Newslaundry Podcast

Did NDTV get it all wrong while covering the Assam elections? And what about The Times of India's example of hard-hitting journalism while covering the British royals' visit? Is there gossip in Tavleen Singh's new book? Aside from searing issues like these, we also discussed the tragic Kollam temple fire, remembered Dr BR Ambedkar on his 125th birth anniversary and the persistent horrors of caste. Listen up to NL Hafta, episode 63.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's NL Hafta, we welcome our new Editor, Collaborations and Partnerships, Karuna John and discuss the latest happenings in the world. Things got heated as we sink our teeth into the Bigoted Vs Secular debate inspired by Charlie Hebdo's editorial, the importance of caste identity and more food for thought.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Siddharth Bhatia, founder editor of The Wire, joins this week's Hafta to talk about the crisis in Uttarakhand, what became of The Sun's selfie contest and much more. From Sanjay Dutt's appeal to reform jail manuals, Shoaib Akhtar and Virendra Sehwag sniping while doing commentary, and the dangerous but ignored shortage of water in India, there's much food for thought. Plus, a sneak peek into a possible NL Presidential candidate list (Hint: His name has a big B in it.)For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on NL Hafta, journalist and author Rahul Pandita talks about the condition of scribes in Bastar and the recent arrest of a reporter, Prabhat Singh. We talk about state intimidation in Chhattisgarh and what it means to be a stringer there. Pandita also talks about why being called a Kashmiri Pandit has more resonance for him than being called a Kashmiri Hindu. Moving on, we discuss the image of the Jet Airways flight attendant that has become the symbol of the Brussels blasts. Was it ethical for the media to publish the picture? We also look into what turned Microsoft's AI bot, Tay, into a racist, holocaust denier. And, finally, we suggest some good reads we came across over the week.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are there times in a marriage when 'no' doesn't really mean 'no'? Is the controversy over Bharat Mata exposing India's ugly side? And what is going on with this Kangana Ranaut-Hrithik Roshan scandal? This week film critic and author ​Mayank Shekhar joins us as we weigh in on the topics that made news. From Shaktimaan and animal cruelty to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Delhi's posh set cheering for Amit Shah, we ask questions and get some answers on this edition of Hafta.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Hindol Sengupta, editor at large of Fortune India, joins us on Hafta ​to talk about​ Kanhaiya, Karan Johar,​ crony capitalism, crony socialism and much more. Tune in to get a new perspective on communism, and we wonder if Vijay Mallya is just another brick in the wall of unpaid bank loans. We've also got our eye on Raj Thackeray's call to burn autos and the top generator of news stories this week, Sri Sri Ravishankar.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What's going on with the EPF? Vivek Kaul (author, journalist and economic commentator) joins us this week and demystifies the budget. No mysteries as far as JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar’s bail order is concerned. Everyone on the team has an opinion. What is a mystery, however, is the Ishrat Jahan case and none of the revelations are making anything clearer. And it's the battle of the speeches: Rahul Gandhi versus Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Guess whose speech Madhu Trehan liked more? Actually, don't guess. Listen to this week's Hafta and find out. Bonus: join in as we do a sing-along to welcome our new managing editor Deepanjana Pal to the Newslaundry fold. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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Mukul Kesavan, professor of Social History at Jamia Millia Islamia University and columnist, joins us for this week’s episode of NL Hafta. The team discusses Smriti Irani’s speech in Parliament, the continuing media coverage of the JNU row and the India Today sting on the group of lawyers who beat up Kanhaiya Kumar in police custody. The team then discusses The Telegraph’s “Aunty National” headline – was it sexist? Things get heated as ideological differences are brought up and the government’s handling of the JNU incident is critiqued. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on NL Hafta, the team discusses Aam Aadmi Party’s recent ad campaign. Should governments be spending money on ads? We also talk about the JNU row and the media coverage on it. Then we talk about nationalism and Anand Ranganathan makes the distinction between a patriot and a nationalist.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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This week on NL Hafta, the NL team with Naresh Fernandes and Malini Subramaniam from Scroll discuss the recent attack on Malini’s house in Bastar. The question of suppressing dissent comes up once again as we see a journalist being attacked for doing her job and students at JNU being charged with sedition. David Headley’s deposition, Pachauri being re-instated in TERI and then going on leave, scientific breakthrough in theories about gravitational waves and Lance Naik Hanamanthappa’s ordeal, the news has given us a lot to talk about.