Shows
AMERICA UNBOUND?TALKING TO STRANGERS MIGHT OPEN ANOTHER DOOR OF POSSIBILITIESEngaging in conversations with strangers has been shown to have numerous positive effects on well-being. It can improve trust and contribute to a person's social health and overall well-being. Meeting strangers is not just beneficial; it's essential for business success in the 21st century.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2024-03-1507 minAMERICA UNBOUND?THE JOY OF CONVERSATION IN THE DIGITAL AGEIn a world increasingly dominated by screens, reclaiming the art of conversation is moreimportant than ever. By making a conscious effort to be present, listen actively, and engage in meaningful dialogue, we can foster deeper connections, build stronger relationships, and
create a more fulfilling and enriching life, both personally and professionally. So put down your phone, look up, and start a conversation. You might be surprised by the connections you make.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2024-03-1108 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU CHOKE UNDER PRESSURE?Early January 2002 President George W. Bush while watching a football game on television in his living quarters in the White House choked on pretzel and tumbled momentarily. But he never choked for a moment when he ordered the invasion of Iraq a year later. Nor did President Harry Truman choke when he ordered the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, pooh-poohing J. Robert Oppenheimer as a “crybaby scientist.” In Chris Nolan’s movie, Truman gives Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) his handkerchief to wipe it off when Oppenheimer says that he has blood on his hands.
But in our...2024-03-0312 minAMERICA UNBOUND?IN BUSINESS AND AS IN LIFE CHARACTER MATTERSIn a brief video presentation for the World Economic Forum, Wharton Business School’s organizational psychologist Adam Grant said, “It's character, not just talent, that determines success.” He was echoing the Greek philosopher Heraclitus
(500 BC) who said that “Character is destiny.” In other words, one’s future is not preordained but is determined by one’s character. However, circumstances play a big role in forming one’s character as we see in the life stories of Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Gautam Adani, and many other rag-to-riches tales of modern times. Ultimately, success is rarely a single factor. It's...2024-02-1216 minAMERICA UNBOUND?DOES CHINA ENHANCE OR THREATEN AMERICA’S FREEDOM?The Tuck Business School’s Dean Matthew Slaughter and his colleague Matthew Rees issued a report about the whirligig of the business world and America’s pivotal role with an intriguing title, “Will the World Get a Vote in America?” They lament that America has lost its place in the global economy, though, according to them, “most Americans want to build more bridges connected to the global economy—along with more
ladders of opportunity to take advantage of global engagement.”
The day Slaughter & Rees published their report about
the need for global bridgebuilding and free flow of trade and commerce, on th...2024-02-0215 minAMERICA UNBOUND?HAS THE WORLD BECOME TOO MUCH FOR AMERICA?
Would America let down the world In 2024? Looking at the disorder and chaos of 2023, it seems more than ever that American global leadership is indispensable. Nonetheless, every year commentators and pundits utter the same shibboleths that the post-World War II global system which the United States
built and sustained with its economic, military, and soft power is now breaking up amidst regional challenges, chaos, disorder, and strife; and not least the rise of China, its global ambitions, and its alliance with aggressive and authoritarian Russia under Vladimir Putin.
...2024-01-2115 minAMERICA UNBOUND?INDIA EMBRACES GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEAs it happened with other technologies of freedom such as the printing press, the Internet and social media, Generative AI would enable more people to access advanced AI capabilities, empowering individuals and groups to be more creative, productive, and knowledgeable. This would raise the average intelligence level of people and make societies more productive. By automating certain cognitive tasks, AI would free up mental capacity for people to focus on higher-level thinking and judgment. AI would help break down language barriers, translate ideas more effectively, and connect individuals with diverse expertise. This would lead to improved collaboration and communication...2024-01-1117 minAMERICA UNBOUND?HOW MUCH FREE SPEECH CAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES HANDLE?In several landmark cases (Schenck v. United States, Brandenberg v. Ohio, among others) the US Supreme Court has ruled that free speech under the First Amendment has absolute protection unless it creates clear and present danger amounting to an imminent
threat of violence. But when does that tipping point, “an imminent threat of violence,” occur when a university president should ask the police to intervene, in which case protesting students, numbering thousands in some cases, might turn violent at the sight of the cops. The Gaza-Israel conflict is a complex issue
with deep historical roots and profound implications not only f...2023-12-1615 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WHAT IF DONALD TRUMP WON THE PRESIDENCY IN 2024?Democratic institutions are the pillars of a free and democratic society. They include the electoral system, the courts, the media, and the legislature. These institutions check and balance each other, ensuring that no one branch of government becomes too powerful. Trump has repeatedly attacked democratic
institutions. He has called the 2020 election fraudulent, even though there is no evidence to support this claim. He has also threatened to jail his political opponents and has suggested that he might not accept the results of the 2024 election. Trump's attacks on democratic institutions are a threat to the very
foundation of our democracy...2023-12-0918 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WOULD SOME POWER GIVE US THE GIFT OF HUMANITY!
