DescriptionHave you found yourself surprised when you were laid off from your company? Or have that nagging feeling you might lose your job when the economy takes a turn for the worse?In this short episode, Vikram breaks down his 2-year framework for staying prepared, honing your skills, staying sharp and being ever prepared for your next gig or interview. With the proper mindset, you will notice when your job stops providing you value or realize how you can elevate yourself to the best version of you. Avoid walking in the footsteps of others and stay on the path of true success and personal fulfillment.Chapters00:00 Intro00:57 Story of the Thanksgiving Turkey01:57 Layoffs in tech companies04:15 The near layoff experience05:29 Average employment tenure06:39 The 2-year employment framework 08:53 Going beyond your job description09:57 Read textbooks10:51 Ask questions to learn11:20 Keep a work journal12:15 OutroLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

DescriptionIn part part of this two-part series on rebooting health, Subbu and Vikram talk about the importance of diet and nutrition for health, and share their methods for keeping calories under check, getting enough protein, foods to absolutely avoid, how to get back on track when our diets fall off the wagon, and how to deal with challenges and temptations that arise regarding foods in our day to day lives.LinksSubbu's diet and nutrition spreadsheetOpen Food Facts Chapters00:00 Intro04:30 Setting diet and nutrition goals10:10 Designing a practical diet you can follow16:41 Learning intuitive eating20:14 Protein, fat and fiber34:50 Reasons to use a nutrition spreadsheet39:00 Cutting sugar intake41:15 Falling off the bandwagon43:20 Enjoying cuisines47:20 Supplementation52:40 OutroLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

DescriptionIn part one of this two-part series on rebooting health, Vikram and Subu talk about the importance of consistent exercise as we age, describe tools and frameworks that they use to get started on exercise especially strength training, and ways to develop consistency. They talk about workout programs that work, and those that do not, and why, how different programs are suited to different people, and how to design a 21-day workout challenge for yourself.LinksBowTiedOx - Your guide to baseline optimizationPeter Attia - OutliveFitbod.me - App for workoutsChapters00:00 Introduction04:35 Getting started with exercise09:56 Frameworks for being consistent21:11 Designing a 21 day challenge25:47 Walks are under appreciated as exercise28:33 Why strength training is essential31:57 Starting strength training: The buddy system39:55 Starting strength training: Join a 1hr strength session43:32 Starting strength training: Fitbod app45:10 Starting strength: Other considerations48:21 ConclusionLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

DescriptionIn this episode Subu and Vikram distill down ideas from the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. They discuss better ways to organize your productivity and time, and the importance of not getting distracted and spending your attention wisely.LinksAmazon book link Vik’s book notesAn interactive book summary5 ways to create timeChapters0:00 Introduction2:24 Productivity13:45 Time25:32 Attention35:10 The Middle PathLet's Get SocialTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

DescriptionInspired by the Cortex Podcast, this episode is about why new year resolutions don’t work and a better approach to setting your intent for the new year. Subu and Vikram reflect on how 2022 was and talk about their yearly theme for 2023. LinksLast year’s yearly themes episode Cortex Podcast - Our inspiration for Yearly ThemesAlan Watts Lecture on Taoism Wu Wei Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver BurkemanFitbod App for Resistance TrainingChapters0:00 The Concept of Yearly Themes5:14 Subu's Yearly Theme15:10 Vikram's Yearly Theme22:51 Core Principle: Restrict25:23 Core Principle: Focus29:37 Core Principle: Minimize30:45 Core Principle: OptimizeLet's Get SocialTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

In this episode Subu and Vikram talk to Priyanka Shetty, an actor, director and playwright who left her secure software engineering job to pursue a life of acting and theater performance. Her latest touring play is the Elephant in the Room, which was recently premiered in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, and is a solo performance, a one woman show, which is a tale of a search for identity with deeply embedded Indian roots, and finding context and common ground in America. We hear tales from Priyanka show on the road, the things that go wrong, and how the show must go on no matter what. We also go back in time to discuss how exactly Priyanka transition from software into a life she always dreamed about as an actor. We talk about how to deal with criticism constructively, and the power that words have in people's lives. And how inspiration takes many forms. It takes a lot of courage to pursue our dreams. And we are always in awe of people who do, especially when they do it for the love of art.LinksPriyanka's websiteSupporting Priyanka's work Edinburgh Fringe FestivalWacken Open Air FestivalGojira BandRaghu Dixit ProjectBlack Earth BandChokher Bali by Rabindranath TagoreChapters0:00 Art, Music and Theater with Priyanka Shetty1:33 The show must go on10:49 Being in the moment16:12 The Elephant in the Room, #Charlottesville and The Wall29:33 Theater Trends, Heavy Metal Music and Society37:32 Education for a Career in Theater46:53 Appetite for Art in India49:07 Priyanka's path to a Theater Career55:48 Taking Criticism Constructively1:02:50 Being inspirational to others1:06:02 For the love of the craft1:15:41 Ways to support Theater as an art form1:23:50 OutroLet's Get SocialTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

