Maharani Talks

Mahathi Rangarajan
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Maharani Talks Podcast

A new topic to ponder about with every episode. Hosted, written and produced by journalist Mahathi Rangarajan.

  1. 31 MAR

    E55: Kumi Naidoo - How human rights and climate justice go hand in hand

    My guest this episode is the distinguished Kumi Naidoo - a human rights and climate justice activist. Naidoo first began his journey at the age of 15 fighting against the then apartheid government in South Africa by organising school boycotts. He was arrested several times for civil disobedience and when the government imposed a state of emergency, he was forced to go underground and flee to the UK, where he became a Rhodes scholar. He eventually returned to South Africa in 1990 when Mandela was released from jail, and went onto play a vital role in shaping the then African National Congress. His steadfast work in the human rights and justice sphere led him to become the first person from the global south to head Greenpeace International and later, Secretary General of Amnesty International. From scaling oil rigs to protest against the fossil fuel industry to sitting down with the likes of Tony Blair, Angela Merkel and Putin, Naidoo has become one of the prominent voices in the climate justice movement.  He continues to represent Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity as a Global Ambassador and currently holds the position of Distinguished visiting lecturer at Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.  In this conversation, we discuss the tragic human crisis unfolding in Palestine to climate urgency and how the climate crisis is interlinked with human rights. To learn more about Naidoo's work, please visit: https://www.kuminaidoo.net You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic

    1h 13m

  2. 07/11/2023

    E54: Aashima Dogra, Nandita Jayaraj - How can women in Indian science no longer be the exception but the norm?

    What is it like to be a woman scientist in India? Why don’t we see enough of them? If you’re quick to point the superstar ones, sadly they’re not always the norm. In fact, research has shown that women in academia are expected to be much more competent than their male counterparts to be considered for the same role. It’s this bias that got Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj to start ‘The Life of Science’ web portal to document stories of regular women in science, and the systemic bias they fight in their everyday lives. Having began their journey in 2016, it has now given rise to their book ‘Lab Hopping: A Journey to find India’s Women in Science’. Backed by research, it makes the reader come to terms with unsettling facts plaguing Indian academia, when it comes to gender and caste diversity. In our conversation, we bring some of these issues to light and what can be done to remedy it. To learn more about The Life Of Science or order the book, visit: https://thelifeofscience.com/ You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic

    48 min

  3. 26/07/2023

    E53: Ankush Sabharwal - Are we ready for AI?

    Artificial intelligence or AI is quite the buzzword these days. Many of us would not have missed the news pouring in about AI - sometimes it is promising and at times, it isn’t reassuring. But Ankush Sabharwal, founder and CEO of CoRover, believes AI is more than a buzzword. It is here to stay - simply because an average human is already relying on AI in ways that they don’t realise. CoRover is a platform for conversational AI. The kind of AI Chatbot-as-a-service (CaaS) that we encounter through customer support with organisations. The company is also the brainchild behind AskSarkar, an app that helps citizens better access and resolve issues about government services; behind Indian Railways’ virtual assistant DISHA and also BharatGPT, our own version of ChatGPT that supports 12 Indian languages and over 120 foreign languages. A graduate of BITS Pilani and IIM Calcutta, Sabharwal has over 15+ years experience in the SaaS space and is a member of the invite-only Forbes Technology Council. He has appeared on many media outlets offering his opinion on the fast paced growth of AI. To learn more about CoRover, please visit: https://corover.ai/ You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic If you enjoy this podcast, please consider rating the show.

    35 min

  4. 03/03/2023

    Smish Designs - The Art of Protest

    How often have you shared a digital artwork on social media to simply convey your thoughts on an issue?  The power of digital art to convey dissent or to protest has grown to become one of the most preferred ways to vent frustration or show solidarity. Its creation is not intended to sell (maybe that will soon change), but it does often cause one to react. A reason probably why many of these artists choose to be anonymous. Smish Designs is a digital artist and illustrator whose work is a searing commentary on the socio-political events that happen in our country. Some of her designs have been used during protests such as the Hathras case and anti-CAA. In her first solo exhibition in 2021, Pati, Patni Aur Woke - her designs delved into the injustices often meted out to women in the institution of marriage as Smish asks if marriage is really a safe space for women? But voicing one’s unfiltered opinion always comes at a cost - she has had to deal with threats, trolling, and even Instagram and Twitter taking down her posts.  As she becomes one of the well-known voices in India’s protest art culture, stay tuned to this interesting episode as we talk about her art, staying anonymous, protecting her mental health, the prevalence of protest art in the age of social media, role of artificial intelligence and much more! To learn more about her work, you can check her work on: https://www.instagram.com/smishdesigns/?hl=en You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic

    52 min

  5. 25/10/2022

    Anjali Gopalan - The way forward for the Indian queer community

    In many ways, Anjali Gopalan has been a torchbearer for the LGBTQIA+ community. She started Naz Foundation in 1994 to lead a dedicated fight against HIV/AIDS issues and defend those marginalised due to their sexuality. Naz Foundation is the original petitioner to challenge Section 377 criminalising homosexuality, an archaic law which was struck down by the Supreme Court four years back. Honouring her persistent fight for equality, she has received the Knight of the Legion of Honour, one of the highest honours from the French Government in 2013, shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, named one of Time magazine’s Most Influential People in the World in 2012 and received the Woman Achiever Award from the Indian Government in 2007. Join us as we talk about many issues concerning the queer community such as the ongoing same-sex marriage petitions in the Delhi High Court, expressing gender at work, rainbow washing by corporates and the way forward for the Indian queer community. To learn more about The Naz Foundation, please visit: https://www.nazindia.org/ You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic

    38 min

  6. 18/07/2022

    Chef Thomas Zacharias - Taking the #Indianfoodmovement back to its roots

    The Bombay Canteen is considered as one of the most popular restaurants in the country and its food most sought out. It has been adjudged as The Best Restaurant in India in 2018 by Conde Nast Traveller and was also included in its list of 100 places in the world to eat. And as the restaurant’s former Executive Chef, Thomas Zacharias’ constant innovation of the Indian food became its pièce de résistance.  Through his latest venture, The Locavore, Chef Zacharias is keen to create a community around our rich Indian food legacy and in the process put the spotlight back on the best (and sometimes forgotten) regional dishes and cuisines. He’s among the forefront of people championing the cause of local ingredients and to ultimately, do good through food. This is the 50th episode of Maharani Talks. To learn more about The Locavore, please visit: https://thelocavore.in You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic

    50 min

  7. 06/03/2022

    Dr. Susmita Mohanty - Exploring space missions beyond NASA

    As someone who has a keen interest in space, I’m very excited to finally feature Dr. Susmita Mohanty, spaceship designer and a serial space entrepreneur, who started India’s first private space startup, Earth2Orbit - at a time when the Indian space industry didn’t welcome private players. She had also previously founded MoonFront and LIQUIFER, worked briefly with NASA & Boeing and as a climate activist, visited both the Artic & Antarctica on invitation.  A protégée of Arthur C. Clarke, she has been featured in numerous publications such as Fortune, Vogue and Bloomberg.  Dr. Susmita has now started India’s first space think thank, Spaceport SARABHAI. As ISRO is solidifying its global presence and more private players are coming up in India, she shares interesting insights on how we need to steer the global space narrative to focus on explorations done in the Eastern hemisphere.  You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic If you enjoy this podcast, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It will take only a few moments of your time. https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/maharani-talks/id1514769199

    1h 3m

  8. 03/02/2022

    E48: Raksha Muthukumar - Tech unions keep Big Tech in check

    Tech unions are considered a rarity in Silicon Valley. So, when Google employees announced the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), named after Google’s parent company, it ended up becoming a catalyst for white collar workers to stand up against injustices in the workplace.  Raksha Muthukumar was one of the union’s earliest members and helped in its formation. A GeorgiaTech graduate, during her work stint with Google, she saw the growing discontent among employees over Google’s sexual discrimination practices, which led to the 2018 global walk out by Google employees, and over its ethical use of technology, which saw the forced exit of Dr. Timnit Gebru, a respected figure in ethical practice of AI. In October last year, Raksha was named as one of the 18 tech activists to watch out for by Business Insider, along with the likes of Frances Haugen who exposed Facebook’s algorithm decisions. The union itself has been extensively covered by numerous publications such as Forbes, TechCrunch, and The New York Times. So what did it take to make it happen? You can get in touch with Raksha at https://raksha.gay/ You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/ MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic

    42 min
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About

A new topic to ponder about with every episode. Hosted, written and produced by journalist Mahathi Rangarajan.

Information

  • Creator
    Mahathi Rangarajan
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Maharani Talks

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