The Point Blank Show

Devdutt Pattnaik probably has one of the most unique designations that one might come across. He is the Chief Belief Officer at Future Group of Big Bazaar and Pantaloon fame. Devdutt, a student of mythology, has several books to his name and writes several mythology related columns in newspapers. In this point blank, we talk about mythology, its relevance and what one can learn from it. Devdutt presents some very interesting thoughts about mythology that I grew up believing to be true, about preserving heritage structures and how to interpret mythology.

Indicast got a chance to catch up with Sanjay Manjrekar, a technically sound batsmen who doesnt believe in the significance to technique in cricket. We start the conversation talking about about the on field energy during the 1996 India-Pakistan World Cup match and then move on to other topics like why Indians struggled in fielding, his career as a commentator and then his passion for singing. He also talked about his grossly misunderstood article about Sachin Tendulkar, his thoughts about Azharuddin getting into politics as well as the match fixing scandal.

Its a tough gig... to work for one of the most acclaimed publications of the century during the day time, work everyday independently towards writing a book in a half lotus position, research like hell so as to get all the facts and the perspectives right, update a book blog almost daily, then come home late at night to crash on the bed! Andreas Kluth, the humble tech correspondent from The Economist joins us to talk about Hannibal, the Carthaginian general from about 200 BC who marched with an army of elephants over the Alps, defeated the Romans over and over again, but his life ended with an anti-climax; he lost everything and committed suicide! In his book, Andreas intends to draw parallels between Hannibals life and that of our contemperories like Steve Jobs, Al Gore,and may be even Heath Ledger! No, you wont find it in the Self Help aisle of your book store. In this podcast Andreas shares all his views on this very eventful journey of writing his first book which is slate to come out sometime in 2009.

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Prof Kanu Doshi is back. This time he fires away on Indias convoluted tax structure in a user friendly manner that makes a technical subject like taxation lnteresting and entertaining. All our finance ministers from Chanakya to Chidambaram have steered India through a very eventful journey in the field of taxation and Kanu bhai pulls out fascinating anecdotes from his hat to take us through this ride. Hope you enjoy it!

It is said that having a good conversation is one of the great joys of being human. When Zanny Minton Beddoes, the Economics Editor of The Economist ruthlessly dismembers jargons like foreclosures, sub prime crisis, inter bank rates, etc, all I can say is that I enjoyed every bit of it. Economics is a fascinating field and Zanny makes it palatable for all of us who do not have a background in the subject. In the first few minutes, she lays a solid foundation giving us the whole build up to the current situation in the US followed by where she thinks it will all culminate into. All this and much more in these 30 minutes that Zanny squeezed in from her busy day which she attributes to America facing pretty interesting times. Presenting to you, economics for the common man.

It has been a roller coaster ride for the equity markets over the last few months. From being one of the best investment options, the global markets have fallen to new lows. Recession fears in the US have knocked down stock prices from their high pedestal. But how does one define a recession, and what is its impact on the common man? Can the genesis of this slow down be attributed to a particular event? And more importantly where is all this leading to? Philip Coggan, the Capital Markets editor at The Economist unravels the answers to these questions in this episode of the Point Blank series.

Daniel Franklin is The Economists Executive Editor and the Editor-in-Chief of economist.com. He completes quarter of a century in the organisation this year! He wouldnt be too happy if I say that modesty is his middle name, because he is a man who despises tired metaphors and insipid language. This podcast is a lesson in humility as much as it is on What makes the Economist have a cult following?

A lot has been said about the Union Budget 2008 already. The experts have fashionably shunted this as a shamelessly populist and a cloyingly sweet Budget. So, do we need another voice adding to the noise? Yes, if the voice is that of Prof Kanu H Doshi who is reputed to create music in all the cacophony. In this Podcast, he does not play the proverbial Economist with one hand. He is point blank and opinionated in all matters from the Rs. 60,000 tax waiver awarded to the farmers and the sops extended to the working middle class. And he is a brilliant story teller and explains certain economic jargons like the multiplier effect and Retained Earnings in a simple manner! He unleashes his witty remarks at the fag end of the podcast which will have you in splits. Heard about a finance whizard with a sense of humor? Well, thats Kanu H Doshi for you or like his friends call him, Kanu bhai!

Adam Roberts, the News Editor of economist.com is fresh from having penned a brilliant Special Report (published at least once a month) on Migration and its impact on the lives of billions from across the planet. His report estimates that there are around 200 million migrants across the world which make up 3 per cent of the population. This number will only grow and so will the xenophobia surrounding it. Adam opens up 4 minutes into his candid talk and we end up talking about the lighter side of Migration as well - Its called Chicken Tikka Masala! Listen to know what we mean!

Harsha Bhogle is a man with multiple personalities. When he is not in the commentary box, he contributes as a columnst in The Indian Express and writes on espnstar. While he has an art to draw opinions from the experts in the commentary box, he is forthright and calls spade a spade in his writings. Its a 30 MB download but worth it.