Our constitution was under attack (from natural elements). Protecting this historic document from deterioration was critical. When two boxes hooked up to nitrogen and oxygen cylinders were delivered to the Indian parliament in 1995, it was significant moment in the preservation of the Indian constitution. Padmaparna and Samanth investigate the science that ensures the protection of the very foundation of this country.

The Intersection

Preserving the constitution of India

Dinosaurs are sexy beasts. They have colonised our imaginations in movies, books, cartoons and other popular media. The mystery around what happened to them and how they got blitzed off the face of the earth, is what keeps their story alive. A group of geologists is trying to pin down the Earth’s ancient history from millions of years ago, specifically the part that could tell us what happened to dinosaurs. In this episode, we look at how India sits in the middle of this murder mystery.

#58: Dinosaurs - A Geological Murder Mystery

Of the 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic produced till today, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste and ONLY nine percent of this has been recycled. After languishing in landfills or floating around as trash, nearly all of this ends up in our oceans. There is plastic in our fish, and even in our soil. Traditionally, India, because of its thrifty behaviour, has a history of reusing things. But that too is changing. And recycling alone is no longer the answer to our plastic addiction. Find out more about how plastic is causing serious damage to our eco-system and what we can do about it, in this episode of The Intersection.

#57: Our plastic addiction is destroying the planet

The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilisation spread across the northwestern regions of South Asia; it was one of three early centres of civilisations of the Old World, and the most widespread. In this episode we look at how the landscape evolved in the Western part of India during the Holocene. And how humans interacted with the changing environment. And what that can inform the current climate challenges we face.

#56: A mystery that goes back more than 4,500 years

What if the world spoke one language? And we never needed Google Translate? One man dreamt of such a language a century ago -- Esperanto. In this episode, we explore the life of Lakshmiswar Sinha, the most famous Indian Esperantist of the 20th century -- a man who at one time was a much sought-after speaker of this utopian language.

Do you speak Esperanto?

Humans take 3D vision for granted--we don't stop to gauge the distance of a cup of chai on the table before reaching out for it. It is a complicated process that requires highly-developed neural networks. Or does it? Scientists have found several animals, including insects, use 3D vision without brains as large as ours. Studying these creatures and their behaviour can help humans better design vision systems for our own kind and for the robots we build. On this episode, Padma and Samanth deep-dive into the fascinating phenomenon of 3D vision in the insect kingdom. Music: Josh Woodward

#54: What Insects Could Teach Humans (and Robots) About 3D Vision

For many children, especially in India, the thought of picking up a science or maths book inspires terror. There's no fun in a system that promotes rote learning over curiosity and understanding. Fortunately, things are changing. Books that explain STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) concepts in an interesting and engaging way are finding space on children's bookshelves and in school libraries and inspiring kids to embrace the subjects instead of running away from them. On this episode of The Intersection, Padma speaks to the folks at Pratham Books--an organization that publishes titles on things from friction, bio-luminescence and evolution to subtraction, spiders and blue whales--about the importance of introducing children to these concepts at an early age and making science and maths more fun for them. Music: Josh Woodward

#53: How A New Generation of STEM Books Are Putting The Fun Back In Fundamentals

A recent study found that India's farmed chickens are dosed with the world's strongest antibiotics. This is done so that they're immune to diseases they could contract in the cramped, filthy quarters that they're kept in. All over the world, the meat industry treats animals cruelly, to meet our huge demands and this is contributing to our destruction of the planet. But a few scientists are working to change this. On this episode of The Intersection, Samanth and Padma break down the science of lab-grown meat and discover what it tastes like. Music: Josh Woodward

#52: Could Lab-Grown Meat Save the World?

Labradoodles and Saint Bernards are great, but have you ever met a Chippiparai? This lithe stunner is just one of the handful of indigenous dog breeds that are still found around India. Sadly, many of these breeds are disappearing. On this episode, Samanth and Padmaparna speak to dog lovers who are doing their best to conserve these beauties and to a dog-loving civil servant who has studied homegrown breeds for most of his life and has even written a book about them. Music: Josh Woodward

#51: Forget Labs & Pugs, Say Hello to India's Homegrown Dog Breeds

Mars has captured our imagination for decades. Our neighbouring planet, easily identifiable as a red orb in the night sky, has inspired scores of research papers, sci-fi novels and alien flicks. People like Elon Musk are even figuring out ways to colonize Mars. But we need to know more about the planet before setting foot on it. What if there is something or someone that already calls Mars home? In this episode of The Intersection, Samanth and Padma speak to a group of scientists working here on Earth to figure out what we might find on Martian soil. Music: Josh Woodward

#50: In Search of Martians On Planet Earth

The Spanish Flu was the biggest pandemic of the last century. Five hundred million people were affected and over 14 million people died in India, the worst affected country in the world. But apart from taking millions of lives and disrupting families, the Spanish Flu also had geopolitical repercussions, including on India's freedom struggle. In this episode of The Intersection, Padma and Samanth learn about the Spanish's Flu's wide-ranging effects and how existing flus around the world share properties with the dangerous 1918 strain. Music: Josh Woodward

#49: How the Spanish Flu Affected India's Freedom Struggle

At some point of time, every human that has ever walked this planet has looked up at the night sky and wondered what the cosmos is trying to tell them. Tribes turned to the heavens when looking for structure and found ingenious ways to build their lives around the stars they saw every night, as Samanth and Padma discover in this stellar episode of The Intersection dedicated to ancient astronomy. Music: Josh Woodward

#48: The Stories in our Stars: Tribal Astronomy in Ancient India

Stampedes are all too common in India--at temples, religious festivals, sporting events and most recently, at a railway station in Mumbai. Though it might seem like unpredictable, unorganized chaos, there are actually computational models that study such potential situations and help authorities, designers and architects avoid them. As The Intersection returns with a new season, find out why stampedes occur and what to do if you're stuck in one. Music: Josh Woodward

#47: The Science of the Stampede

Isn't it odd that the word for "father" in Spanish ("padre") and Sanskrit ("pitru") sound similar? Especially given the geographic and cultural barriers that separate the two languages? As this episode of The Intersection discovers, there's a reason these languages can sound similar, and what's more, there's actually a way to trace the pronunciations of modern words, sometimes going back 8,000 years. Tune in to know more about the granddaddy of modern Indo-European languages and how a story may have sounded thousands of years ago. Music: Josh Woodward

#46: How Our Vocabulary Evolved Over 8,000 Years

You've probably heard of the Hyperloop, the high-speed mode of transport that could potentially change the way we travel. Dreamed up by entrepreneur and inventor Elon Musk, the Hyperloop promises to cut travel times substantially, promising to cover 500km in about 30 minutes. There's even talk of the Hyperloop coming to India, and connecting cities like Mumbai and Delhi, and Bengaluru and Chennai. But how does this transport system (that looks like something out of "The Jetsons") work? And is India ready for it? Or are there cheaper upgrades to the current rail network that would be more sensible? Samanth Subramanian and Padmaparna Ghosh find out in this episode of The Intersection. Music Credit: Josh Woodward and Chris Zabriske

#45: Decoding The Hype around Hyperloop

Every fortnight, The Intersection narrates stories that meld culture, science and history in India. Through interviews, anecdotes and original research, Padmaparna Ghosh and Samanth Subramanian bring alive the rich breadth of human imagination and knowledge, making for a riveting listening experience. The incessant punning — well, that's just a bonus.