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Podcast, Peak Planet

  

In Peak Planet, host Karthik Ganesan deliberates on perilous sustainability issues - taps running dry, toxic air, adulterated food, unreliable power supply, traffic snarls, and extreme climatic changes - that affect each Indian. He dissects the complexities through evidence-backed information. In the first season, Karthik deep dives into air pollution, which turns 'public enemy number 1' around this time of the year. In four episodes, Peak Planet will navigate through the evolution of the public discourse on air pollution, the challenges in measuring air quality and gathering data, the reasons behind bad air quality in Indian cities and how the authorities have been unable to mitigate the sources of pollution.

Bonus: In the final episode, Karthik focuses on two hot topics - stubble burning in Delhi's neighbouring states and 'to burst or not to burst' firecrackers during Deepavali.

Episode 1: Genesis

Barun Aggarwal (BreathEasy Solutions), Jayashree Nandi (Hindustan Times), and Rohit Halbe (concerned citizen) speak on the changing public discourse on air pollution, the deteriorating air quality in urban India, and how citizens are engaging on this crisis. 
Highlight: How can air pollution gain year-round media attention?

Episode 2: Numbers

Sarath Guttikunda (Urban Emissions), Sagnik Dey (IIT-D), and Rohit Bansal (Pure Logic Labs) discuss the critical data gap in air quality monitoring and how effective the increased media attention has been on changing public perception. 
Highlight: Do we know enough about air pollution to address it? 

Episode 3: Lamentations

Santosh Harish (CPR), Anumita Roychowdhury (CSE), and M P George (DPCC) focus on regulatory and policy challenges in combating air pollution, and how would concerned citizens be mobilised to demonstrate that air pollution is a major public hazard. 
Highlight: Can pollution control boards alone fix the issue?

Episode 4: Two Kings

The conversation shifts to stubble burning and farmer-friendly solutions with inputs from Balveer Singh (farmer), Raspinder Singh (farmer) and Jasvinder Kaur (Dept of Agriculture, Govt of Punjab). It also addresses the question - to burst or not to burst firecrackers - and digs into the history of firecrackers' use. 
Highlight: What is a green cracker? 

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