NL Hafta

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.

This week on NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan of Newslaundry are joined by independent journalist Anumeha Yadav. Anumeha analyses the various aspects of the Bhima Koregaon case in the wake of the activist Stan Swamy’s death in custody. Anand opines that "in this particular case, a lot of things have come down to freedom of expression". The conversation also spans the media’s coverage of Swamy's death. 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, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan and Mehraj D Lone are joined by Hartosh Singh Bal, political editor of the Caravan. Hartosh begins the discussion by laying out the sociopolitical context of the communal campaign whipped up by politicians and sections of the media over the marriage of a Sikh woman with a Muslim man in Kasmir. Drawing parallels with the rhetoric around Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law, he says, "The timing of it is what I want to emphasise, it is no mere coincidence.”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, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Jayashree Arunachalam of Newslaundry are joined by public health physician Jammi N Rao.Talking about the controversies surrounding Bharat Biotech's Covid vaccine, Covaxin, Jammi notes that the company hasn’t provided the final data yet, so “nobody can assess it". Moving the discussion to the mega vaccination drives conducted on International Yoga Day, Jayashree says, "In our long list of PR focussed disasters, this is a lesser evil.” In this vein, Raman talks about the Narendra Modi government’s supposed reclamation of yoga and argues that it’s mostly been reduced to a publicity exercise. To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on NL Hafta, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal and Mehraj D Lone of Newslaundry are joined by data journalist Rukmini S.Rukmini explains her recent findings about actual Covid death tolls in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Talking about the key insights she gleaned from looking at the data, she says, "Instead of hanging on to the notion of exceptionalism, India should have actually focused on why it was that these numbers were low." To listen to the full episode, subscribe to Newslaundry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.