entry into medical colleges. Vladamir Putin and Kim Jong Un get chummy. What does this mean to the world order? And a study shows that fish punish their offspring to cooperate in brood care. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gold prices touched a record high last month. We talk about India's fascination with gold. Jim Simons, arguably the world's most successful investor died in May. We talk about his legacy. And in sports, the T20 World Cup has sprung up some upsets. In personal news, Aditya launches a new outfit for those planning to move to Canada. It's called Beacom. Listen to know more and visit mybeacon.ca to know more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

India delivers a shock verdict to the Bharatiya Janata Party during the general elections. Narendra Modi’s BJP has done remarkably well and only lost out on the vote by 0.8 per cent as compared to the previous elections. It’s just that the votes were less effectively distributed. But by not winning the elections with a thumping majority means that the opposition will have a voice in the parliament, always a good sign for a healthy democracy. In sports Sunil Chhetri, the legendary Indian footballer retires. And in the animal kingdom, dice snakes pretend to play dead to detract predators. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does it feel to witness a solar eclipse? Aditya tells us his experience in this podcast where we dig into trivia and history of this beautiful astronomical phenomenon. Bangalore faces a water crisis. How can a country as big as India deal with water shortages? Generative artificial intelligence is and will remain in the spotlight in a year when countries with a collective population of 4bn go to polls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Candidates Tournament is among the world’s most recognised Chess contests. This time round India has as many as five grandmasters competing for the top prize. That’s a big deal given that for around 30 years, it was Vishy Anand, the sole Indian grandmaster who represented India. In politics, “washing machine” trended for a while on Twitter in the context of corruption probes which, the opposition argued, can be washed away if one joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. And in business, Tesla scouts sites in India for a big plant. What does that mean for the giant and for the country? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Florida just passed a bill proposing to ban access to social media for kids under the age of 14. What does social media addiction do to our brains? We talk about the subject which is close to our hearts given that both of us have kids aged ten and five. The great Indian general elections are round the corner. What is the BJP up to? And in the world of cryptosphere, which we barely understand, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former boss of FTX, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, gets 25 years in jail. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the end of an era. Ameen Sayani recently passed away. His voice lives on. In this podcast we talk a bit about how he started in the radio industry and made a mark for himself across four decades. And he is as humble as they come. Fali Nariman, a doyen of law in India also died. And Open AI recently dropped its text to video model called SORA. What does it mean for all of us? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.