3 Techies Banter #3TB

What would you say if we told you that tuning yourself to a metronome is better for your health than that gym membership? We sit down with Tanuja Gomes, the founder of Furtados School of Music, who convinces us that formal music education isn't scary or snobby—it's a friendly on‑ramp for toddlers, teens, busy parents, and “I‑wish‑I‑started‑earlier” adults. If you can boil water, you can keep a beat. Tanuja tells us how the simple act of signing up for music teaches consistency, discipline, and the underrated art of showing up. Our conversation has the usual light-heartedness of three friends chatting. Tune in. This episode might be the calling you were waiting for to start your musical journey from today. Do we detect feet tapping suspiciously in the rhythm of 1-2-3-4? 00:00 Highlights of the Episode 01:22 The Role of Music in Personal Development 02:27 Welcome to Three Techies Banter 02:47 Meet Tanja: CEO of Furtado School of Music 03:25 The Journey of FSM 04:05 Impact of Music Education 06:44 Challenges and Achievements 08:44 Changing Landscape of Music Education in India 14:23 Careers in Music 15:54 Popular Instruments and Gender Preferences 18:00 Music Education Across Age Groups 19:57 Late Age Learning and Personal Stories 22:18 The Power of Music in Child Development 22:47 Music's Impact on ADHD and Depression 26:51 Tech Innovations in Music Education 29:58 Gamified Learning for Young Musicians 31:09 Trends in the Music Industry 37:14 Encouraging Musical Talent in Everyone 40:54 The Universal Appeal of Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who teaches AI how to see and recognise? Definitely not a techie in a cool office in Silicon Valley. Most likely, it is a homemaker from a marginalised community in rural India who does this tedious work for very low pay. In his debut feature film "Humans in the Loop," director Aranya Sahay explores this vital detail that got left out of the "AI Revolution" marketing materials. The film follows Nehma, an Adivasi woman from Jharkhand who takes a job labelling data for AI systems. Turns out, teaching machines to recognise the world is a lot like raising a kid; except this kid absorbs prejudices from centuries of Western datasets, with no plan to augment it with context-specific knowledge. Esp. not from the labellers :-). The film has won major accolades, including Best Film at the Bengaluru International Film Festival and Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Have fun watching the episode! Nishtha Manchanda: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishtha-manchanda-3b6b421b? 00:00 Introduction to the Film's Context 01:40 The Paradox of AI and Simple Tasks 02:21 Government and Civil Society's Role in AI 02:55 Future of Technology and AI 03:42 About the film 'Humans in the Loop' 04:32 Exploring Data Labeling and Its Implications 06:12 AI as a Child: A Philosophical Perspective 08:05 Challenges and Realities of Data Labeling 13:00 Bias in AI and Its Consequences 17:51 AI in the Film Industry 23:36 Global Reactions to AI and the Film 26:04 Ethnographic Insights and AI 26:27 Tech Reactions to the Film 27:46 Unexpected Audience Reactions 28:09 Women and the Emotional Impact of the Film 29:57 Community and Cultural Representation in AI 32:45 Government and Civil Society's Role in AI 35:41 Future Projects and Superhero Films 36:05 The Journey of the Film 36:50 Story Culture and Film Funding 39:08 Indigenous Life and Environmentalism in Film 40:46 Superhero Films in India 42:18 Film Screenings and Audience Engagement 43:50 Concluding Remarks and Future Endeavors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From powering your 3 AM doom-scroll to preventing actual doom (climate change), batteries are the unsung heroes who quietly run the world. We journey from the oil crisis of the '70s to Nobel Prize-winning lithium-ion tech that made your smartphone possible – and might save the planet. We'll explore how these tiny energy lunchboxes evolved from exploding prototypes to $300k Tesla packs, and now cost $7k (a 97% price drop). Meet the scientists who cracked the code, and peek into a future of solid-state batteries and sodium-ion rivals. Plus: why your remote lasts forever, your phone dies by 4 PM, and what happens when you toss batteries in the bin (spoiler: landfill fires). One battery to power them all – if we can recycle responsibly and mine ethically. Because even Frodo needed a power bank for that walk to Mordor.

