OoruLabs Podcast

07/06/2024

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran, Host of OoruLabs speaks with Balasubramaniam of Socratus on complexity and wickedness of governance. They exchange thoughts with urban traffic and other issues as an anchor to understand complex systems. Unraveling Wicked Problems in Urban Governance - Part 1 | S2E23

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31/05/2024

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran , Host of and Susheel Nair of Artand address viewer comments on the recent episodes as a part of the monthly ones roundup. Private Goods vs. Public Services - Answering viewer comments | S2E22

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24/05/2024

A 190km long tunnel has been proposed for Bengaluru, with the first phase being a 4km long tunnel in the north of town which purports to solve the traffic congestion on the corridor to the Bengaluru airport. On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran, Host of OoruLabs talks to Rajkumar Dugar of citizens for citizens about the feasibility of the tunnel road project in Bengaluru, the pros, the cons and if it is worth it in the end? Is Bengaluru Tunnel Road Project Worth It? | S2E21

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20/05/2024

India's premiere urban affairs podcast now hits your notifications a day earlier. If you subscribed and turned on the notifications, else you can go to the channel and check out the podcast/videos section. So from this week we are on Fridays at 4PM. Happy listening.

11/05/2024

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran, Host of OoruLabs Podcast talks to Sumana Narayan who worked on a report which documented the impact of the free bus scheme in Tamil Nadu while working at Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG). This is an absolutely eye opening interview. I learned how women use the bus completely different from men. This is a must listen. What the free bus tickets did to women in Tamil Nadu | S2E19

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10/05/2024

Hello! We at OoruLabs are collecting feedback on the podcast. We would like to receive your insights on how we can make it better. If you would wish to participate in this survey, please fill this link: https://forms.gle/M4wzKRNyXZSidupW6. Thank you!

05/05/2024

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran and Susheel Nair discuss the heat wave sweeping across the country. What did we do wrong and where do we go from here? Watch, Is it too late to fix the climate? | S2E18

***Support the podcast, become a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCksnReFEAAK47cTVZBVQJrw/join On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sa...

28/04/2024

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran, Host of OoruLabs Podcast talks to Vishwanath Srikantaiah on the new way of water management that the rest of the cities in India can adopt. Nothing like a crisis to change the approach and try new things. This episode is shot on location instead of inside a room. Watch, Bengaluru shows the new way | S2E17

***Support the podcast, become a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCksnReFEAAK47cTVZBVQJrw/join On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sa...

20/04/2024

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran, Host of OoruLabs talks to Sharif qamar of TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute on Ministry of Railways, Government of India, it’s progress and potential opportunities for becoming a transportation powerhouse. But is it structured for success? Can this elephant dance? Can Indian Railways power the urban growth? | S2E16

***Support the podcast, become a member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCksnReFEAAK47cTVZBVQJrw/join On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sa...

14/04/2024

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran, Host of OoruLabs talks to Anjali Karol Mohan, Urban Planner and Partner, Integrated Design on how the recent FAR amendment bill by the Karnataka Government will yield very little compared to the potential dramatic improvements it could have brought to the cities in the state. Listen to the episode 95% of real estate left out of FAR amendment | S2E15

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06/04/2024

Sathya Sankaran and Susheel Nair are back again to discuss what the elections mean for urban areas in the episode “Why our biases might not be helping us progress | Monthly ones - S2E14”

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02/04/2024

Economics Vs Politics. On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran speaks with Anupam Manur of The Takshashila Institution on government setting the prices of various goods and services. Who should be setting price for taxis, autorickshaws, water tankers etc | S2E13

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23/03/2024

Post the death of Ex Intel India chief on his Bicycle in Mumbai, Bicycle Mayors Dalip Singh Sabharwal Arshel Akhter Ashik Sohan Jain Santhana Selvan Felix John from 6 Indian cities speak with Sathya Sankaran to understand the complexity in the blame game - Is it possible to cycle safely in Indian cities? | S2E12 https://youtu.be/qw2fDBSlFaI BYCS

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran speaks with Bicycle Mayors of Chennai - Felix JohnHyderabad - Santana SelvanPimpri-Chinch...

