In this new episode of DAP, Megh and Vatsal are joined by Dr. Robin Sharma. A friend of the pod, Dr. Sharma is a creator of science-based Digital Learning Environments (DLEs). He studies the effects of such DLEs on academic achievement, attitudes, and acceptance. He has more than seven years of professional experience in Ed.Tech. at international non-profits, the video game industry, and of course, academia.

He talks to us about his academic journey that started from a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics to learning science. We also get a quick primer on learning science, DLEs, and what it takes to develop games to aid learning. Join us for an enriching conversation!

Recommendations:

• ​Megh

◦Book: Rebel with a Cause: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/rebel-with-a-clause-ellen-jovin?variant=43095339040802

◦Movie: Minsara Kanavu “spring mudi”

◦26th Jan parade

◦Boardgames - Through the Ages, John Company, T’zolkin The Mayan Calendar, Indonesia, SplendorRe-recommendation: Pluribus

• ​Vatsal

◦Movie: Bugonia

• ​Robin

◦Website: https://chaturbhuj.notion.site/Robin-Sharma-1130d1f78dfe806bb041dd8c97c84bf3

◦The Mathematical Universe - Max Tegmark

◦Explaining Life through Evolution - Prosanta Chakrabarty

◦Game: Assassin Creed* Robin's DLEs can be found here: https://chaturbhuj.notion.site/Learning-Environments-1ef0d1f78dfe80dabfd2d90ff6d822cc

We are joined once again by Ajay and Harsha, as we discuss the major tech breakthroughs of 2025 and the major theme of this progress: AI.

Recommendations and References:

• ⁠It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot

• The MIT List

• Anthropic Coverage:

• • Trump orders government to stop using Anthropic in battle over AI use

  • Trump Orders Government to Stop Using Anthropic After Pentagon Standoff

  • Anthropic boss rejects Pentagon demand to drop AI safeguards

  • Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance

• OpenAI Coverage:

• • OpenAI: "Our agreement with the Department of War"

  • OpenAI’s Sam Altman announces Pentagon deal with ‘technical safeguards’

    
    

Previous Episodes with Harsha and Ajay:

• S11E1: Pivoting from a PhD- navigating an alternative career path with Harsha
• Supplementary Materials 4: Tech Wrap 2024 with Ajay and Harsha
• S4E1- Conversation around Drug discovery Ft. Harsha

In this episode of DAP, we are joined by Dhruti, a long-time listener and a friend of the pod. She takes us through her academic journey, studying botany and zoology as part of her undergrad program in Bangalore to researching microbial populations of the soils in Australia for her PhD studies.

We talk about her love of birds and spiders and how that contributed to her scientific journey, documenting 'soppus' in local communities, her dissertation work about understanding microbial ecology of soil in Australia, and much more! Join in!!!

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Megh

• • Like: A History of the World's Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word – An Informative and Engaging Look at Language, Women, and Society, Megan C. Reynolds

  • Should Scientists and Engineers Run Society? Dr Fatima

  • Shows: Narcos, The Pitt

• Vatsal

• • Tapeworm Spreads Deadly Cancer to Human | Scientific American

  • ‘All authors agree’ to retraction of Nature article linking microbial DNA to cancer

• Dhruti

• • Merlin Sheldrake’s works (https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/)

  • Jake Robinson (https://www.jakemrobinson.com/books)

    Amitav Ghosh: Ghost Eye

This is Desi Academia Podcast's Golden Jubilee, and we are so glad you have been with us on this journey! For this special episode, we bring on friend of the podcast Saurabh, and talk to him about his academic journey as a mathematician. He takes us through his remarkable journey as a researcher in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Israel, and Switzerland.

Saurabh tells us about what it mean to “encounter infinity” through mathematics, what is it like to understand the world by asking ‘if this certainty was weakened, would the theorem still hold true’, and what it's like to ask great questions without thinking about applications.

We talk about how Saurabh found his passion for teaching, his pivot to industry, his experiences with the political realities of all the places he inhabited, and how he finds joy in his work.

Recommendations:

• Saurabh

• • Book: Everybody Loves a Good Drought

  • The Wire

  • Powder

  • Capernaum

  • El secreto de sus ojos

  • Argentina 1985

  • “AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself”

  • “AI may upend online studies critical to social science”

• Vatsal

• • What Noam Chomsky’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein says about progressive politics

• Megh

• • Pleurebis

  • Ted Lasso

  • Humans in the Loop

  • Murtagh

We are joined again by Harsha, to discuss the difficult reality of life in the sciences and how to pivot when the academia and funding the system fails. Harsha shares his learnings from his experience being asked to 'master out' of his PhD program, how he reconciled with academia, found a community to do impactful work, and how he views 'science for the sake of science’.

We discuss the short-term and long-term next steps, navigating the immigration system, building communities and using our knowledge for the good, and keeping the faith in science.

Recommendations

• Megh

• • The Wire
  • "The War on Science'", Youtube video by Shaun
  • "OpenAI is huge in India. Its models are steeped in caste bias", MIT Technology Review

• Vatsal

• • Lancet article: Estimating the effect of annual PM2·5 exposure on mortality in India: a difference-in-differences approach - The Lancet Planetary Health

• Harsha

• • Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

In this episode of DAP, Vatsal and Megh are joined by a friend of the pod, Dr. Rituparna Patgiri. She shares her experiences teaching sociology to STEM graduates. Most importantly, she shares her teaching and mentorship philosophy. We discuss the different roles of a teacher, what it takes to teach sociology, and how to distinguish between opinions and empirical studies.

Recommendations:

• Recommendations:

• • Megh

  • • Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic

    • TV show: Boots, Netflix

  • Rituparna

  • • TV show: The social dilemma

    • Rituparna's co-edited book: Food, Culture and Society in India: Social, Political, Economic and Cultural Perspectives

    • The Attention Economy Arushi Bhandari

  • Vatsal

  • • Karen Hao- interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8enXRDlWguU

    • Superboys of Malegaon

Aditya, Megh, and Vatsal are back to discuss their major life changes in 2025. Vatsal shares his shift from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease to fibrosis, the scientific and ethical training needed to work with live human doner tissue, and the challenges navigating the visa system in Canada.

We also discuss the challenges of postdoc onboarding, HR in academia (or the lack thereof), 9-5 life after the PhD, 'dry lab privilege vs wet lab reality', the impact of being gym-pilled on intellectual labor, and navigating postdocs in non-English speaking countries.

We end with a question- has your PhD given you the training to build a career not just outside Western Academia, but in the Global South?

We continue this season with another friend-of-the-pod Professor Indranil Dutta, as we discuss Megh's dissertation defense and thesis writing experience, and the value of a supportive research experience.

• Recommendations:

• • Megh

  • • The Rosie Project

  • Indranil

  • • TV show: Orbital

    • Parts Unknown

    • Kitchen Confidential

  • Vatsal

  • • Anthony Bordain’s ‘No Reservation’