Season 4 of 3 Techies Banter is here, and we're finally putting faces to the voices you've been tolerating for three seasons – because nothing says "we've made it" like watching three people in their 50s gesture wildly at cameras while debating whether Web3 is dead or just hibernating. We might go delightfully off-script: the psychology of why developers have strong opinions about tabs vs spaces, how TikTok算法 accidentally created a new form of folk art, why Silicon Valley VCs are suddenly into longevity science and mushroom coffee, the game theory of group chats, whether your Spotify Wrapped says more about you than your therapy sessions, and why every tech bro suddenly thinks they're a philosopher after reading one Nassim Taleb book. With video, we might even unleash live demos that will either blow your mind or spectacularly crash on air, reaction cams for those "did they really just say that?" moments, and the occasional meme break because let's be honest - tech is too serious and we're definitely not. We are covering it all with the same chaotic energy that's kept you coming back, now with 100% more awkward eye contact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us in the Season 3 Finale episode, where we reminisce about our favourite moments from the podcast! From the hilarious creation of the jingle episode (an all-round friends and family collaboration) to deep dives into the impact of AI on graphics and the fashion industry, this episode is packed with lots of laughs and a wee bit of insights. We also tackle the tricky business of AI "bullshitting" and how machines love to please, even if it means getting things wrong. PS - Liars care about the truth (to hide it), bullshitters just want to impress or persuade, truth be damned! Welcome to GenAI. Plus, a little humble bragging about the awards we have won and a sneak peek into plans for shaking things up in the next season. We can't wait to be back in Season 4. Until then… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From absurd web beginnings to some misplaced national pride, tech folklore never disappoints. A mouthful of a name that could make even the most patient typist weep, "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web," could have single-handedly crashed Netscape Navigator. Meanwhile, the digital world's party crasher, Error 404's origin story - linked to CERN's room 404 - proves even glitches have intriguing backstories. Closer to home, Nilesh's trip to Mumbai's Panjrapur water plant uncovered a juicy tidbit about BMC's potential entrepreneurial foray in the water business. And Sheetal's pilgrimage to Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum shattered our collective illusion - turns out, our favourite "Indian" shoe brand has been international all along, leaving millions of Indians feeling somewhat... misled. We remain your #funtech companion through traffic jams, morning jogs and side-listens during boring Zoom meetings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we unpack the irony of the word for the fear of long words. Surprise Surprise - it is a really long word - we will just call it "hippo-fear". Explore the most significant tech flops of 2024 (spoiler: not even AI could save them), and delve into the hazards of space burping — because in zero gravity, what goes down doesn't necessarily stay down. Expect a rollercoaster of laughs, lessons, and just the right amount of absurdity as we uncover why some things are better left un-burped, un-coded, and definitely unpronounced! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first Indian podcasts were like arranged marriages - everyone was a bit awkward, and no one knew what to expect, but hey, at least the family was supportive! As podcasts gained traction, they soon had podcasts for every niche. We've got celebrity podcasts where Bollywood stars share their deep thoughts, like how difficult it is to find the right shade of beige for their 15th luxury car. Tech-savvy grandpas are starting "back in my day" podcasts, reminiscing about when "viral" was something you didn't want to be. And let's not forget the rise of regional language podcasts. Why stick to Hindi or English when you can confuse Alexa with 20+ languages? As we look to the future, the possibilities are endless. The future of the Indian podcasting scene is like a good biryani—it took a while to prepare, it's got a mix of everything, and it leaves you wanting more. Catch our episode that talks all about it on your favourite podcasting platforms and our YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before our ancestors could argue about who left the cave door open, they were already cracking up. Laughter came way before language — it's prehistoric Wi-Fi, connecting us without a single word. And it's not just us! Apes giggle during playtime, rats squeak with joy when tickled, and dolphins? Well, they've got their own aquatic stand-up routines going on. Turns out, laughter really is the original universal language — even before we had words to mess it up!

