The Point Blank Show

Among the many things that we take for granted in the age of indulgence is refrigeration. In “Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves”, Nicola Twilley brings us the history of what is arguably among the top three inventions of the century. She went far down many rabbit holes including orange juice tank farms, meat lockers, banana ripening rooms and frigid warehouses to uncover the different layers of refrigeration. What is the story behind tunas being transported in coffins? What is fridge dating? And why didn’t Abraham Lincoln ever have a banana? Tune in for many such anecdotes both amusing and revealing in equal measure.

What are the human stories behind mathematics? How did mathematicians collaborate over centuries to further its cause? “The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & its Unsung Trailblazers” co-authored by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell tells us just that. Kate and Tim dig into rabbit holes from across eras to unearth fascinating stories of geniuses from ancient civilisations who questioned the status quo. How far does modern mathematics date back to? What is the story behind calculus? How did zero change the game and why did it take a while for folks to warm up to the concept? How did women take on the establishment to make their way into history books? In this podcast the authors bring us many such anecdotes and speak passionately about a subject that is close to their heart.

Dr Thomas R. Cech shared the nobel prize in chemistry with Sidney Altman in 1989. Their work showed that RNA is not only a molecule that carries genetic information but can also act as a catalyst in biochemical reactions, a role that was previously thought to be exclusive to proteins. His book titled “The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life's Deepest Secrets”, released in June, is a brilliant read. RNA has helped us understand the mysteries of the origins of life during the big bang and saved millions of lives by concocting life-saving vaccines during the pandemic. It does more, of course. In this podcast Tom also talks about his first lab, how he helps students to deal with failures in their experiments, how to write without using jargons and his experience of winning the Nobel Prize.

Will Cockrell’s book, “Everest Inc” tells the story of “The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World”. It is a refreshing take on climbers who may not have a background in mountaineering but have the means to embrace the suffering and the challenge. Instead of taking a condescending view on these thrill seekers, Will investigates the motivation of both the adventurers and expedition companies who make it all happen.

In his short and punchy book, "The Afterlife of Data", Carl Öhman writes about "What Happens to Your Information When You Die and Why You Should Care". After crunching lots of numbers, he found that in the next few decades the dead on Facebook will outnumber the living. The power around what to do with "digital remains" lies with a handful firms like Meta and Alphabet. Dr Öhman opines that we can't solve the privacy of the living unless we solve privacy of the dead. The dead, by the way, have no privacy rights. And now Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we grieve. What does this mean for all of us and what can we do about it?

Geoff White is an investigative journalist who has covered financial crime for over two decades. His latest book is titled "Rinsed - From Cartels to Crypto: How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks". In this podcast Geoff talks about money laundering 101 and how it has changed over the years. How has technology and social media influenced the industry? What are regulators doing about it? How can organisations safeguard themselves from cyber attacks? What can we learn from the recent Crowdstrike experience? And much more including how investigative journalism works and why fact-checking is important than ever before.

We live in a world that is increasingly being dictated by data. But the models that govern different outcomes need a lot of work. Dr Erica Thompson's fascinating book, "Escape from Model Land: How mathematical models can lead us astray and what we can do about it" is all about it. For all their vaunted prowess, models can often mislead. In this podcast Dr Thompson offers her thoughts on the head scratcher of a subject.

Tamal Bandyopadhyay is a prolific journalist who has covered the world of finance for many decades. He has authored several books. In this podcast he gives us a glimpse into his latest book, "Roller Coaster: An Affair with Banking" which is an absolute joy to read. The book as well as this conversation is peppered with anecdotes that are both amusing and intriguing in equal measure. It’s less about monetary and fiscal policy or inflation and more about the quirks of the banking industry and his experience as a journalist.

Games have shaped humanity for thousands of years. The premise of Kelly Clancy's book is that games play us. In this podcast Dr Clancy, a neuroscientist talks about games people or companies play to our benefit and detriment. How have games shaped geopolitics? Why do gamblers continue to bet despite losing? How does uncertainty trigger dopamine even while playing board games with kids? And much much more.

Maryanne Wolf is a cognitive neuroscientist who conducts research on “what the brain does when it reads and why some children and adults have greater difficulty learning how to read than others”. She has written some fascinating books including “Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain” and “Reader come home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World”. In this podcast Prof Wolf speaks passionately on reading and why, among other things, it needs to be introduced to kids early in their lives. And as adults, what can we do to rewire our brain circuits that may have been frayed with the advent of digital media.

Gregory Zukerman writes for the Wall Street Journal. Over the last few decades he has written several books. In 2019 he wrote "The Man Who solved the market: How Jim Simons Launched The Quant Revolution" which became a runaway hit. It tells the story of a genius mathematician who used modern quantitative techniques to make money for himself and his investors. Since 1988 one of the fund’s operated by Mr Simons generated average annual returns of 66%. Legendary investors like Warren Buffet, George Soros and Peter Lynch, too, cannot claim to have made these outsized profits with such consistency. How did Mr Simons go about his business? How did he manage a stellar team while keeping them movitated? How did he use machine learning, artificial intelligence, data and analytics in an era when these terms were unheard of in the industry? Gregory Zukerman explains it all in this podcast.

