Newslaundry Conversations

Rashid and Muskan are the first interfaith couple to be held under Uttar Pradesh’s ‘love jihad law’. He spent two weeks in jail, she miscarried in a women’s shelter home. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The farmers feel the Modi government is trying to ‘tear them apart’ by sowing discord. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In spite of all odds, they are determined to stay put until their demand to repeal the new farm laws is met. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

बिहार के जाने माने लेखक और कई बड़े अखबारों में रिपोर्टिंग कर चुके पुष्यमित्र जिनकी हाल ही में 'रुकतापुर' बिहार जहां थम जाता है पहिया बदलाव की हर गाड़ी का, किताब राजकाल द्वारा प्रकाशित की गई है. यह किताब बिहार के अलग-अलग चेहरे, किस्सों तथा इसके समकालीन इतिहास से लबरेज़ है. इस किताब में बिहार की समस्याओं का विस्तार से विवरण है. न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री... चित्रांशु तिवारी ने पुष्यमित्र से खास बातचीत की है. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mihir Srivastava is a journalist and writer. Formerly with Open and Tehelka, he currently works with the Patriot as a senior associate editor. In this interview with Chitranshu Tewari of Newslaundry, Mihir talks about his latest book, Love Jihadis, written with photojournalist Raul Irani, which breaks down the “love jihad” bogey in the context of western Uttar Pradesh. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Modi government maintains it has no intention of doing away with MSP for crops. Farmers say the new laws are designed to achieve precisely that. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

‘Some powerful media houses have made things worse. It would have been better if they hadn’t bothered covering us.’ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What’s driving them? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ग्रामीण अर्थव्यवस्था पर हो रही रिपोर्टिंग में सबसे महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा है डाटा. यह डाटा, अलग-अलग विषयों पर उपलब्ध है जो रिपोर्ट में सभी तथ्यों को पूरा करता है. इसी विषय पर न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री ने यह वेबिनार आयोजित की, जिसमें विस्तृत रूप से इस मुद्दे पर बात की गई. इस वेबिनार में मेहमान के तौर पर आईआईटी दिल्ली की एसोसिएट प्रोफेसर और लेखक रीतिका खेड़ा, गांव कनेक्शन के एसोसिएट एडिटर अरविन्द शुक्ला, स्वतंत्र पत्रकार पुष्यमित्र, पीपल आर्काइव ऑफ़ रूरल इंडियन से जुड़ीं पत्रकार मेधा काले और भारती इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ़ पब्लिक पॉलिसी में कम्युनिकेशन प्रमुख दीप्ती सोनी ने हिस्सा लिया. इस वेबिनार का संचालन न्यूज़लॉन्ड्री के कार्यकारी संपादक अतुल चौरसिया ने कियादीप्ति शुरुआत में इंडिया डाटा पोर्टल के बारे में बताते हुए कहती हैं, “यह पोर्टल हर किसी के लिए खुला है, जिसे खासतौर से पत्रकारों की मदद के लिए बनाया गया है. इसके साथ ही शोधकर्ता और छात्र आदि के लिए भी यह पोर्टल बनाया गया है. पोर्टल पर मौजूद जानकारी  भारत के 28 राज्यों और आठ केंद्र-शासित प्रदेशों के बारे में है, जो कि छह भाषाओं में उपलब्ध है. वहीं एग्रीकल्चर सेंसेस, सॉइल, रेन फॉल जैसे 40 अलग-अलग डाटा सेट इस वक्त पोर्टल पर मौजूद हैं. इन जानकारी को 45 से भी जायदा ग्राफ़िक्स या चित्र के रूप में उपयोग किया जा सकता है.सत्र में आगे अतुल आकंड़ों की बात करते हुए रीतिका खेड़ा से सवाल करते हुए कहते हैं "क्या सच में इस तरह के आकड़ों से ग्रामीण अर्थव्यवस्था पर हमारी मीडिया को सूचना सम्पन्न और उसकी रिपोर्टिंग को प्रभावशाली बनाने में मदद कर सकती है"?इस पर रीतिका कहती हैं "ये सवाल बहुत अहम है जो मुद्दे की जड़ तक जाता है. अगर देखा जाए तो पत्रकारों की पकड़ मुद्दे पर नहीं है. ऐसे में डाटा को जल्दबाजी में इस्तेमाल किया जाता है. उदाहरण के तौर पर प्रजेंटेशन में बताया गया है कि कैसे मनरेगा में कितनों की मांग थी और कितने लोगों को काम मिला. यह सब सरकारी खेल है जो एमआईएस के डाटा में होता है और यह कब अपलोड किया जाएगा उसका किसी को पता नहीं. इस विषय पर अतुल कहते हैं हम लम्बे समय से देख रहे हैं कि ग्रामीण पत्रकारिता, कभी पत्रकारिता में एक बीट हुआ करता थी और कृषि पत्रकारिता मुख्यधारा की पत्रकारिता से गायब हो गई है. मौजूदा समय में दूसरा पी साईनाथ जैसा नाम खोजना मुश्किल है. इससे दिखता है कि जो पत्रकारिता कभी ग्रामीण अर्थव्यवस्था की हुआ करती थी, वो लगातार खत्म हुई है.मीडिया में कृषि पत्रकारिता की खत्म होती अहमियत पर अतुल, मेधा से पूछते है "ये जो दिक्कत है, कि पत्रकार और मीडिया हाउस कृषि  बीट को एहमियत नहीं दे रहे हैं. क्या लगता है हमें इस पर फिर से ध्यान देना चाहिए. जिससे कृषि बीट को फिर से मजबूत किया जा सके?इस पर मेधा कहती हैं 'जब हम डाटा देखते हैं कि मनरेगा में इतने सारे जॉब धारक हैं लेकिन कितनों को जॉब कार्ड मिला है और कितनों को मना कर दिया गया इसका डाटा हमारी रिपोर्ट से गायब है. पहले जब पत्रकार ग्रामीण स्तर पर काम करते थे, तब वह गांव के लोगों की समस्याओं को समझते थे और जानते थे और उनकी वहीं जानकारी उस समय डाटा का स्वरूप ले लेता था, लेकिन आज के समय में यह गायब हैं क्योंकि कोई भी गांव आधारित पत्रकारिता नहीं है.इस वेबिनार में रोजगार और पत्रकरिता को लेकर जो बात निकलकर सामने आई उसमें निश्चित तौर पर इंडिया डाटा पोर्टल या इस तरह के आकड़े उपलब्ध कराने वाले प्लेटफॉर्म पत्रकरिता को बड़ा सपोर्ट कर सकते हैं तथा रिपोटिंग को बहुत मजबूत कर सकते हैं. इससे भी जो ज़रूरी खास बात है वो ये है कि मुख्य धारा की पत्रकारिता को ग्रामीण पत्रकारिता की अर्थव्यवस्था के इलाके पर ध्यान दें, इसमें निवेश करें और इसे मुख्य धारा की पत्रकारिता का हिस्सा समझें. क्योंकि ये भी इसी देश के लोग और देश का हिस्सा हैं. इनसे  देश की नीतियां, जीडीपी और भी बहुत कुछ तय होता है. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Newslaundry, in collaboration with the India Data Portal project of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB, is organising a series of monthly webinars on specific datasets created by the platform, which is a one-stop open-access portal for journalists to use, interact with and visualise information, data and knowledge on agriculture and financial inclusion.The second webinar, titled “A data-led approach to India’s agri-economy”, was organised on September 25. Moderated by Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, the panelists were Ajay Vir Jakhar, chairman of the Bharat Krishak Samaj; Parth MN, principal correspondent with IndiaSpend; Aparna Karthikeyan, author and independent journalist; and Nidhi Jamwal, environmental editor and head of the English desk of Gaon Connection.Listen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Newslaundry subscribers Atif Adam and Aprajita Singh debate whether the development of artificial intelligence will end up benefiting or harming humanity?Atif argues it will help, Aprajita disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Aprajita on e-mail and Atif on Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Max Abrahms is an author, associate professor of political science and public policy at Northeastern University in the United States, and non-resident scholar at the Quincy Institute. In this interview with Shubh Soni, Max discusses the impending American presidential election, especially in the context of foreign policy, and the influence wielded over it by the news media. Watch the full video on newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Omar Abdullah has served as the chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, as a member of parliament, and as India’s junior foreign minister. He spent months in detention after the Narendra Modi government stripped Jammu and Kashmir of the last vestiges of its autonomy and split it into two territories ruled directly by New Delhi.Over a year on, Abdullah speaks with Abhinandan Sekhri about the situation in Kashmir, and where he and his party, the National Conference, stand in the new scheme of things. Watch the full video on newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Anwar Maqsood पाकिस्तानी पॉपुलर कल्चर का सबसे अज़ीम और प्रतिष्ठित नाम हैं. टेलीविज़न की दुनिया में उनके शो व्यंग्य और खासकर सियासी व्यंग्य की उत्कृष्टता का पैमाना माने जाते हैं. जब उनके तंजिया शो की बात हो तो उनके बेहद लोकप्रिय शो Loose Talk की बात करना लाजिमी हो जाता है. पाकिस्तान के मशहूर अदाकार Marhum Moin Akhtar के साथ उनका यह शो सैटायर विधा में शायद सबसे लोकप्रिय और सबसे रचनात्मक शो कहा जाएगा. इसके 417 एपिसोड हुए और सारे शो एक से बढ़कर एक.