Newslaundry Podcast

This week’s Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal with Newslaundry's head of research Ayush Tiwari and desk writer Gaurav Sarkar. The panel talks about the SSC paper leaks, Yogi Adityanath’s rally, the Congress manifesto and the newly launched NaMo TV.Ayush talks about the press conference he attended on the SSC paper leaks conducted by Yogendra Yadav and Kanhaiya Kumar, an SSC aspirant from Bihar. He explains what happened and how the government and authorities were hand-in-glove. He says: “The Chairman of the SSC should be taken into account because this incident has happened under his nose.”Cherry discusses the recently released Congress manifesto which made a slew of promises including some focusing on the media, like the amendment of Press Council of India Act to strengthen self-regulation of the media, and the empowering of the Press Council of India to fight the menace of fake news and misinformation. Most fake news is amplified by TV news on a daily basis, and Cherry says: “TV newsroom

In this episode of The Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap, hosts Rajyasree Sen and Abhinandan Sekhri discuss the latest How To Train Your Dragon, Vice, Us, A Star is Born, The Favourite and much more.The podcast kicks off with Abhinandan and Rajyasree discussing animated movies, particularly the How To Train Your Dragon series. Though Abhinandan liked the earlier parts, the latest offering didn't captivate him. Rajyasree, who's not passionate about animated movies, moves on to the Oscar-nominated movie Vice, a comic-biopic on former US Vice President Dick Cheney. She says the movie captures the nature of politics at the time, Cheney’s relationship with Donal Rumsfeld, and the charismatic interactions and motivations of the wives of prominent political leaders.Abhinandan expresses his dissatisfaction with Jordan Peele’s movie Us (2019) which may also stem from his dislike of horror films in general. He says he predicted the plot minutes into the movie. Rajyasree says she enjoys most of Peele's work. "Everyth

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, and lawyer Gautam Bhatia. The podcast kicks off with Gautam talking about his latest book, The Transformative Constitution: A Radical Biography in Nine Acts.The discussion moves to Arnab Goswami's interview with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Discussing Mission Shakti, Madhu describes what she calls the “remarkable discomfiture” with which Modi made his announcement. The conversation also covers Rahul Gandhi's announcement of the NYAY scheme, Vijay Mallya recent statements after the Jet Airways bailout, cessation dialogues in Kashmir and Sikkim, and a whole lot more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the latest episode of NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by the usual gang of Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande and Madhu Trehan, as well as Nitin A Gokhle, a national security analyst, and Samrat, a journalist and author.The conversation kicks off with Indo-Pak tension, with Abhinandan asking Nitin about the details of the air strikes on JeM camps and the non-credible information that flowed with it. Nitin rules out the possibility of ascertaining the "number of terrorists killed in the strike". However, he says: “To me, the significance of the strike was not in numbers, it was about crossing the red line … and planning.” Madhu explains the reportage of the air strike, saying, “When we get statements from the government during the conflict, I think it has to be just context with government sources.” She says it prevents journalists from jumping the gun and puts the onus on government. The panel is unanimously annoyed about the unconfirmed and propagandist reportage by sections of Indian media. Manisha feels

चुनावी गहमा-गहमी के बीच बीता हफ़्ता तमाम अच्छी-बुरी खबरों के साथ हिंदुस्तान के लिए एक उपलब्धि लेकर आया. इस हफ़्ते प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी द्वारा खगोल विज्ञान के क्षेत्र में भारत की हालिया उपलब्धि को बताते हुए राष्ट्र के नाम संदेश जारी संदेश, राहुल गांधी द्वारा चुनावी अभियान के तहत की एक बड़ी योजना ‘न्याय’ का ऐलान, पिछले हफ़्ते होली के रंगों को धूमिल करती हुई व सामाजिक ताने-बाने को नुकसान पहुंचाने वाली गुड़गांव में एक मुस्लिम परिवार के साथ हुई हिंसक वारदात और सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता व अर्थशास्त्री ज्यां द्रेज़ की झारखंड में हुई गिरफ़्तारी, प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी का रिपब्लिक भारत चैनल को दिया गया इंटरव्यू आदि चर्चा में विषय के तौर पर लिया गया.चर्चा में इस बार लेखक-पत्रकार अनिल यादव व हिंदुस्तान अख़बार के विशेष संवाददाता स्कंद विवेकधर शामिल हुए. चर्चा का संचालन न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री के कार्यकारी संपादक अतुल चौरसिया ने किया.प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी द्वारा ज़ारी राष्ट्र के नाम संदेश में उपग्रह को मार-गिराने की क्षमता के ज़िक्र के साथ चर्चा की शुरुआत हुई. अतुल ने पॉलिटिकल पार्टियों का हवाला देते हुए सवाल किया कि क्या इसकी ज़रूरत थी

