This episode of Pursuit of Prosperity explores the world of Food. From the australopithecines which had to spend hours just chewing to today’s high calorie, nutrient rich food which can be consumed in a matter of minutes, we explore the different events that led to this explosion of the availability and variety of food and its consequences. We explore how cooking, packaging and preservation played a role in making this possible. We also look at the consequences of the industrialization of the food industry and the challenges that must be currently encountered.

Timestamps:

1. Food History - Cooking and the evolution of the human brain (00:00)

2. Food Preservation - Historical overview (05:32)

3. Food Preservation & Packaging - The effects of the Napoleonic & World Wars (09:23)

4. Food Packaging - Tetra Pak (15:45)

5. The future of food - Challenges and Solutions (18:14)

6. Sources - (23:28)

Sources for this episode:

Curiosity Stream - The History of Food | The Invention of Cooking | How Highly Processed Foods Liberated 1950s Housewives | National Women's History Museum (womenshistory.org) | Tetra Pak machte ihn zu einem der reichsten Menschen der Welt – ein Nachruf auf Hans Rausing | NZZ | Food in Medieval Times - Melitta Weiss Adamson - Google Books |

About the Podcast:

Pursuit Of Prosperity is a fortnightly podcast following the people and stories behind humanity's relentless pursuit of technological advancement through the ages. Created by Nikhil Nagaraj, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Arnab Das, four technology and podcast enthusiasts, every episode dives into a modern anthropological phenomenon and looks at the breathtaking ideas, lucky coincidences and the passionate people behind its development.

Writers and Producers: Shubham Vyas, Arnab Das, Jishnu Chander and Nikhil Nagaraj

Graphic Design: Mahak Chhajed

Social Media: Tejas Sontakke

This episode of Pursuit of Prosperity explores the world of the 2 most common hot beverages - Coffee and Tea. From the Ethopian plateau in the 9th Century AD to the Opium wars in the 19th Century, we explore the different events that led to the ubiquitousness of these beverages across the world. We explore how these beverages played a role in the creation of the modern world order while also looking at stories associated with them, some fictional and others real. 

Timestamps:

1. Coffee - Origin and Spread across the World (00:00)

2. Coffee brewing -  Techniques and Machines (08:34)

3. Tea - Introduction, Origin and Etymology (13:30)

4. Tea - UK, China and the Opium Wars (19:29)

5. Tea - Boston Tea Party (25:12)

6. End Credits - (28:30)

Sources for this episode:

History of Coffee Brewing | History Cooperative | The History of Coffee (ncausa.org) | History of Coffee: Its Origin and How It Was Discovered (homegrounds.co) | The Origins of Coffee in India – Akara Coffee | 

About the Podcast:

Pursuit Of Prosperity is a fortnightly podcast following the people and stories behind humanity's relentless pursuit of technological advancement through the ages. Created by Nikhil Nagaraj, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Arnab Das, four technology and podcast enthusiasts, every episode dives into a modern anthropological phenomenon and looks at the breathtaking ideas, lucky coincidences and the passionate people behind its development.

Writers and Producers: Arnab Das, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Nikhil Nagaraj

Graphic Design: Mahak Chhajed

Social Media: Tejas Sontakke

This episode of Pursuit of Prosperity explores the world of aviation. From ancient history to the current era of accessible flight, we follow key figures and events that revolutionized the way people travel across the globe.

Timestamps:

1. Mythology, ancient and medieval history (00:00)

2. Wright Brothers and the first viable airplane (10:12)

3. Commercial flight and the Boeing-Airbus duopoly (17:21)

4. Speed, global warming and the future of air travel (25:44)

Sources for this episode:

Startseite - Deutsches Museum (deutsches-museum.de) | National Air and Space Museum (si.edu) | Valmiki-Ramayana-Samhita-Aranyakanda : Vishwas Bhide: Internet Archive |  Valmiki Ramayanam (iitk.ac.in) | Leonardo da Vinci and Flight | 10 Bungled Personal Flight Attempts  | Basic Flight Physics (berkeley.edu) | Royal Aeronautical Society | Heritage | Sir George Cayley (aerosocietyheritage.com) | Sir George Cayley – Making Aviation Practical (centennialofflight.net) | The Pioneers : An Anthology : Sir George Cayley Bt. (1773 - 1857) (monash.edu.au) | The Wright Brothers (si.edu) | Faster, Higher, Farther (wright-brothers.org) | The Early History of Commercial Air Travel - Aviation Oil Outlet | history of flight -| Britannica | Climate change: Should you fly, drive or take the train? - BBC News 