Ever wondered how monkeys keep their pearly whites so white? Turns out that our primate pals prefer the all-natural, eco-friendly bird feather floss! They're quite the dental hygiene trendsetters. Next time you see a monkey with a feather, you know they're just prepping for that smiley close-up! Switching to the world of beavers, who knew dental trends could be so... orange? Beavers sport orange teeth not because of a pumpkin spice latte obsession but thanks to iron-rich enamel. This gives them their distinctive smile and makes their teeth tough enough to chow down on trees and build dams. The virtues of white teeth are overrated

We find ourselves on the final step of our "PAIN" journey - non-repudiation (NR). As we navigate our increasingly digital lives, let's embrace the covenant of non-repudiation with open arms and cautious clicks. It is a world where "I didn't send that embarrassing email" just won't cut it anymore. In the digital realm, non-repudiation is like an online notary public of every action we take. It's the technological equivalent of your mom saying, "I know it was you who ate the last cookie" – but with mathematical certainty. It ensures you can run but can't hide from your online actions. It's making honesty the best policy, not by choice, but by cryptographic necessity. NR turns every digital promise into an ironclad contract. Think of it as the binding magic of a genie's wish—be careful what you click for; you'll get it, and it will stick. In the landscape of non-repudiation, the 'oops' button is perpetually out of order. It is not all doom and gloom. Non-repudiation is the superhero that swoops in, cape fluttering, ensuring every digital action is as traceable as Sherlock Holmes following a trail of breadcrumbs—no vanishing into the ether allowed! Summary - NR ensures that every action has a consequence in our vast online universe, and every digital move is accounted for. It's not just about keeping you honest; it's also about keeping everyone else honest. In this ever-connected world, it's the guardian of digital integrity, ensuring that what goes online stays verifiable online. Listen on for NR insights.

So, here is what we found out about COWS. Cows are social animals. They form strong bonds and prefer staying close to their friends in the pasture, often grazing, resting, and grooming each other. Research shows that heart rates increase and stress hormone levels rise in cows that are separated from their bonded friends. BTW - a stressed cow produces less milk than a happy one. Onto airbags and their uses. Where do you think they could be used (other than cars)? Soft landings for gymnasts, perhaps? Miniature ones attached to your breakables? Or just a part of your jeans as an everyday consumer fall-protection device. Think about it

Ever wondered how organizations keep their data squeaky clean and under lock and key?

Listen up, you Illuminati, Opus Dei, Freemasons, and Skull & Bones Society; there's a new secret society in town. The Order of 37 was founded by eccentric mathematicians tired of mainstream numbers getting all the glory. Pi, Fibonacci, Mersenne and the Catalan numbers were such show-offs. But 37? It was the unsung hero of the number world.  Members, known as "Threesevenians, believed that one of their own discovered that 37 was not just a number but a portal to another dimension – a dimension where pi ends and where the square root of two is a nice, neat whole number. To access this, one must write the number 37 precisely 37 times while standing on one leg and humming the theme from "We Are the Champions". If this is thought-provoking, you are at the right place. Listen on.

Tech has a "pacing problem" (believe us - this is an accepted term

Sujith Nair, the WhatsApp-averse, badminton-loving chief mover and shaker of Beckn, gave us a peek into what the world's first e-commerce protocol is all about. Imagine if Colgate wanted to sell a lot of toothpaste, would it open separate exclusive stores on every street? NO! Instead, it ensures its products are available in all stores where people come to shop, and not just toothpaste. Similarly, Beckn is a way for an online business to make its products and services available on other stores (popular daily-use consumer apps) instead of setting up its own store (its own consumer app) and waiting for customers to come in droves! In fact, we like it so much, we are carrying Beckn use cases as our episode artwork (instead of our normal groovy cover art) to spread the word in our own little way. So, is it an app? Is it an aggregator? Is it a platform? No. It is a Super Capability - decentralised and open.  So listen, learn and use.

