At Jack of All Knowledge, we talk about everything that is important, interesting and intriguing in the world of culture, technology & policy. Join your impatiently curious host, Divyanshu Dembi as he tries to navigate this new and exciting world and tries to make sense of it all.
Ep 24: Rahul Ahluwalia on classical liberalism and why growth is good
In this episode of Jack of All Knowledge, I am joined by Rahul Ahluwalia who is a director at Foundation for Economic Development in India. FED works with central and state governments in India to identify high-impact opportunities for economic growth and helps them realize those opportunities.
Rahul is, what many of us would call, a classical liberal thinker. I came across his work some time back through FED’s “Growth is Good” podcast series; where Rahul invites economists and other experts to discuss various facets of economic growth - all linked to Fed’s central thesis, which is that economic growth is indisputably the best way to improve human lives.
In this podcast we went back to the basics. We talked about his connection to economic growth, why does he feels so passionately about it, the foundations of classical liberalism, and why we must stand guard against the perils of socialism.
It was refreshing to talk to him about the foundational concepts that we throw around from time to time without realising the deeper meaning behind them. I had a fun time recording with Rahul, and I hope you enjoy this episode.
Show Notes:
Foundation for Economic Development: https://www.fedev.org/who-we-are/ (https://www.fedev.org/who-we-are/)
Rahul Alhuwalia (twitter/ X): https://www.fedev.org/who-we-are/ (https://www.fedev.org/who-we-are/)
1991 Project: https://the1991project.com/ (https://the1991project.com/)
Growth is Good episode with Shruti Rajagopalan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPC6VzqMsvk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPC6VzqMsvk)
A comprehensive analysis of poverty in India: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/847861468257945118/pdf/946460v10JRN0B0O0900170adev0a000021.pdf (https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/847861468257945118/pdf/946460v10JRN0B0O0900170adev0a000021.pdf)
BR Shenoy’s Forgotten Voice of Dissent: https://www.forbesindia.com/article/hindsight/b.r.-shenoys-forgotten-voice-of-dissent/26922/1 (https://www.forbesindia.com/article/hindsight/b.r.-shenoys-forgotten-voice-of-dissent/26922/1)
Why conventional wisdom on healthcare is wrong: https://randomcriticalanalysis.com/why-conventional-wisdom-on-health-care-is-wrong-a-primer/ (https://randomcriticalanalysis.com/why-conventional-wisdom-on-health-care-is-wrong-a-primer/)
We economists have done the math, growth is a doomed strategy: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/10/economists-maths-growth-doomed-strategy-un-agencies-political-leaders (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/10/economists-maths-growth-doomed-strategy-un-agencies-political-leaders)
Gen Z Socialism, From Zohran to Zack and beyond: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/06/04/gen-z-socialism-from-zohran-to-zack-and-beyond (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/06/04/gen-z-socialism-from-zohran-to-zack-and-beyond)
How to fight Gen Z Socialism: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/04/how-to-fight-back-against-gen-z-socialism (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/04/how-to-fight-back-against-gen-z-socialism) 199
Short history of living conditions: our world in data (https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions (https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions))
5 Oct 2025
Ep 23: Renuka Sane and Bhavin Patel on Trustbridge and improving the rule of law for businesses in India
Hi, welcome to the 23rd episode of Jack of all knowledge. In this episode, I am speaking with Dr. Renuka Sane and Bhavin Patel, who are the executive director, and program director at Trustbridge, respectively. Trustbridge, is a research institute which seeks to improve India's business environment by improving the rule of law for businesses in India. It has two focus areas. One is regulatory state capacity, which is the topic of our conversation today, and the other is government contracting and dispute resolution.
I met Renuka and Bhavin at xkdr forum's office in Mumbai, last year while they were presenting their work, and have followed their work ever since. This conversation was a long time in making and I'm happy we finally managed to record this. We speak about the reason why Trustbridge exists, its aims and goals, about the excellent work being carried out at the institute, life in policy and much more. I had a great time speaking with them and I hope you enjoy the episode.
Show Notes.
healthcare, economic slowdown and women's labour participation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mys6GuP-y9k
11. Renuka Sane on safety of a good pension: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJvC8_w1QV4
1 Oct 2025
Ep 22: Suvrat Kher on exploring a changing planet
In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Suvrat Kher. Suvrat is a geologist with deep expertise in sedimentary geology and remote sensing. Suvrat also writes the popular geology blog Rapid Uplift, which as per Suvrat is an exploration of geology and our changing planet. I was introduced to Suvrat and his amazing efforts to popularise geology through the blog.
In this conversation we speak about his early interest in geology, his studies and research work, why geology is more important than meets the eye (even though it is everywhere around us), and his passion to communicate this field to others.
I had a great time speaking about earths sciences with Suvrat and it made me more curious and aware of my surroundings. I hope you enjoy the episode.
Show Notes.
1. Rapid Uplift: https://rapiduplift.substack.com/
2. Suvrat's twitter: https://x.com/rapiduplift
3. Suvrat on what he does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH2zNBhqlT0
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