ऐसी शख्सियत के साथ इंटरव्यू एक सपने के सच होने जैसा था. जाहिर है यह इंटरव्यू उनकी टेलीविज़न के सामने वाली शख्सियत के अलावा उसके इतर पहलुओं की भी पड़ताल करता है. मसलन उनकी पत्नी द्वारा उन पर लिखी गई किताब, उनके बेटे बिलाल मकसूद का मशहूर म्यूज़िक बैंड, हिंदुस्तानी संगीत की महान शख्सियतों के साथ उनका रिश्ता आदि.पूरा इंटरव्यू देखने के लिए क्लिक करे: http://bit.ly/NLInterviewAnwarMaqsood See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Newslaundry, in collaboration with the India Data Portal project of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB, is organising a series of monthly webinars on specific datasets created by the platform, which is a one-stop open-access portal for journalists to access, interact with and visualise information, data and knowledge on agriculture and financial inclusion.The first webinar, titled “Indian Economy and Covid: Insights from Data” and organised on August 28, was moderated by Meghnad S, associate editor at Newslaundry. The panelists were Paojel Chaoba of the Frontier; Mitali Mukherjee of the Wire; Sukirat, Punjabi writer and columnist; Prerna Mukharya, founder of Outline India; Ashwini Chhatre, executive director of the Bharti Institute of Public Policy.Mukherjee describes the Indian economy as being in a “state of mess” now. Though “economic slowdown” seems to be a vague idea, she says, its impact will be personal for the majority of the people. She points out that the pandemic has caused job losses and salary cuts and limited work opportunities for new entrants into the job market. Further, the service sector, one of the Indian economy’s stronger performers, has been the worst hit. MSMEs have also been disproportionately affected.  Talking about the coronavirus situation in Manipur, where he is based, Chaoba points out the people there are living relatively normal lives. This is mainly because they rely on agriculture as the primary source of income. Moreover, since the people of Manipur are used to having limited access to education and healthcare facilities, their daily lives haven’t been affected as much by the pandemic as those in other places. Surkirat says more than the pandemic, the nationwide lockdown imposed in March to contain it did the most damage in his home state of Punjab. There had been only one Covid-19 death in Punjab until then, he adds, but the lockdown led to unnecessary panic, which, among other disastrous consequences, has brought the newspaper industry to the brink of collapse. Mukharya cites an ILO report estimating that the pandemic could push “400 million Indians into object poverty”. A major reason for this is migrants being forced to return to their villages from cities due to the lack of work. There are limited job opportunities for them in rural India and so they face unemployment. She notes that four out of 10 women have become unemployed since March. The virus disproportionately affects women since they work in sectors like education and domestic labour, which are the worst impacted by Covid-19.  Lamenting the inaccessibility and unreliability of government data, Chhatre underlines the need for private organisations to enter the data collection space. If data is digitised and made more accessible, he says, it will be harder to manipulate. The India Data Portal is one such endeavour. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this interview, former Republic TV journalist Tejinder Singh Sodhi sits down with Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande to discuss the events surrounding his resignation letter, which has now become viral on social media. Tejinder Sodhi has been a journalist for about 18 years and prior to joining Republic TV he had worked for organisations like PTI, Hindustan Times and The Tribune. He is also the only Indian civilian to have studied at the US Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth. On the reasons prompting his resignation from Republic TV on 5th August, Sodhi recounts how the organisation has no concept of exit interviews. The company is least concerned about the reasons surrounding anyone’s resignation from the organisation which is why he made it a point to write a separate note outlining his reasons aside from his resignation letter that he sent almost a month later. He says that while there were several reasons for his leaving, the fact that the staff was treated terribly was one of the most prominent reasons. He also cites instances where for a story he was made to compromise his ethics and resort to tactics like protesting with placards outside party offices. With regards to the Sunanda Pushkar case, he recalls how one of his colleagues was under so much pressure for an exclusive story that he suffered a heart attack while in office. Similar events surrounded another resignation from a reporter who was unable to get Rhea Chakroborty’s interview for the channel. On the subject of his time at Republic TV, Sodhi recalls how the channel while campaigning against nepotism also actively supported it. An interview that had previously been granted to Mr. Sodhi was reassigned to a close crony of Arnab Goswami which is what triggered his resignation. He also recalls how reporters were constantly asked to focus on a particular angle while reporting their stories which was centred around bashing a particular political party. With respect to the reporters mandate at Republic, Sodhi says that while he was never explicitly asked to not do a story on the BJP, the manner in which the stories were given prominence via the Mumbai desk made the bias very obvious. Since he headed the Jammu office for Republic, Sodhi recalls how while reporting about Mufti or Abdullah the channel would always focus on the one comment in their speeches that could be utilised to call them anti national and focussed all their energy on that.Watch. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dr Suraj Yengde is a scholar, writer, and the author of Caste Matters. He’s a Shorenstein Centre inaugural postdoctoral fellow at the Initiative for Institutional Anti-racism and Accountability, Harvard Kennedy School, and the editor of Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion.In this conversation with Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Suraj says the response to his book has been “interesting”. He didn’t expect people to be this interested in caste issues, especially in India, he says, where people tend to consume mostly cheap thrillers and don’t invest too much in such thoughtful subjects.Suraj says he tried to overcome some of his own insecurities in his book by including personal vignettes on growing up in a Dalit community. He also reveals that his hesitance in sharing his personal angst is strongly tied to feeling that he was “exploiting” his own story, because of the way narratives are built around Dalit identities in India.Watch the full interview: http://bit.ly/NLInterviewSurajYengde See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Barkha Dutt is one of India’s most prominent journalists. Currently, she helms her own news outlet, Mojo Story.She speaks with Abhinandan Sekhri of Newslaundry to talk about her experiences driving across India to cover the coronavirus crisis and the resultant migrant exodus.She also talks about the challenges of donning the hats of journalist and entrepreneur at the same time, her fallouts with promoters and whether small independent news operations can match the impact of the legacy