The Listening Post

A military takeover in Niger as the Kremlin and Russian mercenaries lurk on the sidelines and the airwaves. But would Russia be any less exploitative than Niger’s old colonial masters?Contributors:Alexis Akwagyiram - Managing editor, Semafor AfricaMathieu Oliver - Journalist, Jeune AfriqueAanu Adeoye - West Africa correspondent, Financial TimesDelina Goxho - Security analystOn our radar:China wants its citizens to be on the lookout - online - for spies. Johanna Hoes looks at their tips and tricks for spotting the difference between work and espionage.India’s media whistleblower:"India’s media is one of its biggest problems right now," says veteran Indian journalist Ravish Kumar, offering a sobering temperature check on the country's news media ahead of an upcoming election.Contributor:Ravish Kumar - Former host, NDTV IndiaSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: https://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

A viral video revealing a shocking case of sexual assault has put the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on the radar and shed light on a place that the mainstream media has paid scant attention to.Contributors:Anubha Bhonsle - founder, NewsworthySamrat Choudhury - journalist and author, Northeast India: A Political HistoryPatricia Mukhim - editor, The Shillong TimesSushant Singh - consulting editor, The Caravan; senior fellow, Centre for Policy ResearchOn our radar:Israelis are describing the fight over judicial reform as a looming civil war. Producer Tariq Nafi looks at how the Israeli media has covered the story.Satellite imagery: the final frontier for news?:Satellites have entered the newsroom, but are they the all-seeing eye their makers claim them to be? Producer Ahmed Madi reports on the stories they are telling - and the stories they aren't.Contributors:Michael Cruickshank - geospatial analyst and open-source journalistChris Quilty - satellite and space industry analyst; CEO, Quilty AnalyticsLisa Parks - director, Global Media Technologies & Cultures Lab; author, Cultures in Orbit: Satellites and the Televisual

For the first time in 63 years, Hollywood actors have joined writers in a double strike against studio powerhouses, demanding better pay, fairer working conditions, and protections from present and future AI threats.Contributors:Miranda Banks - Media professor, Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and TelevisionDaheli Hall - Writer and actorMeg James - Senior entertainment writer, Los Angeles TimesSharon Waxman - CEO and founder, The WrapOn our radar:Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited the United States this past week in an attempt to smooth over some diplomatic tensions. Meenakshi Ravi reports on the ceremonies and spectacle of the visit.The politics behind football’s greatest rivalry:Spanish voters head to the polls in a general election that could result in the strongest showing for the far right since the days of the Franco dictatorship. Flo Phillips explores the role football has played, and still plays, in Spanish politics and propaganda.Contributors:Guillem Balague - Football journalist and commentatorSid Lowe - Author of Fear and Loathing in La LigaAlejandro Quiroga - Reader in Spanish history, Newcastle UniversitySubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

The United States-China relationship is a complex one. Beneath the diplomatic niceties lies deep mutual suspicion - two governments fully engaged in a bigger battle of narratives.Contributors:Jiayang Fan - staff writer, The New YorkerBrian Hioe - editor, New Bloom MagazineJames Palmer - deputy editor, Foreign PolicyOn our radar:In the United Kingdom, the BBC is in a state of turmoil after a Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid alleged sexual misconduct involving one of the broadcaster’s most famous faces. Producer Flo Phillips reports on the saga that has seduced the British media.Kenya’s deadly televangelist:The politics of prayer: Producer Nicholas Muihead travels to Kenya to ask how the authorities there plan to regulate the power of televangelism and prevent another "Shakahola Massacre".Contributors:Ezra Chiloba - director general, Communications Authority of KenyaReuben Kigake - broadcast journalist and musicianLee Scharnick-Udemans - senior researcher, Desmond Tutu CentreRodgers Shibutse - victim’s sonJoseph Yeri - journalistSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

In the aftermath of one of the worst Israeli military attacks on the occupied West Bank in 20 years, the Israeli government takes issue with the global media’s coverage of the violence.Contributors:Amjad Iraqi - Senior editor, +972 MagazineGil Hoffman - Executive director, HonestReportingSarit Michaeli - International advocacy officer, B'TselemTariq Kenney-Shawa - Journalist and US policy fellow, Al-ShabakaOn our radar:The chaos at Elon Musk’s Twitter - the Muskverse - has left the field open for competitors. Producer Meenakshi Ravi reports on the latest one - Threads - a new "text-based conversation" app launched by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.Hollywood’s latest role: The Cultural Consultant:Producer Flo Phillips explores the role of cultural consultants - are they really helping make Hollywood a better place or are they a substitute for real change?Contributors:Anamik Saha - Communications and cultural studies lecturer, GoldsmithsRaeshem Nijhon - Cofounder, Culture HouseEdna Liliana Valencia Murillo - Cultural consultant, Disney's 2021 animated film EncantoSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Analysts have been deciphering the Putin-Prigozhin power struggle; how it played out and what’s next for Russian politics and the war in Ukraine.Contributors:Ian Garner - Author, Z GenerationEilish Hart - Editor, Meduza in EnglishNeil Hauer - JournalistLeonid Ragozin - Freelance journalistOn our radar:Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been hyping his Saudi megaproject in the desert. Producer Tariq Nafi looks into Neom and the PR company selling it to the world.India’s Young YouTubers:India’s YouTube boom and the reason why so many people are relying on it for news despite some of the misinformation that’s thriving there.Contributors:Sakshi Joshi - Former anchor, India TV and News24; News and Current Affairs YouTuberManisha Pande - Executive editor, NewslaundryDhruv Rathee - News and Current Affairs YouTuberSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