History is filled with protracted, drawn-out conflicts, but did you know about a war that could have been missed during a coffee break? It started at 9:00 AM and was over by brunch, proving that even wars can have a tight schedule! Switching gears from fleeting wars to eternal edibles, let's talk about honey's impressive shelf-life. This sweet treat has been found in ancient tombs and is still as good as new after thousands of years. So, why doesn't honey spoil? The plot thickens. The human fascination with the number 3 runs deep. Trimurti, Trinity, movie trilogies, states of matter, pigs, musketeers, witches of Macbeth - the list is endless. It gives us a sense of stability that 1 and 2 cannot (legs on a stool

Imagine the Indian fintech industry as a Bollywood dance sequence. It begins in the early 2000s, with a few enthusiastic background dancers, mainly startups like Paytm and ItzCash, shaking to the primitive rhythms of dial-up internet. The choreography was less "smooth moonwalk" and more "clunky robot dance," but the spirit? Unmatchable! As the beat of technology quickened, so did the steps. By the 2010s, the stage was ablaze with newcomers, each adding their own flair to the routine—swiping, tapping, and clicking their way into the hearts of millions. Mobile wallets, digital banking, and e-commerce platforms pirouetted around the traditional banking giants, who were still trying to tie their shoelaces and join the routine. Today, the Indian fintech dance floor is crowded. It's a vibrant, chaotic medley—part traditional garba, part trendy hip-hop, and entirely enthralling. In this episode, Navin Surya, ex-MD and CEO of ItzCash joins us to help us understand the fintech medley of motion.

From a beer-drenched London street to the simple joy of a flying disc and finally to the click of a mouse that bought "Ten Summoner's Tales," history, it seems, prefers its tales served with a side of whimsical. And we have a rhyme to match. In London's streets, the beer did flow,A flood of ale from long ago.The vats did burst, the town did weep,In hops and barley drowned so deep. Then Yale, where pie tins took to flight,Became the Frisbee's birthright.A simple toss, a joyful cheer,From tin to disc, the path was clear. Online, a transaction bold,Dan Kohn's CD of Sting was sold.Through NetMarket's digital door,A new era began to soar. Laugh along with us in this edition of our Shorts.

Royal Enfield. More than just motorcycles, the brand forges brotherhood across the Indian highways. Owning a Royal Enfield is your passport to a fraternity of wind-chasers and adventure-seekers. It's not just about the ride; it's about the rider's rite of passage into a tribe that shares tales of rugged roads and starlit skies. The IPL is a cricketing carnival that is more than cricket. It builds communities, with fans bonding over their love for the game, city, and team. It is a spectacle where loyalty is measured in cheers and jeers and where every match is a communal celebration. Hardik Pandya can testify to this

Could a banana split or a split personality have anything to do with the fact we share 50% of our DNA with bananas? Scientific facts or outrageous humour? A little of both, really. And the next time you meticulously pick out unwanted items from your food, remember you're just channeling your inner rock star. Ask Van Halen about their brown M&M snacks. Speaking of refreshments, that glass of water you're sipping might just have a prehistoric past. Thanks to the unending water cycle and the laws of physics that prevent matter from being created or destroyed, your H2O could very well contain molecules that once quenched the thirst of dinosaurs. Or as the title suggests..... So, this episode is a toast to your ancient, banana-sharing, rock-star-emulating, dinosaur-sipping existence. It's a quirky world we live in. Have Fun.

In the town of Internetville, a unique bakery, Data Delights, offered irresistible cookies with a catch: each cookie had to be paid for with a sprinkle of personal data. Enamoured by flavours like Lemon Log-in and Chocolate Profile Crunch, the townsfolk unknowingly traded their privacy for these tasty treats. Soon, the bakery owner, knew more about the town's inhabitants than they knew about themselves. The delicious deceit continued until a group called the Clear History Guild uncovered the truth. They warned their fellow citizens: "In our rush for digital convenience, are we the consumers, or are we the consumed?" So, dear podcast listeners, it is  crucial to ponder what we're really biting into – is it just a cookie or our very privacy? Tune into this episode for more.

