#3. The Lab Leak Circus

In part A, we debunked the myth of the great Indian middle-class - only 2% come under this category. But does this sobering statistic dismiss all the concerns and complaints of everyone who thinks of themselves as middle class? The economic classification of middle income is different from the layman's definition of middle-class, which is more to do with constraints and aspirations. In part B, we dive deeper into the social, cultural and historical aspects of 'middle-class': What are the legitimate concerns of the self-described middle class and how much of it is a victim complex? Does India run on our taxes?  Are we the first echo chamber of independent India? Recommended reads/videos: Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India | Rukmini S (Book) Does the Indian Middle Class Really Exist? | The Wire (Video) Different faces of India's middle class | Financial Times (Video)

The finance minister of India unveiled the 2022 budget last week and made the entire country middle-class in one stroke if you go by internet reactions. Every year, we all wait for a tax break, and then complain about how we, the middle class has been short-changed once again. But who is middle class? Who is not? In part A of our conversation, we define the middle class, both in terms of numbers and the art of squeezing toothpaste.  Reading material:  China has a larger middle class than India, where most people are low income | Pew Research Center Everyone Thinks They Are Middle Class, New Study Explains Why | Observer Why do so many rich people consider themselves "middle class?" | Vox

The world has changed over the last two years and so did our little worlds. Life used to be a circular commute with some work and fun in between, but not anymore. Join us as we discuss this paradigm shift in our work-life. Is work from home bad for human connections? Or does it let people focus on their lives and real selves? Does the great resignation mean large scale disillusionment or liberation? The dark side of work from home- did we get more cocooned in our gated societies?

The internet was supposed to set the world free, lighting up the darkness with free access to information and knowledge. But instead we get fake news more often than real news, and hate speech instead of free speech.  How did this come about? Is it simply human nature, or the nature of algorithms that run the show? Before you acquiesce to the just announced Facebook meta verse, join us as we delve into the dark algorithms that run our world.  Recommended reading:   https://www.wired.com/story/take-back-your-facebook-news-feed/ https://theprint.in/india/how-facebook-led-a-new-india-user-to-gore-fake-news-in-just-21-days/755765/ https://theprint.in/opinion/why-facebooks-plan-to-rebrand-itself-could-be-a-huge-risk/754139/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/15/1031804/digital-beauty-filters-photoshop-photo-editing-colorism-racism/  Recommended videos: The 60 min interview with Francis Haugen - https://youtu.be/_Lx5VmAdZSI Francis Haugen’s opening statement to congress - https://youtu.be/L3cG3cLXHfk Should you delete your Social Media - https://youtu.be/kc_Jq42Og7Q Social Dilemma - https://youtu.be/7mqR_e2seeM Vice : the Horrors of being a FB moderator -https://youtu.be/cHGbWn6iwHw Tristan Harris: Rethinking FB and Big Tech - https://youtu.be/YruYAnzirxw

In a country of 1.3 billion with a backed-up legal system, justice is patchy and slow. Unless there is media attention, which can often expedite trials and bring down powerful criminals. But has this really led to justice, or merely the appearance of it? Is there a difference? In today's episode, we talk about: What leads to media trials and by extension, social media trials? Legal and regulatory reasons that contribute to the phenomenon Prominent examples - The 2019 Hyderabad encounter case, the recently thrown out Shashi Tharoor/Sunanda Pushkar case, and the biggest media circus in recent history, the Sushant Singh Rajput case Reading material: Rhea Chakraborty’s TV trial for TRPs shows why TRAI should stop fixing channel prices Media Trials in India: A Judicial View to Administration Sushant Singh Rajput death: NCB files criminal case against Rhea Chakraborty for alleged dealings in banned drugs Article 19(1) in The Constitution Of India 1949 Manu Sharma v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2010) 6 SCC 1 Dr. Rajesh Talwar And Another V. Central Bureau Of Investigation

If there was ever a cottage industry in India that exported a valuable product line for generations, it has to be Godmen or Yogis. Fact checking each and every Godman is a futile exercise, but in this episode we cover a few aspects: Why have two Yogis - Sadhguru and Baba Ramdev surpassed all others in recent years? Why do they dabble in politics, subtly or blatantly? What value do people see in their products and services? What do you do when your favorite Yogi talks about politics and science?