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Abhinandan Sekhri speaks with Thakur Chandan Singh, the lawyer who filed a case against Lord Ram for “cruelty” against his wife Sita. Singh wants a town to be named after Sita as compensation for the 'cruelty' she faced at the hands of Ram. Transcript can be found at: http://buff.ly/1LaH9I2 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on NL Hafta, Vikas Kamal, a photojournalist with Catch News, joins us. Vikas was attacked by the Delhi police when he was covering students protesting Rohith Vemula’s death outside the RSS headquarters. We discuss the incident and police brutality in general. We also talk about the importance of a photojournalist in today’s age of the ‘smartphone’.Anand Ranganathan is back! He gives us a scientist’s lowdown on the zika virus and we discuss the kind of coverage the outbreak has been getting in Indian and international media. We also discuss the Tanzanian student being harassed in Bangalore and question India’s attitudes. The team talks about Anupam Kher’s visa denial and the fact that some celebrities are wearing their politics on their sleeve.In closing, we dedicate a song to the Delhi Police.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Mahima Singh See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain discusses with Urmilesh of Media Manthan of Rajya Sabha TV, media critic Vineet Kumar of Mandi Mein Media fame, Siddharth Bhatia-founding editor The Wire, Sanjay Rajoura of Aisi Taisi Democracy, Bidisha Pillai of SAVE the Children India and Abhinandan Sekhri on Indian media's coverage of the global development summits which influence our lives and shared destinies. They take stock of the content, quality and narrative of the coverage in English and Hindi mainstream media and alternate media, print media and broadcast media. They discuss the challenges and the lack of diversity in the newsrooms. They discuss the reality of the oft-used resource crunch argument for lack of coverage. They also call for greater engagement of news consumers in shaping and influencing content. They conclude with some crystal ball gazing on the possibilities and potential that new media and alternate media provides for development and global summits' reportage and

This week on NL Hafta, Kishalay Bhattacharjee, journalist and author, joins as we discuss the imposition of President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh. This has been a week where a lot happened in the North East; a cop confessed to taking part in an alleged fake encounter at the behest of the Chief Minister in Manipur six years back. Big media,though, didn’t think it was worth too much space. Also: is there a way to make the R-Day celebrations more fun? And finally, the most insightful report on the Rohith Vemula suicide yet by Sudipto Mondal.For reference links visit www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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This week on NL Hafta, Manu Joseph, former editor of Open magazine, joins us we discuss Bhupendra Chaubey’s interview of Sunny Leone. This hasn’t been a good week for journalists: former NDTV and Tehelka scribe Revati Laul was attacked in Ahmedabad; Siddharth Varadarajan was held hostage by ABVP members at Allahabad University. Varadarajan also joins us on the phone to discuss what happened. And finally: Rohith Vemula’s suicide, the media coverage and more. For reference links visit http://www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Newslaundry subscribers Garima Chitkara and Amol Sharma join us for the 50th Episode of NL Hafta. In this episode, we discuss Kiku Sharda’s arrest and the Supreme Court’s stay on Jallikattu. We talk about contradictory media reports on Masood Azhar’s arrest in Pakistan and the Sabrimala temple case. Also, our guests share with us why they think independent media matters. We wind up with everyone’s picks of the week.For reference links visit http://www.newslaundry.comProduced by Kartik Nijhawan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain speaks to Claire Melamed of Overseas Development Institute and UN Secy General's High Level Panel on Data Revolution, Ex-Health Secretary cum Census Commissioner- Dr AR Nanda, Govindraj Ethiraj, Founder Editor of IndiaSpend and Factchecker, Prof Ramanan Laxminarayan of Public Health Foundation of India and Princeton University and Rakesh Reddy Dubuddu, Founder FACTLY and pro-disclosure champion on the buzz around data revolution for sustainable development. They discuss the many facets of data, the need for citizens’ engagement in data generation, consumption and accessible indicators. They discuss the capacity, financing challenges and lack of autonomy of statistical commissions. They also discuss the trend of censorship of inconvenient public survey findings by Indian government and others and the constant shrinking of pro-disclosure, RTI spaces. They take a close look at the need for data journalism and why much more needs to be done. Th