Quest for Better Futures brings you voices from young people and their allies at the frontlines of education, work, emerging technologies and climate change to challenge assumptions about what's possible and reimagine more just and inclusive futures.
In Episode 11 of Quest for Better Futures, Gautam John and Namrata Agarwal discuss how we can move beyond seeing young people as passive recipients of change and instead recognize them as active co-creators of solutions.How can we build a culture of active citizenship in India? How should institutions, leadership, and philanthropy change, given that uncertainty is the new normal? What if the future isn’t driven by states or markets, but by relationships, diversity, and a shared imagination?
Credits:
Host(s) - Namrata Agarwal
Guest(s) - Gautam John
Production Crew - Chandan CM, Dilip P, Hiranya Singh, Mohammed Sajjad, Zaheera Vaz
Produced By Quest Alliance
Editor(s) - Shashank KS
Concept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi
Content - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HM
Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC
VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM
Location courtesy - Quest Learning Observatory, Bangalore (India)
25 Oct 2025
Government’s Role in Building Thriving Futures
For many of us, education, skilling, and employment are seen as three distinct stages, and not as a holistic continuum. Time and again, it has proven that skilling succeeds only when education and industry are seamlessly connected.In Episode 10 of Quest for Better Futures, Nikita Bengani and Atul Kumar Tiwari, IAS - Former Secretary, Ministry Of Skill development and Entrepreneurship discuss the role of AI in classrooms, insights on female workforce participation, and what it takes to design skilling initiatives for Indian youth.
Credits
Host(s) - Nikita Bengani
Guest(s)- Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari
Production Crew - Chandan CM, Hiranya Singh, Mohammed Sajjad, Navya D'Souza, Pritika Das, Revathi R, Syed Umer, Winnie Pande
Produced By Quest Alliance
Editor(s) - Chandan CM, Shashank KSConcept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi
Content - Bhawna Parmar, Nikita Bengani, Risha Ramachandran
Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC
VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM
Location courtesy - Quest Learning Observatory, Bangalore (India)
17 Oct 2025
Future Skills for Thriving Careers
A Google search for “top workplace skills” reveals lists full of ‘time management’, ‘leadership’, ‘creativity’, and ‘teamwork’. However, as Arnab and Arpita note, the idea of skills often hides deeper hierarchies of class, gender, and power.
Think about it – how does society define and value skills? What do you classify as skills worthy of picking up?
10 Oct 2025
Integrating Imagination in Learning: Futures Thinking as a Pedagogy
People often say that if something can’t be measured, it can’t be managed, but what if that exact mindset holds us back from making meaningful change? In Episode 8 of Quest for Better Futures, Bhawna Parmar speaks with Punya Mishra about what happens when numbers define social change, and how education,in particular, has faced the consequences of this thinking.The full episode is now live on our YouTube channel. Also streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Host(s) - Bhawna ParmarGuest(s) - Punya MishraProduction Crew -Chandan CMProduced By Quest AllianceEditor(s) - Shashank KSConcept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi NegiContent - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HMMusic - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSICVFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM#FuturesThinking #AI #QuestAlliance #FuturesLiteracy #Podcast #YouthFutures
26 Sept 2025
Imagining Life-centric Futures
What do you see, when you picture the future? If it’s AI, rockets and a highly engineered, precise world, you’re not alone. However, these visions are rooted in old, harmful ideas that dismiss nature and indigenous knowledge as “primitive,” carrying forward ideas with troubling origins.
In episode 7 of Quest for Better Futures, Monika Bielskyte and Aakash Sethi explore how our ideas of the future continue to be shaped by outdated sci-fi and why that’s a problem.
Host - Aakash Sethi
Guest - Monika Bielskyte
Production Crew - Shivam Pandey
Produced By Quest Alliance
Editor(s)- Chandan CM, Shashank KS
Concept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi
Content - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HM
Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC
VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM
#QuestforBetterFutures #QuestAlliance #EdTech #podcast #futuresliteracy #futuresthinking #NGO
29 Aug 2025
How do you build better futures?
