Podcast Episodes

Ever bought a Rs 999 item for Rs 199? Why apps can’t stop using dark patterns

Episode 642

The Indian government is losing patience with consumer-tech platforms using dark patterns or manipulative design tricks.

In late May 2024, Consumer Affairs Minister, Pralhad Joshi, gathered the countr…

Published on 2 weeks ago

How Youtube is challenging Instagram's social commerce dominance

Episode 641

Youtube launched Shopping in India in October 2024, and within a year, 40% of eligible creators adopted it. The platform is betting on high-intent audiences who research before buying—unlike Instagra…

Published on 2 weeks, 1 day ago

Netflix-Paramount, Indigo, and why monopolies should go out of style

Episode 640

In this episode we fill you in on three standout stories from the past week.

First, a deeper look at this year's latest Wealth Inequality Report;

Next, what the Netflix-Paramount fight for Warner Bro…

Published on 2 weeks, 4 days ago

Lenskart succeeded where Zomato, Ola stumbled

Episode 639

Lenskart is now a public company, and its first real market test just arrived. The shares fell a little over 3% on December 8 as the shareholder lock-in expired, putting the company back in the news …

Published on 2 weeks, 5 days ago

India’s innovation engine works. About 5% of the time

Episode 638

India's Atal Incubation Centres promised to be the backbone of government innovation. With 500 crore rupees in initial funding and support from Niti Aayog, these 72 centres were supposed to nurture s…

Published on 2 weeks, 6 days ago

Free cricket was Jio’s big play. It’s also why the maths stopped mathing

Episode 637

Yesterday, the Economic Times reported that JioStar has told the ICC it wants to exit its India media rights deal for cricket events, even with two years still left in the cycle. The company also dou…

Published on 3 weeks ago

How TISS became IIM-lite

Episode 636

Manoj Kumar Tiwari had a tough job: transform the Tata Institute of Social Sciences into something that looks more like a management school. 

In his two year term? Mission accomplished.

TISS now uses t…

Published on 3 weeks, 1 day ago

The stress test that IndiGo failed

Episode 635

IndiGo had one of its worst weeks ever with hundreds of flights cancelled across major airports. New pilot rest rules kicked in on November 1, 2025 and the airline’s tight schedules and lean crew pla…

Published on 3 weeks, 4 days ago

How Physicswallah avoided the typical startup conveyor belt

Episode 634

Physicswallah grew with almost no funding kept most of its ownership and built a huge following around its founder Alakh Pandey. Then it shifted gears and started buying companies expanding offline a…

Published on 3 weeks, 5 days ago

The Government wants to be on your phone. It's not asking nicely

Episode 633

The Indian government quietly mandated that all smartphones sold in the country must come pre-installed with Sanchar Saathi, a state-owned cybersecurity app that users cannot delete or disable.

The ap…

Published on 3 weeks, 6 days ago