Indicast #239: That sinking feeling

·36 min·3 clips

The pilgrimage town of Joshimath is literally sinking, with 25,000 people at risk and houses marked with red X's.

The episode begins with casual banter about morning routines and weather, leading to a discussion on high-stress jobs like submersible work and cold room management. The hosts then focus on Joshimath, a pilgrimage town in Uttarakhand sinking due to land subsidence, with 25,000 people at risk, houses cracking, and evacuation efforts underway. They trace causes to glacial floods, construction, and historical warnings from the 1976 Mishra Commission. Next, they challenge common knowledge by explaining that Mount Everest is not the tallest mountain from Earth's center; Chimborazo holds that title due to Earth's equatorial bulge. They also mention Mauna Kea as tallest from base to peak. The hosts segue into chess, discussing coach RB Ramesh's critique of overbearing parents and the emotional toll on children. They then cover workplace trends, with startups offering napping perks for mental well-being, contrasted with strict attendance systems. Sleep science is touched upon, referencing the book 'Why We Sleep' and circadian rhythms. A trivia segment explains the origin of 'siesta' from Latin 'hora sexta'. The episode highlights a Go Airways incident where a flight took off leaving 55 passengers on the tarmac, criticizing the airline's botched response and comparing it to Tylenol's crisis management. It ends with a ChatGPT joke and call to subscribe.

As heard by us

Everest's fame gets reframed by the way height is measured.

Indicast #239 turns Everest's fame into a crisp question of measurement. Aditya and Abhishek move from the usual sea-level ranking to other baselines: Chimborazo reaches farther from Earth's center, while Mauna Kea rises higher from its underwater base.

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Want to see Everest keep its fame while losing the clean sweep on mountain superlatives?

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