NL Hafta

This week on Hafta, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan and Rinchen Norbu are joined by historian Ramachandra Guha.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters. Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav.Sound by Anil Kumar.

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The alleged theft of donations from the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has opened a window into the opaque finances of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. 

Our Hafta panel discusses the SIT investigation into missing funds from donation boxes, the unanswered questions around the crores collected during the temple construction drive, and the land purchase controversy that implicated trustee Anil Mishra – with no consequences.

The panel examines who Champat Rai (the general secretary of the trust) is, why allegations are being made against him, and what Nripendra Misra – former principal secretary at the PMO and chairman of the Temple Construction Committee – characterising the incident as a “dacoity” rather than theft signals about the political dynamics at play. With UP assembly elections months away and resentment running deep in Ayodhya, the panel asks: Is this about stolen money, or a power struggle within the RSS over control of the trust?

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, and Rinchen Norbu are joined by a very special guest – our former colleague Jayashree Arunachalam.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav. Research inter Manya Garg .Sound by Anil Kumar.

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This week on Hafta, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Shardool Katyayan are joined by journalist, author and former Amnesty India executive director Aakar Patel.

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Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Abhay. Sound by Anil Kumar.

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan and Rinchen Norbu are joined by veteran journalist Neerja Chowdhury. 

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Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav . Sound by Anil Kumar. Research Intern Manya Garg.  

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Anand Vardhan are joined by Suhasini Haidar,  Diplomatic Affairs Editor at The Hindu.

In this week’s episode, the discussion moves from PM Modi’s Europe tour, particularly his visit to Norway, to press freedom. 

Suhasini Haidar, who was present at the venue in Oslo, describes how shocked Norwegian journalists were to learn that the Indian Prime Minister would not be taking questions at all. 

She says, “We have so normalised in the Indian media this idea that the prime minister doesn’t take unscripted questions, that we didn’t even clock how big a deal it was for Europeans.”

Haidar criticises the way the focus shifts to attacking the reporter’s background, ideology, and even personal life, rather than engaging with the issue she raised.

“The focus became about that journalist — who she is, what her background is, where she goes on vacation. It’s not about the question anymore. It is about the fact that the prime minister does not take unscripted questions.”

Abhinandan Sekhri points out how deeply normalised this culture has become in India. 

“It is so alien to journalists outside India. They are shocked at the kind of barrage and abuse that follows a simple question,” he remarks while discussing the online trolling and threats directed at the Norwegian journalist after the incident.

Manisha Pande argues that the government’s response to the controversy reveals how deeply political communication in India is driven by headline management rather than accountability. 

She adds, “The focus is so much on controlling the headlines, which you've managed to do in India so well that that is all your focus, and you've been unable to do it with the world media, so you don't get it. Like, why are these guys asking us questions? But I think this basic understanding that the world is not going to bend in the way that the Indian media has to you, large parts of it, many are free, but a large part of the loud primetime segment has completely given in to you.”

All this and more.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Ashish . Sound by Anil Kumar.

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Rinchen Norbu and Raman Kirpal are joined by business journalist Govindraj Ethiraj and Anushka Saxena, a researcher from the Takshashila Institution.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Ashish . Sound by Anil Kumar.

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Anand Vardhan are joined by senior journalist Aunindyo Chakravarty and The Hindu resident editor Varghese K George.

The panel begins with what the recent poll results mean and if traditional election analysis is even equipped to understand the playing field.  

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav. Sound by Anil Kumar.

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande are joined by Anupam Manur, professor of economics at the Takshashila Institute, and former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav. Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Manisha Pande and Anand Vardhan are joined by Pooja Prasanna of The News Minute and Sobhana K Nair, senior deputy editor of The Hindu. The panel focuses sharply on the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and the contentious issue of delimitation.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav. Sound by Naresh

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This week on Hafta, Manisha Pande and Raman Kirpal are joined by Anuradha Nagaraj, founder of The Migration Story, and Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by Bashir Ali Abbas, Research Associate at Council for Strategic and Defence Research (CSDR) and Amit Kumar, executive editor of East Mojo. 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain and Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute. The panel dives into the high-stakes 2026 assembly elections across Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry.

 Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Priyali Dhingra and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Manisha Pande are joined by The New York Times journalist Mujib Mashal and Aishwaria Sonavane, research analyst for Pakistan studies at the Takshashila Institution.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Priyali Dhingra and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by independent journalist Nidhi Suresh and Mridul Dudeja, a freelance technologist who has been engaged with queer-trans community spaces in Mumbai and across India for over 15 years.

 Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav Ranjan and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan discuss three big themes: Nitish Kumar’s succession politics in Bihar, religion creeping into sport, and the ethics of euthanasia.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Saif Ekram and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Naresh.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri,  Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by AFP’s chief US correspondent Shaun Tandon and Aditya Ramanathan, research fellow at Takshila Institution.

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by academic and columnist Fahad Zuberi and Kallol Bhattacherjee, the foreign affairs editor of The Hindu.

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Produced by Amit Pandey & Priyali Dhingra

Sound by Anil Kumar 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Amba Kak, a tech policy expert and researcher, and Alex Travelli, the South Asia business correspondent for The New York Times.

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and subscriber letters.

Produced by Ashish Anand & Amit Pandey.

Sound by Anil Kumar 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are joined by filmmaker Sudhir Mishra and senior journalist Arati Jerath.

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and subscriber letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey

Assistant production by Ashish

Sound design by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by musician and author T.M. Krishna and defence analyst Ajai Shukla for a conversation that spans Parliament flashpoints, billionaire ownership in journalism, and the deeper cultural fight over India’s national symbols.

The panel opens with a discussion around the furore in Parliament over former Army chief General M.M. Naravane’s yet-to-be-released memoir this week. Questioning Om Birla’s claim that the Opposition was planning an attack on PM Narendra Modi, Manisha says, “It’s fear-mongering… the same story as what prime time had done back when the Prime Minister got stuck in a traffic jam.”

Ajai Shukla opines that the very fact that a former Army Chief’s account is stuck in clearance limbo shows how tightly the government controls uncomfortable narratives around national security and China.

The discussion then transitions to the layoff purge at The Washington Post, which Jayashree describes as a symptom of a world where media outlets are “bought by a billionaire” and then “gutted to maximise profits”. 

Abhinandan argues that economics is not just a study of money, but a study of societies, adding that journalism is a public good that cannot be left to the mercy of a billionaire.

Finally, TM Krishna discusses his new book, We, the People of India, which examines India’s anthem, flag, and other national symbols. Krishna contrasts Vande Mataramwith Jana Gana Mana, arguing they reflect very different ideas of India. He also points to a deeper democratic failure. 

“We entirely failed in making democracy a culture,” Krishna says, arguing that constitutional values were reduced to textbook lines you “just mugged up to write in an examination.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and birthday announcements!

00:05:25 - Headlines

00:28:14 - T.M. Krishna on his book and being an artist today

01:28:00 - Controversy over General MM Naravane’s book

01:49:11 - Letters

02:08:10 - Recommendations

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Check outHafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Priyali Dhingra, with assistant production by Ashish Anand. Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by journalist Nikhil Inamdar and Sudipto Mondal, executive editor of The News Minute.

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Produced by Amit Pandey, with assistant production by Ashish ,Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by journalist and entrepreneur Govindraj Ethiraj. 

The discussion opens up with the recently concluded World Economic Forum held in Davos. Abhinandan sharply questions the performative nature of Indian participation at the forum, criticising chief ministers for announcing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Indian companies on foreign soil. “We are funding the circus,” Jayashree remarks bluntly, calling Davos a “clown show” driven by optics rather than outcomes.

Govindraj also agrees that announcing MoUs, especially with Indian firms, is a misallocation of time and attention, given how the WEF offers leaders “an opportunity to gauge the temperature of what is happening in the world order right now”.  

The discussion also touches on the much-touted India-EU free trade agreement, which European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described as the “mother of all deals”. Govindraj, however, tempers expectations, warning that free trade agreements are often narrow and slow-moving. “The first bottle of cheaper Scotch won’t arrive tomorrow – it could take five years,” he quips.

