India’s soft power has grown, but no thanks to the government

We are all aware that India is fast emerging as a major economic power. Although there is talk of India also being an important “soft power” the fact is we are ...

How Data Can Improve the Impact of Stories

‘Our ancestors created their myths and told their stories for a human purpose. Any good story, any good novel, should have a message’, wrote Chinua Achebe, the ...

Aamir Khan, You Offend Me

‘”Aayi hai college mein padhne ke liye. Jab dekho taiyaar hai, ladne ke liye. Humne khaayi hai kasam, todenge iska guroor hum'” – Dil, 1990 (Aamir K...

The false vaccine debate shows we’re in a golden age of believing whatever we want

As Georgia becomes the latest US state to report a case of measles, many across the land are shaking their heads in disbelief. How can otherwise intelligent, well-intention...

Modi was silent when he had to speak and spoke when he needn’t have

The BJP’s troubles began when the prime minister continued in the sloganeering and promise mode of electioneering for too long.

The ...

Madam C.E.O., Get Me a Coffee

Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant on Women Doing ‘Office Housework’

This is the sad reality in workplaces around the world: Women help mor...

Child, Bride, Mother

In Guatemala, the legal age of marriage is 14 with parental consent, but in Petén, in the northern part of the country, the law seems to be more of a suggestion. Und...

The Dangers of Vaccine Denial

First, a word on vaccines: They have revolutionized public health. Can you name the discoverer of the smallpox vaccine? Probably not: Edward Jenner is little known today. H...

Globalizing sustainable development

The question of how the world can end extreme poverty and improve human wellbeing will take on new urgency in 2015, as the millennium development goals (MDGs) expire and a ...