This week’s Reporters Without Orders features host Cherry Agarwal, Business Standard's Arup Roychoudhury, Newslaundry’s head of research Ayush Tiwari, and Newslaundry's associate editor Meghnad. The panel talks about the Election Commission of India's Model Code of Conduct, a recent study by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism on Indian digital media, and Rahul Gandhi’s announcement of the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY).The discussion starts with the Reuters report with Ayush explaining the nuances of the survey. The panel discusses its important aspects like the sample size and type of questions, and examines why some news sites are more trusted by Indians. Arup says, "Times of India right now in this country is almost as synonymous as 'Xerox' versus 'photocopy'."Meghnad tells us about the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India with respect to social media for the conduct of political parties and candidates during elections. Ayush and Arup share their opinions on why the EC may face a lot

In this episode of NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are joined by journalist Maya Mirchandani.The discussion kicks off with Amit Shah getting Lok Sabha elections ticket from LK Advani’s constituency, Gandhinagar. The panel also discusses Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s role in the current political scenario. Maya says, “Priyanka Gandhi is great optics for Congress.” The panellists agree that she is creating enough ripples as a new leader and is making BJP nervous. However, Raman differs, “Congress seeking an alliance is openly declaring that they have reduced to a regional party.”Moving forward Abhinandan and Maya appreciate the Election Commission's idea of increasing the transparency by asking for details of commutation of politicians via personal choppers and chartered flights. Talking about elections and parties, the panel also talks about Shah Faesal’s new political party, J&K Peoples' Movement. While Abhinandan is skeptical about the party's success, Maya also agrees that the part

बीत रहा हफ़्ता रंगों के त्यौहार ‘होली’ के उल्लास में डूबा रहा. इस बीच तमाम घटनाएं अप्रभावित अपनी गति से घटती रहीं. तमाम चिंताजनक वारदातों से अप्रभावित प्रधानमंत्री के कार्यक्रम वक़्त और तारीख़ में बिना किसी फेरबदल के आयोजित होते रहे. ऐसे में नज़ीर अकबराबादी का होली पर लिखा गीत ‘होली की बहारें’ बेहद मानीखेज़ है. उनके लिए फिराक़ गोरखपुरी लिखते हैं कि नज़ीर दुनिया के रंग में रंगे हुए महाकवि थे. वे दुनिया में रहते थे और दुनिया उनमें रहती थी, जो उनकी कविताओं में हंसती-बोलती, जीती-जागती त्यौहार मनाती नज़र आती है. गीत के कुछ अंश इस प्रकार हैं-“जब फागुन रंग झमकते हों तब देख बहारें होली कीऔर दफ़ के शोर खड़कते हों तब देख बहारें होली कीपरियों के रंग दमकते हों तब देख बहारें होली कीख़ुम, शीशे, जाम झलकते हों तब देख बहारें होली की.”अनिल यादव गीत के बारे में बताते हुए कहते हैं कि ऐसे वक़्त में जब सांप्रदायिक आधारों पर समाज को बांटने की कोशिशें बदस्तूर जारी हैं, यह गीत इस लिए भी सुना/ पढ़ा जाना चाहिए क्योंकि इससे पता चलता है कि हमारी साझी संस्कृति का रंग कितना गहरा है.रंगों के त्यौहार पर संक्षिप्त बातचीत व गीत के ज़िक्र के बात चर्चा के विष