He further adds, “The red lines for India are clearly dairy and agricultural products… You can’t do something which immediately jeopardises your farming lobby. ​So, if you take away agriculture and cheese, what’s left now?”

From Davos, the conversation shifts to press freedom in Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking on the recent summonses sent national  media reporters by the J&K Police, Manisha remarks, “Over the last one year, at least 25 journalists have been summoned by the J&K Police… anything at all can just land you in a police station being questioned, because it’s ‘public disorder’, you’re causing ‘public safety’ disorder.”

Drawing a contrast between reporters in New Delhi and Kashmir, Abhinandan says, “It’s very difficult for someone in J&K to tough it out because there is no insulation. Delhi provides great insulation; that’s why those headquartered in Delhi have to step up and protect their reporters who are not in Delhi.

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:04:40  - Headlines 

00:17:15 - WEF Davos / India- Eu trade deals 

00: 55:59 - Govind’ recommendations

01:08:51 - Kashmir reporter’s summoning 

01:17:35 - Letters

01:28:07 -  Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey, with assistant production by Ashish, Sound by Anil Kumar 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by Chander Shekhar Luthra, a veteran sports journalist, and Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic affairs editor of The Hindu. 

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Produced by Amit Pandey, with assistant production by Saurav Sound by Anil Kumar

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Raman Kirpal are joined by Ishaan Tharoor, a foreign affairs columnist at The Washington Post and Advocate Vrinda Grover. 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey, with assistant production by Ashish Anand. Sound by Anil Kumar 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by Kallol Bhattacherjee, Senior Assistant Editor at The Hindu.

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For this special year-ender episode, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande and The News Minute’s Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by columnist and media critic Santosh Desai.  

The conversation begins with a wrap of the Indian media ecosystem this year. Santosh says, “Institutions are struggling to retain credibility and resist pressure.” Dhanya argues that mainstream media exerts significant influence over people, but on social media, the results vary. Discussing the state of the media more specifically in Karnataka, Pooja notes that although it's “heavily compromised”, it can still be seen as a “lesser evil” compared to the Hindi and English media.

Manisha argues that, in terms of news consumption, the internet can be very ruthless – in contrast to legacy media, which does not have to face the crash and burn. She cites the example of Beer Biceps, whose rapid rise and fall illustrate this ruthlessness. Some influencers, Dhanya says, have also realised that “credibility comes with consistency”. 

On the economic front, Abhinandan explains, “It is the lethargy of legacy media that is reflected in their belief about how business is done – in large spaces and studios. Hence, sustainability and viewership become two completely different things.”

The panel also discusses advertisements that make them nostalgic. Dhanya says, “Now, we pay to remove ads. I cannot remember the last time I watched an ad.” Meanwhile, Abhinandan notes, “The death of ads is the death of jingles, which in turn traces to the death of radio.”

While discussing Arnab Goswami's recent shows that questioned the central government, Pooja remarks, “This man can damage the country by stooping so low, but all it takes for him to be viewed as a crusader is the targeting of a soft issue as a larger strategy.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions & announcements

00:02:16 - Headlines

00:07:30 - Brands vs individuals: Understanding news models 

00:33:15 - Karnataka Hate Speech Bill

00:38:00 - How has advertising changed?

00:59:00 - Santosh’s recommendations

01:00:00 - Arnab Goswami’s turnaround 

01:07:00 - Christmas violence  

01:12:00 - Letters

01:35:13 - Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Recorded and produced by Priyali Dhingra. Production assistance by Megha Mukundan and  Ajai. Edited by Saif Ali Ekram.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Development economist Reetika Khera &ESPN’s Anirudhh Menon. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute and Anupam Manur, professor at the Takshashila Institution. 

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This week, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Shardool Katyayan and Raman Kirpal are joined by Medianamafounder and editor Nikhil Pahwa and senior journalist Maya Mirchandani.

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This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by content creator Meghnad S and Pooja Prasanna of The News Minute.

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This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by journalist and author Rahul Pandita and The News Minute’s Sudipto Mondal.

The discussion begins with Rahul’s new novel, Our Friends in Good Houses, and then turns to the recent killing of Maoist commander Madvi Hidma in Andhra Pradesh.

Rahul recalls meeting the man who recruited Hidma as a child. He then talks about the “tragedy” of the Maoists and the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). 

“One reason why we are witnessing this downfall now of the CPM office is that this somehow, in the passage of this time, steered away from what they had set out to do, which is to basically protect the adivasis and their natural resources. But during this course, I think they became obsessive about fighting the state…and became, in their own ways, stakeholders in these natural resources. That is the tragedy of the CPM.”

Sudipto says, “The worst part about the Maoist movement is that it follows one basic principle of armed conflict, which is that the people sending people to war are old men. The people going to war are young boys."

The conversation then moves to the Red Fort blasts. Abhinandan asks the panel about the video of a key suspect in the case justifying suicide attacks, seeking their views on whether airing such footage is irresponsible or journalistically necessary.

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:03:37 - Discussion on Rahul Pandita’s Book

00:11:40 - Headlines 

00:18:33 - Killing of Madvi Hidma

01:00:38  - Red Fort Blasts Aftermath

01:21:36 - Sudipto & Rahul Pandita’s Recommendations

01:24:58 - Letters

01:36:40- Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with Ashish Anand & Sourav Ranjan. Sound Recordist Anil 

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In this special NL Hafta Live episode, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan and Raman Kirpal were joined by The Hindu’s Sobhana K Nair and senior journalist Neerja Chowdhury to decode the Bihar poll results.

On the sweeping mandate for the NDA, Anand spoke about Nitish Kumar’s enduring appeal, noting that he “maximises his EBC base better than anyone else. He knows how to balance administrative acumen with realpolitik.”

Sobhana weighed in on Prashant Kishor’s poor performance, saying, “It is not a surprise to me that Jan Suraaj did not get even a single seat. There was a lot of disinterest in the rural regions of Bihar. A lot of distrust also. There were questions being asked about where he was getting so much money to put up such a big campaign.”

Neerja highlighted the unusual nature of the mandate. “I have not seen this kind of a pro-incumbency wave in India despite 20 years in power. It is unprecedented.”

On Nitish Kumar’s future in Bihar, she pointed to his biggest vulnerability: “The minus point of Nitish Kumar is that he doesn’t have a second line of leadership. Nor has he named a successor. At one point he considered Prashant Kishor but the story would have been different had they not fallen out.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:01:25 - Headlines 

00:13:28 - Discussion on Bihar Election results 

01:34:17 - Neerja’s Recommendations

01:37:07 - Concluding remarks 

01:46:06- Recommendations

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Produced by NL Team.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by The Hindu journalist Sobhana K Nair and screenwriter, producer and professor Sabrina Dhawan.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by journalist Sreenivasan Jain and Ritu Rao, writer, INTACH consultant, and researcher on water sustainability. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by journalist Arati Jerath and Sunil Dahiya, founder of Envirocatalysts. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor at The Hindu, and Dr Khinvraj Jangid, director and professor at the Centre for Israel Studies at OP Jindal Global University. 

Abhinandan asks Suhasini whether it was “embarrassing” for the Indian government to have permitted the press conference barring women journalists with Taliban’s Foreign Minister. He also asks what pressure took place for a second presser to take place with women journalists. 

“The Taliban doesn’t control the embassy in Delhi. The staff there still pledge allegiance to the previous, democratically elected government,” Suhasini says. “But when the foreign minister’s team invited journalists, only men were included. By the time everyone had gathered, it became clear that an all-male Taliban delegation was speaking to an all-male Indian journalist group. There were women journalists outside who weren’t allowed in, and it wasn’t just women who noticed – men also felt this was wrong, and some even sent apologies.”

The discussion moves to the Gaza peace agreement. Khinvraj says, “If you look at Trump, in this particular instance, he reversed his earlier, reckless proposal that Gaza be ‘wiped out’ and the idea that the people of Gaza didn’t deserve to live there. He achieved this deal through compromise, making what I see as a powerful course correction.” 

Jayashree is less optimistic. “Israel literally already occupies Gaza – it controls the movement of its citizens and what goes in and out. Yet it demands the surrender of arms as if a genocide hasn’t already been committed. We’re talking about hostages, but what about the thousands of Palestinians imprisoned and not called hostages simply because they’re not white?”