In India's market, returns are the king,Outshining others, the bell they do ring.With growth so robust,In the Sensex, we trust,To investors, great joy they do bring. To save on their taxes, firms sail far and wide,To Ireland and Delaware, they smoothly glide.With cleverness and stealth,They amass their wealth,In havens, their profits do hide. Purple, once rare, adorned only the elite,A colour of royalty, none could compete.From snails, it was born,Now widely worn,Its history of luxury, none can defeat.

We have always been about making tech relatable and fun.  So, when we talk about the synthetic data trend to train models, we talk about the nine lives of cats. Or when we talk about GPUs at the heart of the AI tsunami, we wonder if pasta has a role to play in that shortage.  For trends that make sense, listen to this episode about cons and corpses that 2024 holds.

First Things First - Do cast your vote in favour of 3 Techies Banter for HT Smartcast x Mint Awards Vote for us HERE (Podcast Category - Science & Technology) If you are looking to find your own centre in the universe, OR  looking to know more about Ethiopian berry-eating goats in 850 AD, OR looking for cool ways to get around Bengaluru cheaply This is the podcast for you.  Get Busy Living. Get Busy Listening

First Things First - Do cast your vote in favour of 3 Techies Banter for HT Smartcast x Mint Awards Vote for us HERE Only the most deserving, the truly worthy and the purest of techies of the three of us got to go to CES2024

We are guessing that the "Naughty" in the title is what got you hooked. That is smart sales personship (note gender neutrality here

If you start tracing the origins of anything in India, nothing is short of at least 2000 years old. Imagine our surprise when we realised the same is true even for AI in India. Some interesting stories from ancient times there - Barbarik, Ashok's fight with robot warriors, and even Kumbhakarna. AI in modern India started patchy but has gathered momentum recently. India has chosen a path of application-led AI development. We have chosen to focus on population use cases per our DPI design philosophy. Bhashini, Karya and the world's first Hindi LLM - OpenHathi. That should be enough to get you interested. Enjoy the tech with AI tadka episode.

Despite our population, there are no Indian books in the Top 10 Most Read List. Disturbing!!!. Recovering from that discovery, we explore the world of "Join the Dots', Atto Seconds and broken ice cream machines.  How would an LLM respond to the question of whether the earth was flat or round in the 1500s? Could it have saved Galileo? Have fun "shorting". Is that even a word?

Be they artists, performers or athletes, to stay on top of their craft, everyone needs to keep testing their limits. And that also holds true for the three of us as well. How much fun can we really have? How can we do one better? How can we find another way to make everyone smile? Enter - The Jingle Project. Why did we even take this up? - Because we are a strange brand of nutty. - Because we love troubling ourselves with new challenges.- Because we love the process of fun-making. An interesting phenomenon we now see unfolding is our "jealous" and full-of-FOMO friends wanting to join the parade, too. So here is our co-created MTV avatar set to the music of an old classic with a dash of tech and a whole new level of madness. Birthed by Salone Ghosh. Lyrics by Kaushik Chatterjee. Sung by Jayashree Rammohan. Music Arrangement by Tushar Sharma. Recorded at The Furtados School of Music. Music Video enacted by Sheetal, Nilesh and Samiran 

One of the most enduring images of 2023 was Elon Must carrying a sink to the Twitter office. The message "Let that sink in". And sink it did. Twitter and everyone associated with it. So much so that it became a variable "X". That got us thinking. Let us do an episode about all that went wrong with tech in 2023 (What an idea, Sirji). Of course, there were good things too, but they were mostly restricted to our podcast. The year started with an awesome trailer, followed by some great guests, 3TB Shorts, Cool GenAI artwork, a Jingle, carousels and more. From where we stand, this was really "Looking Like a Wow". Happy New Year – may your batteries be full, your Wi-Fi strong, and your virtual meetings, mercifully short. See you on the other side.