In this episode, Subu and Vikram talk to Dr. Harish Vedantham, a radio astronomer and professor at the University of Groningen, about the exciting world of research in exoplanets - or planets in solar systems other than our own, possibility of alien life, building radio telescopes on the moon, the James Webb space telescope and fast radio bursts from the universe. They discuss what it is like to be in an astronomers shoes, places they go, and what the teaching and research life feels like. While we are but a grain of sand in the vast universe, they ponder the meaning of life, and how it ultimately lies within.LinksEpisode TranscriptFast Radio Bursts (Wikipedia)Discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background RadiationMathematical Probability of Alien Life - The Drake equationMurchison Widefield Array in Western AustraliaDr. Harish Vedantham's websiteChapters0:00 Introduction1:07 Importance of Good Teachers8:33 The workings of Radio Astronomy14:38 Mysteries of the Universe20:33 Discovering Exoplanets and Alien Life30:26 James Webb Space Telescope36:23 We are all Stardust41:16 The need for Fundamental Research47:01 A Telescope on the Moon56:01 Are we alone in the Universe?59:46 Cool Tales from a Life in Astronomy1:08:49 A Day in the Life of a Radio Astronomer 1:14:29 Research styles across continents1:20:33 Views on the education system1:26:40 Advice to young people1:37:18 Prof. Vedantham's Book Recommendations1:43:58 The Meaning of LifeLet's Get SocialTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

DescriptionIn this edition, Dr. Sidharth Mohan, a biophysicist and an expert in protein biochemistry, heavy metal drummer and indie music promoter,  talks about the fundamental building blocks of life, the wonders and secrets that Mother Nature won’t reveal to us, and the implications of learning those secrets on the future of humanity. He talks about drug discovery and how the entire scientific community came together as one to develop and deliver Covid-19 vaccines to the world. Subu and Vikram also talk about his personal journey, his inspirations and influences which got him to where he is today. Dr. Sidharth Mohan is on Instagram at @sidmogramLinksFull episode transcriptLevinthal's Paradox: Youtube, BlogProtein Folding at HomeWhat's the Scene, India - Instagram, FacebookChapters0:00 Discovering New Drugs with Dr. Sidharth Mohan4:01 Protein folding and Levinthal's paradox22:53 Experimenting with Protein Folding31:00 How drugs work34:46 Developing new drugs46:02 A primer in molecular biology: DNA, RNA and Vaccines56:49 Solving the COVID crisis1:01:30 Tools used in drug discovery1:07:25 PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction1:19:37 SidMo's personal jouney into science1:32:36 Inspiring figures in SidMo's life1:45:01 Music, Drumming and WTS2:03:33 OutroLet's Get SocialTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

DescriptionIn this episode, Vikram and Subu explain the meaning of first principles, it's meaning in philosophy and science, and explore what it means to break things down into their basic constituent forms, and how that can accelerate learning. Drawing from a variety of examples from cooking, music and invention, they analyze how to think like the experts and how to become one in a field of one's choosing.LinksFirst principles and scientific theoriesForty Second BoydJames Clear on First principles thinkingThe VARK questionnaireSalt, Fat, Acid, HeatInvention of the wheeled suitcase3blue1brown YouTube channelNeural networksEssence of calculusWordle using Information Theory #1Wordle using Information Theory #2Chapters00:00 Intro 05:40 First Principles Defined 09:52 Ockham's Razor 14:07 Reasoning by Analogy 18:59 First Principles in Industry 21:42 Invention of the Wheeled Suitcase 24:00  Deconstruct, then reconstruct for deeper learning 34:10 Elon Musk and SpaceX 38:58 VARK Learning Model 43:31 Applying first principles learning Let's Get SocialTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website

In this episode, Subu and Vikram discuss what a successful career means, and what it takes to achieve it in various stages of one's career, with examples from Tech CEOs to Navy Admirals. They also discuss important career decisions such as: Should you job hop? How to negotiate salary? Is remote work good for career?LinksSo good, they can't ignore you - Cal NewportTrue Learning is done with AgencyAdmiral Hyman RickoverDoing a Job: The Management Philosophy of Admiral Hyman RickoverChapters00:00 The 3 Pillars of Career Success 08:55 Timelines of Very Successful People 17:45 Early Career Moves 30:04 Mid Career Moves 38:34 Late Career Moves 43:18 Should you hop jobs? 46:35 Should you negotiate pay? And How? 51:33 Is Remote-Work good for your career long-term? 55:13 Outro Let's Get SocialTwitterInstagramYoutubeWebsiteLet's Get Social Twitter Instagram Youtube Website