A couple of Indian states are planning for a population control bill. Although many critics call it anti-minority, the average person on the street in urban India always thinks of population as the root of all our problem. But how true is this idea? Is that bus you got on crowded because there are too many people, or because there are too few buses and no train? Join us as we delve deeper into:  How are we doing right now with population control?  What are the reasons behind high fertility rate? What happens when you try to control it with strict rules?  Are Indian cities doomed because of over-crowding? Is population control the only answer?  Reading material and sources:  India's population growth chart: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/IND/india/population-growth-rate Bangalore population growth chart: https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/21176/bangalore/population Delhi population growth chart: https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/21228/delhi/population  Why many Indians prefer sons over daughters: https://www.dw.com/en/why-many-indians-prefer-sons-over-daughters/a-42385733  India’s population will peak in the early 2060s at 1.7 billion: https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-india-is-making-progress-in-slowing-its-population-growth  Hindu-Muslim fertility differentials in India: District-level estimates from Census 2011: https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/human-development/hindu-muslim-fertility-differentials-in-india-what-do-district-level-estimates-from-census-2011-tell-us.html  History of India's sterilization drives and family planning: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2014/nov/22/india-sterilisation-camps-family-planning-tragedy  China's one child policy and why it was rolled back: https://www.britannica.com/topic/one-child-policy Why limitations on floors built per square foot of land causes issues: https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/fix-the-issues-that-plague-the-indian-housing-market-ht-analysis/story-EIIkHKBd3Wic1Lni3grrRM.html

COVID-19 has upended everyone's lives. We have lost loved ones and livelihoods. It is natural for people to want answers. How did this happen? Who is responsible? If you ask most people in India, there is an obvious answer - China did it, deliberately or accidentally. The smoking gun is of course that the Wuhan lab is, well, in Wuhan. The truth, which was suppressed earlier is spreading rapidly now, with more and more news outlets covering the lab leak.  But does the truth ever get viral? That would put us out of business.   In episode 3, we dutifully hunt down the lab leak theory and explore how it percolates down to the the average person in India, reading their daily news on WhatsApp or occasionally, a news app.  Reading material Mentioned during conversation  WHO report on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, published March 30, 2021 (pages 111-120)  When Cholera started in the Sundarbans Nature article covering everything from how long it took to trace the origin of SARS (14 years) to why the location of the Wuhan lab is not surprising  Headline Fail - NDTV’s misleading coverage on a report which 'concluded' the virus may have leaked from the Wuhan lab Recommended reads on how the Lab Leak theory has gained ground recently  https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/the-sudden-rise-of-the-coronavirus-lab-leak-theory  https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/covid-wuhan-lab-leak-theory-being-twisted-validate-conspiracy-theories-ncna1272566  Johnny Harris’ recent video on the lab leak theory gaining ground  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/09/leading-biologist-dampens-his-smoking-gun-covid-lab-leak-theory

There was a time when we got vaccinated and never knew the name of the company on the label, and never asked. But today, Covishield vs. Covaxin is like Shah Rukh vs. Amir Khan or Apple vs. Android. To many, criticism of Covaxin is anti-national. For others, Covaxin is as effective as right wing propaganda.  The truth, as usual, is hostage to polarizing narratives and political messaging. A day after Bharat Biotech released Covaxin phase 3 results as a pre-print, with peer review and YouTube comments pending, we delve into the topic. Your hosts: Kanishka Chatterjee (KC) & Sharath C George (SCG).

The internet age was supposed to be a golden age for learning. It is, but it turned out to be fool's gold. The truth is always playing catch up to fake news, but the race isn't lost yet. Seeking truth is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are here to help in that pursuit. This podcast is meant to be your primary care physician, triaging the latest news items to identify what is real and what might be fake. We are not experts, but when needed, we refer you to the experts. In this introductory episode, we talk about the idea behind it. Your hosts: Kanishka Chatterjee (KC) and Sharath C George (SCG) Note: Before launching this podcast, we did a pilot episode on a show linked to Sharath's blog ApatheticIndian.com on the topic of fake news and faith. Link to the blog post, which also has a button to listen to the pilot episode on Spotify: https://apatheticindian.com/2021/04/02/fake-news-faith-passive-and-tail-risks/