Firms are awesome. So is creative destruction. In a well-functioning market, firms die, new firms are born, there is rebirth and renewal.

For this to play out smoothly, there has to be a good bankruptcy process, so that resources & people are not tied up in unproductive zombie firms.

Welcome to Episode 80 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma & Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Ajay lays out a masterclass on a) how to think about bankruptcy; & b) how bankruptcy happens in practice in India.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: We Love Firms! 00:32 Chapter 1: Creative Destruction 06:27 Chapter 2: What is a Firm? 10:48 Chapter 3: Don’t Be Sentimental 17:59 Chapter 4: Intangible and Tangible Capital 23:47 Chapter 5: The Committee of Creditors 27:18 Chapter 6: What is the Endgame? 31:50 Chapter 7: What is an Ideal Bankruptcy Code? 34:24 Chapter 8: The History of Bankruptcy Law 39:34 Chapter 9: Our Bankruptcy Code in the Real World 46:09 Chapter 10: What Happens to the Promoter? 50:04 Chapter 11: The Role of the Courts 51:12 Chapter 12: A New Regulator 53:57 Chapter 13: The Indian Non-Rule of Law 55:36 Chapter 14: A Useful Framework 1:08:10 Chapter 15: Recommendations

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There is a man who steals the electricity bills of everyone in his apartment block. Why? Can he find love and redemption? Two young Sikhs take a stand defending a bridge. Why? What do they really want? Two great chess players take each other on. Are they playing the game on the board, or some other game? There is a child in the mail. What? A child in the MAIL?

Welcome to Episode 79 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay lay out four more stories that should be films. Great fun -- and much to think about!

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: More Stories! 00:54 Story 1: Collector of Bills 23:04 Story 2: The Khalsa Bridge 38:13 Story 3: Two Chess Stories 48:02 Story 4: Postal Boy

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Nuclear power has been given a bad name. It is the safest form of energy, and a huge leap forward in solving for climate change. What's more, with small modular reactors becoming feasible, it may end up being far cheaper than it used to be as well.

Welcome to Episode 78 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay put forward the case for nuclear electricity -- and Ajay describes in detail how India should think about it. They allay all the typical fears -- and then make a case for freedom, not for action.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: What's in a Name? 00:50 Chapter 1: The Broad Case for Nuclear Energy 04:15 Chapter 2: A Historical Perspective: Why Nuclear Stumbled 09:06 Chapter 3: Let’s Talk About Safety 18:29 Chapter 4: Small Modular Reactors 30:33 Chapter 5: The Indian Story 37:27 Chapter 6: Our Nuclear Energy Dream 40:50 Chapter 7: The Five Conditions for Success 49:20 Chapter 8: An Argument for Freedom 52:09 Chapter 9: Recommendations

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Many of the objects we grew up with have disappeared with time -- and overall, progress is a damn good thing. But many of these lost objects also represent a different way of doing things and of living life, and some of that would have been worth holding on to.

Welcome to Episode 77 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay share objects from their past -- and what they represented then and mean now.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: What's in the Bag? 06:33 Chapter 1: Mixtapes 12:01 Chapter 2: Letters by Hand 22:02 Chapter 3: Playboy 26:45 Chapter 4: Diary 31:06 Chapter 5: Old Books 33:52 Chapter 6: Address Book 39:20 Chapter 7: Filofax and Recipes 43:10 Chapter 8: Visiting Cards 45:09 Chapter 9: STD Booths 50:34 Chapter 10: Maps 53:10 Chapter 11: Landline Phones 57:37 Chapter 12: Cash

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Hinduism contains multitudes -- and is contained by multitudes. Any simple story you tell about it is bound to be false.

Welcome to Episode 76 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay put together a potted history of Hinduism that goes beyond simple narratives and acknowledges its complexity. They also try to make sense of the historical circumstances and incentives that shaped it.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: Not a Name, But a River 03:32 Chapter 1: The Early History 17:09 Chapter 2: The Role of Religion 20:07 Chapter 3: The Puranic Period 29:35 Chapter 4: The Arrival of Islam 34:43 Chapter 5: The Open-Source Epics 37:56 Chapter 6: The Missionaries 46:20 Chapter 7: Colonialism 52:18 Chapter 8: The Movements Within Hinduism 58:14 Chapter 9: Arriving at Hindutva 1:05:43 Chapter 10: The Question of Caste 1:11:09 Chapter 11: Hinduism Today 1:14:45 Chapter 12: Recommendations

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The study of humanity is the study of humanity. Everything is everything. And yet, different disciplines of study have imprisoned themselves in silos, refusing to learn from each other.

Welcome to Episode 75 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss a great paper from Biju Rao that talks about what economists can learn from anthropologists and sociologists -- and how only a multidisciplinary approach can reveal the world.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: How We Read and Why 09:08 Chapter 1: Economics, Anthropology, Sociology: The Sad Divergence 18:01 Chapter 2: Cognitive Empathy 22:43 Chapter 3: The Importance of Words 24:27 Chapter 4: Process Matters 26:22 Chapter 5: The Power of Participation 28:32 Chapter 6: The Incentives Within Academia 49:06 Chapter 7: Learn the Thumri 54:12 Chapter 8: Recommendations

For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Which Indian hasn't experienced a KYC nightmare? And yet, we have normalised it. We should instead fight it. India's KYC is not just the worst such measure in the world, it is also an infringement on our rights.

Welcome to Episode 74 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: Kaagaz Dikhaao! 00:50 Chapter 1: The Curious Tale of Lal Bihari Mritak 04:55 Chapter 2: The Nightmare of KYC 09:26 Chapter 3: The Importance of Financial Privacy 21:24 Chapter 4: The History of KYC 34:02 Chapter 5: Why India Has the Worst KYC 38:58 Chapter 6: Why Aadhaar Didn’t Solve This 41:55 Chapter 7: Don’t Take Blindly From the USA 44:29 Chapter 8: Recommendations

Should alcohol be banned? What about recreational drugs? Gambling? Hate speech?

You may disapprove of certain things, but if they do not infringe anyone's rights, then turning them into crimes tends to backfire. We should think hard about what we classify as crimes -- and also examine our own morality.

Welcome to Episode 73 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00 Packaging 00:13 Intro: How Do We Wow Them Today? 01:02 Chapter 1: What Are Victimless Crimes? 03:47 Chapter 2: Why We Should Not Punish Victimless Crimes 07:10 Chapter 3: Alcohol 14:19 Chapter 4: Drugs 20:32 Chapter 5: Gambling 25:03 Chapter 6: Prostitution 30:30 Chapter 7: Homosexuality 34:37 Chapter 8: Self-Harm 39:10 Chapter 9: Hate Speech 40:47 Chapter 10: The German Cannibal and our Moral Intuitions 47:36 Chapter 11: State Capability 58:31 Chapter 12: Recommendations

For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.