This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi. Tanishka’s story of the week was a deep-dive report on the journey of media mogul and Zee group founder Subhash Chandra Goenka. In the conversation, Tanishka revisits her excursion of gathering credible, exhaustive information on Mr Chandra and how he refused to speak to her directly as it wasn’t a “completely positive story”. Tanishka goes on to talk about the aspects of Mr Chandra’s character that led to his rise and an eventual fall from grace. She also spotlights his ventures that contributed to his debacle. “He is ambitious and loves a new challenge, but his impatience is the key factor in his downfall,” she says. This and a lot more, Tune in! Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:24 - Subhash Chandra’s Profile00:36:26 - RecommendationsRecommendationsTanishkaThe DiplomatWFI’s ‘sexual harassment panel’ flouts POSH Act, headed by a man instead of a womanAkankshaIndia takes a distressing retreat from democracyIndia’s democratic backslidingIn Madhya Pradesh, 3 Muslim Academics Face Criminal Cases Filed By Hindu Right, Backed By State GovtProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Basant Kumar.Sumedha had interviewed journalists who witnessed the shooting of Atiq Ahmed and his brother in Prayagraj. They told her they still had to report on the story despite the horrors of what they went through. “I would have frozen and taken a backseat if a shootout took place in front of my eyes,” Sumedha says. “I would not have been able to report.”Basant’s story of the week was on how a cow was killed in Agra as part of a conspiracy to falsely implicate some Muslim men. “It would have been a big issue. There could have been riots in the area,” he says. “But because of the detailed and quick investigation by the police, no major incident took place.”Tune in! Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:23 -  Cow slaughter in Agra00:14:04 - Atiq Ahmed shootout 00:25:27 - Recommendations RecommendationsSumedhaJubileeBasant Wah bhi koi desh hai maharajTanishka Sita sings the bluesProduced by P Madhu Kumar and Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Hasan Bilal.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal. Sumedha’s recent story underlines the government’s hack of employing the CBSE to further Modi campaigns and widen the BJP’s voter base. She delves into how seeing a G20 logo on the admit cards of Class 10 and 12 CBSE students spiralled into a story idea. As she circled back to the years of 2013-14, she found that every time the Modi government released a campaign, the CBSE would plan an activity around it. “These schooling years are formative for the children. So, by pushing them to accept particular campaigns including the Modi campaigns, the schools are not allowing them to be critical at all,” says Sumedha. “As far as the government is concerned, Mr Modi has influenced his probable voters' mindset 10 years in advance, and that is very clever.” Tune in! Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:00:45 - CBSE promoting Modi campaign00:25:27 - RecommendationsRecommendationsSumedhaBottle of LiesAkankshaWhy Men RapeHarlemProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and freelance journalist Snigdhendu Bhattacharya. Snigdhendu had reported on the Ram Navami violence in Howrah and how the Hindutva outfits that had organised rallies “went against the set guidelines” issued by the police. He says large-scale celebrations of this sort intensified in the state only in the last five or six years, coinciding with the rise of the RSS and BJP.Prateek then explains his report on how the Madhya Pradesh government skipped procedure to recruit people close to the RSS for government jobs. The authorities feigned ignorance, he says, even as the chief minister attended a training programme for these new recruits.Tune in! Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:23 - Ram Navami violence in Bengal00:09:10 - Madhya Pradesh scam00:26:14 - Ram Navami violence in Bengal00:42:56 - RecommendationsRecommendationsPrateekCaught Out: Crime. Corruption. Cricket.SnigdhenduBells of Shangri-LaBasantMadhya Pradesh hired people close to RSS for govt jobs, skipping actual applicantsThe dreamers in danger at Gujarat’s gateway to USProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Gurmehar Kaur and Sumedha Mittal. Gurmehar was in Punjab, reporting on the police’s manhunt for radical leader Amritpal Singh. She explains how Singh rose to prominence and the situation on the ground. Sumedha adds, “Punjab has seen so much since Partition that it has created a vacuum. And people like Deep Sidhu and Amritpal Singh act as the ones who will rescue the state and fill that void.”The discussion shifts to Sumedha’s story on suicides at IITs and how casteism plays out on campus.Tune in! Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:03:50 - Search for Amritpal Singh00:25:50 - IIT suicides00:42:01 - RecommendationsRecommendationsGurmeharSmall Acts of FreedomYoung and the RestlessI’m Not a Monster, Season 2SumedhaSparshAkankshaThe Family Man - Season 2Every Woman Is A Potential WitchProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Basant Kumar is joined by Tanishka Sodhi and Anmol Pritam. Tanishka this week reported on women in India being denied access to vaginal ultrasounds if they’re unmarried. She explains how doctors are hesitant to perform these vital procedures due to patriarchal notions about sexual activity among young, unmarried women.The panel then discusses two stories by Anmol on two journalists struggling with very unique sets of circumstances. Tune in for more.