On this week's episode of The Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap, hosts Rajyasree Sen and Abhinandan Sekhri cover the Patriot Act episode by Hasan Minhaj on India's elections, Netflix shows Delhi Crime and Cricket Fever, a short film, and a lot more. Holding the conversation baton, Abhinandan kicks off with a rant on the quality of short films being made, saying: "Short films are an indulgent filmmaker’s time pass.” They then discuss Cricket Fever, which is a sneak peek into the lives and dressing rooms of players and officials, spiced with how efficient and decisive Akash Ambani is as a leader. Abhinandan narrows the discussion down, saying: "So it's basically positioning Akash Ambani as a genius taking our country to a different level of success.”Next up is Hasan Minhaj's India episode of Patriot Act, where the hosts discuss how Minhaj simplified the idea of India's elections without taking any sides and presented a neutral show. They mention how Minhaj not only talked about Yogi Adityanath but also quest

बीता हफ़्ता कई वजहों से चर्चा में रहा. चुनाव आयोग ने लोकसभा चुनाव की तारीखों की घोषणा की जिसके साथ ही नेताओं की बयानबाजी का दौर शुरू हो गया. इस हफ़्ते की कुछ प्रमुख घटनाओं मसलन कर्नाटक के बीजेपी नेता अनंत कुमार हेगड़े का राहुल गांधी और उनके परिवार पर आपत्तिजनक टिप्पणी करना, हिंदुस्तान यूनीलीवर के उत्पाद ‘सर्फ़ एक्सेल’ के होली से जुड़े एक विज्ञापन पर उठा विवाद, अदालत की अवमानना के आरोप के चलते शिलॉन्ग टाइम्स की एडिटर पैट्रीशिया मुखीम पर मेघालय हाईकोर्ट द्वारा लगाया गया जुर्माना और जुर्माने की अदायगी में असफल रहने पर 6 महीने की जेल के साथ अख़बार बंद करने का आदेश, आदि विषय इस बार की चर्चा में शामिल रहे.चर्चा में इस बार पत्रकार राहुल कोटियाल ने बतौर मेहमान शिरकत की. साथ ही न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री के स्तंभकार आनंद वर्धन व लेखक-पत्रकार अनिल यादव भी चर्चा में शामिल रहे. चर्चा का संचालन न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री के कार्यकारी संपादक अतुल चौरसिया ने किया.चर्चा की शुरुआत करते हुए अतुल ने कहा कि हमारे समाज या समय में हर चीज़ के साथ विवाद जुड़ जाने की एक परंपरा विकसित हो गई है और अब किसी भी चीज़ का विवादों के साए में चले जाना आम सी बात हो गई है. चुनाव

In the latest episode of NL Hafta, the usual gang of Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan are joined by journalist Kaveree Bamzai to discuss Pulwama attack, harassment of Kashmiri student in Dehradun, MBS’ visit to India and more.The conversation kicks off with Kaveree talking about surviving as an independent, freelance journalist in the industry. She also talks about the casual sexism and misogyny in newsrooms.Then, the panel moves on to discuss the attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama where 44 soldiers lost their lives. Manisha, while talking about the news coverage of the Pulwama attack, says, “Newspapers did a far better job of telling us what happened, the mastermind, raising questions on how 300kgs of explosive just goes through undetected.” Kaveree jumps in and feels the basic questions were ignored, she says, “It was a marketing opportunity which both PM Modi and TV channels saw.” She also mentions how Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik were forgotten, in the recent order o