16/03/2024

Transforming a place serving 30k people everyday, Community participation in civic improvement is the real skin in the game for liveability, It comes with its own challenges however. Watch Arvind Keerthi tell Sathya Sankaran, How to get results without government | S2E11 https://youtu.be/gGBB3JClC0w

09/03/2024

There is more than enough water for Bengaluru, we are just squandering it all. If we want sustainable solutions, we should learn to frame the problem right. The most power packed 20 minutes knowledge on water scarcity you will see on the internet. Watch, Masterclass on water scarcity in Bengaluru | S2E10 https://youtu.be/Qc6TTbJWvW8 where Sathya Sankaran speaks with Vishwanath Srikantaiah

On, OoruLabs, India's premier urban issues podcast, We discuss the water crisis in Bangalore with Vishwanath aka Zenrainman, and explore the severity of the ...

04/02/2024

Value of information over rhetoric | Monthly Ones, S2E5 https://youtu.be/0PUaIs8eOHE
On, OoruLabs, India’s premier urban issues podcast, Sathya and Susheel debate the value of information, how it is useful to citizens and quality of governance.

28/01/2024

Why Government struggles to get you infrastructure and services | S2E4 https://youtu.be/yawleSwh7Eo
On, OoruLabs, India’s premier urban issues podcast, We speak to Tara Krishnaswamy who has spent decades in elections, policy, federalism, ward committees urban governance and gender justice. Citizens in large agglomerations are at their wits end trying to get relief from disorganised civic agencies across the country. Their only recourse is their political representatives who don’t seem to necessarily have a permanent fix, they appease the immediate requests but fail to fix things for the long haul. What are their incentives? Many cities across the country for example, Bengaluru, don’t have a city government? Why don’t we have it? Do our politicians really care?

20/01/2024

What did Bengaluru speak for a 1000 years? | S2E3 https://youtu.be/HXylwGJ7loU
On, OoruLabs, India’s premier urban issues podcast, Sathya Sankaran speaks to Udaya Kumar P L of Inscription Stones of Bangalore who gives a long term view on his Bengaluru and its languages. How they evolved and what it means going forward.
Why is language such a touchy subject? Our country has states separated on language, so language is not just communication. It is also political. Why have we made language political? Are languages like religion, a soft target to create enemies and galvanize political support? Or is there really a threat to the languages in the cities which are multicultural and multilingual by nature? What is the language of a city? Why did you learn English without prompting, but riots are needed for you to learn. Kannada.

14/01/2024

Permanent fix to urban traffic jams | S2E2 https://youtu.be/YVjgaOmHznE
On, OoruLabs, India’s premier urban issues podcast, Phoenix Mall of Asia, Mantri Mall, Orion Mall, Lulu Mall, IKEA all fell prey to traffic congestion when they opened. This is just in one half of Bengaluru. Why does it repeat without fail in many cities all across India? Don’t we learn anything at all? Here is a complete breakdown of the issue and the possible the solutions. Sathya Sankaran, Urban Communicator and host of the OoruLabs podcast brings in Prof Ashish Verma of IISc to discuss this issue.

Directorate of Urban Land Transport Bengaluru Traffic Police Rajeev Gowda Krishna Byre Gowda DK Shivakumar Bangalore Development Authority

06/01/2024

The big fight: Indian Railways vs Bengaluru Suburban Railway | S2E1
On, OoruLabs, India’s premier urban affairs podcast, Rajkumar Dugar, civic activist and founder of c4c, and Sathya Sankaran discuss how Indian railways is killing state projects & hindering progress. In one of the worst case of bureaucratic oneupmanship and abuse of coercive power and big brotherly attitudes, you will see how the Indian Railways is scuttling a project despite holding a 49% stake in it. The Bengaluru Suburban Rail project was approved after 12 years of struggle, it is now being killed by one of its own parents, the Indian Railways. This in the crown jewel of India’s progress and one of the top 10 innovation capitals of the world, Bengaluru, which is losing 30 thousand crores ever year in lost productivity https://youtu.be/G_f9sQyF3sc

31/12/2023

A wrap up of a year of OoruLabs podcast with some banter around Citizenship and Politics in the city with Susheel Nair and looking into the future on India’s premier urban issues podcast https://youtu.be/JdgHMBJggUw