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:03:07 - Headlines 

00:09:05 - Afghan FM’s visit to India 

00:45:57 - Suhasini Haidar’s recommendation

00:49:07 - Gaza peace agreement 

01:28:39 - Khinvraj’s recommendation 

01:31:29 - Letters

01:37:39 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistant Priyali Dhingra and sound recordist Anil Kumar. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan are joined by senior journalist Nirupama Subramaniam and lawyer and author Prashant Reddy. 

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This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande, and The News Minute’s Dhanya Rajendran and Sudipto Mondal áre joined by senior journalist Josy Joseph for a special Hafta and South Central crossover episode on the future of media.

Josy begins the discussion by arguing that the decline of newspapers and television is accelerating, not only due to technology, but also because of a compromised business model. He points out that while balance sheets are “artificially protected” through government and corporate advertising, the reality is stark

Dhanya shares hard lessons on what audiences pay for. While issues like climate change receive constant calls for coverage, they draw little financial support. “Everybody’s always asking why you guys are not reporting on the environment… but that is one fund people hardly pay,” she says. 

Manisha adds that the future role of journalism lies in helping audiences think critically in an “age of reels and feels.” 

“While others can trigger emotions, journalists can provide context, history, and perspective,” she says. 

On the replacement for legacy media, Josy says, “What you people are doing at The News Minute and Newslaundry, to me, is a great laboratory of experiment. You are actually bringing journalism back as the intellectual property for which people should pay,” he says. 

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:12:26 – Headlines 

00:37:42 -  Discussion on the future of media 

01:28:17 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced by Priyali Dhingra (Newslaundry), Bhuvan Malik (TNM), with production assistance by Ajay. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande are joined by Pooja Prasanna, editor-in-chief of reporting at The News Minute; senior lawyer Mishi Choudhary; independent journalist Smita Sharma; and senior journalist Sanjoy Hazarika from the Northeast.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute, and Nitin Sethi, founding editor of the Reporter’s Collective. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, and Raman Kirpal are joined by Kanak Mani Dixit, founder-editor of Himal South Asian, and writer and podcaster Anurag Minus Verma. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Akshay Bhambri, doctoral fellow at the Institute for Chinese Studies, Harvard Yenching Institute, and Sumeet Mhaskar, professor at OP Jindal Global University. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by economist and author Vivek Kaul and sports journalist Sharda Ugra. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Faizan Mustafa, legal scholar and VC of Chanakya National Law University, Patna, and Anuradha M Chenoy, former dean of JNU’s School of International Affairs.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by Priya Sahgal, editorial director at NewsX, Jasmine Damkewala, advocate on record in the Supreme Court, and senior journalist Hridayesh Joshi.

The episode opens with a discussion on the opposition’s protest against the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. Priya states that when the opposition sets aside its differences, it can make an impact. “The fact that everybody came together, even the AAP, even though they're not part of the India Block itself, also showed there is unity. When the opposition comes in full strength, they can make an impact and a difference,” she says. 

Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s press conference on alleged voter fraud, Manisha notes how it is unusual for a political party to assume the role traditionally played by the media. “However journalistically sound it may be or not be, it’s still striking that political parties today also have to do the media’s job of starting a narrative through such investigations, because very few organisations have actually invested time in looking into this issue and the related complaints.”

The conversation then shifts to the Supreme Court’s order to remove stray dogs from Delhi’s streets. Jasmine Damkewala notes that the dog population surged during the pandemic, when government-led sterilisation drives came to a halt. “Especially during COVID, no sterilisations were happening, or very little… The thing is, the state government is not really doing sterilisations. They do very little, and for that, too, they send the dogs to NGOs and pay them for it.” 

Manisha adds that the court’s solution seems unworkable as there aren’t enough shelters to house the dogs. “This is Delhi – we haven’t even figured out shelters for humans during extreme heat waves or extreme cold waves,” she says.

Abhinandan agrees and says, “For the Supreme Court to pass an order that is unimplementable is ridiculous. We have to acknowledge there’s a problem, but this is certainly not the solution.”

For the discussion on the Uttarakhand disaster, Hridayesh joins from ground zero. He recounts his journey to the site of the tragedy, despite being denied permission by the local authorities. He also discussed the current situation at Dharali, the village most affected by the flood. 

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:05:46 – Headlines 

00:16:47 - Opposition’s protest & INDIA bloc unity

00:44:31- Priya’s recommendations

00:47:53 - SC’s decision on stray dogs 

01:11:04 - Updates on Uttarkashi disaster

01:24:27- Letters

01:33:40- Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.

Produced and recorded by Amit Pandey and Naresh. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Nitin Pai, co-founder and director of The Takshashila Institution, and senior journalist Hridayesh Joshi from Uttarkashi.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Raman Kirpal are joined by Udit Misra from The Indian Express and independent journalist Sanjeev Srivastava.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Anand Vardhan, Raman Kirpal, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by MK Venu, Founding Editor of The Wire, and award-winning investigative journalist and author Josy Joseph.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by University of Michigan’s Associate Professor Joyojeet Pal and senior journalist Radhika Ramaseshan. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, Anand Vardhan, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by election analyst and researcher Amitabh Tiwari, along with historian and Newslaundry subscriber Swati Chawla.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Raman Kirpal  are joined by writer and economist Vivek Kaul and environmental journalist Hridayesh Joshi. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are joined by senior journalist Neerja Chowdhury, The News Minute’s editor-in-chief Dhanya Rajendran, and Newslaundryreporter Sumedha Mittal. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by The Hindu’s diplomatic affairs editor Suhasini Haider, The News Minute’s Pooja Prasanna, and filmmaker Hansal Mehta.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by former Executive Director, Air India, Jitendra Bhargava, and Executive Editor of The Frontier Manipur, Paojel Choaba.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Jayashree Arunachalam, Shardool Katyayan and Raman Kirpal are joined by Aditya Ramanathan, geopolitical expert research analyst at The Takshashila Institution.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Raman Kirpal are joined by Washington Post’s Jerusalem Bureau Chief Gerry Shih and journalist and author Jyotsna Mohan.

The conversation spans global and domestic developments, with a focus on the Israel-Gaza conflict and the legacy of Indian journalism.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior journalist andCGNet Swara’s co-founder Shubhranshu Choudhary.

We start with a discussion on the killing of 27 suspected Maoists in Chhattisgarh this week and analyse if the Maoist movement in the state has declined. Shubhranshu says, “We don’t agree with the strategy, but it is hugely successful… This war has been won by the Bastariyas (residents of Bastar) themselves who gave information.”

However, he warns that unresolved issues like mining and lack of development could reignite tensions, asking, “What will be our development policy? That will determine whether Maoism will be dead.”

Jayashree raises concerns about the accuracy of government claims, questioning, “Should we be more suspicious when the government says it’s killed dozens of Maoists?” She highlights the lack of judicial scrutiny in encounters, citing, “I think of thousands of encounters that have happened in Bastar in the last 25 years. There’ve only been two judicial inquiries.”

Abhinandan adds, “There’s an overlap of mining interests in media interests – even in ownership,” and Manisha stresses on political representation for a better future for Bastar’s residents. “If militants in the Northeast can join the BJP, why not here? Political representation matters. It gives people real options.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Song:Blowing in the wind

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions 

00:06:51 – Headlines 

00:16:59 - Operation Black Forest

01:13:52 – Letters

01:36:04 – Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced by Priyali Dhingra.

Recorded by Hassan Bilal and Anil Kumar. 

Production assistance by Ankit Raj. 

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In this special episode of NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan and Jayashree Arunachalam catch up on all the letters – over 45 of them – that we’ve received from subscribers.

Hafta letters: India-Pakistan, podcast ideas, team feedback, thoughts on patriotism

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta,click here. 

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:02:30 - Subscriber letters

01:41:30 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Abhinandan

Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI

Is Trump Losing? A Debate | The Ezra Klein Show

Raman

The Way I See It

American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden

Manisha

Dying For Sex

Anand

Nehru's First Recruits by Kallol Bhattacharjee

Jayashree 

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

Produced by Ashish Anand and Hassan Bilal; recorded by Anil Kumar. 

