Founding Fuel

22/08/2026

Four people. Four different health problems.

The conventional response: four different diets.

Clinical nutritionist Dr Hiteshi Dhami Shah starts somewhere else: the kitchen they all share.

In FF Life, Founding Fuel’s weekend edition, she argues that eating better isn’t only about making better choices. It is about making the better choice easier to make.

Read The Healing Kitchen:
https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/the-healing-kitchen/

Photo credit: Jason Briscoe/Unsplash

20/08/2026

AI is very good at removing friction. But not all friction is bad.

In his debut essay for Founding Fuel, Varun Nagaraj, Dean of SPJIMR, argues that some struggles are precisely how we build judgement, capability and trust.

The leadership challenge: knowing what to automate—and what to preserve.

Read on Founding Fuel⁠.

https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/why-we-need-good-friction-in-the-age-of-ai

25/07/2026

Why do some stories refuse to die?

This morning in FF Life, Founding Fuel‘s weekend edition, Uma Narain reflects on Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey—and why Homer’s epic continues to illuminate the human condition nearly three thousand years after it was first told.

Read The Story That Refuses to Die:

https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/the-story-that-refuses-to-die

20/07/2026

What makes someone truly great?

Not records. Not fame. Not even extraordinary talent.

Sir Garfield Sobers had all of those. Yet those who knew him remembered something else: his generosity, authenticity and the effortless way he wore greatness.

In this beautifully observed Founding Fuel essay, Anindya Dutta uses the life of one of cricket’s greatest players to explore a larger question: what kind of leadership and character endure long after the applause has faded.

This is far more than a cricket story. It’s an essay about greatness itself.

Read Why Garfield Sobers Still Defines Cricketing Greatness.

https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/why-garfield-sobers-still-defines-cricketing-greatness

11/07/2026

Some stories deserve a second reading.

We’ve curated the Best of FF Life – Summer 2026—a selection of memorable essays from the weekend edition of Founding Fuel.

On journeys, books, culture, purpose and the pleasures of paying closer attention.

If you’re looking for thoughtful weekend reading, begin here.

📖 https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/best-of-ff-life-summer-2026

04/07/2026

We spend years becoming experts.

Then, every once in a while, life asks us to become beginners again.

In this deeply personal essay, Indranil Gupta reflects on what an examination late in life taught him about learning, humility and the quiet courage to keep testing oneself.

Read: https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/the-courage-to-be-tested-again

27/06/2026

Some stories deserve more than one reading.

We’ve brought together a carefully curated selection of our best essays from the past few months in Best Stories of Summer 2026.

Featuring thought-provoking work by Haresh Chawla, Vy Kelkar, Debleena Majumdar, Venkat Raman and others.

Read the collection:

Ideas that help make sense of a changing world

24/06/2026

The US-Iran talks at Bürgenstock may have lowered the immediate risk of war.

But they did little to alter the Middle East’s underlying balance of power.

Iran remains central. Israel’s concerns remain. American leverage appears more limited than many assumed, argues Vy Kelkar in this latest essay.

The US-Iran talks in Switzerland may have reduced the immediate risk of war. But they did little to alter the Middle East's underlying balance of power. Iran remains central to the region's strategic calculations, Israel's concerns remain unresolved, and American leverage appears more limited than m...

22/06/2026

Graduates are booing commencement speakers for talking about AI.

Their anxiety is understandable. But are they asking the right question?

Anindya Dutta explores the graduate’s dilemma in the age of AI.

https://www.foundingfuel.com/article/the-question-ai-cannot-ask

16/05/2026

What happens when a self-described “Chill Maadi” Bengaluru family decides to attempt one of the world’s toughest high-altitude treks?

In this riveting and honest essay, Sanjay Swamy recounts how three people, with no mountaineering background, spent eight months preparing for the Annapurna Circuit and eventually crossed Thorong La Pass at 5,416 metres.

This is more than a trekking story. It is about friendship, preparation, humility, resilience, and the quiet transformation that happens when people attempt something they once thought impossible.

A beautiful weekend read. Link in the comments section.