When the horrific savagery, red in tooth and claw, was let loose on innocent people in Israel and Gaza, and antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred were spreading in America and Europe, an anguished Jewish woman cried in pain, “Where is God in this time? Where is he or she?”
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-11-2812 minAMERICA UNBOUND?IF YOU ARE FEELING LONELY, DEPRESSED OR ANXIOUS“WHO YOU GONNA CALL?”
Certainly not Ghostbusters, even “if you’re seeing things running through your head.” Nor would Elvis Presley’s romantic lyric “Tell me dear, Are You Lonesome Tonight,” would help you to get
out of a funk, a shade of gray mood characterized by feelings of emptiness, lack of motivation, grouchiness, some kind of diffused malaise.
Most of us know how our bodies twist and turn, ache and break, and we readily seek medical help; but very few of us understand our cognitive health, how and why our minds become dysfunctional. We spend billions a...2023-09-2815 minAMERICA UNBOUND?CHINA LIES THROUGH MAPS TO CLAIM TERRITORYMaps have always played a pivotal role in shaping geopolitical realities. They serve as powerful tools of communication, shaping public perception and, at times, laying the groundwork for territorial aggressions. China understands this power well and has been actively using maps to assert its territorial claims. China's unfounded territorial claims, backed by fake cartographic forays, from the Himalayas to the South China Sea and other parts of the world such as Russia-China border belie China’s pretentious claims about peaceful coexistence.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-09-0513 minAMERICA UNBOUND?CHALLENGES GALORE FOR ACADEMIC LEADERS
Very soon, in a week or so, thousands and thousands of young people would be flocking to campuses across the country hoping to build a bright future for themselves, which would also shape the nation in this age of Generative Artificial Intelligence and MAGA tribalism.
Parents would hope and pray that their children would stay safe and healthy on the campuses; and when they graduate, the world be their oyster.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-08-3013 minAMERICA UNBOUND?IF I WERE A JUROR IN THE TRUMP CASEI would have to reprogram my mind and clear my conscience and try my best to become an impartial juror because the Sixth Amendment commands that the accused, Donald J. Trump, “shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” Jury duty is one of the most sacred obligations of being a citizen.
Can I really become an impartial juror in spite of the fact that since the November 2020 presidential election results, I have been exposed to the most horrendous, though spectacular, images of the
Capitol being assaulted by a murderous mob and...2023-08-0612 min
AMERICA UNBOUND?IF I WERE A JUROR IN THE TRUMP CASEI would have to reprogram my mind and clear my conscience and try my best to become an impartial juror because the Sixth Amendment commands that the accused, Donald J. Trump, “shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” Jury duty is one of the most sacred obligations of being a citizen.
Can I really become an impartial juror in spite of the fact that since the November 2020 presidential election results, I have been exposed to the most horrendous, though spectacular, images of the
Capitol being assaulted by a murderous mob and...2023-08-0524 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WHO ARE AMERICA’S RULERS?Power and influence in American society are exercised by groups of people, whether Democrats or Republicans, who control the wealth of the nation. Any which way they can,
they influence the national agenda. “Americans may be equal, but some are more equal than others,” economist Paul Krugman wrote a while ago. The most obvious influential actor is the political establishment—career politicians, top government officials, and prominent political families. They can be found at various levels of the government, from local and regional to national, and often have significant influence over policy decisions and the
direction of the country.
...2023-07-1213 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WHY DO WE NEED FEARLESS AND ROBUST SPEECH ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES?Freedom, innovation, and democracy go together
University campuses have always been a place for resistance against oppression and a battleground for our freedom of expression
since the early days of the Republic. Today both public and private universities are struggling with how to preserve and encourage freedom of thought and expression in the face of state political interference and cancel culture. According to key findings of the 2022-2023 College Free Speech Rankings report by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), “Alarming proportions of students self-censor, report worry or discomfort about
expressing their ideas in a variety of co...2023-06-0913 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WOULD AI ENRICH OR DIMINISH US?While AI presents challenges and risks, its potential to enhance our humanity should not
be overlooked. By augmenting human capabilities, transforming work and economy,
addressing ethical concerns, and fostering human-machine collaboration, AI can
be a powerful tool for progress and advancement.
To ensure that AI enhances our humanity, it is essential to approach its development and
implementation with careful consideration, transparency, and ethical
frameworks. By doing so, we can unlock the transformative potential of AI while
safeguarding the values that define us as humans. With responsible and
thoughtful integration, AI, as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “the greatest
technology humanity ha...2023-05-1914 minAMERICA UNBOUND?GUNS, SEX, POLITICS, AND GOD IN AMERICAGuns and sex—what can be done? If politicians don’t know what to do about guns, and
they can’t fight against the “girlie men” and “bush-whooping
women” of Hollywood, how would they control social media and AI, where no one has much control?
Whether it was Dr. Alfred Kinsey or Playboy that liberated
Americans, nonetheless, sexual imagery, heterosexual, homosexual, omnisexual,
and non-binary, has been seeping into American public discourse, even into
corporate brands.
