Guys I have recently started listening to podcasts and I need good podcast recommendations on general life stuff that have depth in them. Please recommend!!

Hello, I want to get a poster made for marketing on A4 size, nothing fancy, just something that looks good and gets the job done but dont know if anyone would actually take up this job, I would be willing to pay just for this small gig.

Let me know if you know someone who would be interested or any sub where I can post this at.

Thanks!

Can anyone suggest a way to meet and be friends with more Indian people online? I want to learn more about India - the good, the bad, the ugly, from its citizens.

Please give a list of (as unbiased as practically possible) blogs, books, youtube channels or webpages where I can read and learn about topics such as history, geopolitics, governance, economy, current affairs, international relations, science & tech, social and legal structures etc. of India.

I’m not preparing for any exam, the aim is just to be an informed citizen.

Lately I’ve felt that doomscrolling on social media has made me live under a rock and there’s absolutely nothing I’m contributing towards my growth. I wish to be more educated and I’m ready to give time to that.

Please help. Where and how do I start?

I

Mahatma Gandhi is not officially the Father of the Nation.

Hockey is not the national sport of India.

Drinking water while standing is completely safe and doesn't cause any harm.

Turmeric is used for just color and flavor in food.

Drinking lemon water doesn't aid digestion and can actually harm your teeth.

The idea that you should drink 8 glasses of water every day is a myth.

Scientifically speaking, waking up early (between 3–6 a.m.) isn't necessarily a wise choice for everyone.

98.6°F is not the average temperature of the human body (sorry, doc!).

The liver is not the largest organ in the body—it's actually the skin.

Not everyone needs 8 hours of sleep.

Please add more!

EDIT : Mass downvoting my posts and comments, along with sending abusive messages in my DMs, will not compel me to remove this post.

Tell us about your day or whatever is on your mind!

China has Baidu instead of Google, Baike Baidu instead of Wikipedia, Baidu Maps instead of Google, Weibo instead of X (formerly Twitter), Zhihu instead of Quora and Reddit, WeChat instead of WhatsApp, and many more. They even have their own AI models similar to ChatGPT, like Yuanbao, Doubao, ChatGLM, Zhida, 360 AI, DeepSeek, etc.

Yeah, we also have a search engine (Qmamu), an AI chatbot (Krutrim AI), and a microblogging platform similar to X and Weibo called Koo (which recently got shut down). But why aren't they popular? What are the reasons? I asked some of my friends, and their opinion was that these platforms lack transparency, have poor data handling, etc. In a nutshell, most Indians don't trust Indian platforms—or am I missing something?

What I’ve learned about why China is so closed in terms of the Internet is that many Chinese people are poor and lack education (we have the same problem), and to reduce Western media influence on their minds, they tried to ban/regulate foreign social media platforms as long as they could. When the situation got out of hand, they quickly banned them. Now, 75% of the Chinese population has access to the Internet (we have 45%). They think that foreign content is too unethical and promotes anti-national sentiments or rebellious behavior. Also, the Chinese Internet is very clean in terms of 18+ content, profanity, and misinformation (which is a huge issue in India).

My question is: Will we be able to have a similar ecosystem to China? Or will we continue to use foreign apps and remain their largest market?

My French in-laws want to take a month to travel in South India (Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu). What would you recommend that they don't miss? I'm definitely including Hampi, Halibeedu, Belur in Karnataka, Pondicherry, Chettinadu, Madhurai in TN and Wynad, Kozhikode, Vagammon, Thekkady, Kumarakom in Kerala.

Do you have any other recommendations?

My mom is old and she keeps forgetting things. She had kept some money safely. Turns out there are two 2000 rs. notes from 2016. I asked my bank RM and said we don't accept it now. I read that Sept. 2023 was the last date for it to be returned to banks. Does anyone have any idea about exchanging it with RBI, what's the process and is it too much of an hassle now ?

Assume B is a boy and G is a girl.

B and G share a common ancestor. B's paternal grandfather is the first cousin of G's paternal great- grandmother.

When you work out the relationship, G is B's third cousin once removed.

