Book Recommendation:
The Mahābhārata (“so many versions you’ll never be bored”), Read, Write, Own by Chris Dixon
Music Recommendation:
Classic Rock growing up (“Top 100 bands, all of them, including U2, not just 60s and 70s”), evolved to include Carnatic (esp. M.S. Subbulakshmi) and Jazz (Coltrane and Miles Davis)
Movie Recommendation:
Patton (“I re-watch it every few years”), The Godfather series (“especially 1 and 2”), The Lord of the Rings (“Extended Cut”)
Favourite Podcasts:
Conversations with Tyler, Dwarkesh Podcast, Ideas of India, GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution (“I never miss a single episode”)
Favourite Philosopher:
Sri Aurobindo (“without hesitation, but if there was an Aurobindo who incorporated math and scientific thought, he’d be my first favourite”)
Go-to news sources:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Google News, CNN (“if something huge happens tend to scan, read”), Twitter (“for an hour a day, it’s curated and knows how to interact with me”)
Research Tip:
“Some of the most stimulating thinking is being done on Substack, blog posts, and podcasts. Be ready to move beyond traditional ideas of doing research, even online. If you know how to use Twitter and are in tune with the right conversations, you will find cutting-edge pieces relevant to your research…There has to be a motivation for you to go into journals, you don’t go into journals motivation-free.”
Advice for Aspiring Profs:
Teaching discussion-based classes is like jazz—you don’t know how the class will go. Hone the art form of going off into a tangent, then coming back and connecting it with past/future sessions.
Interview by Article 19
Design by Aditi Das
Article 19 