In episode 6 of Quest for Better Futures, Neha Parti and Suchetha Bhat dig deep into the uncomfortable truths of leadership and privilege.
From language, caste, and class to the subtle ways competition and control can undermine true collaboration, they confront the urgent questions we need to ask to co-create futures that are inclusive, equitable, and responsible.
Host(s) - Neha Parti
Guest(s) - Suchetha Bhat
Production Crew - Chandan CM, Dilip P, Hiranya Singh, Mohammed Sajjad, Zaheera Vaz
Produced By Quest Alliance
Editor(s) - Chandan CM, Shashank KS
Concept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi
Content - Bhawna Parmar, Neha Parti, Sahana HM
Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC
VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM
Location courtesy - Quest Learning Observatory, Bangalore (India)
#QuestforBetterFutures #QuestAlliance #GenderEquity #FuturesThinking #FuturesLiteracy
6 Aug 2025
What is Futures Literacy?
How do we balance today’s urgent demands while also being equally conscious of the rights of future generations?
In Episode 5 of Quest for Better Futures, Bhawna Parmar and Cat Tully of School of International Futures talk intergenerational fairness, the limitations of short-term political cycles, and the importance of civil society and youth in helping society move from outdated systems toward more sustainable and just futures.
Long-term thinking can feel impossible, futile or even inconvenient, given the changing nature of the world we inhabit. But as this episode reveals, the cost of ignoring the future is already showing up in our present — whether it is polluted cities, broken infrastructure, or inequality growing by leaps and bounds.
Host - Bhawna Parmar
Guest - Cat Tully, Founder of SOIF, the School of International Futures
Production Crew - Chandan CM
Produced By Quest Alliance
Editor(s) - Chandan CM, Shashank KS
Concept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi
Content - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HM
Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC
VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM, Hiranya Singh
18 Jul 2025
Does India Need Foresight?
If the future belongs to all of us, why do only a few get to shape it? What would it take to change that?
In Episode 4 of Quest for Better Futures, Aakash Sethi sits down with Urvashi Aneja of Digital Futures Lab, to talk about the power of foresight, not just for policymakers and academics, but also for young people and communities to reclaim their place in shaping the future.
They explore how foresight can help us question dominant narratives (often shaped by the privileged few), reclaim agency over what lies ahead, and co-create futures that are more inclusive, equitable, and grounded in local realities.
Host(s) - Aakash Sethi
Guest(s) - Urvashi Aneja
Production Crew - Chandan CM, Sahana HM
Produced By Quest AllianceEditor(s) - Chandan CM, Shashank KS
Concept - Bhawna Parmar, Tanvi Negi
Content - Bhawna Parmar, Sahana HM
Music - Smooth Future Bass Logo by LEXMUSIC
VFX & Motion graphics - Chandan CM, Hiranya Singh
Location courtesy - Sadhana D'ell Arte, Merces, Goa
Contact - info@questalliance.net
6 Jul 2025
Facing the Storm : Future vs Climate Change
Professor Lyla Mehta and Shibaji Bose discuss dominant climate narratives with Bhawna Parmar and Neha Parti, emphasizing education and future literacy to empower youth for climate action in this interview.
20 Jun 2025
Shaping the Future of Tech
Host Namrata Agarwal interviews Sarayu Natarajan of Aapti Institute about intentionally shaping AI and emerging technologies with a focus on youth leadership, equity, ethics, and human values.
5 Jun 2025
Lost and Found : The Voices of Youth
Host Nikita Bengani interviews Chandana Barman and Jai Basyal, two young learners, about their experiences and ambitions to create meaningful futures amidst challenges like AI and climate change.
30 May 2025
Quest for Better Futures: Meet the Hosts
Hosts Aakash Sethi, Bhawna Parmar, Namrata Agarwal, and Neha Parti introduce Quest for Better Futures, exploring how to build thriving futures for young people in a world facing disruption in education, work, technology, and climate change.
Who has been a guest on Quest for Better Futures
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Sarayu Natarajan
Chandana Barman
Jai Basyal
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
331,786
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
30
Social presence
0
YouTube
86
Engagement
0
Contact Quest for Better Futures
Guest appearances
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