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by The Hindu’s Dinakar Peri, who covers defense and strategic affairs.

The episode opens with a discussion on the India-Pakistan military escalation, focusing on both the media narrative and strategic implications of the recent strikes.

Critiquing Indian news media’s coverage of the conflict, Manisha says, “In the middle of operations… the Army… was putting out fact checks, contrary to what these channels were doing.” 

She underscores how the media acted counter to national interest. “PSYOPs are directed at enemies. They're not directed at your own people drowning them down in misinformation.”

Responding to a few journalists' arguments that the ‘misinformation’ was part of India’s warfare, Abhinandan adds, “It suddenly appears that it is somehow a journalist's job… to become cheerleaders for the military.”

Dinakar, speaking as a defense journalist, emphasises how this hinders real reporting, “Nowadays, the bigger part of journalists is to actually defer the real news from the fake news… You spend a lot of time trying to find what is correct… because social media goes to a different level.”

Anand adds, “Even if you are pedaling falsehoods, you have to look serious… If you are doing it in a melodramatic tone… no one is going to take you seriously.”

The panel agrees that much of the media coverage undermined India's credibility. As Abhinandan puts it, “If you cannot trust them at war time, why should you trust them in peace time?”

The conversation then shifts to military strategy and diplomacy. Dinakar says, “From a military sense, it kind of sets up a threshold… a differential between the two countries in terms of military symmetry.” 

Anand sees strategic gains for India, “One obvious gain… it has called out Pakistan’s nuclear bluff… and it’s a good advertisement for India’s weapons set.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta,click here. 

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions 

00:05:26 – Headlines 

00:12:26 - Journalism and conflict

00:33:28 – Breaking down the 5 days of conflict

01:11:56 - Special AD break

01:14:06 – Letters

01:25:42– Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand. 

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by retired Brigadier Kuldip Singh.

In this tense news week, we begin by dissecting India’s Operation Sindoor and strikes on terror camps in Pakistan on May 7. “Neither side, particularly India, wants a full-scale war,” says Brigadier Singh, referring to past confrontations like the Uri and Balakot strikes. He adds, “This time, the strike is far greater in intensity and in the number of targets.”  

Jayashree, acknowledging public sentiment but questioning the nature of response, says, “What we’re seeing right now feels more like muscle-flexing.”

Shardool highlights how the United States and Western nations are responding differently to the current crisis compared to earlier years. “The U.S. is far less interested now…One reason is that they don’t need Pakistan the way they did before.”

Manisha points out that Operation Sindoor marks a shift in the Indian government's stance. She says what it signals is that the government “now has a clear intention: to state unambiguously that Pakistan is the enemy”.

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions 

00:05:03 – Headlines 

00:13:25 - Operation Sindoor and escalating tensions between India and Pakistan

00:48:22 – Brig. Kuldip’s recommendations

01:29:40 – Letters

01:42:25– Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand. 

Production assistance by Tista Roy Chowdhury.

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In a special episode for Press Freedom Day, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande and Jayashree Arunachalam, are joined by historian and author Ramachandra Guha.

The panel begins with a discussion on the history of press freedom in India. Ram reflects on the similarities and differences between 1975’s Emergency and today.  “The Modi regime has gone farther than Indira’s regime by weaponising agencies in a much more systematic and planned way.” Commenting on the ‘downfall’ of mainstream media, Manisha adds, “The sheer anti-people quality of the media, painting minorities as threats, is relentless and unprecedented.”

The panel discusses the history of violence in Kashmir and the attacks on Kashmiris across India after the Pahalgam terror attack. “One word from Modi and it would have stopped,” says Ram. Jayashree notes, “People are very happy to believe the worst qualities about Muslims and Kashmiris right now, and the media is feeding into it.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions 

00:02:08 - Special Press Freedom Week offer

00:03:43 – Headlines 

00:10:16 - Press freedom in India

00:49:04 – Understanding the Kashmir conflict

01:14:37 – Ramachandra Guha’s recommendations

01:16:51  – Letters

01:29:16 – Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand. 

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by diplomatic and foreign affairs expert Manoj Joshi. 

The Pahalgam terror attack was at the centre of the discussion, with the panel exploring various aspects of the incident, including security lapses, recent developments, India’s immediate diplomatic response, its potential long-term impact, and possible future measures India might take to handle the situation.

Highlighting the severity of the attack, Manoj says, “This is happening for the first time in the past 20 years, where defenceless tourists have been attacked like this.” Remembering the Chittisinghpura Sikh massacre in Kashmir, Raman says, “The buildup of terror attacks has significantly changed over the past 24 years.” 

In light of Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir’s statements about the attack, Manoj comments, “There is an obvious split in the Pakistan Army after Munir’s appointment. The Pakistan Army has a tradition: whoever the chief is, everyone listens to him. But now, the situation is different. So, it’s a move to survive in one’s position.” 

Referring to JD Vance’s presence in India during the attack, Anand points out, “Security should have been much stronger when foreign dignitaries were visiting India.”

The panel agrees that Kashmiri people are unanimously protesting against this terror attack. Manisha remarks, “An average Kashmiri today doesn’t see their future with Pakistan.”

Focusing on how world leaders are viewing this attack and what their standpoints might be in the evolving diplomatic relationship between India and Pakistan, Abhinandan says, “When two nuclear-armed states are on a standoff, it’s everybody’s business. It's the world's business.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:02:35 – Headlines 

00:07:57 – Chennai meet-up announcements

00:09:10 – Pahalgam terror attack

01:09:51 – Manoj Joshi’s recommendations

01:15:10 – Media coverage of Pahalgam attack

01:27:02 – Letters

01:43:22 – Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Ashish Anand and Priyali Dhingra.

Production assistance by intern Pragya Chakroborty.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior journalist Nirmalya Mukherjee and NewsX editorial director Priya Sahgal. 

The panel first discusses communal unrest in West Bengal’s Murshidabad, where protests against the Waqf Amendment Act turned violent this week. Nirmalya says, “This is the first time that Bengal is going to face a situation where religion has become a very important issue.” 

On the West Bengal CM’s response to the violence, he says, “Mamata first blamed the riots as a Congress conspiracy. Then, the blame shifted to the BSF, and now [it’s an] international relations conspiracy.”

“No riot can happen without the complicity of the state,” Jayashree notes.

The panel then talks about Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi being named in the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet in the National Herald case. Raman says, “If you dissect the case, it’s extremely vague right now. And misappropriation doesn’t carry a strong criminal connotation.” Priya mentions that it is important to take into consideration the timing of the ED chargesheet. “Most of the battles in India are perception,” she says. 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:03:09 – Headlines 

00:13:24 – Murshidabad violence

00:45:38 – National Herald case

01:18:53 – How are Trump and Modi similar?

01:25:58 – Letters

01:43:47 – Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand.

Production assistance by intern Pragya Chakroborty.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Semafor’s business reporter Rohan Goswami and political consultant and federalism expert Tara Krishnaswamy. 

On Trump’s flip-flop on tariffs and the escalating trade war with China, Rohan says: “Trump created tremendous panic. He got what he wanted. World leaders are calling and begging him... but a 90-day pause is not enough.” He highlights that, unlike the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis, America’s current market chaos is a “self-inflicted situation”.

Manisha analyses the common threads between Narendra Modi’s demonetisation policy and Trump’s tariffs. Shardool adds, “Trump is famous because he is funny. He should be made the TV-President because he understands TV best.”

The panel also discusses the Supreme Court’s scathing remarks about the Tamil Nadu Governor earlier this week. Tara remarks,“The time has come to either define the Governor’s role – starting from appointment to powers – in a bilateral manner, or abolish the position and assign its duties to the appropriate authorities.”

Raman adds, “The battle between chief ministers and governors has increased tremendously since 2014.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:04:48 – Headlines 

00:15:34 – Trump’s tariff flip-flops

01:05:29 – Supreme Court on TN Governor

01:32:12 – Letters

01:48:08 – Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand.

Production assistance by intern Pragya Chakroborty.

