The Rearview Podcast Por The Hindu arte de portada

The Rearview

The Rearview

De: The Hindu
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Jacob Koshy and Sobhana K Nair guide you on a scenic route through the history of science. Filled with fascinating anecdotes, deep archival dives, and a closer look at the quirky minds behind groundbreaking ideas.The Hindu Ciencia Mundial
Episodios
  • India's First Computers | Part 3: How software won

    India's First Computers | Part 3: How software won
    Apr 6 2026
    India’s computing story unfolds in two distinct phases. In the decades after Independence, the country set out to build its own computer hardware. But from the 1970s onwards, that ambition quietly gave way to something else: software. In this concluding episode of the series, we trace how and why that pivot happened. During the 1960s, American universities began partnering with the Indian Institutes of Technology and other academic institutions, drawn by India’s deep pool of technical talent. Instead of manufacturing machines locally, these collaborations imported IBM computers and focused entirely on software and programming. This shift marked the beginning of India’s transformation into the world’s back office for software engineering. We examine how India came to dominate global software labour—and ask the big, unresolved question: why did the country give up on building computer hardware altogether? Hosts: Sobhana K Nair & Jacob Koshy Producer and editor: Jude Weston
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    27 m
  • India’s First Computers | Part 2: TIFRAC & IBM’s Double Game

    India’s First Computers | Part 2: TIFRAC & IBM’s Double Game
    Mar 30 2026
    In the mid-1950s, while the world was still reeling from the dawn of the atomic age, a group of visionary scientists in a makeshift barracks in Mumbai were chasing a different kind of power: computational sovereignty. This episode dives into the incredible story of TIFRAC (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Automatic Calculator), India’s first indigenous digital computer. Spearheaded by Homi Bhabha and R. Narasimhan, TIFRAC wasn’t just a machine built from vacuum tubes and ferrite cores; it was a bold statement that a newly independent nation could master the most complex technology of the era. But the road to innovation was far from smooth. As India moved toward self-reliance, global tech giants were watching. We explore the shadowy “help” offered by IBM, which dominated the global market at the time. While IBM sought to establish a monopoly by leasing refurbished machines and pushing proprietary systems, the Indian government and TIFR scientists smelled a “technological trap.” Hosts: Jacob Koshy and Sobhana K Nair Guest: Dwaipayan Banerjee, Associate Professor of Science at MIT Producer and editor: Jude Weston
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    37 m
  • India’s First Computers | Part 1: A Historian’s Tragedy

    India’s First Computers | Part 1: A Historian’s Tragedy
    Mar 23 2026
    In the first of a 3-part series, we discuss the origins of India’s quest, first to procure and then to build a homegrown computer in India. Coming very close to the Indian independence, this is the period that is more closely associated with the birth of India’s nuclear programme. Dr Banerjee’s book: Computing in the Age of Decolonisation narrates this history and begins with the story of DD Kosambi, better known in India’s intellectual history as the father of Marxist historiography. As a graduate in mathematics from Harvard University, Kosambi was primarily a theorist in mathematics and sought to apply this knowledge to building a homegrown computer. However in this first part we explore how these plans came to naught. The Rearview is a podcast where the hosts guide you on a scenic route through the history of science. Filled with fascinating anecdotes, deep archival dives, and a closer look at the quirky minds behind groundbreaking ideas. Hosts: Jacob Koshy and Sobhana K Nair Guest: Professor Dwaipayan Banerjee, Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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    35 m
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