What kind of economy does India need—not just to grow, but to serve its people with dignity and purpose? In this episode, we speak with Arun Maira, former Member of India’s Planning Commission, Chairman of BCG India, and author of Reimagining India’s Economy: An Inquiry into the Real Costs of Economic Growth.

Tracing his journey from Tata Motors to the highest levels of government, Maira reflects on what it takes to transform systems—both economic and institutional. He shares lessons from his work on industrial policy, capability-building, and ethical leadership, and calls for a bold shift away from GDP obsession toward a model grounded in inclusion, learning, and care.

We discuss:

• Why India is at a moral and economic crossroads

• What a “learning economy” looks like in practice

• How to design jobs-led growth that restores dignity to work

• Why systems thinking and listening must be central to leadership today

A compelling conversation with one of India’s most original thinkers on development, purpose, and how to shape an economy that works for everyone.

Podcast Description:
The nuclear family has become the dominant model in much of the world—but was its rise a step forward or a profound social loss?

Critics argue that the shift from joint families to nuclear households has led to loneliness, burnout, fragile caregiving systems, and the erosion of intergenerational wisdom. Joint families, they say, offered economic resilience, shared childcare, and a deep sense of belonging.

Supporters of the nuclear family, on the other hand, point to greater mobility, privacy, personal freedom, and protection from the toxic hierarchies that can exist in extended households.

In this episode, we explore the trade-offs:

• Has the nuclear family empowered individuals—or left them isolated?

• Did joint families offer support—or suppress autonomy?

• Is modern parenting sustainable without shared kin networks?

• Can we design a third path: community without control?

Private space travel once belonged in the realm of science fiction—but today, celebrities like Katy Perry are booking tickets on Blue Origin, and billionaires are launching rockets. In this episode, Dhruva and Utkarsh explore the growing role of private companies in space exploration and whether the shift away from government-led missions is cause for celebration or concern.

They delve into the tension between public and private funding: Should space exploration serve collective scientific goals or market incentives? Is "move fast and break things" the right ethos for a domain where failure can mean catastrophe? And as access to space becomes commercialized, who really benefits?

Supporters of private spaceflight argue it accelerates innovation, lowers costs, and inspires a new generation. But critics warn of widening inequalities, neglected public priorities, and the commodification of what many view as a shared human frontier.

Beyond rockets and revenue, this conversation grapples with deeper questions of purpose, responsibility, and who gets to write humanity’s next chapter among the stars.