Detangle with Prof Somak Raychaudhury

Wonder starts with a telescope, but it takes a lifetime to turn that wonder into breakthroughs; and a new way to teach. We sit down with an astrophysicist and academic leader whose path runs from Oxford and Cambridge to NASA’s Chandra project, from mountaintop observatories to the helm of major Indian institutions. His story captures a pivotal shift: India’s rise in fundamental science, and the belief that world-class research can flourish at home in India when curiosity meets policy, funding, and shared purpose.

Our conversation moves from galaxies to classrooms, asking how to prepare students for an unknowable future. Instead of locking into a narrow track early, we explore a model that builds breadth first; critical thinking, great books, psychology, environmental science, quantitative reasoning, so learners can later choose with insight and connect ideas across fields. A standout example is a course on 'Time' taught across biology, physics, and psychology, revealing how clocks, bodies, and minds shape our daily experience as much as the age of the universe shapes our cosmic story.

We also discuss how modern research actually works: collaboration over isolation, thousand-author papers, and the pandemic’s crash course in global problem-solving. AI enters as both accelerator and a hazard, brilliant at routine tasks yet unreliable without careful prompts, verification, and ethics. The real edge for students is not speed but critical thinking: framing questions, judging sources, and knowing when to go from summaries to source texts. On the personal side, we reflect on resilience, parenting, and the small rituals that form a mental first aid kit, music, images, and simple activities that steady the mind.

If this conversation sparks new questions about learning, leadership, or how science gets done, share it with someone who is rethinking education. Subscribe for more thoughtful episodes, and leave a review to help others find the show.

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