The myth of the better debater

A thing that happens often in comments is people saying that there is a better debater out there. I think this is largely a myth.

James Webb Space telescope and existential crisis

I made a short video about how instead of feeling small after looking at pictures of faraway galaxies and nebulae, we can perhaps try to feel something else.

Ghosts, spirits, and what evolution might say about our belief in them

Indian YouTube is full of superstition encouragement from shows that call themselves "India's smartest podcast". I watched a clip yesterday where the host said he had done "research" on ghosts and spirits. So I did some research too. Turns out, there are evolutionary reasons behind our tendency to believe in them. Here's a quick Hindi video.

Indian atheist debunks the watchmaker analogy

You find a watch in the middle of nowhere and you assume the watch must have been made by someone. But while the religious might have you believe that it is because the watch is orderly, the truth is something else.

Roe vs Wade, Brahminical patriarchy, the Shiv Sena hang-up

This episode was mostly chill but we did talk about the overturning of Roe vs Wade in USA and the Shiv Sena matter closer home.

I disagree with savarna NRI who dislikes caste-based reservations

Almost all typical savarna arguments were presented - merit, equality, backlash etc. Hopefully, this will help people understand and appreciate the need for responsibility more.

Religion, caste based reservations, and artificial intelligence

In this episode, we talk about how religious beliefs are often not even taken seriously by believers of a religion. Later, we had a discussion with a caller about caste based reservations, and still later, Meghnad from Newslaundry joined to talk about artificial intelligence becoming god maybe.

Caste and the need to talk about it

Google, caste, and the need to free India from the Brahminical lens

In case you haven't heard, Google cancelled a talk on caste by Thenmozhi Soundararajan.

Open letter from an Indian atheist

Religious people and their hypersensitivity to any criticism of their religion by atheists and secular folks is a terrible influence not only on society, but also on their religion itself. Criticism is not an "attack" or an "imposition". Society is drowning in religion and religiosity already. A check on such uncontrolled expansion, believe it or not, is a good idea.

Vimoh's introduction to Star Trek

Star Trek is a fandom I have been part of for more than half my life, and not just because of its entertainment value. It has much to say about humanity, the future, religion, science, and even caste. It is chock full of politics, and has always been at the forefront of social justice. But these days, we mostly talk of science fiction in terms of visual effects and "fight scenes" (as if they are wrestling matches). I have wanted for quite some time to start making content about science fiction we all should watch because it is NECESSARY.

The problem with Sadhguru

Spiritual guru Sadhguru recently claimed in a video that certain yogis can know natural truths by simply closing their eyes. This is obviously false, but the deeper problem with thinking this is true is that it essentially takes away our ability to tell the difference between reality and falsehood.

Knowledge requires evidence. A model isn't enough.

Otangelo asked why I am an atheist. I said it had to do with there being no evidence for the existence of god. The conversation took us towards logical models and methods of knowing what is true.

The problem with eternal truth

Every major religion has some conception of eternal truth. Something that does not change and is always true. And this idea is used to deny or negate scientific knowledge with phrases like "science does not know everything". So let's talk about the idea that in order to be treated as truth, something has to always be true.

Indian atheist chats with Pakistani atheist about a future without religion

India and Pakistan are both religious countries. And though the religions are different, the kind of problems they have created are much the same. I had a chat with Pakistani atheist Ghalib Kamal about the similarities in the kind of problems we both face when making atheism related content online, and about how the future might unfold if religion were taken out of the equation.

Indian atheist answers a stupid question

Religious folks love to say atheism is just another religion. But how far is this conflation of definitions useful? People call all kinds of things religions. Doesn't mean the word religion can apply to everything. Atheism is a religion in much the same way as how not cooking is a way to make food and not playing is a sport. Besides, there is a deeper problem with conflation of definitions. When everything is defined as a religion, what becomes of religion itself? Answer: It gets to hide. Like a crow hiding among ducks after saying all of them are crows.

Don't try to destroy religion, devalue it

Religion occupies a huge amount of space in society. And often atheists speak of destroying religion. I think religion is too big and too spread out to actually destroy. But it IS possible to devalue religion. It is possible to give our children the freedom to reject it or ignore religion.

Selfishness is not a solution to anything

Sadhguru riding a bicycle doesn't solve environmental problems. You planting a plant in your balcony will not solve the climate change crisis. You cycling to work will not undo the effects of rampant deforestation and industrialisation. The misdeeds of major corporations are hidden by the hustle coaches and spiritual gurus who tell you it is all up to you.

On those who hate their wives

I wish all the men saying anti-marital rape legislation would cause their wives to frame them had done some thinking before marrying women who are THIS angry with them. It takes a special kind of arrogance to say "don't make anti-rape laws because my wife will misuse them".

The Angry Arts Student

We have all spent a lifetime in the Indian education system. It's a terrible system that doesn't encourage creative thinking, social awareness, and much else. But those of us who happened to go through the Arts stream in college or did better in Humanities oriented subjects compared to math and science went through a separate kind of hell. This episode is about the anti-Arts bias in India and how it affects makes society intolerant.