23/12/2023

How can cities curb their car-thusiasm? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 46
Chris Bruntlett is the author of two books along with Melissa Bruntlett, “Curbing Traffic” and “Building The Cycling City”. He lays out the case for how reducing the dependence on cars can increase urban vitality and liveability for human beings, based on the dutch blueprint and his observations across many countries.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/5px6L0X_hVg
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000639498324
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GbZg7MpxYj6l3YSKyVHkd?si=f384a68a30fa479f
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09/12/2023

How long before Delhi can breathe clean air? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 44
Amit Bhatt lays down the challenges in reducing our dependence on combustion for transportation and energy needs in our cities. Are cities other than Delhi really as clean as they claim to be? Are all the COP commitments really percolating down to action on the ground? What are the complexities in climate change governance that is preventing our transition away from combustion?
On YouTube https://youtu.be/DxuYVCQ7qKY
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000637982713
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/1G5nDH9wF4XSCuBZOHYREi?si=f307082a8ab04373
WhatsApp https://chat.whatsapp.com/HquObSYDOFz5DXP6TEh07W

02/12/2023

Is good governance a pipe dream? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 43
Revathy Ashok, the CEO of Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) reveals how an India specific PAC can make a difference in civic outcomes. She explains how creating leadership and working with elected representatives is an investment for the long run.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/ap951cjvBn4
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000637236590
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/02LOZ5ut0TpJbBF0UA7Um2?si=8cc4dabcc3a340ae

25/11/2023

What is Brand Bengaluru? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 42
The Bengaluru Restructuring Committee, of which Ravichandar Venkataraman is a member, has now been rechristened as Brand Bengaluru Committee. In this episode he talks with Sathya Sankaran at length about what this means. He also Unboxes Bengaluru's newest Habba, Unboxingblr coming up between 1st & 11th of December.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/dk_QP-myap4
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/7IWeUPcFOutAN0uD7IdCDr?si=0e2669cfb46d4e1e
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18/11/2023

Are NGO’s effective in creating sustainable cities? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 41
Ranjit Gadgil of Parisar speaks with Sathya Sankaran to help us understand the effectiveness and the journey of civic activisim in effecting change in the cities towards environmental sustainability. Being an early mover in this space from Pune the learnings in the space is immense.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/XGM8hGCAYCc
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000635230076
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/5OiQJlXA5ncrfPk4JWhKQn?si=b43afcca2d594d39
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13/11/2023

Will congestion charging work in India? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 40
Shreya Gadepalli comes back on the show to clearly explain to Sathya Sankaran how congestion pricing or road pricing works, dispel the myths, how parking management and the bus can be an integral part of managing throughput on our roads. We talk bus and the future of road transport corporations as well.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/h8vDR7FD0Ss
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000634431131
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/7DOsCYMc1aurFKmSiZqZNT?si=fe402fcc914e42ac
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04/11/2023

Will our cities plunge into darkness? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 39
Are we ready for the increase in energy intensity from a growing economy and yet be able to transition to clean energy? Deepak Sriram Krishnan, Associate Director for WRI India's Energy Program, speaking with Sathya Sankaran and walks us through the challenges in entire power system from producer, distributor to consumer.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/eBtl6jiO8_E
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000633646047
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qvwVcACanKiU1RsgD1Tuc?si=2c8bee70509a49ee

29/10/2023

Why is the government slow? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 38
From software to civil society to managing the Chennai Smart City as its CEO, Raj Cherubal has seen it all. As an “outsider” in the government trying to bring fresh perspectives, he speaks with Sathya Sankaran to tell us the inside story. How the government “works” for the citizen. Its structure complexity and the inertia all of this imposes.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/-x0fTt1iy88
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000632888630
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/5yy3Ob0iHTDAfb7EJyhrBf?si=3885a8877dda4097

21/10/2023

Can the Knowledge economy create better cities? | OoruLabs Talking Heads podcast Episode 37
Watch as Ashwin Mahesh discusses, with Sathya Sankaran, the state of education from primary to vocational, its impact on cities and the economy. Insights into what is possible and how institutions and government education regulators are struggling to cope with the demands of the marketplace for jobs.
On YouTube https://youtu.be/zqSzpk60KBk
On Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-oorulabs-podcast/id1682407685?i=1000632069518
On Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/58wF3c7ynExYN3Q6GE4kar?si=0ccbcd7002514900