20ish

In this episode we discussed about the deadly Pegasus attack in which more than fifty thousand numbers have been affected worldwide according to the Guardian and Washington post. India offers  right to privacy guaranteed under article 21 of Indian constitution and this fundamental rights of the citizens are compromised due to Pegasus attack.

This act of the government is highly criticized and condemned as spying on the journalists and members of opposition is indeed a mockery of democracy.

Even the debate regarding banning this kind of spying software have significantly emerged but we conversed how such an act can be disastrous.

Keeping in mind that this kind of software are a necessary evil, the government should structure the process through which this can be utilized in an ethical way and the government should also bear in mind that the trust of the people is basic component of the power they enjoy.

The ideals of the nation should never be compromised in any circumstances.

Furthermore, Israel has formed a committee to review NSO.

In this episode we discussed about the diplomacy in ancient India. Most of us think that diplomacy as a practice started after the Westphalia treaty which is undoubtedly true, but some practices similar to modern day diplomacy cease to exist in ancient India. The first ever Greek ambassador to India was Megasthenes. He was appointed as ambassador after Chandra Gupta Maurya defeated Selecus Nicator (Greek governor left by Alexander). Megasthenes stayed in India for 7 years and wrote about Indian culture, history and society at that time in a book named Indica. The soft power of Indian kings increased manifold in Gupta empire and they use to send brahmans to china as ambassador. 3 ambassadors were sent by the tang dynasty during the reign of Harshvardhana. Wang Xuance is considered as the official diplomat of Tang dynasty sent to the court of post Mauryan king. Even during the time of Ashoka India had diplomatic relations with present day Sri Lanka. The diplomatic relations of India and south east Asia was at its peak during the 11th century CE. The Cholas are also famous for their democratic village assemblies.  We also conversed a bit about the republican set up of Licchavis.

In this episode we talked about how US companies are licking the leg of Chinese authorities in order to survive and thrive in China.

Reasons behind their inclination towards China

China offers much lesser corporate taxes than most of the other developing nations including India, brazil, Mexico and other South American countries. The other major reason is its ease of doing business and infrastructure which cut logistics cost of these companies.

Additionally, China being a communist regime does not back their employees from being exploited by these western companies which adds as an advantage for them.  The most debated 996 culture still exist in china. 

The business environment in china is very much linked with "good relations with the government" without which it is impossible to operate in Chinese land.

We also discussed about how India should take advantage of these western companies shift from china to other developing countries. India should work on simplifying tax systems and also reduce the tax rates so that foreign companies are lurked towards India. We understand the need of "Aatmanirbhar bharat" but we also need the FDI in order to grow.

We wrapped up this episode by talking about the china's method of development and how it is flawed.

Musk's tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1410413958805270533?s=20

Apt reply: https://twitter.com/gladstein/status/1410424227946139648?s=20

NY Times article on Apple: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html

Bloomberg article on Tesla: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-13/china-loves-elon-musk-and-tesla-tsla-how-long-will-that-last

In this episode we discussed about the role of USA in both the world wars also how the great depression was a blessing in disguise for them, additionally how USA was the sole victor in the end. We also tried analysing its route through which it can remain a superpower and its major interest in the world affairs as a peace broker. Most countries are of the thought that imitating USA will make them a superpower too but we tried bursting this bubble. India itself tried imitating soviet union and USA at some point of time but in vain. We concluded by discussing its current agenda of decreasing china's influence in the Indo-pacific region and how groups like QUAD can be US's only chance at curbing China.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/TCOXNPODEaI

Everything you need to know about Quad: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4aS1zI298w93oBDwxzM2cZ?si=38029ca6050e4858