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Manisha Pande are joined by The News Minute’s Sudipto Mondal and Supreme Court lawyer Talha Abdul Rahman.

On the controversial Waqf Amendment Bill, passed in Parliament this week after long fiery debates, Talha says: “Every Waqf that is now created will have to register themselves with the central depository.” He adds that the statute is “a translation of a WhatsApp forward.”

Sudipto questions the motivation behind bringing in the legislation and the manner in which it will be used. He says that the new bill will now “weaponise” bulldozer demolitions, which are increasingly becoming the norm. 

Manisha puts focus on the misinformation being spread in mainstream media about the bill. She mentions one anchor claiming that the new bill will ensure “no one can stop the Prime Minister’s plane from taking off because Waqf can no longer claim the airport.”

The panel also discusses the student protests in University of Hyderabad against tree felling on 400 acres of forest land. Commenting on the Supreme Court taking suo-moto cognizance of the case, Sudipto says, “It’s a great victory for people’s movements, students’ movements.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Hafta letters:Uncle behaviour, patriarchy, the right to exist

<<<YOUTUBE EMBED>>>

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Song: Tanha Tanha Yahan Pe Jeena

Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:04:34 – Headlines 

00:13:17 – Waqf bill 

00:58:34 – HCU protests 

01:11:06 –  Letters

01:32:40 –  Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, Saif Ali Ekram, and Anil Kumar. 

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by comedian and screenwriter Anuvab Pal.

The panel first discusses the Kunal Kamra controversy. Jayashree lays down the timeline of incidents and Abhinandan highlights the Supreme Court’s comments on free speech in the Imran Pratapgarhi case.

Anuvab says: “We [comedians] take very special care of the names we mention, especially if the video is supposed to go up online…I don’t see any mobs in defense of Kunal Kamra – just the mobs that vandalised the venue in Mumbai.”

“It’s always the sidekicks who want to please the master”, Anand remarks. 

“Now we know who the real Shiv Sena is!” says Jayashree on the vandalism by Eknath Shinde’s followers at The Habitat.

The panel then digs into the mystery of burnt piles of cash found at Justice Yashwant Varma’s official residence last week and the subsequent inquiry into the matter. “There are too many inconsistencies in how it played out”, Jayashree says.

Raman then briefly summarises the Delhi government’s recently announced budget for the 2026 financial year. On how the center has now “started doling out money” for Delhi, he says: “This year, Rs 24,000 crore more was provided by the centre. This shows that the previous government was gagged.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:04:47 – Headlines 

00:14:37 – Kunal Kamra controversy

01:06:27 – Justice Varma cash row

01:23:48 – Delhi budget 

01:26:50 –  Letters

01:48:06 –  Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, Ashish Anand, and Anil Kumar. 

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande are joined by The News Minute’s Dhanya Rajendran and The Wire’s Seema Chishti.

The panel first discusses the recent crackdown on pro-Palestine student protests in US campuses and deportation of two Indian students, Ranjani Srinivasan and Badar Khan Suri. Dhanya says, “Ranjani insisted that she was not a huge part of the protest, but Indian newspapers had already labeled her a Hamas supporter”.

As the panel draws parallels between what is happening in the US and the clampdown on student protests in India, Manisha says: “I always thought that in American universities, despite their issues, there was a certain freedom to voice your opinions. For that to go away is quite something to see."

Abhinandan then moves to discussing if the concept of patriotism can be considered primitive. He says: “Patriotism is love for your country, but your country may be pursuing values based on whichever government is in power. And that value system may not align with yours.” As the panel debates what it means to be a patriot, Seema adds, “True patriotism should be about wanting better lives for fellow citizens, not blind devotion to the government."

The panelists then talk about how the English news media gets to set the narrative in India. On regional media’s limited influence compared to its English counterpart, Manisha says: "English newspapers still have an outsized influence because bureaucrats, judges, and policy-makers read them”. However, English news channels, she points out, “are losing relevance”. “Politicians now prefer giving interviews to local YouTubers and regional media because that’s where the numbers and voters are”.

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:04:26 – Headlines 

00:21:16 – US campus crackdown

00:34:40 –Defining patriotism 

00:46:48 – English media’s dominance

01:08:55 - Letters

01:44:02 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, Ashish Anand, and Anil Kumar. 

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by writer and podcaster Amit Varma. 

The panel first discusses pre-Holi communal concerns, including a Sambhal cop saying Muslims should stay inside this Holi if they don’t want to be smeared with colour. Jayashree says communal provocations during Holi have become normal: “We have this delusional idea of Hindus and Muslims holding hands and celebrating Holi. But that is not the country we live in now.” 

Anand explains the history of Bhojpuri Holi songs and the evolution of vulgarity. “The sexualised space has been taken into account by the pop music industry for its titillation value…These songs were not always vulgar, some even represented female desire.”

The panel then moves on to the controversies around the recently concluded Champions Trophy. Abhinandan says, “There was nothing offensive about the Indian team not wanting to go to Pakistan due to security issues. Look at what has happened with the Balochistan train hijack this week.” 

Amit explains the tariff wars with the US: “Of all that Trump is doing, tariffs are the most bizarre. They are a disaster, period, and this has been the economic consensus for the last 200 years.” 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:03:22 – Headlines 

00:19:33 - Holi and communal narratives

00:26:41 - Holi and vulgar songs

00:42:52 - Introduction to tariff wars

00:45:37 - Champions Trophy and cricket controversies

01:01:08 - Tariff wars

01:39:38 - Amit’s recommendations

01:42:17 - Panel recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, Hassan Bilal and Anil Kumar. 

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan are joined by Dr Sumeet Mhaskar, professor of sociology at Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, and Ajoy Bose, veteran journalist and author of Behenji: The Rise and Fall of Mayawati.

The panel first discusses the controversy triggered by Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi’s remarks on Aurangzeb while addressing the Mughal emperor’s portrayal in the film Chhava.

Sumeet provides historical context to the interpretation of Aurangzeb and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s legacies in Maharashtra. Explaining how they are shaped by competing narratives, he says: “Much more communalised interpretation is projected through movies, history textbooks, and plays”. The return of Aurangzeb to headlines shows that we are using the present to judge the past, rather than letting history inform our present, he notes.

Commenting on Aurangzeb’s legacy, Manisha adds, “When you look at the Mughals, I would say Aurangzeb was the worst of them...He's an odd hill to die on, especially for current politicians.”

The panel then analyses the “political decline” of Mayawati, and her decision to suspend nephew Akash Anand from the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Ajoy terms the suspension as a “significant moment”. Commenting on Mayawati’s “disruptive” thinking, he says: “If Kanshiram was the strategic genius who thought of using Dalits to become a political force, Mayawati was the person who delivered”. 

On where things went wrong for Mayawati, he remarks, “She got quite distracted by her prime ministerial dream being thrashed and made fundamental mistakes in handling the social alliance which brought her to power.”

As Abhinandan and Sumeet point to BSP’s cadre being the strength of the party, Anand underlines Mayawati’s “lack of political agility” as one of the reasons for BSP’s decline. 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:03:09 – Headlines 

00:03:09 – Was history always controversial?

00:17:24 – Aurangzeb’s return to headlines 

00:53:19 – Mayawati and the future of BSP

01:32:03 – Sumeet’s recommendation

01:39:30 – Ajoy’s recommendation

01:51:06 – Letters 

01:59:40 – Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Nitin Pai, director of Takshashila Institution, and The News Minute’s Shabbir Ahmed.

The panel first discusses the inception and functioning of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – a new department set up by the United States government and headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Nitin says the reason behind something like DOGE “is not just efficiency.” “The ideological reason is to create a government full of people who will act according to the rules of Donald Trump,” he says, adding that federal government employees were laid off en-masse to create fear and uncertainty in the minds of rank and file civil servants. 

On the importance of “small governments,” Shardool says that any system meant to be working fairly working for citizens will be complex. “Mandates given to governments are not for them to run in a fiscally efficient manner, but to run fairly and independently,” he adds. 

Jayashree then delves into the ongoing “language wars” between the Tamil Nadu government and the union government over the National Education Policy’s three-language formula. “The implication that Hindi means the extermination of a local language is true,” she says.

