f(q) = When does simulation help? (#TIAU)
SynTalk is a freewheeling interdisciplinary talk show with a philosophical approach to understanding the world from a long term perspective.
Is that you on stage? Is the table human? Is existence necessarily a part of (even, physical) reality? Is there only one thing (brahma)? Does poetry depict reality? How is literature different from paper? Are dance and music less reality bound? When does psychological realism begin? Is only the common (or the conventional) real? Are dreams real? Is something real only if it is either a cause or an effect? Are things dependently arisen? Could formalisms depict reality? Are n-branes things? What costumes do characters wear? How do we evoke something? Are we trapped in this saṃsāra? Does the ‘physical’ mean anything philosophically? Is it all empty at the end? Is vacuum emptiness? How is there action at a distance? Are all individuations illusory? How do theory, experiments, religious texts, & inter-subjectivity lead to reality? Are integer numbers real for crows? How do artists compete with the reality of camera? Why does Waiting for Godot need two characters? &, would you know what’s real if you were the only one left on Earth? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using ideas from theoretical physics (Prof. Debashis Ghoshal, JNU, New Delhi), philosophy (Dr. Justin P. Holder, Ashoka University, Delhi NCR) & theatre studies (Prof. Ananda Lal, ex Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Listen in…
16 Apr 2026
#TEOEE (The Echo Of Extreme Experiences) --- SynTalk
Who writes autobiographies? Is movement a choice for you? Do you plan to go back home? Have you had to leave ‘home’, forever, with fish still frying in the pan? Are you under chronic stress? Are violent people mad? Is poetry only a matter of luxury? What does Art do to our Default Mode Network? Is there a developmental trajectory to how brains develop over a lifetime? Does your brain’s development depend on your country’s HDI? What happens when one is faced with multiple adversities? Would you cope with the next flood? Do you live far from where your food is produced? Do we always desire to move both socially and economically? What creates the concept of permanent deprivation? Are there silent stressors around you? Are shocks now normal? Are only the poor vulnerable? Are you a woman? Is displacement necessary for progress? What is a family supposed to do? Will we keep creating individuals (only) for the Market? Are societies too passive? How is Bhuj different from Latur? Are scars permanent? Might heat spikes cause hate speech? Are you already immune to awe? How is Kabir being sung today? &, how are our brains going to evolve in the future? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using ideas from psychiatry (Prof. Vivek Benegal, ex-NIMHANS, Bangalore), economics (Prof. Sandhya Iyer, TISS, Mumbai), & literature (Prof. Sukrita Paul Kumar, ex-University of Delhi, New Delhi). Listen in...
11 Mar 2026
#TNATP (The Narrator And The Proscenium) --- SynTalk
Are you a narr-actor or a spect-actor? Are you best placed to narrate your own story? Why do those things not get talked about? Do narrations create selves? Can one perceive differently than one sees? Are certain narrators to be privileged? Are we all born into a narrative structure? Do spectators change the events? How does one live in a world with competing truths? What if ‘facts’ are absent / silent? How do we cover up and fabulate? Who experiences guilt and anxiety? What comes in between speech and silence? Does history (or power) stutter? Could rituals & folk tales be narratives? Which stories become narratives? Who counts as a human being? Is (historical) truth immaculate? What do history books in Congo talk about? What have sugar / rubber / oil done to the world? Do structures come out of processes? What happens when something false is retold? Who is the narrator of the narrator? How do the spectres speak? Do you listen to the Other? How is global politics done when things are unclear? Are spectators, actors and narrators increasingly mingling around us? So then: where are we? What time is it? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using ideas from literary studies & psychoanalysis (Dr. Arka Chattopadhyay, IIT Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar), political studies (Dr. Aparna Devare, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad), & history (Prof. Saurabh Dube, El Colegio de México, Mexico City). Listen in...
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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 58 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
77
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
96
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