NL Hafta

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, and author and blogger Arnab Ray.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on Richa Bharti who was arrested for putting up an objectionable post. The judge asked her to distribute copies of the Quran as punishment.The panel then moves to discuss the controversy surrounding Tiranga TV, which Abhinandan refers to as “fracas”. They talk about Barkha Dutt’s tirade against Kapil Sibal and the larger protest against the channel by fired employees. Arnab noted, “They bet on the Congress winning in the election and they were obviously wrong.” The panel then moved to a larger discussion about the content industry. Abhinandan said, “Anything related to content will go through a huge churn in the next few years.” Moving on to the Chandrayaan-2 mission, Abhinandan questioned the very purpose of going to the moon when so many have already gone. He said, “I think it's a vanity project just to make us feel good.” The panel discussed space programmes in other countries and how India, in general, manages to pull off feats cheaper than in other countries.The panel also talked about the floods in Assam which have submerged large parts of the state. They discuss the problems the floods have caused, its impact on the NRC process and more.They also discussed the latest twist in the Kangana Ranaut-media saga. The panel uses this as a lens to talk about the media and journalists’ behaviour in general.For this and more, tune in! NL Sena Project https://www.newslaundry.com/senaRegister for TMR: http://themediarumble.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Anand Vardhan, Washington Post's India correspondent Niha Masih, and Sneha Koshy, the head of NDTV's Kerala bureau. The podcast starts with the panel’s take on BBC’s report on Kashmir, which was rumoured to be untrue. Niha was in Kashmir for five days and she talks about the communication shutdown there, also describing how restrictions on movement for the media was different on each day. Moving to the Pehlu Khan case verdict, Anand feels the problem in India is “more of mob justice than about mob lynching”. About the recurring floods in Kerala and most of South India, Sneha explains how environmental exploitation and urbanisation has taken a toll on Kerala.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/08/17/hafta-237-article-370-and-kashmir-kerala-floods-sonia-gandhi-and-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In this week’s Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan, and R Jagannathan, Swarajya's Editorial Director.The discussion kicks off with the panel talking about the abrogation of Article 370, and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Abhinandan said, “I thought it would be impossible in my lifetime." R Jagannathan also weighs in about the government’s actions. The panel also discussed the triumphalism portrayed by a majority of the Indian public. Manisha said that rhetorics like “teaching them a lesson” are demeaning.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/subscription-data/2019/08/10/hafta-236-article370-sushma-swaraj-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Anand Vardhan, Raman Kirpal and journalist and author Vivek Kaul.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on the 2019 Cricket World Cup and Team India’s loss in the semi-finals. According to Anand, “it was a bubble waiting to burst”. The panel talks about their personal reactions and the country’s response to the loss. Abhinandan says: “I felt really bad because I really like Dhoni.”Discussing the crisis in the Congress in both Goa and Karnataka, Abhinandan comments, “It’s collapsing everywhere, kuch toh sharam karlo.” Raman notes that there's a "churning" going on within the party. They talk about the lack of leadership in the Congress and its consequences, as well as the history and legacy of the anti-defection law. Moving to the 2019 Union Budget, Vivek feels it was "much ado about nothing". He notes the Budget's lack of numbers and any detail on revenue and expenditure as well as other problems. The discussion shifts to the nature of business and the black economy in India.Next up is the installation of CCTV cameras in Delhi schools and the concerns raised by the public regarding privacy and surveillance. Anand says he “does not believe in privacy as an absolute right” while Madhu feels this move is absolutely all right. The panel also discusses the flying banner over the India-New Zealand match in England and the privatisation of railways in India.For this and much more, tune in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This very special episode of NL Hafta is recorded on location at The Media Rumble at India Habitat Centre, Delhi. Host Abhinandan Sekhri discusses views and news with actress Swara Bhaskar; software engineer-turned-journalist Kavya Sukumar; VP of engineering at Quintype, Rashmi Mittal; writer and editor Supriya Nair; Swarajya's editorial director R Jagannathan; and journalist David Usborne.This episode isn't behind the paywall, so what are you waiting for? Tune in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Madhu Trehan, Raman Kirpal, and author and columnist Sushant Sareen.