Alex Duff talks about how Brentford football club used data and analytics to improve and retain its spot in the English Premier League. His book, "Smart Money: The Fall and Rise of Brentford" is a fascinating account of how the club instilled new values and respected number crunching to make key decisions on deciding plays on the field and in the transfer market.

Ananyo Bhattacharya's "The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John Von Neumann" is a fascinating book about the Hungarian-American mathematician. It's a shame that most of us know little about the man. Dr Bhattacharya digs deep into the mathematician's early days and how he went on to have a lasting impact in different fields including nanotechnology, game theory, artificial intelligence and quantum physics.

In this podcast Prof Dennis Yi Tenen, a software engineer turned literary scholar, leans on history of computer programming to tell modern tales of Artificial Intelligence. How did robots learn to write so quickly? Is it a good thing? Do technologies like ChatGPT make us lazy? Not quite, says Prof Tenen. He argues that such advances do not diminish our capacity to think. It may just make us better writers, on an average. Previously machines learned from human outputs but now they learn from machine outputs. What does this mean for us? He believes AI is neither Jesus nor a Terminator-like force as long as both the makers and users use it responsibly.

In February this year Facebook celebrated its 20th birthday. Tom Wainwright, tech and media editor of The Economist has written a brilliant cover story on the company's evolution since it began in a dorm room at Harvard. With a market capitalisation of $1.2trn and 3bn users, Facebook operates in a new social media order. Tom writes that "public posting is increasingly migrating to closed groups, rather like email. What Mr Zuckerberg calls the digital “town square” is being rebuilt—and posing problems." How is the outfit grappling with these changes? Over the years it has mastered the art (and science by relying on data) of cloning features and sometimes copying competition while managing to stay relevant. What does the future hold for the behemoth? How is Artificial Intelligence changing the industry? Tom covers a lot of ground in the podcast.

Do nice guys finish last? Not quite. David Bodani’s brilliant book, “The Art of Fairness:The Power of Decency in a World Turned Mean” is filled with anecdotes of leaders from various fields who may have been fair and firm to get the job done but never mean or condescending. In this podcast David shares some of his thoughts on why it might be worth emulating the Satya Nadellas of the world instead of the Steve Ballmers. Drawing from examples on the sports ground to battlefields, David makes a convincing argument that you can indeed succeed without being a jerk.

The cryptosphere is, well, cryptic. Even the best of the best find it hard to explain the whole thing without fumbling. Zeke Faux has managed to put it all together in his fascinating book, "Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall". Zeke planted himself within the crypto-mad community to learn more about the trade. He has interviewed Sam Bankman-Fried, among others, to understand what the biggies were up to. Incidentally, "Number Go Up" was referenced a few times during the former crypto king's recent trial where he was charged with multiple counts of fraud. To research the wider consequences, Zeke visited Cambodia to uncover the underbelly of the industry where people are being held captive or trafficked. We are yet to see a solid application of the technology that powers cryto. When that will be is anybody's guess. Until then, if there is one book that you should read to understand where we stand so far, read this one.

We spend almost a third of our lives sleeping. Give or take. And yet until fifty years ago, scientists didn’t know much about sleep. Kenneth Miller shines a spotlight on the subject in his fabulous book, Mapping the Darkness: The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked the Mysteries of Sleep. Why do we sleep and why is it important that we get enough of it? What happens when we don’t? Who are those scientists whom we owe some amount of gratitude for helping us understand something that can literally be a matter of life and death? In this podcast Mr Miller, relying on years of research, takes a crack at explaining what was an esoteric topic not too long ago.

In this podcast, Daniel Knowles reflects upon a world with fewer cars. The use of a car becomes less effective once everyone has got one. Anyone who has been stuck for hours in Mumbai or New York traffic should know. Are electric cars a solution? What can we learn from places like Singapore, Tokyo, Amsterdam and London? It is reassuring that most of these cities made amends over the course of many decades. Today, the younger folk in some Western countries prefer taking the public transport wherever possible. But there is still a long way to go.

Kiran Verma has pledged to walk a staggering 21,000 km across India to raise awareness around blood donation in the country. His NGO, Simply Blood, world's first virtual blood donation platform, connects donors and seekers in real time. In this podcast Kiran talks about what got him to quit his day job and pursue his cause. "Nobody should die waiting for blood", he says. Many believed him to be crazy at first. Today, with over 15,300 km across 16 states, his walk has prompted officials to change things on ground. Thus far 26,252 people have donated blood to support his walk at 123 blood donation camps. "You have to be a little crazy if you wish to change the world".