Picture a gleaming kitchen, not of stainless steel and polished marble, but of code and algorithms. Here, the head chef isn't human, but a complex generative AI armed with a digital Swiss army knife that cuts, slices, dices, and blends through lines of code. The pantry? Forget neatly labelled jars and neatly stacked shelves. This is a digital garbage pile – fragments of text, snippets of code and images culled from the internet's deepest corners. What happens next is more euphonic than gastronomic - this is a podcast - silly. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube

From ancient mummies navigating modern red tape to towns tweaking their names for reasons you will shortly understand, the world's tapestry of tales never ceases to amuse and astonish. Which is where we come in. In fact, this mummy's travel tale is a reminder of how time, in both literal and bureaucratic senses, can be surprisingly elastic, very unlike the "Jiffy" in our episode. Join us yet again for a regular diet of "battle the traffic with wit". Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube

In the land of AI, where the code rivers flow,ChatGPT sips water, just so you know.For every few prompts, a half-liter it drains,In the quest to answer, with computational brains. The mighty GPT-3, in its training days prime,Used 85,000 gallons - quite the climb!With $11.3 billion raised, it's a financial feat,But its impact on our world? That's still a seat. Now, let's peek at Water.org, what a noble sight,60 million with safe water, shining bright.Mobilizing capital, $4.8 billion in their chart,Average loan just $368, playing its part. Back to OpenAI, with staff count high,770 souls with a salary that can touch the sky.Median pay at $800,000, oh what a bill,Add training, cloud costs, as Chandler would thrill. "Could this BE any more... COSTLY?" he'd jest,In the realm of AI, it's a financial quest.But let's not forget, amidst cost and din,The potential of AI, where wonders begin. This episode we traverse, through finance and lore,Exploring AI's value, what it has in store.In the end, it's a mix, of cost and worth,As we navigate its impact on our Earth. Write to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com and follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube.

Hum Shayar to Nahin. Magar......We love to rhyme. So here goes In Silicon Valley, where tech dreams ignite,There's a squad of women, in code and gadgets who are pretty bright.They code like a breeze, debug without a fight,In a world where ones and zeros dance day and night. In this high-tech realm, James Bond might roam,With his sleek gadgets, far from his London home.Sipping his secret martini, shaken with a foam,He marvels at the tech in this innovation dome. And out on the green, where the Google signs gleam,Goats graze calmly, as if part of a dream.They munch, and they bask in the digital stream,With tech and Border Collie in harmony, it would seem. And there is more in the podcast. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube 

If you are going down the merry path of generative AI, be prepared for this conversation between "THE BARD" and his new AI bot-mate. William Shakespeare: Pray tell, mechanical muse, dost thou reckon thy generative wit surpasses the folly and wisdom of man? AI Chat Bot: Verily, Sir Shakespeare, I process with silicon speed, yet my heart, a binary beat, knows not the depth of human creed. William Shakespeare: Ah, a tool of both light and shadow, wielding words without the soul's fire! AI Chat Bot: True, I am but a humble scribe, scripting sonnets in the ether, leaving humanity's touch to kindle true desire. Have fun listening about our colliding worlds. Write to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com and follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube.