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on the life and times of Sheila Dikshit. Up next is the RTI amendment and its impact. According to Abhinandan, “The RTI was the only good thing to come out of policy and Parliament that actually impacted citizens.” Moving on to Donald Trump’s offer to mediate on Kashmir and the furore that followed, Sushant thinks India’s response should have been a lot firmer.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/07/27/hafta-234-rti-amendment-trump-on-kashmir-letter-wars-and-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, Meghnad wears the host’s hat. He is joined by Manisha Pande, Madhu Trehan, Anand Vardhan and Raman Kirpal.The discussion kicks off with the panel talking about the 2019 Budget. They speak about the good, the bad and the ugly. Manisha finds the five per cent duty on imported books weird and briefly discusses Air India's privatisation as well.The panel then moves on to discuss Rahul Gandhi’s resignation from his post as the Congress Party president. They also talk about who could be the next party chief. Madhu talks about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s tweet on his resignation and Meghnad says, “Congress basically now is just hollow, it has no ideology per se."The panel also talks about the Zaira Wasim controversy. The actress quit Bollywood citing her work's interference with her religion. To the question of why she took this step, Anand says, “Maybe, she didn’t have the gift of articulation to put her position and she rationalised it in a wrong way.”The panel talks about the vandalisation of a temple in Chandni Chowk and the misreporting that followed. Listen up, there’s more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Anand Vardhan, Manisha Pande, and journalist and author Salil Tripathi.The discussion kicks off with speeches and controversies in Parliament this week. This includes the super-viral speech by MP Mahua Moitra as well as the chants of “Vande Mataram” during various swearing-ins.The panel then talks about the recent case of lynching of a Muslim man in Jharkhand who was beaten up and forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram”. Abhinandan found the coverage of this case to be “deeply problematic” and noted that “what-aboutery has become almost a legitimate argument” on primetime shows. Anand talks about the culture of mob justice in India and how it’s fueling communal lynchings.Moving to the water crisis in Chennai, the panel discusses its effects as well as the solutions that could help alleviate this problem. Anand discusses the urban/rural divide on this issue while Salil talks about steps taken in other countries that have had an actual effect on the water crisis.The podcast wraps up with Abhinandan bringing up the controversy around BJP MP Kailash Vijayvargiya and his son BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya who was filmed beating up a government official with a cricket bat. The panel observes the lacklustre questioning by the media and the relative impunity with which politicians in India operate with.For this and more, tune in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL Hafta has gone behind the paywall, but we love our listeners. So here's a little sneak peek into the complete episode.In this week’s episode, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, and author and blogger Arnab Ray.The podcast kicks off with a discussion on Richa Bharti who was arrested for putting up an objectionable post. The judge asked her to distribute copies of the Quran as punishment. The panel also discusses the controversy surrounding Tiranga TV, India's Chandrayaan-2 mission, floods in Assam and Bihar and more.Listen to the full Hafta here: https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/07/20/hafta-233-richa-bharti-tiranga-tv-chandrayaan-2-more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of NL Hafta, host Abhinandan Sekhri is joined by Madhu Trehan, Raman Kripal, Anand Vardhan and Nistula Hebbar, The Hindu's Political Editor.The panel talks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “One Nation, One Election” proposition, encephalitis-related deaths in Muzaffarpur, Anjana Om Kashyap’s controversial reporting from Bihar's Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital and more. Nistula shares anecdotes from a recent parliamentary session. Doctors' strike, and Sanjiv Bhatt's life imprisonment are also discussed.On the issue of “One Nation, One Election”, Nistula said, “You can’t have a situation where the political class basically looks at the elections as a blanket validation for all policies." Talking about the encephalitis outbreak in Bihar, Madhu says, “It’s the systematic historical neglect of the medical area” which has led us to this situation.While talking about Anjana Om Kashyap’s controversial reporting, Anand said, “The demonstration of orchestrated anger is a spectacle something that suits television news, this kind of drama sells."Moving on the panel discusses a June 16 incident where two civilians were thrashed by cops. “Anywhere in the world, you cannot take out a weapon against a cop, yet the amount of sympathy that he (Sarabjeet, the victim) has got is enough for the Home Ministry to ask for a report and no one has the guts to back-up the cop,” Abhinandan said. For this and more, tune in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.