The most recent tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea - a boat of 750 refugees capsizing off Greece - has shed light on the European Union’s anti-immigration policies, the many media outlets reinforcing that message and the few independent ones that push back on the official narrative.Contributors:Giorgos Christides - journalistAndrew Peter Geddes - professor of migration studies, European University InstituteMyria Georgiou - professor of media and communications, London School of Economics and Political ScienceAndrew Stroehlein - European media and editorial director, Human Rights WatchOn our radar:Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a global diplomatic roadshow. Producer Meenakshi Ravi looks at the photo ops and image-making during his state visit to the United States.The silencing of dissent in Algeria:This past week, one of Algeria's leading journalists, Ihsane El Kadi, was sentenced to seven years in prison on what many say are bogus charges. Producer Flo Phillips reports on the silencing of independent media and dissent in Algeria under its current president and the military powers that be.Contributors:Daikha Dridi - former host, Radio M, and former editor, Middle East EyeTin Hinane El Kadi - daughter, Ihsane El Kadi, and associate fellow, Chatham HouseDalia Ghanem - senior analyst, EU Institute for Security StudiesSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

In death, as in life, Silvio Berlusconi dominates the headlines. He was a man whose legacy across media, popular culture and politics is not confined just to Italy.Contributors:Roberto D’Alimonte - professor, LUISS Guido Carli UniversitySerena Danna - deputy director, OpenPaolo Gerbaudo - reader in digital politics, King’s College LondonSilvia Sciorilli Borrelli - Milan correspondent, Financial TimesOn our radar:Donald Trump’s legal charges are piling up, but his campaign for re-election is still on. Flo Phillips discusses how the former US president has been using his numerous legal battles as fodder for his re-election campaign and the media attention he has been attracting.Truth-telling in a time of war:Covering a war is hard - harder still when you’re investigating your own military.Contributors:Lucy Kassa - Ethiopian journalistAnna Myroniuk - investigative reporter, Kyiv IndependentNorman Solomon - author of War Made Invisible and media criticSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

Discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) have quickly turned from the excited to the apocalyptic. Are warnings that AI could pose an existential threat valid, or do they distract from the real danger AI is already causing?Contributors:Charlie Beckett - head, Polis LSE JournalismAI ProjectYoshua Bengio - professor of computer science, University of MontrealSarah Myers West - director, AI Now InstituteÉmile P Torres - author of Human Extinction: A History of the Science and Ethics of AnnihilationOn our radar:A year on from the murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira, producer Flo Phillips reports on the justice being served and how their work goes on, done by others.Hitler, the Holocaust and the politics of memory:Eight decades after the first train of prisoners arrived at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, Holocaust survivors - and their testimonies - are dwindling. Producer Johanna Hoes explores the politics of memory and the importance of recounting history, so it doesn’t repeat itself.Contributors:Jan Grabowski - professor of history, University of OttawaMindu Hornick - Auschwitz survivorNelly Ben-Or - Holocaust survivor and pianistPawel Sawicki - press officer, Auschwitz-Birkenau State MuseumSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News

The acclaimed HBO TV series Succession immersed viewers in the world of the Roys, a family fighting for control of their elderly father’s media empire. Art imitates life, and as the series - which was partly, at times largely, based on the Murdochs - winds down, we examine what the hit show tells us about the dangers of corporate media.Contributors:Paddy Manning - Author, The Successor: The High-Stakes Life of Lachlan MurdochBanseka Kayembe - Culture WriterDavid Folkenflik - Media Correspondent, NPRJane Martinson - Columnist, The Guardian and Professor of Financial Journalism, City, University of LondonOn our radar:No mercy for the mercenary. Meenakshi Ravi reports on how the Russian media has turned their back on the man who calls himself “Putin’s butcher” - Yevgeny Prigozhin.India’s local journalism under pressure:Being a local journalist in India is fraught with challenges. We speak to two journalists - one from Indian-administered Kashmir and the other from Chhattisgarh - about the pressures they face.Contributors:Kamal Shukla - Editor, Bhumkal SamacharAnuradha Bhasin - Executive Editor, Kashmir TimesSubscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/AJSubscribeFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglishFind us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeeraCheck our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/@AljazeeraEnglish#Aljazeeraenglish#News