"The Seen and the Unseen" is India's premier long-form podcast hosted by Amit Varma. The podcast, which has been running since 2017, features long-form conversations with intellectuals, writers, economists, historians, and thought leaders from India and around the world. The podcast is highly recommended to the readers for deep dive into diverse topics with subject matter experts.
The Host, Amit Varma is a respected journalist and writer, a two-time winner of the Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The show is renowned for its rich intellectual content and the diversity of its guests, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in public policy, history, culture, or economics in contemporary India. I am only sharing the books recommended related to economics & public policy:
Books by Indian authors
- In Service of the Republic — Vijay Kelkar & Ajay Shah
- India’s Big Government: The Intrusive State & How It’s Hurting Us — Vivek Kaul
- Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar: A Citizen-First Approach — Rohini Nilekani
- The Lost Decade (2008-18): How India’s Growth Story Devolved into Growth Without a Story — Puja Mehra
- The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community — Raghuram Rajan
- Easy Money series (3 volumes) — Vivek Kaul
- Between the Buyer and the Seller — Karthik Shashidhar
These books should be a must read for all the youngsters keen to learn on public policy and all the UPSC aspirants who have to delve into Indian nation building.
Books by International Authors
- Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology — Chris Miller
- Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development and the Costs of Caste — Diane Coffey
- Austrian Economics: An Introduction — Steven Horwitz
- Friedrich Hayek: The Ideas and Influence of the Libertarian Economist — Eamonn Butler
- The Mystery of Capital — Hernando De Sotov
- Where Are the Customers’ Yachts? — Fred Schwed Jr.
Classics
- Free to Choose — Milton Friedman & Rose Friedman
- A Theory of Justice — John Rawls
- Capitalism and Freedom — Milton Friedman
- Individualism and Economic Order — Friedrich Hayek
- The Road to Serfdom — Friedrich Hayek
- Economics in One Lesson — Henry Hazlitt
- The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money — John Maynard Keynes
- Public Opinion — Walter Lippmann
- Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market — Walter Bagehot
- The Wealth of Nations — Adam Smith
- The Theory of Moral Sentiments — Adam Smith
For readers seeking to dive deeper into the themes discussed on the podcast, the book recommendations serve as a comprehensive guide to engaging with the complex ideas Amit Varma and his guests explore.