Shabbir adds that the union government demands the NEP to be accepted in its entirety: “The problem the TN government has is that NEP is a uniform policy on education, but education is in the concurrent list. States were not consulted before forming it.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements

00:04:01 – Headlines 

00:11:23 – DOGE

00:54:49 – Language row: Tamil Nadu vs Centre

01:28:20 – Letters 

01:48:40 – Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand.

This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes back behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by former Chief Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi and cartoonist Rachita Taneja. 

The show starts with a detailed discussion on the controversy surrounding the USAID funds allegedly released to “increase voter turnout in India” and anIndian Express fact-check that found that the said amount was meant for Bangladesh, never India.

“The Election Commission is allergic to the thought of taking money from anyone outside India…We had enough funds and enough self-respect,” says Dr Quraishi, adding that he is also “very confident” about his successors.

On Donald Trump cancelling USAID funding for several projects, Jayashree says, “What he’s doing is terrible…but there is a tendency to paint US aid as US generosity.” The US has used aid programs as part of its foreign policy, she points out.

The panel then moves to discussing the midnight notification issued to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner. “If you need to be bipartisan, you have to have someone who is not a politician,” Raman says about Kumar’s appointment.

On the selection process, Dr  Quraishi says that India has the “most defective system of appointment” despite having the “most powerful election commission in the world.” 

The panel also discusses the Indian government blocking Tamil news website Vikatan after it published a critical cartoon depicting PM Narendra Modi and Trump.

Rachita, who runs the popular page Sanitary Panels, says: “I don’t know where to draw the line between censorship and self-censorship. If you are being given threats or being told that you can land up in jail, is that not part of censorship itself?”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:02:57 - Headlines 

00:09:19- USAID controversy

00:34:30 - CEC appointment process

00:53:06 - Blocking of Vikatan website

01:30:14 - Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Anand Vardhan are joined by The Caravan’s Hartosh Singh Bal and Delhi University professor Tanvir Aeijaz. 

The panel begins the show by discussing Narendra Modi’s meeting with Donald Trump which Manisha terms “a test of statecraft” for Modi. The discussion then moves to the Delhi election result, which saw the BJP returning to power after 27 years. 

“This is a new BJP. It has gained strength since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” says Hartosh. “...These elections were not fought on Modi’s back. The party now has organisational strength. Even if Modi falls to the wayside, it does not make a difference to the BJP.” As the panel discusses the AAP and Congress’s performance, Abhinandan says, “One thing BJP has pulled off well is that they won Delhi without a [chief ministerial] face.”

Tanvir talks about the controversy surrounding the new UGC draft guidelines that give state governors a prominent role in selecting vice-chancellors. “This regulation comes in the backdrop of the idea that we need to have one curriculum, one education system across the country,” he says. “But education is a concurrent subject…everything in a monastic form creates a problem for federalism.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Hafta letters:Economies and ‘police states’, the question of ads, courts and parole

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Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/9Az11BtCKQ8

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:04:57 - Headlines

00:11:48 - Modi in America

00:18:20 - Delhi elections

 00:45:13 - Manipur developments

00:51:20 - UGC guidelines 

01:22:16 - Tanvir’s recommendation

01:29:55 - Hartosh’s recommendation 

01:33:17 - Letters

01:46:01 - Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand.

This episode is outside of the paywall, just for the week and just for you. Before it goes back behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are joined by Supreme Court advocate Mihira Sood and journalist Govindraj Ethiraj.

The panel discusses the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand. Mihira says, “There are many peculiarities of the law, but the strangest is that registration of live-in relationships is more cumbersome than a marriage…The penalty for not registering a marriage is nothing, but the penalty for not registering a live-in relationship can be imprisonment.” 

Commenting on the backlash to inter-faith relationships in the state in the recent past, Manisha adds, “What we know from newspaper reports is that registrations will be scrutinised by the Bajrang Dal…What the Uttarakhand government wants to do here is just police people who are living together.”

On the new budget announced for 2025-26, Govindraj says there’s “nothing really landmark” in the budget but the “benefits offered to the middle class are a good thing”. “It is correcting a problem of the recent past – the pressure of inflation on households and incomes not growing as they did before,” he says.

The panel also discusses the continuing depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, and the ‘unease’ of doing business in India. 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:02:12 - Headlines

00:13:37 - Uniform Civil Code

00:44:08 - ‘Unease’ of doing business

00:49:57 - Budget

01:11:05 - Depreciation of the Rupee

01:23:27- Letters

01:45:00 - Recommendations 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Ashish Anand, edited by Hassan Bilal. 

This episode is outside of the paywall, just for the week and just for you. Before it goes back behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior advocate Indira Jaising and independent journalist Saurabh Sharma. 

The discussion starts with tax authorities axing The Reporters’ Collective’s non-profit status. Indira says the I-T department’s action against the investigative news outlet is part of a “strategic and calculated crackdown by the government on independent media and journalism”. She says everyone should stand up for the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression and ensure it is not eroded.

The panel also talks about the tragic stampede at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj. Saurabh breaks down all that went wrong leading up to the tragedy. “There was absolute radio silence from the government for nearly 19 hours about how many people died,” he says. 

Saurabh adds that he believes the death toll is higher than the official government figure: “I went to the morgue and counted at least 59 bodies.” Raman blames Uttar Pradesh’s VIP culture for the chaos at Kumbh. 

Abhinandan and Manisha take note of how legacy media attempted to drown out the news of the stampede. On the government’s PR push, Manisha says, “All you are trying to do is show the good news, but that is not going to get you good global coverage.” 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/5o8WY9UVKGk

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:03:35 - Headlines

00:13:55 - The Reporters’ Collective loses non-profit status

00:43:16 - Indira’s recommendations

00:44:32 - Kumbh stampede

01:01:38 - Saurabh’s recommendations

01:02:25 - Mismanagement at Kumbh, VIP culture in UP

01:25:43 - Letters

01:43:08 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, Tista Roy Chowdhury, and Anil Kumar.

Production assistance by Hanshul Mohan. 

This episode is outside of the paywall, just for the week and just for you. Before it goes back behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

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This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by author and political analyst Sanjaya Baru. 

The discussion begins with Donald Trump being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America. The panel analyses the fears of a second Trump presidency. “He will do a lot of damage, yes, but the fear of Trump is greatly exaggerated,” Sanjaya says, adding that India, and the world, historically, has shown the ability to withstand imperialist powers.  

Jayashree adds, “Trump comes off as unhinged, but he is the essence of what America is like.”

 The panel also addresses the Indian media’s exaggeration of Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s presence in the ‘front row’ at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. Commenting on India-US relations, Manisha says, “The Joe Biden administration was kind to Narendra Modi’s administration…if Trump is not accommodative, it will affect BJP’s ‘vishwaguru’ politics domestically.”

The panel also discusses how the CBI and TMC government are appealing for the death penalty in the RG Kar case, and catches up on all the subscriber letters we’ve received so far.  

Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements

00:03:04 - Baru on his book ‘India’s Power Elite’

00:08:12 - Headlines

00:20:28 - The return of Donald Trump 

00:40:43 - Economic impact of a second Trump presidency

00:55:27 - Baru on Manmohan Singh 

01:02:43 - Baru’s recommendations

01:04:43 - Death penalty

01:16:44 - Letters

01:59:46 - Recommendations 

Check outHafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Anil Kumar. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by journalist Nidhi Razdan and economist and writer Vivek Kaul.

The panel begins with the Delhi polls, and Abhinandan says the BJP’s USP is primarily centred around portraying Kejriwal as a horrible politician. Shardool points out that the BJP is “organisationally strong” but doesn’t have a face in Delhi. Nidhi talks about the AAP’s shortcomings and Kejriwal’s struggle to hold onto his image as an aam aadmi. She also says the Congress is entirely missing from the conversation.

The conversation shifts to the current state of the media and the lack of accountability in newsrooms. Nidhi says, “Things that we thought were just shocking or immoral or unethical or unconstitutional – everything is being normalised. And part of the reason is because the media doesn’t ask difficult questions.”

