Rhapsody with Ro

While the issues America faces with respect to racism and classism often feel like problems isolated to this country, the widening gap between the socially and financially excluded from mainstream society is actually a global phenomenon. Join me in conversation with Dr. P.C. Narayan, an expert in capital markets and finance and faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, one of South Asia’s top business schools. Dr. Narayan has studied the inextricable link between social and financial inclusion for nearly two decades, and through his research, has established a ~96% correlation between the two across 540 districts in India. We explore the concept of inclusive growth, the link between financial prosperity and social prosperity, the political factors and macroeconomic policy decisions aimed at social inclusion, and the pressure many global political leaders are concurrently facing to demonstrate progress toward bringing excluded groups toward the mainstream.

In my inaugural episode, I rhap with Tejas Karnati - a brilliant young neurosurgeon who after getting a perfect score on the SAT while in high school, opened his own test prep academy and has subsequently coached 158 students to reach this same pinnacle on either the SAT or ACT examinations. Tejas breaks down his path to achievement, the things that have inspired him, and his take on the #mambamentality.

I'm Ro, and I love to R-H-A-P. Check out my new podcast series, Rhapsody with Ro.