Just as social media and Hollywood deliver to us
our daily dreams of fun and fun, “White Lotus”, “Succession” and more, godly
men are always ready to deliver us fro...2023-05-0212 minAMERICA UNBOUND?AFTER THE HINDENBURG SHARK ATTACKEarly January this year, when India’s top industrialist, Gautam Adani completed the purchase of Haifa Port in Israel, he was Asia’s richest and most admirable businessman. But then a sudden shark attack by a US based shot seller Hindenburg research group left Adani bleeding. How can the Adani Group rebuild its reputation?
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-04-1715 minAMERICA UNBOUND?CAN THERE BE EVER CLIMATE JUSTICE?Last month, a tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean took a giant step for mankind.
Vanuatu, an archipelago of islands, like many other countries in the Indo-Pacific such as Fiji, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Madagascar, is vulnerable
to the ravages of extreme climate changes. The rising sea levels triggered by global environmental pollution and rising temperatures might make some islands vanish altogether.
A new climate narrative that fires up youth environmental activism, myriad high stake climate injury court cases, investments in new climate technologies that create business opportunities, and most importantly, political commitment from gl...2023-04-0713 minAMERICA UNBOUND?DOES TECHNOLOGY ENHANCE OR IMPERIL FREEDOM AND SECURITY ?The term cyberspace was coined by William Gibson in his 1984 science fiction Neuromancer—a dark social universe. But America created cyberspace, the Internet, based on its democratic value system—free, open, decentralized, distributed, and self-governing.
What if the Internet had been created in China or Russia? Its architecture and algorithms would have been very different, geared more toward creating a surveillance society than enhancing democratic values.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-03-3118 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WHY FREEDOM MATTERS WHEN CHINA AND RUSSIA CAN DO WITHOUT IT
Spreading democracy is a worthy goal but the United States faces complex challenges in an interdependent world, challenges that are compelling
policymakers, Democrats and Republicans, to act as pragmatist idealists. Instead of crouching toward China or Russia as a model, developing nations should look to the United States. This is the biggest challenge for US international diplomacy today. Rebuilding Ukraine after the
Russian guns are silenced and enabling it to become a member of the European Union would create hope for democracy. But it is the vast and economically vibrant Indo-Pacific region that is the best hope for democracy...2023-03-2513 minAMERICA UNBOUND?IS CHINA A PEACEMAKER OR A BULLY?While China builds up its diplomatic presence in the Middle East and is perhaps looking forward to brokering a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, in the South China Sea it has been gradually building strategic advantages that threaten the vital interests of the United States and its allies.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-03-2016 minAMERICA UNBOUND?WAR CRIMINALS AND WAR PROFITEERSHovering all around, over death and destruction, are the vultures of war—arms manufacturers, energy companies, politicians and oligarchs, black market traders, and human traffickers.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-03-0512 minAMERICA UNBOUND?UKRAINE WILL TEST AMERICA'S ENDURANCEThere’s no gainsaying the fact that although war has brutalized a vast swath of the Ukrainian population, the West’s geopolitical gains have been tremendous. With the admission of Finland and Sweden as full-fledged members, NATO would be enlarged, and Europe would be more united than ever since the end of the Cold War.
The question is whether the truncated and moth-eaten Ukraine would be allowed to become part of the EU and NATO, without which it would have no democratic future.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-02-2610 minAMERICA UNBOUND?METAVERSE OF POSSIBILITIES“Beam me up, Scotty,” is science fiction but beaming up work to Scotty who lives in a remote place is a reality and may become a necessity.
Smart people—digitally smart people who can work from anywhere—and brain inflow through immigration would keep the United States perpetually rejuvenated.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-02-1715 minAMERICA UNBOUND?CAN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FORESEE THE UNKNOWN, THE UNTHINKABLE?Beyond academia, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening a wonderful world of immense possibilities. Such possibilities include, for example, helping save the Amazon by forecasting deforestation; automation and job creation through reskilling; mitigating and managing climate change by measuring emissions; boosting the discovery of new drugs; fighting terrorism and transforming national security; and improving the criminal justice system and cutting crime rates.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-02-0914 minAMERICA UNBOUND?HOW TO MAKE WORK PLACE PRODUCTIVE AND ENJOYABLEWork brings us together, promotes community relations and safety, and encourages civic participation. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are key to achieving sustainable growth and prosperity.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-02-0313 minAMERICA UNBOUND?POLITICAL POWER OF CORPORATE AMERICAAmerican political power is a shared and decentralized phenomenon. Corporate America controls some levers of power and influence.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-01-2613 minAMERICA UNBOUND?HOW DEMOCRACY DEALS WITH LIES: BIG AND SMALL It's true that nobody has a monopoly on truth; therefore, the First Amendment, in essence, says: Speak up fearlessly so that truth might emerge. In the marketplace of ideas, when robust and uninhibited discussion about public issues leads to outright lies, inaccurate information, or misinformation, the remedy is not censorship or suppression of the information however outrageous it may be. But what's the remedy?
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-01-2108 minAMERICA UNBOUND?America is rising againAmerica is vigorously responding to both internal and external challenges.
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/batra-freedompublicsquare/message2023-01-1710 min