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:40 - Women denied healthcare00:12:35 - Journalist’s poha stall00:27:05 - Journalist’s arrest00:35:43 - RecommendationsRecommendationsTanishkaSeven murders, one confession and missing evidence: The 'Ripper' storyAnmolInventing AnnaBasantCaught Out: Crime. Corruption. Cricketज़ी न्यूज़ से निकाले जाने के बाद पत्रकार बेच रहा पोहा-जलेबी‘Are you married?’: Across India, unmarried women are denied access to an essential ultrasoundProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Basant Kumar and Ashwine Kumar Singh. The discussion begins with Basant’s report on an auditing firm associated with the Adani Group that was flagged in the Hindenburg research report. Basant explains the timeline of events and how mainstream media, particularly television, has not fully covered the story.Ashwine talks about how the I&B ministry in 2002 gave permission to Doordarshan to build a TV tower in a village in Amritsar. Crores and decades later, the tower still hasn’t come up. “It’s a classic example of corruption and delay of government projects,” Ashwine says.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:03:57 - Hindenburg report00:19:12 - Amritsar’s DD tower00:30:18 - RecommendationsRecommendationsBasantPatrakarita ka Andha yugAshwineThe Night ManagerAkankshaBorgen - Power & GlorySecret CityProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, it’s an all-Newslaundry panel as Basant Kumar is joined by Avdhesh Kumar and Anmol Pritam.  The discussion begins with Avdhesh’s report on a cobbler from Delhi’s Mayur Vihar who has been allegedly pressured by a lawyer to change his surname to a word decreed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Avdhesh points to caste discrimination and how the “emotional as well as financial trauma faced by this person is huge”. The conversation moves to Anmol’s report about two residents of Mewat allegedly set afire by cow vigilantes. He talks about how these vigilantes were working in collaboration with the local police and how such activities are illegal according to court observations. He says there is a nexus between the Gau Raksha Dal and the Haryana Police, and the police work with bias against a particular community.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:06:52 - Cow vigilantism 00:24:02 - Caste-based discrimination  00:42:17 - RecommendationsRecommendationsAnmolHouse of CardsAvdheshThe Night ManagerBasantBanjare Ki ChitthiyaanPatrakarita Ka Andha Yug Produced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Akanksha Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Ashwine Kumar Singh. The discussion begins with Shiv’s story on how foreign correspondents in India have been reeling under pressure in recent years. They struggle with threats, visas and access while the government believes they have a “bias” against India. Akanksha points out how there has been a “concerted effort on restricting reporting in Kashmir”. Later on, the discussion moves to Ashwine’s report on the AAP’s protest against the arrests of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, and how their resignations will impact governance in the capital. How will the party, which proclaims to be against corruption, defend itself when two of its most important ministers have been jailed on corruption changes?Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:35 -  Foreign press in India00:23:30 - AAP protest00:42:17 - RecommendationsRecommendationsAshwineFarziShivnarayanCunk on EarthAkankshaOnce AgainHow to wrestle with gender norms and winProduced by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Umrav Singh.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Sumedha Mittal of Newslaundry and Pallavi Pundir, South Asia correspondent for Vice. Sumedha explains her report on how there’s been a sharp drop in budgetary allocations to the ministry of minority affairs and the impact this has on education. Educational schemes have been scrapped, she says, including the pre-matric scholarship for classes 1 to 8.Pallavi then talks about her report on land grabbing crimes where victims are declared dead, the role played here by caste, and how the media played a major role in spotlighting this issue. The report also tells the story of Lal Bihari, who was first declared “dead” in the 1970s. Pallavi says she was “fascinated by his desperation to be taken seriously in the eyes of the law”.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:03 - Budget allocation 00:06:12 - Land of the dead00:30:49 - RecommendationsRecommendationsPallaviComing Out as Dalit: A MemoirDesperately Seeking Shah RukhSumedhaThe RomanticsTanishkaBengaluru’s new surveillance plan will match faces on CCTV visuals to cop databaseProduced  by Tehreem Roshan, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Satish Kumar.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.