Edward DuRant and Vinay Kumaran

Recorded July 18, 2022 Archived July 18, 2022 49:15 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id: oss000008

Description

One Small Step Conversation partners Eddie Durant (56) and Vinay Kumaran (52) talk about their careers, how politics affects their work, and the role of social media in disinformation and polarization.

Subject Log / Time Code

ED and V talk about importance of having convos with strangers.
VK talks about transition to being doctor in US, learning transplant surgery.
ED talks about his career in land development, military, policy. Talks about work with climate change.
ED talks about influence of his father in respecting environment.
VK talks about influence of family doctor who treated him yearly for malaria, and other people who impacted his career in transplant surgery.
ED talks about how politics affect his work in environmental policy.
ED talks about being “middle of the road” in his politics, but left leaning in environmental matters.
VK describes self as “fairly to the left” politically; believes rich are becoming richer too quickly; concerned about access to healthcare in US and India.
ED agrees with VK about healthcare because he has type 1 diabetes and is constantly dealing with the healthcare system. VK discusses cost of insulin.
VK talks about an FB friend who has different political views from him.
ED talks about his struggles with the 2nd amendment; Issues with social media and people who are unable to talk to someone they disagree with.
ED talks about difficulty fighting disinformation online, especially because of limitations of his job.
VK talks about cancel culture. ED and VK talk about the importance of disagreeing.V K talks about examples of this at work, in approach to treatment in US.
VK talks about taking issue with the way political platforms are “packaged”.
VK talks about how India can be see as a cautionary tale of a single party becoming too powerful.
ED talks about how having type 1 diabetes and growing up near water shaped his political views.
VK talks about memory of being unprepared for an exam in middle school, how this shifted his attitude towards approaching problems and perfectionism.

Participants

  • Edward DuRant
  • Vinay Kumaran

Venue / Recording Kit

Partnership Type

Outreach

Initiatives

Places