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So, here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In this week’s podcast, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan and Manisha Pande. Joining them over the phone is The News Minute's deputy news editor, Ragamalika Karthikeyan, to talk about the Pollachi case.The podcast begins with Ragamalika detailing the Pollachi sexual abuse and extortion case. The four men accused “seem to be doing it as a racket”, she says. Manisha says she agrees with the Madras High Court's observations on Delhi media's lack of priority in covering the case, but Abhinandan says he's conflicted.The conversation shifts to how newspapers in Assam went on a three-day boycott of all state government news, ads and photographs in protest against its alleged apathy. The panel also talks about Nirav Modi, the Shillong Times case, and Chandrashekhar Azad who has announced he will contest against PM Modi from Varanasi.Listen to the full episode here. See aca

This week’s Reporters Without Orders features our host Cherry Agarwal, award-winning reporter Amit Visen, Newslaundry’s head of research Ayush Tiwari and desk writer Gaurav Sarkar. The panel talks about gender pay gap across newsrooms, Rahul Gandhi's use of "ji" for Jaish chief Masood Azhar, Election Commission's presser, custodial deaths in Bihar, government advertisements and more.The discussion starts with Ayush talking about a YouGov poll on dwindling job opportunities in the country. He mentions that the females surveyed are conscious of the disparity in pay. Cherry mentions the BBC's gender pay gap story and asks Amit about his experience with different media organisations. Amit speaks of the prejudice against women journalist that restricts them to female-centric content. Reflecting on what was over-reported by sections of the media, Gaurav talks about the internet outrage over Rahul Gandhi using "ji" to address Masood Azhar. The panel also discusses the misuse of laws such as sedition.Amit talks about

In this episode of The Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap, hosts Rajyasree Sen and Abhinandan Sekhri discuss Captain Marvel, Surf Excel’s advertisement #RangLaayeSang, Leaving Neverland and more.The podcast kicks off with Abhinandan who, though a Marvel Universe enthusiast, wasn't convinced by their latest offering Captain Marvel. Rajyasree expresses her lack of interest in watching the movie. She then discusses Ricky Gervais’s Netflix series After Life, saying: “It is one of the finest shows that he’s created in a while.” Abhinandan chimes in, mentioning Gervais’s endearing performance that accompanies his dark humour.The conversation moves to the Surf Excel ad #RangLaayeSang which, contrary to its intentions, invoked some amount of communal disharmony. Both Abhinandan and Rajyasree think the ad managed to convey its message and express their dissatisfaction with the kind of responses that have popped up on social media.The duo then discusses the documentary Leaving Neverland. Talking about the documentary

बीते हफ़्ते एक तरफ़ जहां कुछ बेहद अहम मुद्दे चर्चा में रहे वहीं कुछ घटनाएं मीडिया गलियारों में सनसनी की तरह छाईं रहीं. इस हफ़्ते की चर्चा में हमने उन्हीं में से कुछ को विषयों के लिया. उत्तर प्रदेश के संत कबीरनगर में सांसद और विधायक के बीच हुई जूतम-पैजार की घटना और भारतीय राजनीति की अहंकार-नीति, अयोध्या में राम मंदिर-बाबरी मस्जिद विवाद और विवाद सुलझाने के लिए सुप्रीम कोर्ट द्वारा हुई तीन मध्यस्थों की नियुक्ति, राफेल डील से जुड़े कुछ दस्तावेज़ों की चोरी, सरकार के रवैये और द हिन्दू को निशाने पर लिए जाने और प्रधानमंत्री द्वारा मानवीय गरिमा और समझ-बूझ को परे रखते हुए बेहद संवेदनहीनता से डिस्लेक्सिया पीड़ितों का मज़ाक उड़ाए जाने की घटना को चर्चा के विषय के तौर पर लिया गया.चर्चा में इस बार ‘पेट्रियट’ न्यूज़पेपर के सीनियर एसोसिएट एडिटर मिहिर श्रीवास्तव ने बतौर मेहमान शिरकत की. साथ ही चर्चा में लेखक-पत्रकार अनिल यादव भी शामिल हुए. चर्चा का संचालन न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री के कार्यकारी संपादक अतुल चौरसिया ने किया.चर्चा की शुरुआत में ‘न्यूडिटी’ पर अपने शोध और क़िताबों के लिए मशहूर मिहिर इस विषय पर अपनी संक्षिप्त राय रखते हुए कहते हैं, “जहां

