NL Hafta

Timecodes2:42 - Headlines14:25 - Tamil Nadu’s NEET bill32:09 - IT ‘surveys’ at Newslaundry and Newsclick56:55 - Subscriber mails1:18:43- RecommendationsThis week on NL Hafta, it’s the in-house panel of Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Mehraj D Lone.They discuss Tamil Nadu’s bill exempting state board students from the national medical entrance test NEET, and what led to the government bringing it. Jayashree and Mehraj explain how and why standardised tests such as NEET tend to disadvantage students from poor and marginalised communities. The discussion then moves to last week’s Income Tax “surveys” targeting Newslaundry and Newsclick. Abhinandan provides a brief account of the day the ‘survey’ happened at Newslaundry and kickstarts a discussion about how the institutions of state operate in India and how they wield the power they have over the public. Gamechanger subscribers, click here to get a private RSS link to listen to NL Hafta on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Castro, Pocket Casts. Alert us at subscription@newslaundry.com if you face any problems.Click here to register for upcoming sessions of NL Recess. Join our Discord server for subscribers so you don't miss any Recess mailers or updates.We’ve a new page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here.RecommendationsJayashreeMadhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic NightRamanGoodnight, and GoodluckAmrullah Saleh: The last man standing against TalibanManishaBillionsMehrajDay of reckoning for the media handmaidens of warHe spent his adult life helping U.S. soldiers. Now, he’s desperately fleeing AfghanistanAbhinandanThis Is Your Brain On Drug AdsSeptember 11th, 20 Years of chaos Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kripal and Manisha Pande of Newslaundry are joined by Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic affairs editor of the Hindu. They discuss the situation in Afghanistan and how media platforms have been covering it. Suhasini points out that considering the risks involved in going to the ground, most foreign journalists have been relying on activists and a few reporters who are still in the country to get a sense of what’s happening. Some foreign journalists such as Lyse Doucet and Sikander Krimani, however, have been able to report from the ground with the aid of security agencies and advisors, she says. RecommendationsSuhasiniQuest for a Stable Afghanistan: A View From Ground Zero  Antonio Giustozzi: The Taliban at WarAntonio Giustozzi: The Islamic State of Khorasan The favored daughter: One woman’s fight to lead Afghanistan Fawzia Koofi: Letters to My Daughters RamanPaul Theroux: Tao of Travel Upcoming Newslaundry story on Osho Ashram. ManishaThis is What Winning Looks Like 9/11 and the War on Terror The Other Afghan Women AbhinandanAll you need to know about the new Taliban government Two Indicators: Water Pressure To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Anand Vardhan are joined by Govindraj Ethiraj, the founder of IndiaSpend and BOOM.The conversation begins with the floods in Bihar and Assam. While these usually dominate headlines every year, this year there’s been very little attention from the mainstream media. “Only local media has been reporting on it,” Anand says, “and there have been lives lost, but maybe because of the Taliban, it has not been in the headlines.”To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on NL Hafta, Ahinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Mehraj D Lone are joined by Josy Joseph, an investigative journalist and author of The Silent Coup.Josy explains the central idea of his book, that India is in the hold of the “Deep State”, by citing the “actual Gujarat Model” that Narendra Modi implemented nationally after taking power in New Delhi. “Those officers who are willing to serve the causes of their political masters have great careers," he says, explaining the model. He points out, by way of an example, how the police officials who investigated the Godhra train fire and subsequent anti-Muslim carnage in Modi’s Gujarat went on to have national careers.To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by Kriti Shah, associate fellow, strategic studies, Observer Research Foundation. Talking about the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Kriti argues that there was never an appropriate time for America to exit the country after 20 years of war. She, however, adds that “the manner in which Joe Biden has gone about it has been very surprising, given that his entire campaign has been around human rights”. To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande and Mehraj D Lone of Newslaundry are joined by Chander Shekhar Luthra, seasoned sports journalist and secretary of the Press Club of India.Talking about how sports journalism in India has been reduced to access journalism, Chander rues the passing of a time when “there was space for everyone”, from those writing about and investigating sports administration to those interviewing celebrity sportspeople. Today’s media platforms and their audiences, Chander argues, are not as receptive to serious discussions around sports and their administration. To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, the inhouse panel of Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, and Jayashree Arunachalam talk about the Tokyo Olympics, monsoon session of the parliament, and the change of guard in Karnataka. Talking about the Olympics, Anand explains the enthusiasm around hockey as compared to other sports. Raman remarks, “Hockey was a national sport...until the rules changed.”To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Mehraj Lone are joined by journalist Karma Paljor, editor-in-chief of EastMojo and co-founder of Atvi Infotainment.In the context of the recent Assam-Mizoram border conflict, the panel discusses the history of the border and the significance of the tribal identities of the Mizos. Karma says, “They’ve fought for independence, they’ve been bombed by the air force. So they stick to each other and support each other.”To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Time Codes:0:57 - Headlines5:45 - Pegasus snooping49:30 - Afghanistan crisis1:24:15 - Tokyo Olympics1:34:24 - Subscriber emails1:54:13 - Recommendations This week, Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Manisha Pande are joined by Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of the Wire, and Happymon Jacob, author, commentator and JNU professor. Siddharth talks about his organisation's reporting on the revelations that dozens of Indian activists, politicians and journalists – including the Wire editor himself – were targets or potential targets of surveillance using the Israeli spyware Pegasus. In this context, Manisha explains the dangers that such surveillance poses to journalists and press freedom in the country.Happymon analyses the Taliban’s rapid advance in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of American troops after 20 years of war. If the situation doesn’t change soon, he predicts, “it’s only a matter of time before the Taliban take power in Kabul.Amid public health concerns given the coronavirus pandemic and several athletes backing out, Abhinanadan opines that the Tokyo Olympics “is not going to achieve what the Olympics is supposed to”.Listen.Raman Allen vs Farrow ManishaSomebody has to do the dirty workThe Pegasus Project Podcast seriesNo one is saying the Pegasus list is fake. Why are BJP leaders and their media allies insisting it is?   AbhinandanThe Pegasus Project articles on the WireVideo Gaming The SystemExplained: Pegasus Project Happymon JacobFamily Man Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Mehraj D Lone of Newslaundry are joined by Vivek Kaul, author and journalist. Vivek discusses his NL Sena investigation on India’s Covid data, pointing to inefficient health systems and the suspiciously low positive case rates in states such as Uttar Pradesh. To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.