About the Podcast:

Pursuit Of Prosperity is a fortnightly podcast following the people and stories behind humanity's relentless pursuit of technological advancement through the ages. Created by Nikhil Nagaraj, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Arnab Das, four technology and podcast enthusiasts, every episode dives into a modern technological phenomenon and looks at the breathtaking ideas, lucky coincidences and the passionate people behind its development.

Writers and Producers: Arnab Das, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Nikhil Nagaraj

Graphic Design: Mahak Chhajed

Social Media: Shaurya Sahni

This episode of Pursuit of Prosperity explores the internet. From 1960s to the upcoming future of satellite internet, we follow key figures and events that revolutionized the way information was shared across the globe. We experience how the first pieces of current day internet technology was developed under the auspices of the cold war. We look at how Google and Baidu became synonymous with web search. Finally, we tackle satellite internet and its promise to connect the unconnected world.

Sources for this episode:

History of the Web – World Wide Web Foundation | The History of Search Engines (carlhendy.com)| The internet, explained - Vox | A brief history of the early Internet (welcometothejungle.com)| History of Email | The Five Myths of Email | Amara's Law · Shubham Vyas (profvyas.com) | A revealing look at the dot-com bubble of 2000 — and how it shapes our lives today | (ted.com) | 

About the Podcast:

Pursuit Of Prosperity is a fortnightly podcast following the people and stories behind humanity's relentless pursuit of technological advancement through the ages. Created by Nikhil Nagaraj, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Arnab Das, four technology and podcast enthusiasts, every episode dives into a modern technological phenomenon and looks at the breathtaking ideas, lucky coincidences and the passionate people behind its development.

Writers and Producers: Nikhil Nagaraj, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Arnab Das

Graphic Design: Mahak Chhajed

This episode of Pursuit of Prosperity explores space travel. From ancient history to the 21st Century, we follow key figures and events that revolutionized space travel and space technology. We experience how war drives the development of technology. We look at how true genius can open up a hitherto unknown pathway for the entire human race. Finally, we tackle the argument that space travel is a `luxury`.

Sources for this episode:

NASA | How (and Why) SpaceX Will Colonize Mars — Wait But Why | V2: The Nazi rocket that launched the space age - BBC Future | Life in space: Stories from 50 astronauts in their own words - Washington Post | The pale blue dot : short recording | Library of Congress (loc.gov) | Q.3437: CONTRIBUTION OF ANCIENT ASTRONOMERS | Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence | 50 Facts for the 50th Anniversary of the First Man in Space 

About the Podcast:

Pursuit Of Prosperity is a fortnightly podcast following the people and stories behind humanity's relentless pursuit of technological advancement through the ages. Created by Nikhil Nagaraj, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Arnab Das, four technology and podcast enthusiasts, every episode dives into a modern technological phenomenon and looks at the breathtaking ideas, lucky coincidences and the passionate people behind its development.

This episode of Pursuit of Prosperity explores vaccination. From the 18th century to the COVID pandemic, we follow key figures and events that revolutionized vaccine acceptance, delivery and production. We experience what happens when passionate and smart people make it their life's aim to secure the health of their fellow human beings. We look at how true genius can draw incredible insights from mistakes and use it to create something exceptional. Finally, we draw parallels between the current events and historical ones, how humanity has responded to deadly diseases and epidemics. 

Sources for this episode:

About the Podcast:

Pursuit Of Prosperity is a fortnightly podcast following the people and stories behind humanity's relentless pursuit of technological advancement through the ages. Created by Nikhil Nagaraj, Shubham Vyas, Jishnu Chander and Arnab Das, four technology and podcast enthusiasts, every episode dives into a modern technological phenomenon and looks at the breathtaking ideas, lucky coincidences and the passionate people behind its development.