In the last episode, we explored what if Indian courts used Artificial Intelligence or AI. This episode, we flip this, and ask - What if we got more people into our courts, and got jury trials back? Can it work, or is it a bad idea? Rohin Bhatt, a human rights lawyer and bioethicist, helps us through this thought experiment. We cover two things: A bit of history to see what jury trials looked like in India in the past. And then, we find out why jury trials may, or may not, work in India. People who helped make this episode: Imagined Tomorrow is created and hosted by Shreya Dasgupta. Theme musi ..read more

This episode, we take on a thought experiment — The air outside is getting so polluted that people in Indian cities start living inside clean air domes. What would these clean air domes look like? Where would we build them? And who gets to live inside these domes?  Experts we spoke to for the episode:  Dr. Rohit Negi, an associate professor at Ambedkar University, Delhi.  Dr. Pallavi Pant, Air quality scientists based in Boston.  Mr. Jai Dhar Gupta, clean air activist and entrepreneur.  Mr. Rajat Sodhi, architect and founder of the Bubbles Project.  People who hel ..read more

Animal poop: you want to step over it, but many scientists in India bow to it, sniff it, take detailed photos, and bring some of it home (okay fine, to their labs).  Welcome to the world of animal poop surveillance. In this episode, we talk to wildlife scientist, Dr. Arjun Srivathsa, who tells us why researchers like him in India are so passionate about animal excretion. And how poop can help save India's threatened species. People who helped make this episode: Imagined Tomorrow is created and hosted by Shreya Dasgupta. Theme music, sound design and editing by Abhijit Shylanath. Script ed ..read more

You flush and forget about your poop. But your poop doesn’t forget you. It can be a goldmine of information about your body. This is why people around the world are increasingly monitoring what folks let out in sewage – to learn about entire communities and cities. Experts say, monitoring a city’s collective poop can keep us safe. It can also bring in some surprising perks to secure our future. So, we imagine a future where Indian cities have full-blown sewage surveillance systems. What secrets can sewage reveal about us? And are there things we should be wary about? Experts we spoke to: Dr. V ..read more

Last episode we asked, what if a killer asteroid was headed towards the India. This episode, we're exploring how people find bits of asteroids that do crash into India from time to time. And why go looking for meteorites at all - what's in it for us? This episode is an Imagined Tomorrow Short, where we take a detour to discuss an idea sparked by a future we previously explored.  Experts we spoke to for the episode: Dr. Dwijesh Ray, a planetary geologist at the physical research laboratory in Ahmedabad. People who helped make this episode: Imagined Tomorrow is created and hosted by Shreya ..read more

In this episode, we imagine a future where medical decisions in India are personalised for our DNA; where treatments are tailor-made for our individual genetic makeup.  Why? Because not everyone responds in the same way to any given medical treatment. A painkiller that seems to work for your friend, might not work for you. An anti-diabetic medication that works for your father, might not work for your mother. As researchers are finding out, our genes could hold the answer. Our individual genetic makeup can have a role to play in what diseases we develop; how our bodies metabolise medicine ..read more

In this episode, we’re taking on a future you may not be able to choose and move to a climate safe location. Maybe it's a job you can't leave, or you can't afford to move, or there aren't many climate safe locations to pick from. How can you then keep your home, your neighbourhood safe from climate impacts? This is Part-2 of a 3-Part Climate mini-series. In this, experts take us through how an Indian city is learning to deal with climate extremes and poor city planning; and how current and future homes and neighbourhoods can be reimagined for future climate. Experts we spoke to for this episod ..read more

Imagined Tomorrow is a podcast that explores hypothetical futures for India, because our present has already diverged from that of the West. So, our future will also be uniquely ours. And the first step to building that tomorrow, is to imagine it. This podcast will explore futures India may or may not see through the lens of our culture, science, tech, law and ethics. Listen to pilot season now. Season 2 coming soon ..read more

Show notes: In Episode 6, we explored if we could travel to space from India. In this bonus episode, we hear what the future of the internet could be like - in our solar system. Will we be able to watch Netflix on Mars, stream Youtube videos, chat with family and friends on Earth and livestream? Episode features Dr. Abhijeet Borkar, an astrophysicist at the Astronomy Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences Imagined Tomorrow is created and hosted by Shreya Dasgupta. Intro and outro music is by Abhijit Shylanath. Abhishek Madan is the official feedback-provider of script and sound. Get in tou ..read more

Show notes: In this episode, we imagine a future where you can travel to space from India. Whether you want to go around the earth for three days, walk on the Moon, or live on Mars for an artistic experiment - you can book a spaceflight from India and go where your heart (and wallet) takes you. We hear from some kids about how they picture this future. We hear from a space architect who tells us what commercial space travel might look like in the future for people in general and those in India. And a space lawyer tells us how we can travel responsibly. Also - stay till the end. There’s a surpr ..read more