Ranveer Allahbadia - Abhijit Iyer-Mitra

1)Abhijit Iyer-Mitra talks about his experiences in South Korea and how it has transformed into a prosperous society. He explains that South Korea was a basket case in the 80s and was a dictatorship whereas North Korea was the shining star with the second-highest per capita income in Asia. However, the information age began, and South Korea started democratizing. North Korea, on the other hand, became more interesting in a different way. Despite what the Western media thinks, it is not as closed as people believe. Abhijit also talks about his great issue with the Western media complexes, which is that they dehumanize and demonize.

2) Abhijit discusses the stereotypes and hidden truths about different regimes based on his experiences traveling to countries like North Korea. He explains that the reality is often very different from what is portrayed in the media, giving examples of how people in North Korea were willing to talk to him and even take pictures with him despite the language barrier. He also talks about the exploitation of Africans in China through a racist birthday industry and how he saw signs of malnourishment in a few places in North Korea. Furthermore, he describes how visiting North Korea brought home some of the horrible truths about India and how one delegation from hamyang province who suffered from stunting during the famine were now extremely well built due to a program of soy milk introduced by the government.

3) Abhijit discusses his experience of visiting North Korea and learning about the famine that occurred in the country. He talks about how there was a ploy to identify ideologically disloyal provinces, and how Ham Young was targeted for genocide during this period. He also highlights the severe effects of malnutrition and famine, such as psychological impacts and stunting, which can last for generations. Abhijit also draws a parallel with the malnutrition problem in India and highlights the impact of seeing short laborers in India after coming back from North Korea.

4) Abhijit discusses his experiences growing up in Delhi during the 1980s and compares it to the current state of North Korea. He describes how import substitution was a popular trend during that time, and how anything imported was considered a luxury. As a child, opening a tin can of imported cheese was like receiving a box of diamonds. He also mentions how India's education system was heavily influenced by Russian and Soviet culture. Comparing that to North Korea, he sees many similarities in terms of institutionalized brainwashing and the glorification of a single family. Ultimately, the discussion highlights the drastic differences between living in a privileged society versus one with strict government control.

5) Abhijit discusses the advancements in technology he has seen throughout his lifetime, including the evolution of phone alarms, computers, and artificial intelligence (AI). He highlights how AI is carefully controlled in defense to learn experiences that are vetted carefully and then fed into the intelligence bank, doing a lot of small things for people to focus on the main task at hand and improve situational awareness. He gives the example of AI making it easier for fighter pilots to bomb enemy targets, providing the best possible path and attack vector for the pilot.

6) Abhijit Iyer-Mitra discusses his experiences of visiting Syria before the start of the civil war. He describes Syria as his favourite country in the Middle East with enthusiastic and cultured people and a rich history. Iyer-Mitra mentions that Syria has a minority rule with the largely Sunni majority population being ruled by a powerful Christian minority and the Shia Alawite minority. He explains how Lebanon created an artificial Christian majority and how there was a similar situation in coastal Syria, where the French wanted to create a Christian majority.

7) Abhijit provides a critical analysis of American insistence on democracy and freedom, stating that it is frustrating because some Americans are just reciting the talking points of the state without an original thought. He discusses the Syrian civil war and how all types of interference from different countries have been preventing the security forces from controlling the situation, leading to the current migrant crisis. He also mentions how rebel conferences happen in Paris or London because those are fancy cities, and the rebellion business is all about business class junkets, fame, and those involved in it are usually agency puppets.

8) Abhijit discusses his travels to war-torn Syria and how the society has been deeply impacted by the years of violence. He notes that while the country is largely peaceful now, there still remains a societal edge due to the brutality that the people have experienced and it will take time for that to fade away. He also talks about his dangerous travels, including his trip to Kamchatka in Russia to see volcanoes on a rickety old Russian helicopter, and his plans to seek out the coldest place on Earth at minus 60 degrees.

9) Abhijit Iyer-Mitra discuss his negative opinion on Xi Jinping and China as a country. According to him, there is no freedom of speech in China because people are scared to have a serious conversation in private due to the fear of being listened to since there is a crackdown on every descent and no criticism is allowed. He also talked about the shocking corruption in China and how it is nothing compared to the levels of corruption in Delhi, even an Indian policeman is less corrupt than the Chinese government officials. Abhijit Iyer-Mitra believes that there may be some social upheaval in China over the next 20 years or so due to the increasing cost of manufacturing businesses and resulting competition