In the latest episode of NL Hafta, the usual gang of Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan are joined by Setu Niket, a Delhi-based lawyer and Newslaundry subscriber.The discussion kicks off with Setu talking about the latest updates on the Supreme Court’s split verdict in the Delhi government vs LG power tussle case. The apex court referred the decision on public service to the larger bench. But who is this verdict in favour of? Abhinandan says: “If your own guy who’s supposed to report to you in your office, which happened a year ago, would not listen to Arvind Kejriwal ... He wouldn’t come in the room when you called him—what can be the reason for giving that to the Centre?”The panel moves on to discuss the contempt charges against the CBI's former interim director Nageswara Rao. Raman says the main reason for contempt charges was transferring the officer probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home horror. He adds, “Right from the day one, he has been breaking all the rules.”The panel a

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So, here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In the latest episode, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by the usual gang of Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande and Madhu Trehan, and special guest Praveen Donthi, staff writer at The Caravan.The discussion takes off with Praveen discussing his cover story on the rise of ANI news agency during the NDA government's tenure. The panel then talks about Attorney General KK Venugopal's remarks in the Supreme Court, where he accused The Hindu of putting "stolen" documents from the Defence Ministry in the public domain which he said violated the Official Secrets Act. They also discuss the aftermath of the Balakote airstrikes, especially the varying numbers cited as "casualties" by media houses with no official confirmation, and the issues with some "source-based reports".Listen to the full episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of Reporters Without Orders, host Cherry Agarwal is joined by Newslaundry's head of research Ayush Tiwari, desk writer Gaurav Sarkar and Vijaita Singh from The Hindu. The panel talks about the reporting on the Balakot airstrike, ghost advertising for the BJP online, and more.The podcast kicks off with the panel talking about the reportage on the casualties caused by the IAF’s airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad's training camp. Discussing the varying numbers put out by the media, Vijaita says: “There was a precision strike ... even Pakistan has admitted ... but to give numbers, it’s very difficult for the IAF or anybody because Pakistan is very secretive about these things.” Cherry is concerned about the credibility of "anonymous sources", saying, "I am often fearful that once the report goes out, [what if] my source flips over and says I didn’t talk to you?”They discuss the I&B Ministry’s showcause notice to two TV channels for airing a Pakistan Army press briefing. Ayush pointing out its dig

Have you read the latest NL Sena story, The Cauvery Chronicles II: Ponni’s Perish? If not, do it. In this podcast, Manisha Pande, Anish Daolagupu and NL subscriber Rahul Pandey discuss different facets of this report with its author TR Vivek.TR Vivek answers the questions posed by contributors to the story and asks Rahul what made him pay for the story.The story was made possible thanks to Rahul Pandey, Gayatri Natrajan, Vijay Krishnan, and other members of the NL Sena. We want to do more such stories and you can help. Be a part of the NL Sena and do your bit to keep news independent and unafraid. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of The Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap, Rajyasree Sen and Abhinandan Sekhri discuss Sonchiriya, the Oscars, Three Identical Strangers, and more.Rajyasree kicks off the podcast with the recently-concluded Academy Awards. Abhinandan asks her what was good about the show this year. She praises the event's opening with Queen's performance. "It was really nice to see how much the audience get involved,” she adds. Addressing the outrage over Green Book winning Best Picture, she says, "I did like it a lot. I didn’t understand why people weren’t happy about it.” The conversation moves to recently-released movie Sonchiriya. Both Abhinandan and Rajyasree liked the film. Abhinandan says, “The use of slow motion was unnecessarily long … Music was completely unremarkable … the art direction and costumes were outstanding.” Next up is two documentaries: Three Identical Strangers and Leaving Neverland, which is about the alleged child sexual abuse by Michael Jackson. Abhinandan addresses young listeners