media.Talking about her coverage of the migrant crisis, Barkha recalls that she had not planned to embark on a journey that would eventually take over a hundred days, covering thousands of miles. But the lack of Big Media attention or government intervention made her realise that she needed to give it full attention. “That end of the first week is when I realised that I can't sit inside my office, inside my house and tell the story. I didn't know the scale of what I was going to witness when I set forth, but I gave myself a week in the capital observing this, observing the invisibility of the story," she adds.She recounts some of the stories that impacted and stayed with her, how her team managed to travel and find places to stay in a pandemic while the country was on lockdown, and how it felt being in a PPE for a few hours.Asked why she has changed several organisations over the past few years, Barkha explains that she quit NDTV over the issue of editorial integrity and Tiranga TV because the employees hadn’t been paid their salaries.Barkha and Abhinandan also discuss the future of journalism, the new economic models Indian media are experimenting with, and why she would opt for the "Guardian mode" if she could.Watch the full interview: https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/08/25/nl-interview-barkha-dutt-on-covering-migrant-crisis-the-media-economy-and-falling-out-with-promoters See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Lipi Vats debate whether India is a secular country or not.Basant thinks it is, Lipi disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Basant and Lipi on Twitter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Professor Apoorvanand teaches Hindi at Delhi University, commentates on sociopolitical issues, produces literary and cultural critiques, and frequently lends his voices to progressive causes. For his activism, he has sometimes faced heat from the authorities. Early this month, his phone was seized and he was questioned by the Delhi Police about his role in the protests against the Citizenship law which they have alleged caused the communal violence in the city in February. Apoorvanand speaks with Chahak Gupta about his interrogation, his ideological leanings and his position on violence. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Manisha Pande and Newslaundry subscriber Aishwarya Mahesh debate whether workplaces should provide sick leave to their employees who might be battling mental health issues.Manisha thinks they should, Aishwarya disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Manisha and Aishwarya. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can comedy and satire be tools of social change? How does this ecosystem interact with a large democracy like ours? When the perception of what is offensive changes from person to person, how do we define an “offence”? Are Indians too easily offended?To discuss these themes, Roli Pulse, the digital arm of Roli Books, in association with Newslaundry, brought together comedians Vir Das and Aditi Mittal, and Newslaundry co-founder Abhinandan Sekhri, in the sixth and final episode of this specially curated video series on the media landscape.On whether social media has made acceptable certain things that were once unacceptable, Aditi says, “Social media has enabled people to coagulate around things that are socially unacceptable — things that are bigoted, racist, sexist...And so people know now that if I say something ridiculous, I will get an invitation to Bigg Boss. And for a whole lot of people, that is a valid route to infamy.”As consumers of social media, Aditi adds, “we are the monsters that we are fighting. When we hate-share stuff or cringe-watch stuff, we’re adding to it.”Vir says, “If [something] is offensive, does that mean it should not exist, or does it mean it needs to be modified? Is it the only thing that’s offensive?” He also points out that what is defined as offensive changes “every five years or four years or three years or two years..."Listen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Meghnad S and Newslaundry subscriber Abhishek Bagga debate on whether safetyism contradicts liberal values. Meghnad thinks it does, Abhishek disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Meghnad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

N Venugopal Rao is a writer and the nephew of Varavara Rao, the poet who has been arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. Varavara was arrested two years ago along with 12 other activists. He has been repeatedly denied bail and has been in poor health for the past month, testing positive for Covid on July 16.In this interview with Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Venugopal explains how the family was allowed a 20-minute long video call with Varavara by Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital, where he was shifted for treatment. Varavara appeared both physically and psychologically unwell during the call. Regarding his uncle’s involvement in the Bhima Koregaon case, Venugopal points out how the Elgar Parishad event, which preceded the violence in December 2017, had been organised by retired Justices BG Kolse-Patil and PB Sawant, who have already stated that they were the “main organisers and sole funders”. Varavara had never even visited Pune until the Pune police came to take him to jail in November 2018, Venugopal says.Varavara’s bail plea will be heard by courts today. The family is requesting bail on three major grounds: his age, health, and vulnerability to Covid. The plea was filed before he tested positive for the virus. Watch.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Vivek Kaul is an author, columnist and commentator, known for his Easy Money trilogy on the history of money and banking and the fundamental issue behind the global financial crisis. His latest book, Bad Money: Inside the NPA Mess and How It Threatens the Indian Banking System, focuses on the layers within layers of India’s non-performing assets problem.In this interview with Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Vivek kicks off by explaining how Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi have become the “poster boys” of the NPA mess in India, even though there’s an entire list of defaulters in the Parliament which hasn’t been spotlighted.To watch the full unedited interview, subscribe to Newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ziya Us Salam is a journalist and author. Presently the associate editor of Frontline, he has been associated with the Hindu for over two decades. His latest book, Inside the Tablighi Jamaat, delves into the religious organisation accused by the governing establishment and the mainstream media of spreading “corona jihad” in India.In this conversation with Newslaundry’s Mehraj D Lone, Ziya begins by explaining the roots of the Jamaat, which is arguably India’s largest Muslim organisation. Its members were not intellectuals, he says, but poor, illiterate peasants who were barely able to recite a few verses from the Quran.Describing the Jamaat’s spiritual and ritualistic aspects, he says, “They never encourage youngsters, or senior members who come to them, to under the Quran.” In the context of his own experience with the organisation, Ziya says it rejected his proposal to distribute the meaning of the Quran in English, Hindi and Urdu, since the Jamaat focuses on reading the Quran to learn about the afterlife, he says, not to understand it.Will the recent backlash and allegations of “spreading Covid” change the Jamaat’s refusal to take a political stand? They live in a “social, political vacuum,” Ziya replies. “I don’t think they will change with Covid. They did not speak in 1992, they did not speak in 2002, they didn’t speak up in 2013. There is no likelihood that the Tablighi Jamaat will undergo any major change post Covid in 2020.”Watch. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Newslaundry subscribers Dhruv Thakkar and Yash debate on whether traditional currency should be replaced by cryptocurrency. Yash thinks it should be, Dhruv disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Dhruv and Yash See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nitin Pai is the director of the Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy. In the episode of NL Conversations, he speaks with Meghnad S about policy, ideology and technology.Talking about “liberal nationalism”, he believes it can only exist in India, for elsewhere people will argue that it’s not possible to be “liberal” and “nationalist” at the same time. “Indian nationalism can work on a global scale because it does not insist on a single language, race and religion.”Nitin also discusses various ideologies and whether they make sense in today’s world. He complains that “we have become a society with no compassion” but maintains that the society is still “capable of looking after its weak”.Talking about India’s education system, he argued that it is important to think critically in today’s age of technology and complains that “the test system has killed education in this country.”Tune in! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Chahak Gupta and Newslaundry subscriber Agastya Sreenivasan debate the uncomfortable question: is reservation desirable?Chahak says they are, Agastya disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Agastya and Chahak. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Check out Stop Press and susbcribe at https://stoppress.substack.com/In the latest episode of NL Conversations, Newslaundry’s Chitranshu Tewari speaks to Gautam Mishra, joining in from Melbourne. Gautam is the founder and chief executive officer of Inkl, a bundle news subscription platform that unlocks coverage from premium publishers like the New York Times and the Economist with a monthly subscription of just Rs 250. Talking about the upsurge in demand for bundle news subscriptions, Gautam speaks at length about the longevity and breadth of news in 2020. “Twenty years ago if you were from Delhi, it was fine for you to mostly concentrate on news from Delhi, but today you cannot do that,” he points out.He adds: “If you want to know what’s happening with Brexit, you would want to know it from the Brits. If you want to understand what’s happening in Hong Kong, you actually need to get it from the South China Morning Post.”Defending Facebook and Twitter on being unable to police “fake news”, Gautam says, “Facebook and Twitter are open networks and anytime you have an open network, that, by definition...means anybody can publish anything.” He says the Australian Competition Commission’s decision to make big tech pay directly to the publishers is “completely ridiculous and nonsense”. “When somebody has cancer, you can’t just cure it by giving a band-aid,” he says.Tune in! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this age of the internet, there’s little that doesn’t go viral. Including the news. But there’s some confusion as to what is meant by “viral news” and what constitutes “viral content”. More to the point, is there a difference between “news” and “content”? Or are they synonymous?To discuss the finer points of this question, Roli Pulse, the digital arm of Roli Books, in association with Newslaundry, brought together Sattvik Mishra, CEO of ScoopWhoop; Pragya Tiwari, journalist and policy consultant; Andre Borges, content creator at Pocket Aces; and Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry. “I think news has largely been dictated by a bunch of editors who sit in a room and decide what news should look like,” Sattvik says, and emphasises the importance of presentation and diversity in making something go viral. Pragya says, “There is a massive disconnect between the people who are thinking about marketing and people who are thinking about editorial.”Andre chips in, “Content creation and journalism, for me, don’t have to be two different things.”Abhinandan responds, “I don’t see how a commercial proposition can be made on that because then there is no incentive to spend on ground reportage where traffic is your only metric.”Listen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sanjay Jha is a politician, writer, and columnist. He was sacked as a spokesman of the Congress, apparently over a pair of articles in the Times of India where he criticised the party’s “leadership vacuum”, the lack of “internal democratic process that listens to individual voices” and inability to get “up and running with any sense of urgency” in the wake of electoral defeats.Jha sits down with Abhinandan Sekhri to talk about his politics, what is ailing the Congress, and, of course, his sacking. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Swara Bhasker is one of India’s most outspoken celebrities, regularly lending her voice to progressive causes and public protests. This has made the actor known for her performances in Tanu Weds Manu, Anaarkali of Aarah, and Rasbhari one of the big bugbears of Hindu nationalist TV news anchors and social media trolls.Swara speaks with Meghnad S about nepotism in Bollywood, the audience’s role in creating and sustaining the film industry’s star system, and the rise of streaming platforms. She also speaks about her “activism” while describing herself as “an armchair activist”.To watch the full unedited interview, subscribe to Newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Shubh Soni and Newslaundry subscriber Dhiraj Bhandari debate whether countries should be allowed to claim territory in space.Dhiraj thinks they should, Shubh disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Dhiraj and Shubh. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In May, we released an NL Sena, “The New New Delhi”, a deep dive into the Narendra Modi government’s much-touted project to redesign Central Vista, the heart of the national capital. Reporter Hameeda Syed also analysed just why the government was pushing forward with the project even as the Covid-19 pandemic was ravaging the poor.In this edition of Session with Sena, Hameeda, along with Newslaundry’s Chitranshu Tewari, talks about the story with the subscribers who made it possible with their contributions. This Sena story was supported by over 50 of our readers, including Sangeeta Thotakura, Shreekant Gupta, Zameer Ansari, Sree Harsha R, Vidhu Saxena, Dhiraj Kumar, and other NL Sena members.Hameeda says the Centre went ahead with the project “without talking about it to experts”, and that the project “came as a shock” to them. A subscriber, Dhiraj, asks about reporting during the midst of a pandemic, and whether it made being on the ground more difficult. Hameeda says it was a problem, since it was visually important to “map all the developments” happening with the project.Subscriber Rupa Banerjee asks about the aftermath of the project. “The aftermath has already happened,” Hameeda says, adding that the Supreme Court had refused to stay the redevelopment plan. “Even though there is a lockdown, I feel there should be some resistance towards the project.”Tune in. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Newslaundry subscribers Aditya Relangi and Aishwarya Mahesh debate whether public health should be prioritised over personal privacy.Aditya thinks it should be, Aishwarya disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Aditya and Aishwarya. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kritika Pandey is a writer and poet. Her short story The Great Indian Tee and Snakes recently won the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She has also won the 2020 James W Foley Memorial Award and the 2018 Harvey Swados Fiction Prize. Pandey sat down with Abhinandan Sekhri to talk about her life, work and literary journey.“I was responding to the contemporary sociopolitical upheavals in India,” Kritika says when asked about the inspiration for The Great Indian Tee and Snakes, while pointing out the varied receptions it got from her peers in the United States and back home in Jharkhand. She talks about the trade-off involved in keeping the local flavour in a story while ensuring that it has a global appeal. She stresses the importance of engaging with people holding different points of view while commenting on the “overwoke” people in the US in the context of the current political situation. She narrates her experience attending the Black Lives Matter protests against the murder of George Flyod, and discusses how the protest cultures in India and the US differ. Kritika also talks about experiencing gender discrimination, desi families and validation, what’s next for her, and much more. Tune in!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the Global Press Freedom Index, India ranks 142 out of 180 countries. To make sense of why a country that prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy fares so abysmally on press freedom, it’s imperative to locate and speak about the different pressures that journalists are under.To this end, Roli Pulse, the digital arm of Roli Books, in association with Newslaundry, organised a webinar with Siddharth Varadarajan, editor of the Wire; Naresh Fernandes, editor of Scroll; Dhanya Rajendran, chief editor of the News Minute; and Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry.They discuss the pressures the Indian media faced in the past and how they are different from what it must deal with today. Intimidation, they agree, has become “more systematic” now, and this can only be countered by institutionally empowering journalists.They also talk about how institutions such as the judiciary have responded to the intimation of the media, recognise the urgent need to have a united press, and acknowledge that press associations currently are inaccessible to most journalists.Varadarajan shares his experiences dealing with the pressure put by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on the Hindu when he was the daily’s editor. Fernandes examines what it means to be a journalist today when even a Facebook post critical of the establishment attracts heat and even institutional interference. Rajendran expresses her concern about the sphere of hate that has been created in the society and that, in turn, has led to public mistrust of journalists who are critical of majoritarianism.They also discuss the line that we need to draw under "hate speech", and whether criminalisation is the answer to the problems we face because of it.Listen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode of NL vs NL, Shardool Katyayan and Parikshit Sanyal of Newslaundry battle it out over the highly contentious question of whether marijuana should be legalised in India?Shardool thinks it should be, Parikshit disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Shardool and Parikshit. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The news media, like most spaces, has a big blindspot when it comes to the representation of women, even as they bear the brunt of the negative impact of the information explosion. How and why is it so? What can be done to rectify the situation.  To discuss these questions, Chitranshu Tewari spoke with Lakshmi Chaudhry, the founder of Splainer Media and the co-founder of Firstpost. She talks about her journey launching Splainer, how news is an exclusionary space for women on both the publication and the reader side, and why news needs to be conceptualised as an experience to begin with. She also talks about the overabundance of news causing "news fatigue", and how the comeback of newsletters is a response to this phenomenon.Subscribe to Splainer: https://splainer.in/subscribeSign up for Stop Press: https://bit.ly/StopPressNewsletterTune in. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The news media is in a crisis. Already struggling with falling revenues and eroding credibility, the media has been left to battle for survival by the Covid pandemic and its economic fallout. Is there a way of this crisis? If there’s, where does it lead?To discuss the challenges facing the news media and how they can be dealt with, Newslaundry organised a webinar in partnership with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Abhinandan Sekhri of Newslaundry is joined by Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and political communication professor at the University of Oxford; Ritu Kapoor, co-founder of the Quint and a member of the board at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism; Anant Goenka, executive director of the Indian Express; and Avinash Pandey, CEO of the ABP News Network.Listen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hasina Kharbhih is the founder of the Impulse NGO Network, a civil society organisation based in Shillong, Meghalaya, which works to combat human trafficking in Northeast India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. INGON, as it’s popularly known, has helped rescue and rehabilitate thousands of trafficked women and children over the past two decades.In this interview with Snigdha Sharma, Hasina explains the origin of the “impulse model” that uses a multidisciplinary approach to combat human trafficking.To watch the full unedited interview, subscribe to Newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Indian television news has acquired an unsavoury reputation over the past few years owing to the bombastic anchors and their primetime rants peddling bigotry. Now, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, as advertising revenues, the chief source of income for mainstream media, dwindle, can TV news survive in its current form?To discuss this and much more, Roli Pulse, the digital arm of Roli Books, organised a webinar with three of India’s most prominent news professionals – Barkha Dutt, Faye D’Souza and Abhinandan Sekhri.D’Souza, the former executive editor of Mirror Now, described the business model of TV news as “point and shoot” journalism where accusations were hurled with little evidence. “A journalist who cares about ethics at this point, facts and fact-checking is an inconvenience.” D’Souza said. “Let’s be honest. Your viewer is no longer your customer. Your advertiser is your customer.”D’Souza, as also Sekhri, praised the quality of Dutt’s journalism during the coronavirus lockdown. The former NDTV star anchor who now runs Mojo Story has travelled thousands of kilometres to tell the stories of migrant workers who have been walking home after being stranded in alien places by the lockdown, without food or a source of income.Dutt complained that journalism had become formulaic, with stale studio panel discussions and the “privileging of anchors over reporters”. She said the initial responses to her new project indicated there was “certainly an audience for raw, authentic, content from the ground”.Listen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Following up on their last webinar, “Is TV news dead”, Roli Books brought together another panel to debate the other aspect of the topic, “Television News: Relevance and Credibility in Today’s India”. Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry, was joined by Nidhi Razdan, executive editor of NDTV, and Saahil Menghani, news reporter and anchor.Razdan argued that the continued popularity of television news showed that it was still popular. “It is not dead, simply because viewership has gone up massively since the pandemic began.” She later added, “There are actually more people watching television today after the pandemic started, many more people.”In response, Abhinandan pointed to the absence of “news” in the primetime shows aired by some of India’s most popular TV channels. “Even if they get 100 percent of the viewership, I would still say that TV news is dead,” he added. “Because what they are watching is not news.”Menghani argued that the coverage of the Delhi carnage and the coronavirus pandemic had narrowed the “gap in credibility” between television and digital media. Discussing Barkha Dutt’s coverage of the migrant crisis, Menghani said “one individual singlehandedly changed the narrative, rather set the agenda for most of the news channels. That excludes NDTV because from day one, they have been getting it right.”They also discussed the business model of TV channels, the lack of pushback from advertisers, the entertainment aspect of TV “news”, and layoffs in the media industry during the pandemic.Listen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For over a month, India and China have been locked in a tense border conflict in eastern Ladakh. The standoff turned violent early this week, leading to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers. Grim as the situation is, it is not quite clear what exactly is happening on the ground, and what it means for relations between the two countries. To demystify the conflict and explain its strategic and political implications, Mehraj D Lone spoke with Happymon Jacob, one of India’s foremost strategic affairs experts. Jacob teaches at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of International Studies, and writes extensively on India’s strategic and foreign policies, the Kashmir dispute, and disarmament. He is the author of The Line of Control: Travelling with the Indian and Pakistani Armies and Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India–Pakistan Escalation Dynamics. In this conversation, held before the faceoff turned violent, Jacob argues that the ongoing conflict is not a usual border transgression. It needs to be seen in the larger geopolitical context of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, potential presence of Chinese soldiers in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, India’s recent declarations about retaking Aksai Chin. As to how India should respond, he says its policymakers must realise that “China doesn’t believe in a peaceful rise anymore”. From a military perspective, he adds, “it’s not all that easy for India to dislodge Chinese soldiers from Ladakh” but it has the upper hand along other parts of the Line of Actual Control. He also talks about dealing with China economically, diplomatically, and in the maritime space, while looking for avenues of cooperation. Jacob also talks about the BJP government’s foreign policy, the abrogation of Article 370 and the introduction of a new domicile policy in Jammu and Kashmir. Tune in!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To sink or to float is the question. In India, as elsewhere, the internet revolution has compelled newspapers and magazines to transition to digital. The transition has been slow, however, and most newspapers and magazines are still primarily in the print space. Will the pandemic hasten it?To discuss this, Roli Pulse, the digital arm of Roli Books, in association with Newslaundry, organised a webinar with Anant Goenka, executive director of the daily Indian Express, Anant Nath, editor of the Caravan magazine, and Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry.Goenka argued that the “major problem isn’t the lack of money being invested, but some major policy issues, like that of news aggregators in digital media, that we need to delve into and grapple”.Nath said, “Aggregators like Inshorts make revenue from our content but they also give us customers. And it’s also a nuanced question as to what sort of liability they should be taking.”Addressing the question of objectivity in journalism, Nath said, “The demise of the local paper has led to the demise of transparency and accountability in local governments.”Listen. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this special episode of NL vs NL, Newslaundry subscribers Jefferson Simon, Dhruv Pandey, Saloni Dangwal, and Umesh Getta debate which ideological system works the best – capitalism, socialism, communism, or libertarianism? Jefferson bats for libertarianism, Dhruv for capitalism, Saloni for socialism, and Umesh for communism.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or reach out to Dhruv, Jefferson, Saloni, and Umesh. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

THIS IS JUST A TEASER.WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW: https://bit.ly/NLInterviewDigvijayaSinghDigvijaya Singh is a senior Congress leader, Rajya Sabha MP, and the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. In this interview, he sits down with Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri to discuss Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the Congress, recent defections in Madhya Pradesh, his political ambitions, and when he thinks Rahul Gandhi will return as president of the party.On Scindia’s defection to the BJP, a move that toppled the state government in Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya says, “I am seriously telling you, I never, never expected Jyotiraditya Scindia to defect. In fact, till March 4 or 5, I was in touch with him. But after that, he suddenly switched off his phone.” He reiterates that relations between him, Scindia and Kamal Nath were very cordial.On being asked about toeing the “soft Hindutva” line during his tenure as Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Digvijaya says he belongs to a religious family and has no qualms in owning up to his religion. “At the same time, my religion, or my ‘sanatan dharma’, is equal respect to all religions,” he adds. “This is what I believe in.” He believes there is some sort of understanding between the communal Hindu and the communal Muslim, and they feed off each other.The conversation also spans fake news, the future of Indian politics, and where this might head in a post-Covid world.Watch the full interview on www.newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Meghnad S and Newslaundry subscriber Vaibhav Agarwal debate whether religion is beneficial to society or not.Meghnad thinks it has, Vaibhav disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Vaibhav and  Meghnad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hardik Mehta is a filmmaker. He’s known for the documentary Amdavad Ma Famous, which won him the National Award, and the recently released Kaamyaab, a cinematic homage to the Hindi film industry’s “side actors”. He also co-wrote the web series Paatal Lok, which is currently playing and earning rave reviews.Hardik sat down with Abhinandan Sekhri to talk about how he came upon the idea of making a film on the supporting actors who had iconic presence in the 1980s and 1990s but then slipped into oblivion. Hardik also talks about the struggle of finally getting a theatrical release for Kaamyaab, just a week before the coronavirus pandemic forced cinemas to shut down.To watch the full unedited interview, subscribe to Newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Filmmaker Bharatbala, who produced the iconic video for AR Rahman’s 'Maa Tujhe Salaam', is known for the beauty of his visual frames. His Virtual Bharat initiative aims to document stories from across India through 1,000 films. His most recent initiative was a short film, titled 'Uthenge Hum', capturing visuals of India during the lockdown.In this edition of NL Interviews, Bharatbala joins Abhinandan Sekhri to talk about what motivated him to document India during the nation-wide lockdown to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.To watch the full unedited interview, subscribe to Newslaundry.