In other words, let's say X was their common ancestor

B's lineage : X -> Great grandfather of B -> Grandfather of B ->Father of B - > B

G's lineage: X ->Great Great grandmother of G -> Great Grandmother of G ->Grandmother of G ->Father of G -> G

Can B and G get married as per the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 ?

Inb4 ******

If you have visited a private hospital in an Indian Metro / Tier 1 city within last 6 months, what were the key issues you faced?

I am trying to build a solution to improve patient experience in hospitals and would love to understand your concerns.

I personally struggled with a long waiting time (8 hours) during my dad's discharge recently at Apollo Ahmedabad.

Hello everyone , we've got a small community to follow Indian athletes at the upcoming Olympics (although everyone is welcome there); if you're interested in joining, this is the link(bring your friends along too). Hope to see you there!

https://discord.gg/Hq5UtpDzuy

i am a rising pre final year student (b. tech biotech),i consider myself as a sincere student ready to learn.

Hi! I am currently looking for options to pursue after my bachelor’s. Placement at my college for Biotech is not the best. And pursuing non-tech (like project management) is my last choice. Everyone is doing an MBA, with my interest in tech, healthcare and bio I don’t want to do MBA. I understand that people mostly do research after biotech, or do Master’s in Biotech, I honestly don’t want to do core research and PhD I want to aim to be a health tech professional, or frankly just earn really good money in India in the healthtech field and have a good name. I am also interested in AI.

I got to know from somewhere that IVF is a m field which is booming. Pursuing an MSc. Embryology (from Monash/Oxford) I could be an embryologist and work at IVF centres. How is the job? How is your experience? Is it worth it? Do you enjoy it? How is the pay? How was your master’s experience and where did you pursue it?

Thank you for reading. Any other opinions on other master’s options are welcome :)

Hi! This question specifically relates to media consumption habits; I do not imply reading books or course material here.

I read The Hindu daily and do not think I will leave it anytime soon (non-UPSC aspirant here). In addition, my university's library account allows me to read the Financial Times, which is equally erudite. However, due to workload, I have become more erratic in reading newspapers; though I skim through them, I read them thoroughly only occasionally. For instance, I never skip the editorials/opinion of FT and The Hindu.

I was curious since I may be moving back to India after completing my postgraduate degree here in the UK. Since it was a degree in IR, FT was a must-read, though, once I have shifted back, I understand it may not be so critical for my line of work, and its subscription will come dear. I shall continue to subscribe to TH.

Would you suggest reading a pink paper instead or as a complement to TH? While it is recommended for understanding policy and economy, which will be crucial for my work, I believe the right mix of podcasts can supplant the need for a financial daily. If I am driven to believe by you that a financial daily is paramount, I would place my bets on Mint, which I have read in the past, though I am open to suggestions.

Furthermore, being an avid reader, I appreciate the well-written, incisive, and analytical long-form. My studies necessitated a reading of The Economist daily and whereas I am not loathe to continue it, I have always questioned its editorial stance and Eurocentrism. Having said that, it remains a comprehensive primer on the week's global issues which is not easy to replace. However, in spite of its abiding relevance, would you recommend any other magazine? I read articles from The Caravan but have never picked it up from the news-stand. My TH subscription comes with Frontline for which I used to eagerly wait in my undergrad but now tend to read in a pack of two-three on the rare weekend I get time. I must say Vaishna Roy has vastly improved the tenor and look of the magazine, though its ideological edge has slightly blunted. Nevertheless....

So, what mix do you guys recommend? Consideration of time and the considerable cost of subscription will top my agenda. I do not want to subscribe to a publication and not read it after all. I know, with an element of certainty, that I will not have force myself to read, since I love to read and write, although time and cost will be realistic determinants. I encourage you to discuss your reading and news/opinion consumption habits as well. I may have missed the odd newspaper, so please recommend any daily that does not indulge in disinformation. The only two financial dailies I have read are Mint and ET, so please go ahead and recommend anything else too. Surely, there are numerous quality magazines out there, which I may not be aware of. I won't read showbiz and gossip mags ever but occasionally pick up The New Yorker and The Paris Review, the latter only for its interviews. Literary magazines, in Hindi or English, are not out of consideration.

Thanks!