Vivek then unpacks the rupee falling against the dollar and its repercussions. He emphasises that this isn’t a crisis, saying, “The rupee will keep depreciating against the dollar for the simple fact that inflation in the US is usually lower than inflation in India.” He also explains the downfall of the Indian economy in the last few years. 

Tune in!

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:00:20 - Announcements and appeals

00:01:54- Special message

00:03:28- Panel introduction

00:04:38- Headlines

00:10:58 - Delhi elections

00:37:50- Current media landscape

01:12:34 - Rupee crash

01:55:44 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Prashant Kumar and Priyali Dhingra.

This episode is outside of the paywall, just for the week and just for you. Before it goes back behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media.Click hereto subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Manisha Pande are joined by author Amitava Kumar and academic Joyojeet Pal.

The panel discusses Amitava’s new book The Green Book: An Observer’s Notebook, and Amitava explains the role that journaling plays in his life. 

“Journaling is a means of self-discovery and a tool to document our times. Personal narratives can preserve truths and challenge erasures of history,” he says. He also says journaling helps counteract misinformation since it’s “about creating a record that endures beyond fleeting news cycles”. Manisha adds that reading her own journals from her childhood “makes me cringe at times, but they’re a reminder of how far I’ve come”.

The conversation shifts to Meta’s decision to terminate its fact-checking partnerships. Joyojeet warns, “Abandoning fact-checking opens the floodgates for radicalised communities to define their own truths.”

Jayashree says, “ A lot of this is about changing things that are associated with liberalism. And that’s exactly what that revised policy says. It says that you can now make allegations of mental illness or abnormality based on gender and sex. You’re allowed to compare people to faces and filth based on protected characteristics.”

The panel also explores Elon Musk’s controversial claim that social media is the new media, how algorithms shape narratives, and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta,click here. 

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download theNewslaundry app.

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:00:44 - About Fight To Breath Campaign

00:01:50- Panel introduction

00:05:08- Headlines

00:09:57 - The Green Book and journaling

00:30:47- Announcements

00:32:10- Meta’s fact-checking decision

01:02:02 - Social media as news

01:23:03- Special message

01:25:50 - Subscriber letters

01:40:51 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Prashant Kumar and Priyali Dhingra.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal and Shardool Katyayan are joined by The News Minute’s Pooja Prasanna.

The panel begins with protests in Bihar against a ‘paper leak’ in the Bihar Public Service Commission preliminary exam. Jayashree explains, “The normalisation process for exams has been rejected outright by the BPSC, but it’s a standard procedure in other competitive exams.” Shardool emphasises systemic delays and negligence, stating, “Students are aging out of eligibility because of these recurring delays – it’s a vicious cycle.”

The conversation turned to the lynching of a Muslim man in Moradabad over allegations of cow slaughter. Shardool calls it an “economic issue as well as a social issue” since “most victims of lynchings are from the lower economic strata, unable to defend themselves legally or socially”. Jayashree criticises the media’s reportage of such incidents: “We don’t report these as murders; they are contextualised as actions driven by allegations – almost a justification.” 

Abhinandan adds, “It’s telling that the prime minister and government are quick to comment on global issues but remain silent on hate crimes within the country.” Pooja highlights the impunity enjoyed by repeat offenders: “In Karnataka, a hate offender live-streamed attacks and continues to engage in hate speech, even while out on bail.”

The panel closes with predictions for 2025. Raman predicts worsening economic conditions, saying, “Public sentiment is unlikely to favour large-scale protests despite growing discontent.” Abhinandan sums it up, “If we want systemic change, citizens need to harness collective power to push politicians to act. Protests alone won’t be enough.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Video timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:01:39 - Announcements

00:06:36- Headlines

00:18:54 - Bihar paper leak protests

00:30:58- Moradabad Murder

00:41:51 - Hindutva’s growing influence and economic motivations

00:53:26 - Panel’s predictions for 2025

01:10:11- Special Message

01:12:46 - Subscriber letters

01:32:24 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Prashant Kumar and Priyali Dhingra.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Raman Kirpal were joined by former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan Lokur and political journalist Neerja Choudhury.

Neerja describes Dr Manmohan Singh, who died this week, as a “gentleman politician and a unifying figure” who will be remembered for his “decency in politics” and landmark contributions such as the RTI Act, MGNREGA, and the Indo-US nuclear deal. Justice Lokur says, “He was a great man and a great loss for the country.” 

Manisha reflects on the media’s role during Singh’s tenure, saying, “Back then, leaders were judged critically but fairly, without fear of retribution.”

Abhinandan adds, “Manmohan Singh’s leadership taught us that decency is not a weakness but a strength in politics.”

On the media and judicial accountability, Justice Lokur acknowledges the increased public scrutiny on courts. “There must be ways to check judges without undermining the institution,” he says, referencing the need for mechanisms beyond impeachment. Neerja criticises the sensationalism that’s come to define election coverage, saying the media’s role “is to hold power accountable, not amplify divisive rhetoric”.

The panel also reflects on key events of 2024. Neerja cautions that the “challenge to Modi’s leadership might come from the extreme right within the BJP itself”. Manisha points out the troubling rhetoric in election speeches, adding, “The prime minister’s speeches targeting minorities were demoralising and crossed a line.”

Raman highlights the year’s highs and lows, saying, “The coalition government formation was a relief for democracy, but the political language this year hit new lows.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta,click here. 

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

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Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:02:49 - Headlines

00:09:53 - NL Sena announcements

00:11:18- Manmohan Singh’s legacy

00:34:52 - Media, judiciary, and key events of 2024

01:03:06 - Announcements

01:11:46 - Subscriber letters

01:19:14 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Prashant & Priyali. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pandey, and Jayashree Arunachalam were joined by parliamentary affairs expert and journalist Meghnad S.

On the debate on the One Nation, One Election bill, Jayashree says that “the proposal reflects a strong anti-federalism stance.” She pointed out that while the bill may reduce costs, “it could strip states of their power”. Manisha says, “In terms of organising this it could be a mammoth task, especially with the inclusion of panchayat elections, making it an expensive exercise.” Abhinandan asks, “Is Modi the right leader to bring about such changes?”  

The panel then discusses the row over scuffle in parliament between the opposition MPs and those in the governing parties. Meghnad says, “It's like a WWE match in Parliament.” Abhinandan questions its media coverage, “Do you feel any shame or guilt about the way you work? How do you face your children?” 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta,click here. 

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download theNewslaundry app.

Watch the full video here: 

https://youtu.be/rayJQarf4Sk

Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:00:27 - Announcements

00:08:20 - Headlines

00:15:42 - NL Sena Announcement

00:17:55- One Nation, One Election

00:46:49 - Parliament: Scuffles, allegations, and theatrics

01:10:37 - Subscriber’s letters

01:50:08 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Prashant & Priyali. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Manisha Pandey were joined by journalist Faye D’Souza.

On the BJP’s narrative against George Soros, Abhinandan says, “Adani money is good, Soros money bad? No sensible discussion has happened around it.” Faye says, “We are living in a post-truth world where ridiculous claims take root and attention spans have shrunk too much for nuanced conversations.”

On the Congress’s response to allegations about links with Soros, Manisha says, “Their communication is stale. You can’t keep repeating the same thing without innovation.” She points out that news channels have been quoting dubious sources like “nancho.net” to accuse Sonia Gandhi of collusion with Soros.

The panel then discusses the misuse of dowry laws and the tragic case of a techie’s suicide in Bengaluru. Anand says, “Lawyers often weaponise these cases, and the Supreme Court has already intervened to mandate preliminary investigations before arrests.” Faye emphasises the need for balanced discourse. On media coverage of the issue, Abhinandan says, “The TikTokisation of news has taken over.” 

On the Kapoor family’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Manisha says, “The event was supposed to honour Raj Kapoor, but it ended up being all about praising Modi.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta,click here. 

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download theNewslaundry app.

Watch the full video here: 

https://youtu.be/BL8HPSF9NFs

Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:0:00 - Headlines

00:18:00 - Adani vs Soros

00:34:28- Special Message 

00:35:27 - Dowry law misuse debate

00:56:12 - Bollywood’s Modi moment

01:06:43 - Subscriber letters and recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Prashant & Priyali. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by author Chetan Bhagat, academic Sarthak Bagchi, and journalist Dhiren A Sadokpam to discuss the Maharashtra government formation, the increased violence in Manipur, and the ‘foreign hand’ allegations against OCCRP. 

