Shows
200: Tech Tales FoundFlipkart: How Two Guys, $4,700, and a Stack of Books Built India’s E-Commerce EmpireFlipkart's journey began in October 2007 with two former Amazon employees, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, who shared no familial ties but a bold vision for India’s digital future. With just ₹400,000 (around $4,700) of their own money, they launched an online bookstore aimed at solving a major problem—India’s fragmented and unreliable retail landscape. Their first sale was a copy of 'Leaving Microsoft to Change the World'—a fitting start for a company that would soon do just that. Early challenges like payment mistrust were overcome by pioneering Cash on Delivery (COD), a game-changer in a country where credit card penet...
2025-06-2817 min
Deepak DisagreesEp 7: What even is journalism? | Samarth Bansal on finding truth in a sea of informationSamarth Bansal is a journalist and writer. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Plank, a new magazine dedicated to truth-seeking journalism for curious citizens. But what does it mean for something to be true? Is there such a thing as an unbiased journalist? And how do we separate fact from fiction? Episode notes
2025-03-301h 57
The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit VarmaEp 401: Finding Love in Modern IndiaBloody hell. The world has changed, society looks different, and men and women have to find new ways of relating to each other. We're not equipped for this. Sanjana Ramachandran and Samarth Bansal join Amit Varma in episode 401 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss how meeting and mating are both easier and, well, harder. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Sanjana Ramachandran on Twitter, Instagram, Substack, LinkedIn , FiftyTwo and her own website. 2. Samarth Bansal on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and his own website. 3. The Reflections of Samarth Bansal -- Episode 299 of The...
2024-09-306h 26
All Things PolicyDemystifying the food we consumeFood is both central and fundamental to our existence. Yet, we have little or no relevant information about what we eat every day. Nutritional information is mandatory on packaged food products but do we really understand it? What kind of policy-making is required to demystify exactly this? Why is it important to know what you are consuming? Data journalist and health website editor Samarth Bansal joins Sachin Kalbag to break down this important aspect of our lives.
2023-05-0944 min
The Seen and the Unseen - hosted by Amit VarmaThe Reflections of Samarth BansalWhat should a newsroom report on? Does journalism know its own purpose? Do we? What ethics should we live by, and why? Samarth Bansal joins Amit Varma in episode 299 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about living the examined life, and asking the fundamental questions. (For full linked show notes, go to SeenUnseen.in.) Also check out: 1. Samarth Bansal on Twitter and his own website. 2. The Interval -- Samarth Bansal's newsletter. 3. Truth Be Told -- Samarth Bansal's Food and Fitness newsletter with Shashank Mehta and others. 4. Journalists refer to themselves as storytellers. Is that a mistake...
2022-10-175h 33
Forward ExchangesSports Leagues Play to Win With Digital InnovationTrying to stay on top of the fast-emerging changes in global payments can be a challenging affair, but “Forward Exchanges” from Nium can help. Join Siobhan O'Neill-Schwenk as she speaks with the trailblazers and veteran players in the industry about their investigation into the driving forces that are modernizing money movement globally. Whether you’re new to global payments, a digital transformation veteran, or just want to hear some great advice on what strategies create momentum in the global digital payments revolution, then this is the podcast for you. On this episode, Siobhan is speaking with some excitin...
2022-10-0645 min
People's StoriesEngineer turned Independent Journalist: Samarth Bansal #30In this episode we are speaking to Samarth Bansal who was born and raised in the capital city of India, Delhi.
Samarth has learnt his life lessons really early in life and knows how to balance uncertainty that life throws on us, pretty well!
Tune into this episode to learn the mechanism of journalism, how a typical institutional journalism looks like and how is it different from independent journalism, get to know the good and not so good side of this profession and last but not the least take some very good advice on stress m...
2022-08-2342 min
NL HaftaChhota Hafta 364This week on NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Meghnad S are joined by Dr Sumaiya Shaikh, founding editor of Alt News Science, and independent journalist Samarth Bansal.The discussion starts with Omicron cases in India, and whether the strain is “milder” than previous variants. Sumaiya says, “This new infection is not ‘mild’ in theory. But because of vaccinations, it has turned mild.” When Raman asks about data on Omicron cases, she says, “The biggest problem in India regarding data is that there is none.”To li...
2022-01-2225 min
In Focus by The HinduPenetrating the Tek Fog on automated trolling | In FocusAccording to the ‘Tek Fog’ expose by the news portal The Wire, the BJP has access to a secret app called ‘Tek Fog’ that can hijack social media, automate hate, and targets thousands of accounts with just a click. The report, when it came out, created a sensation. While A TMC MP has said Tek Fog “has serious ramifications and could jeopardise national security,” a parliamentary panel headed by a Congress leader has sought a response from the Home Ministry.So, what exactly is Tek Fog? How does automated trolling work, and is it really scalable? What does the Tek...
2022-01-2031 min