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Newslaundry subscribers Sahej Rahal and Parminder Kaur fight it out over that very existential question: are we all living in a simulation?Parminder thinks we are, Sahej disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Parminder, Meghnad and Parikshit. Sahej prefers if you contact him on Instagram.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the latest episode of NL Conversations, Newslaundry’s Mehraj D Lone speaks to Anand Patwardhan, one of India’s most prominent filmmakers and the director of documentaries like Ram Ke Naam, War and Peace, and Reason.Discussing the migrant worker crisis following the lockdown, Anand argues that the government is “incapable of feeling anything for the poor, anything for minorities, anything for people other than their own crony capitalist class.” He adds,“This has been their policy from day one, long before the coronavirus.” Anand is particularly impassioned in his criticism of the Babri Masjid judgement, suggesting that the Supreme Court “rewarded the people who demolished the Babri Mosque. When there is still a case going on about the demolition of the mosque, we know who the guilty are because they have said so themselves; they have hardly been reticent about the fact that they demolished the mosque.” He also discusses the historical context of the dispute, referring to a lesser-known pre-independence narrative of the site. Defending his conception of Mahatma Gandhi and Balasahab Ambedkar as “liberation theologists”, Anand suggests that recent criticism of Gandhi is ahistorical, especially with regards to the latter’s views on caste. He points out Gandhi’s campaigns against untouchability and his consistent advocacy of inter-caste marriages. He concludes, “Both Ambedkar and Gandhi were so important because both had to go hand in hand. One changing the law and the other changing hearts.” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Newslaundry subscribers Mayukh Roy and Khushee Chauhan debate whether Twitter is good for journalism or not. Mayukh thinks it is, Khushee disagrees.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why.Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Mayukh and Khushee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tongam Rina, an award-winning journalist, is an editor at the Arunachal Times. A credible and critical voice from India’s Northeast, she has had to deal with state hostility, online outrage, and a near-fatal attack.In this interview with Snigdha Sharma, she discusses how the very landscape of the Northeast has shaped her journey as an environmental journalist, how journalists in the region struggle to obtain information, the environment, and the coronavirus pandemic.“I have seen enough hydropower projects in my life to say rivers die,” Tongam says, discussing the controversy around the Etalin hydel project in the Dibang Valley. She rues how governments see the environment as simply a means of revenue generation.Tongam recently reported how there has been a spike in wildlife hunting during the lockdown. The report stirred online backlash. Her critics felt she was “shaming the state” and encouraging racism against people from the Northeast. “India has always been very racist towards the people of the Northeast. I know that. Many of us have faced it,” says Tongam. “With regards to the report, social media really took it to a very different level.”Talking about the increasing government hostility towards journalists who demand accountability, Tongam says, “It is hugely problematic not only for the media, but for us as a country.” Speaking about the assault on her nine years ago, and the case arising out of it which is ongoing, Tongam says she has lost faith in the police and the judiciary. Tune in.***At Newslaundry, we don’t take ads from governments or corporations. We are an ad-free platform and depend on subscriptions to fund our reports, media critique, interviews, and podcasts. For we believe that when the public pays the public is served, when the advertiser pays the advertiser is served. Join the movement to keep news free and independent by subscribing to Newslaundry today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a veteran journalist, editor, author, former secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and media advisor to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Sanjaya Baru has closely followed, and been involved in, India’s economic policymaking for many decades. As India grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and its socioeconomic fallout, Baru sits down with Mehraj D Lone to discuss the crisis and how the country can pull out of it. In a wide-ranging conversation, he also talks about his time in government, the Indian state’s capacity to govern, and why the poor and the marginalised have been abandoned in this time of crisis.Though India’s handling of the pandemic has been “reasonable compared to many other countries”, Baru argues, the “inability of the system as a whole” to address the resultant economic challenges is worrying. India has a “strong leader, weak state” system that is unable to “take care of the health needs of the people, their employment needs, their basic necessities”. He decries the delay in preparing for the outbreak, suggesting that losing the “10-12 weeks” from January until late March was “a major policy failure on the part of the government”. “The problem with the Modi government has been an excessive sense of self-confidence that we can manage everything. That confidence isn’t reflected in the capability,” he adds.Baru criticises the government’s handling of the migrant crisis, describing it as an example of the absence of “dialogue between the Centre and the states” despite the prime minister’s frequent exhortations of “cooperative federalism”. “Each state government is behaving like an island,” he says. “And there is no Centre looking at the migrant issue.” On the recent economic package announced by the government, Baru says an increase in fiscal spending, regardless of magnitude, should be welcomed. “But my basic view as far as the economic solution to the crisis is concerned: how do you restore confidence and credibility of policy?” The problem with this government, in my judgment, is that it has lost credibility,” Baru adds. “When Nirmala Sitharaman is speaking, she no longer carries the weight that a finance minister of the government of India has to carry, for a very good reason.”The conversation also touches upon Indian federalism, the government’s communication strategies, how decision making in the Manmohan Singh government differed from that  in the Modi government, class interests of the ruling establishment, and why India isn’t investing in public health and education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Abhinandan Sekhri and Newslaundry subscriber Shivangi Chaturvedi fight it out over that unanswerable question: which city is truly cosmopolitan, Mumbai or Delhi?While Shivangi bats for Mumbai, Abhinandan defends Delhi. Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Abhinandan and Shivangi.