The Conversation- by the Contrarian: Recent Episodes
The Conversation- by The Contrarian
Welcome to The Conversation, a podcast where we take issues pervading throughout society and break them down for you to understand. In this podcast, we interview guests from numerous fields and ask them for their insights into issues facing these sectors today. In our 'Backstage' segment, we take these topics and delve into them deeper - providing a platform for you to become a part of 'The Conversation' as well. Our host, Hriday Mehta (Managing Editor) takes us through an intuitive journey into various subjects and gives us a better understanding of the modern world.
Feminism is the overarching ideology that emphasises on the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes - although this term has often been misinterpreted, and has been used for personal gain. The advent of social media has propelled several discourses, and through this podcast - we wish to engage in a fruitful conversation about the need for feminism, as well as deconstruct some of its misnomers such as pseudo-feminism and femvertising.
This episode, serving as a base for more varied and pointed conversations about the notion of equality across culture, corporate setups, and law - will focus on the contextual history of feminism, the waves of feminism and how the term has evolved. Explore the advent of this ideology on our new podcast episode with a very special guest - Ms. Amrita Nair.
Human existence as we know it has made a shift from the physical to the digital realm. We are the only species to have carved out an alternate reality for ourselves. Whether it is shopping, or interacting with friends through social media – all of our activities can take place on the world wide web. With this colony of unique ip addresses and patterns accentuated into society, how do we maintain the same level of security online. Explore the answer to this question on our new podcast with a very special guest and Jai Hind alum, Siddhant Chaterjee.
Fast fashion retailers, by introducing new merchandise almost weekly and deliberately manipulating the supply of merchandise, treat fashion like food that spoils quickly or as has been said in the popular press, “fast fashion retailers treat fashion as produce.” Any industry based on a throwaway culture is bound to generate environmental and social concerns. Along with Sanchayan Banerjee, who has a PhD focusing on Behavioural and experimental economics designed to induce pro-environmental attitudes amongst economic agents and presently is working to extend the theory of Nudge to incorporate an element of reflection in it with an idea of achieving persistent behavioural changes that are ethically aligned with an individual's conscious choice. We aim to understand the reasons behind the increased demand and consumption of fast fashion despite the alarming influences.
part 1 of 2
There are only two things certain in life: death and taxes. Taxes are something that affects all of us but are rarely spoken about and even more seldom understood. In this episode of 'The Conversation' we delve deeper into the Indian tax system. We talk about direct and indirect taxes, the impact progressive taxes have on our economy and the possibility of a flat tax and also discuss how the government can use fiscal policy to alleviate the poor in our economy. The guest, Avni Jain gives us some deep insights into the Indian tax system and the loopholes and problems that currently exist in our system - along with a very convincing argument why people should learn more about taxes in school.
In recent years, there has been a new movement arising in the west called cancel culture. While we have always been taught to learn from the good deeds done by people in the past and not repeat the bad ones, cancel culture really ignores that principle. It lies on the principle that even if the most moral people have committed one sin, they must be ‘cancelled’. Hriday and Pranav discuss how this toxic cancel culture pervades throughout society even reaching historical idols such as Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln, and how this culture of hate and animosity could affect our future. We also discuss the power of a conversation and how the beauty of society is that you can disagree with someone and still respect them.
(This episode is a 2-part episode. Part 2 of 2)
In recent years, there has been a new movement arising in the west called cancel culture. While we have always been taught to learn from the good deeds done by people in the past and not repeat the bad ones, cancel culture really ignores that principle. It lies on the principle that even if the most moral people have committed one sin, they must be ‘cancelled’. Hriday and Pranav discuss how this toxic cancel culture pervades throughout society even reaching historical idols such as Mahatma Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln, and how this culture of hate and animosity could affect our future. We also discuss the power of a conversation and how the beauty of society is that you can disagree with someone and still respect them. (This episode is a 2-part episode. Part 1 of 2.)
On our very first episode, we invite Devika Harlalka, founder of SkillLab and Harvard graduate with a Masters in education - to provide her views on the current education system in India. We discuss the pitfalls of the current education system, and Devika provides her advice to aspiring researchers in the Indian education system. We also talk about haldi milk. So tune into our podcast, because the stains we make to your mind will never leave