Everything is Everything

Inflation is a tax on the poor. High and variable inflation can shatter the fine interplay of incentives and information within an economy. And, as Milton Friedman famously said, inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. The state is responsible -- and the central bank's one job should be to keep inflation in check. Thankfully, we got that right with inflation targe

In the last episode, Amit and Ajay spoke about how the state should never mess with the price system. Well, the exchange rate is the most important price -- and the state shouldn't try to control that either! Welcome to Episode 67 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay sheds light on one of his pet peeves -- people's

How do people in society fulfil each other's needs while being self-interested? No human person or committee could coordinate all this -- but the miraculous, decentralised system of prices do exactly this. And when you mess with prices, you harm society. Always. Welcome to Episode 66 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode,

There was a time when India's pensions system grew to become a threat to the country. Then we fixed it -- kinda. And now it's going to hell again. Welcome to Episode 65 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay takes us through the history and evolution of pensions, why the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) was such a cat

The world is at war -- and not all of it is in the obvious ways. There is a war around technology, and using technology, and the US and China are at the heart of it. Welcome to Episode 64 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit discuss the contours of the global tech wars playing out on the geopolitical stage.

We often assume that all knowledge is recorded, and every generation builds on the knowledge of past generations. This is not true. Much knowledge is lost -- and some is regained. Welcome to Episode 63 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss precious knowledge of remarkable things that we lost over tim

In academia and research, the pursuit of knowledge very often culminates in a paper. But even outside that field -- within any field, in fact -- knowledge must be pursued, parsed, processed and put down on paper. Everyone should know how to do this, even if you never want to write a paper in your life. Welcome to Episode 62 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Am

The people who change the world are people who go against the grain. And yet, challenging conventional wisdom, or living an unconventional life, can make you an Outlaw. Welcome to Episode 61 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Amit and Ajay discuss a group of people who were ignored or reviled in their lifetimes -- and

Firms are awesome. They are the source of a country's prosperity. And so, some people make the blunder of assuming that you should run a country like a company. This is a terrible mistake. Welcome to Episode 60 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. For magnificent, detailed, juicy show notes, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠�

Should the state have a role in amplifying innovation? If so, what should it do? Welcome to Episode 59 of Everything is Everything, a weekly podcast hosted by Amit Varma and Ajay Shah. In this episode, Ajay and Amit argue furiously about whether the state should spend its resources trying to make innovation happen. But while they disagree on the Why, they agree on what How and the