Once I stood proud in homes adorned with grace,Crafted with care, I had my place.Now in a bakery's warm embrace,I fuel the flames, no trace of space.From resting weary bones to a fiery dance,I've changed my role, not left to chance.What am I? If you got this, you could be the Riddler, the supervillain from Batman. Or just the right kind of crazy who loves our Shorts. And you would know that each great riddle has a story. And the story behind this one is hidden in our podcast. So - keep listening to us for those free tickles. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube 

Pop Quiz - Have you heard of Kudumbashree? Or Cauvery Handicrafts? What about Biswa Bangla? If you are at a loss, you are missing the ONDC bus. Kudumbashree (Kerala Emporium) deals in Pickles, Honey and other Gourmet foods. Cauvery Handicrafts deals in wooden crafts like Channapatna toys, Rosewood paintings and jewellery. Biswa Bangla is famous for its collection of Darjeeling Teas and Sundarban Honey. All of them are reaching new markets, new consumers at cheaper cost and loving it. And this is not even the beginning. ONDC is driving India's e-commerce revolution coupled with lasting social impact. 13+ Social Enterprises like Very Much Indian, House of Chikankari, Shwet, Katori, Tamul, and Iraaloom alone impact 200,000 artisans via ONDC. Our guest Shireesh Joshi, the COO of ONDC, tells us why the world is looking to India to see another UPI moment unfold in the retail space. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube   

If you thought PPP stood only for Public-Private Partnerships, you are not much of a writer. At 3TB, we think PPP should only mean Petrache Poenaru Pen - dedicated to the inventor of the fountain pen. With everyone agitating for a name change, it is time for us fountain pen activists to get a pen named after its creator. That seems to be a just cause. And now we come to the trickiest word in the English language - arse. A quick search yielded 34 ways to use it as an idiom or in a sentence. Then there is the usage itself, which is confusing - bad-arse is good; smart-arse is bad. Sometimes it is just added to be cool - lazy arse is lazy, and a long-arse flight is just a long flight. Quite puzzling. Our story is not no ordinary fruit - it is the Arse Fruit. For that and more intriguing insights, listen to our shorts. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube 

In this episode, we take you deep into the wondering world of the QWERTY keyboard, where: the longest top-row word is 'rupturewort', a type of plant Peru is the only country that can be typed on one row of a keyboard If you type letters using alternate hands, skepticism is the longest typed word you can type And then we come to a scene out of Yes Minister, where three barrages on the Yamuna River are managed by three different states - Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. This can  only be a backdrop for a Wodehousian novel, not flood management in the capital city. Some more tickles and laughs in store for you in this edition of Shorts. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube 

Growing up, we always thought that any housing crisis could be solved like Amol Palekar and Zareena Wahab in Gharonda. By singing Do Deewane Shahar Mein around a whole bunch of under-constructions buildings. We were so naive :-). In India, more than half of urban households live in single rooms, with an average of 4.4 persons per room. An estimated 150 million people are homeless globally, though the number is probably higher. In Europe, the number of people sleeping rough or living in temporary accommodation soared by 70% in a decade. The bummer is that the construction industry is responsible for almost a quarter (23%) of all air pollution on the planet. And then there is the eternal paradox of empty houses and soaring prices. Seems like a real handful.  Or just the right kind of problem for the 3 Techies to discuss. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube 

Do you understand the token economy? If yes, then you are in exalted company - the company of Psittacus Erithacus. No, it is not a Roman Emperor. It is the big-brained African Grey Parrot. They are known to exchange currency for food. Parrots also have some other attractive traits, which will be revealed in the episode. The shortest cameo in a movie is possibly Brad Pitt for 8 seconds in Deadpool 2. Compensation - coffee with Ryan Reynolds. This is an Oscar winner doing a cameo. But there are also cameos (really small parts) that won Oscars. Who were they? You know what you must do to know that - (no - the answer is not - "I will Google Search it"). That was a sneak peek into what is in store for you. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube   

We so love our trivia and science. And, as purists, we hate fakes. Which is why we do not get why, while most of the characters in the series Rocket Boys are real people, Dr. Raza Mehdi, who is shown to have played a significant role in Bhabha's life, is fictional. Why did they do that? Wouldn't Meghnad Saha be the right choice? You tell us. More factoids. Have you ever tried studying during load-shedding in Kolkata? Well, some people were attempting to build and run a cyclotron. How about the fact that the genesis of the Chandrayan-3 might lie in the efforts of a balloonist in the 1880s. Srinwantu, Indranath and Trinanjan from the Paperclip join us to talk about some fantastic drawing-room conversation-worthy stories from the world of technology.  Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube 

