Designed for Good

Have you wondered whether the free apps on your phone are actually free? Or have you by now realised that if you aren’t paying for a product, you might actually be the product. This particular episode of designed for good is about the stuff the takes up most of our time. It's about Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter and Telegram. Who gets to see your messages? Do you know how to diffuse a filter bubble? Is your crucial content reaching your desired audience or is it slyly getting censored - these are just a few amongst the many questions answered by Gema, Viola and Kristine, who talk about their research and work which has shaped an incredibly informative website called guideagainstaitracking.com

Do yourself a favour and be sure to check it out!

On this episode of Eavesdrop, you get to listen in on my conversation with my brilliant friend, illustrator and artist Chaaya Prabhat (@chaaya23). She is currently based out of Goa and is figuring out whether or not she should adopt a cat apart from creating the most gorgeous illustrations everyday. We talk about a bunch of stuff but mostly about navigating the freelance life. She mentions a valuable resource for freelancers in India called @contract4creators. Be sure to check it out!

In this second episode of Designed for Good we’re in conversation with Cara Tejpal– wildlife conservationist and writer at The Sanctuary Nature Foundation. She also heads the Mud on Boots project which supports grassroots conservationists across India. We talk about using our skills to support conservation efforts and how observation gives rise to kinship. Listen and learn!

Welcome to the second season of designed for good! This is the first episode in a new parallel series called EAVESDROP, where you get to listen-in on private conversations between friends who are trying their best to make sense of this ridiculous world.. Here I’m talking to my friend Madhavi Menon who is an ace illustrator and graphic designer, we chat about how we feel when we step out at night. Stay till the end to know why Madhavi feels like a fish sleeping with one eye open.

On this episode we're in conversation with Suchitra Vijayan – lawyer, writer and founder of the Polis Project. We speak about the undemocratic UAPA, participation in public life, the media and how resistance starts at home.

You can follow the Polis Project and support their incredible independent research and work by donating.

Aanchal Malhotra is an oral historian, writer and artist based out of New Delhi. She is the author of Remnants of a Separation, a history of the partition through material memory. In this episode we talk about her writing process, collaboration in the subcontinent and visiting Pakistan for the first time.

Aanchal also heads the Museum of Material Memory — a digital repository ofmaterialculture of the Indian subcontinent, with Navdha Malhotra. You can follow her on instagram and order her book to learn more.

On this episode we're in conversation with Scott Starrett, co-founder and principal designer at Tandem, New York.

Tandem is forged on the principle that the same persuasive techniques used in marketing and advertising can, and should be used to advance the greater good. We speak about his interest is socially responsible design, working with non profits and designing a successful campaign for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

You can follow both Tandem and Scott on instagram to keep up with their work.

In this episode we talk about the ongoing student protests in India, an environment of fear and our history of resistance. At 16.10 learn an interesting fact about Poorna Swaraj.

Saagar is a historian of modern India whose chief interest lies in studying the dynamics of state-society relationship in central and eastern India.

On this episode of designed for good, we’re in conversation with author and activist Fatima Bhutto (fbhutto). She speaks about her latest book New Kings of the World, for which she travelled far and wide, collecting stories and understanding the impact and importance of pop culture from the east. Fatima traces the rise of Bollywood, Dizi and K-Pop.

New Kings of the World is published by Columbia Global Reports. You can get your copy here

Don't forget to follow designed for good to keep up with our latest episodes.

As young people we often feel like those who are in power don’t represent us or our concerns at all. It is important for young voices to be heard and our issues addressed, since quite realistically we are directly affected by the consequence of the decisions made by those who are so far removed from us. In this episode, we're in conversation with Sudhanshu Kaushik, founder of Young India Foundation, a national youth organisation that works on youth rights and representation by recruiting and training young political candidates in India. Sudhanshu grew up between the United States and India, and is currently based out of New Delhi.

You can follow both Sudhanshu and Young India Foundation on Instagram to keep up with their work. Sudhanshu also runs his own podcast called Swadeshi Videshi, which is available on all platforms.