On BJP’s campaign in Maharashtra, Chetan says, “A little bit of humility has come to the BJP. The whole talk of building a larger than life image – the party feels that the voters don’t need it right now.” Sarthak explains how the BJP may absorb Shiv Sainiks in the state, saying the party “wants to establish hegemonic dominance”. 

Moving on to the BJP’s ‘US propaganda’ allegations and primetime outrage against OCCRP, Abhinandan says, “I just find it fascinating that Indian media that is surviving on sarkari patronage is outraging about another media surviving on sarkari patronage.” 

Dhiren then explains the spike in violence in Manipur and what it’s like to live in a state of war. “We need to understand the intersection between insurgency, ethnic violence, poppy cultivation, and national security,” he says. 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta,click here. 

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download theNewslaundry app.

Watch the full video here: 

https://youtu.be/PIiK-K8fbQ0

Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:04:36 - Announcements

00:15:00 - Headlines

00:19:00 - OCCRP controversy

00:32:41 - Maharashtra government formation

01:20:00 - New wave of violence in Manipur?

00:49:38 - Maharashtra election results

01:57:30 - Letters

02:06:30 - Recommendations

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Prashant Kumar, edited by Hassan Bilal. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan to discuss the violence in Sambhal and the Maharashtra-Jharkhand assembly election results.

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Raman Kirpal are joined by environment and air pollution expert Sunil Dahiya.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan are joined by Newslaundry reporter Prateek Goyal.

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Raman Kirpal are joined by Supreme Court advocate Shahrukh Alam and senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain. 

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Raman Kirpal are joined by Washington-based columnist Seema Sirohi.

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has threatened to scrap America’s Constitution, has denied the results of the last election, and has been charged with inciting a riot. His rival, Kamala Harris, is none of those things. 

Yet, after a high-voltage entry into the US presidential race, Harris seems to be losing momentum and is deadlocked at the polls. This is despite the Harris campaign raising a staggering 1 billion dollars, more than half of what the Trump campaign has raised. 

In the second episode of the three-part series Mandate 2024: US Edition, Sreenivasan Jain reports from a Harris rally in #GroundZero at Michigan – a key swing state – to understand the dynamics of why the US election has become a kante ki takkar.

Jain speaks to Hispanic voters who are leaning Trump, despite Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, to Muslim Americans, angry with the US support to the war in Gaza. 

As Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Democrat Congresswoman, tells Jain, the Gaza conflict could cost Harris the election.

Watch our compelling ground report. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US election – a high-stakes battle between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – is being perceived as critical for the future of democracy in America.  

The fear is that if Trump wins, he will undermine key tenets of American democracy, like using government agencies to settle scores with his rivals. Despite this, he remains a formidable contender. 

In the first episode of the three-part mini-series Mandate 2024: US Edition Sreenivasan Jain reports from a Trump rally in Arizona – a crucial swing state – to understand what is driving Trump bhakti.

Why do so many Americans buy into the cult of Trump, despite the red flags? Is it because he stokes fear of an immigrant invasion, of America’s white majority being overrun? Or is there more to it?

Watch our compelling ground report for answers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After last year’s October 7 attack, the Israeli army has justified its brutal offensive in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. But the aftermath of October 7 witnessed an escalation of violence in the West Bank, the Palestinian territory not controlled by Hamas.

In the final episode of our three-part mini-series Gaza: One Year Later, Sreenivasan Jain investigates fears that the West Bank is emerging as the new Gaza.

Jain reports from Qusra, a village in Nablus, in the West Bank, which witnessed the biggest number of Palestinians being killed by Israeli settlers in a 48 hour period in the aftermath of October 7th, even as Israeli forces looked on. 

As an activist from Qusra told Jain, “The soldiers are always with the settlers”. 

Jain speaks to a member of Regavim, an Israeli settler group that is trying to speed up the demolition of Palestinian structures in the West Bank. 

As Israel’s aggression ramps up, it is triggering an upsurge of armed Palestinian resistance. 

Jain meets fighters of the newly formed Jenin Brigade, who say they are willing to die for their cause. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On October 7th last year, Israel experienced a traumatic attack by Hamas: over a 1,000 killed, 250 taken hostage. The world mourned with Israel. But a year later, Israel’s devastating response has raised questions within Israeli society itself, whether the country is at risk of losing its moral compass. 

In the second episode of our three-part mini-series Gaza: One Year Later, Sreenivasan Jain examines Israel’s crisis of conscience through its treatment of Palestinian prisoners after the Hamas attack. 

Thousands of them have been jailed without specific charges, and tortured brutally.  

Speaking to Jain, Palestinian activist Nidal Haj Mohammad recounts being blindfolded while in jail, his hands tied, and being beaten up with sticks all over his body. Another activist, Noor Halawa, says that dogs were set on him.  

Far from sparking outrage, the torture of Palestinians has been cheered by political leaders and the Israeli media, a new dark chapter in Israel’s history. 

But not all Israelis support the actions of the state. 

Jain speaks to Gideon Levy, who says, “If not now, when?...When we are shooting, that's the time to raise your voice…How can you keep silent?”

Watch.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Gaza war that erupted last year after the October 7 attack by Hamas – which left over 1,000 dead and 250 hostage – has left a trail of carnage in its wake.  

Israel has killed more than 40,000 Gazans. Large swathes of Gaza have been reduced to rubble. And the shortages of food and water amid Israeli army restrictions are so severe that the UN has said that Israel may be using starvation as a weapon of war.

But the Israeli government and its army have claimed that they are fighting a moral war. 

In this episode of our three-part mini-series Gaza: One Year Later, Sreenivasan Jain reports from ground zero to put Israel’s claim to test. Jain speaks to Palestinian journalists – the only source of information for the outside world – who challenge Israel’s claims. 

Avi Dichter, a Netanyahu cabinet minister and former Shin Bet chief, asserts that there is “no fair play” and the war “could go on for years” while ordinary Israelis have their own doubts about why Prime Minister Netanyahu – beset by corruption charges – is prolonging the violence. 

Watch.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by The Hindu’s international affairs editor Stanly Johny and journalist and defence expert Colonel Ajai Shukla.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by financial crimes and corporate governance lawyer Sherbir Panag.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachal are joined by senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain andLokniti-CSDSco-director Sanjay Kumar.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by freelance journalist Hridayesh Joshi and The Hindu’s senior assistant editor Kallol Bhattacharjee.

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In this week’s special free episode, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam, are joined by The News Minute’s Pooja Prasanna and University of Michigan associate professor and author Joyojeet Pal.

The conversation begins with discussions on the Tirupati laddu controversy and the Karnataka High Court setback for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysore Urban Development Authority case. Pooja delves into how life has come full circle for Siddaramiah. 

Abhinandan underlines the similarities between Indian and US news: “Top headlines on Indian channels is beef in laddus, while top headlines in the US are Donald Trump’s ‘immigrants will eat your dogs’ speech.” Joyojeet explains the nuances of the Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump presidential battle. He says, “Right now it’s a neck and neck fight.” 

The panel also discusses PM Modi’s visit to the US. On his address to NRIs in Long Island, Jayashree says, “Modi talked about his biggest achievements, such as new airports and better broadband services – because that’s all that matters to NRIs.”

This and more, tune in!

Check out theNewslaundry storeand flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download theNewslaundry app.

Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/_X8eQttDXx0 

Audio Timecodes

00:02:51 - Announcements

00:07:40 - Headlines

00:22:46 - Announcement

00:23:26 - Tirupati laddu

00:32:06 - MUDA case - setback for Siddaramiah?

00:43:48 - Pooja’s recommendation

00:44:45 - Subscriber letters

01:00:44 - US polls & Modi in USA

01:32:53 - Joyojeet’s recommendation 

01:38:46 - Subscriber letters

01:55:20 - Recommendations 

Check outprevious Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, edited by Hassan Bilal and Samarendra K Dash. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.