People find all kinds of new ways to use tech and devices. In 2010, the United States Air Force used 1,760 PlayStation 3 consoles to build a supercomputer for the Department of Defense. They used PS3s because it was more cost-efficient and “green.” Closer to home, we had washing machines making lassi and buffaloes using Lifebuoy. So we thought - why not find out if ChatGPT knew how to take out a peanut butter sandwich stuck inside a VCR? The caveat - the instructions should be in the tonality of the St. James Bible. That and more in this ROFL-worthy edition of Shorts. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube  BTW - When the first VCR (Video Camera Recorder) was made in 1956, it was the size of a piano.

Emboldened by your response to our first "Shorts", we are back with our next episode.  Our knowledge-seeking journey led us to find the longest (and possibly "wisest") living land being. From then onto parrots on the token economy, hamburgers and Hamburg and practical tips on the right time to garnish your homemade pizza with toppings. We also delve into the mysterious world of data extrapolation and the possibility that the propeller on the aeroplane could just be a fan. Hopefully that should prove to be an earful of fun. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube 

Which "EdTech" has had the most impact on the Indian education ecosystem? While they would loathe being narrowly defined as an ed-tech entity- the answer undoubtedly is EkStep. To appreciate the impact, we must first understand the landscape - 250 million children, 9.4 million teachers, 20+ languages and 60 education boards. In five years, the EkStep team accomplished the following:  Created 50 billion+ minutes of learning Reached 180 million+ children and 7 million+ teachers Digitally activated 600 million+ textbooks. And the list goes on. Shankar Maruwada, Co-Founder and CEO, EkStep Foundation, joins us to discuss this incredible journey, what inspired it and what lies ahead. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube. Write to us at 3TB@unblox.com with comments.

We are all very comfortable in our "Shorts". So it is no surprise that 3TB now has its own "shorts". This carries the ideal dose of knowledge and wit - for those who like a breezy listen and for those getting prepped to listen to our regular podcasts. As the title suggests, it is a little bit of this and a little bit of that with some arse thrown it. We hope you like this new format we are experimenting with. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube 

The history of clothing mirrors the progress of human civilisation. Unwittingly, we use a slew of textile metaphors in our daily lives. We comment on "threads"; we "seamlessly" integrate x with y; we "weave" through traffic as technology touches every "fabric" of our lives. Fascinating? However, in recent times, fashion has fallen into disrepute. Dyeing and finishing alone are responsible for 3% of global CO2 emissions and over 20% of global water pollution. And 2,700 litres of water are needed to make just one t-shirt, which would be enough for one person to drink for 900 days. And let us not even get started with fast fashion. So can technology help solve this? Rajesh Narkar, an industry veteran, joins this episode to help us navigate this world of runaways and glamour to find possible answers.  DM us your responses on Insta or YouTube or at 3TB@unblox.com.

Finally, the 3 Techies are back with Season 3 in the blistering summer heat. Maybe we are just too hot for our own good

Have you ever wanted to be on stage with Pink Floyd or experience Avatar like the Na'vi?  The 3 Techies did something close - we went through a few fantastic tech immersions during our travels to the UK and Ireland and thought it only right to share our insights in this episode. All you need to do is name the three immersive experiences we covered in this episode. (yes, you must listen to the full episode for that). A few lucky comments might experience a surprise coming their way soon! DM us your responses on Insta or write to us at 3TB@unblox.com.

The year is 2050. Sheetal, Nilesh and Samiran are reminiscing about that amazing episode they recorded in April 2023 about life in 2050. The crystal gazing they got right, and the predictions that did not go as expected. They did feel a sense of satisfaction that they had made such bold predictions and had lived to see them come true. No one on Earth was chasing them on the streets with brickbats. But that was also because they were sipping Expresso Martinis on the Moon