0:00- Intro 

0:50- US role in WW1 

01:02- Supplying Grains, oil, weapons to France, UK 

02:14- US during the WW1 03:07- Great depression 

05:40- Laissez Faire State 06:42: Roosevelt Vs Wilson 

08:10- Summary of How USA fared in WW1 

09:18- Post WW1 and in WW2 

10:18- Declining Europe 

11:18- How countries came out of Financial crisis after WW2 

12:28- How USA came out of their financial crisis 

14:34- Summary of How USA fared during WW2 

16:04- Post WW2 and Cold war period 

16:27- How USA unified Europe against USSR under NATO 

17:05- USA's high military budget helped it be a Superpower 

19:19- Science and Technology spending of USA 

19:40- Freedom of Speech 

21:00- How it wants to be a superpower 

21:15: dominating South Korea and Japan 

22:09- Meddling in Middle East 

22:55: Afghanistan 

23:44- Fighting China under QUAD 

28:00- Fighting Russia 

31:31: Main motto of USA 

31:46- Why they fight Communism 

33:10- How communism is schooled among Americans 

34:01- Stalin's communism 

37:11- Should India follow USA to become a superpower 

43:17- Sell Weapons not solve problems 

44:08- Meddle with affairs of oil producing countries 

44:26: To remain a superpower 

45:42- Outro

In this episode we have discussed the much hyped IT laws which was recently amended by the government of India. The amendment is widely criticized for robing Indian citizens of their fundamental right:  freedom of speech and expression mentioned in Article 19 (1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. We have discussed the shortcomings as well as suggestions that might weigh down the demerits.

Also we provided our views why we consider the new rules and regulation regarding the OTT platforms was the need of the hour. The increased use of foul language and explicit scenes in web series and shows premiered on OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and others have distorted the perceptions of the youth. India is believed to be the country of moral values and ethics and thus it is our responsibility to keep this heritage alive.

Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmBlwJxYFjVR6JqdLIve2Kg

20ish podcast focuses on Geopolitical issues from Indian perspective. There are a lot happening in the world. We try to form opinion of it but do it too early. 20ish helps you see through all the facts and then come to a conclusion.  

Also we believe to contribute towards India's soft power, citizens should take steps before the government. There are negligible podcast talking of Indian stance on Geopolitical issues. This podcast solves it.  

In this episode, the hosts talk of how Bitcoin became El Salvador's currency. There has been a change in Israeli government too with Naftali Bennett in power now.  How will all this effect India? Listen to this episode and find it out yourselves.

International media sells the negative side of India. It is now just serving one side of the agenda. We talked of many such small incidents and how it effects in the longer run.

Welcome to 20ish, an international relations podcast for the millennials focusing on the geopolitical issues concerning India.

Every Friday @ 9 PM

Skandh talks about Bollywood. How Bollywood can transform India's image in the world? It is the world of soft powers with Japan and South Korea being the biggest example. It is about time they realise how they can make India a soft power via their movies. They need to be relevant and as audience we need to stop idolising them.  Salman khan and Shah rukh khan are the people why we are not progressing. They show entrepreneurs as evils and make movies like Radhe and Raees. It doesn't improve one at all rather degrades them.  Also shows like Bigg Boss take recognition and credits. All it does is make people talk about other people and that too in a  mediocre way. Indian audience can't be intelligent intellectually because of this. Shows like Shark Tank should be getting this recognition because Indian entrepreneurs always stay behind limelight. They deserve a lot.  Thanks for watching. Check us out on YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmBlwJxY...​Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2MprO0O...​ 00:00​ intro 02:35​ Radhe trailer reaction and typical Salman khan movies 04:20​ Commercial Vs Art movies in Bollywood 05:06​ The concept of soft power 06:40​ Indian actors need to do method acting 10:07​ Types of movies matter! 11:36​ India is the IT superpower 15:07​ Movies and actors should be relevant 18:50​ stop idolizing 24:10​ Bollywood portrays entrepreneurship as an evil 29:35​- outro

Watch here https://youtu.be/KykLw3iZVSE

Net zero emissions 

Is it worth giving up development for net zero emissions especially for countries like india,  African countries,  etc 

Most importantly how USA and European Union Countries deteriorate environment in the name of development. 

Then there are countries like Brazil not doing anything for meeting the targets 

Countries like Russia is gaining from climate change 

Countries like india and Indonesia are not 

Is this worth for india to join this net zero carbon emissions target