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Over the past few years, Facebook has been embroiled in a number of controversies, especially those pertaining to the tech giant’s moderation policy. To address the latter issue, the company recently appointed a 20-member oversight board which will have the final say over content moderation issues. In this episode of NL Interviews, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri talks to Dr Sudhir Krishnaswamy, the only Indian member of the oversight board. Sudhir is the vice-chancellor of the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, and the co-founder of the Centre for Law and Policy Research.Sudhir explains Facebook’s moderation process and the role of the oversight board. “Facebook and Instagram have already set up two layers of content moderation, of policy review. They have a technological layer and they have a human moderation layer. Those things will not change,” he says. “It is fair to say those layers will handle the vast majority of cases.” He continues: “The range of parties who may be unhappy may be again large, so those users or others who have complaints about Facebook content will have the opportunity to take this up one more level [to the oversight board].”Abhinandan asks about the cultural difficulties of moderation, and how the oversight board will be able to grapple with such diverse contextual issues. Sudhir says that when the oversight board is unsure of a certain meaning, it will “call on people within those communities of users, or cultural, linguistic or ethnic communities, to understand that meaning before decision-making is carried out”. He concedes that this may delay decision-making. Sudhir and Abhinandan also discuss the formation and operation of the oversight board, reconciling local law with Facebook policies, and much more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything?We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL.Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Newslaundry subscribers Goonj Mohan and Aishwarya Mahesh battle it out over the age-old question: which is better, tea or coffee?Goonj bats for tea, Aishwarya is all for coffee.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why.Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Aishwarya and Goonj. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed in tragic detail the inadequacies of India’s healthcare system. While public healthcare, especially outside of major cities, is at best rudimentary, the private health sector, which accounts for the bulk of the nation’s healthcare facilities, has come up short in this time of crisis.Why is it so? What are the deficiencies in the health sector the pandemic has revealed? How have they affected the country’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak? What needs to be done now to minimise the damage from the pandemic? How can the health sector be strengthened in the long run? Do public-private partnerships offer a solution?To discuss such questions, Newslaundry organised a webinar, hosted by Abhinandan Sekhri and featuring as panellists Dr Naresh Trehan, chairman and managing director of Medanta; K Sujata Rao, former union health secretary; Oommen C Kurian, head of health initiative at the Observer Research Foundation.Asked whether Indian hospitals have the excess capacity to deal with the outbreak, Trehan points out how hospitals dedicated to treating coronavirus patients have been set up in every district and how private hospitals such as Medanta, Fortis and Artemis have collectively adopted a hospital in Manesar, Haryana, and turned it into a Covid treatment facility.Citing the example of Gurugram, he says there appear to be enough hospital beds to deal with a medium-sized surge. It’ll depend a great deal on how the lockdown is lifted as well, he adds, “As important as the lockdown was, even more important is in what sequence and what manner it is lifted.” (Disclosure: Dr. Trehan is married to Madhu Trehan, the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of Newslaundry.)Asked about the treatment costs in private hospitals, Trehan explains that those with insurance are being charged under it, and those who cannot afford treatment are being treated for free.To understand how the public-private model works, Abhinandan asked Rao to explain its intricacies and its shortcomings. “When it comes to infectious diseases,” she explains, “it’s a public good and it is something that the government is completely responsible for.” The private sector, she adds, cannot work on “charity basis” for long.She mentions how in some states the governments have taken over private hospitals to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, “I don’t necessarily buy that, I really feel that whatever facilities the government has, we should exploit them fully.” Moreover, the numbers right now are manageable and providing for the extreme cases is where the government is coming up short. She doesn’t think it’s a sustainable solution for the government to expect the private sector to provide free care, but “they can come up with a fair rate that will have to be worked out and negotiated”.Kurian argues that the policy debate in India is very polarised. He agrees that there is a problem of resources in the medical sector but adds that “there are ongoing public-private partnerships which can be leveraged to fit our needs for Covid response”.He suggests making the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna universal. The insurance scheme covers around 50 percent of India’s population currently, he adds, but the “problem with it’s that most private hospitals get paid pretty late”.Watch.This stakeholder consultation is part of a project supported by the Thakur Family Foundation. The Thakur Family Foundation has not exercised any editorial control over the project. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Shardool Katyatan and Newslaundry subscriber Dhiraj Bhandary debate whether governments should spend on welfare. Shardool thinks they should, Dhiraj disagrees. Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the World Bank says, there is a real risk of a global recession. In India, the economic fallout of the pandemic is compounding the problems – rising unemployment, manufacturing slowdown, and consumption stagnation – brought about by falling growth in the last few years.But how exactly will this crisis impact India’s economic fortunes in the short run and in the long term? Is the country, particularly its government, even equipped to deal with what lies ahead?To address these questions and more, Bridge India, a public policy think tank based in London, organised a webinar. The participants were A Didar Singh, former secretary general of FICCI and advisor of Bridge India; Amarendra Khatua, former diplomat; Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry; Spriha Srivastava, executive editor of Business Insider; Atul Thakkar, an investment banker at Anand Rathi Securities.The webinar was part of Bridge India’s Covid-19 webinar series.At Newslaundry, we don’t take ads from governments or corporations. We are an ad-free platform and depend on subscriptions to fund our reports, media critique, interviews, podcasts. For we believe that when the public pays the public is served, when the advertiser pays the advertiser is served. Join the movement to keep news free and independent by subscribing to Newslaundry today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Snigdha Sharma and Aditya Varier debate whether veganism is a better choice. Aditya thinks it is, Snigdha disagrees. Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Snigdha and Aditya.***If you haven't subscribed to Newslaundry yet, you might want to do so now. Why? Because you will get a chance to be part of NL vs NL once you are a subscriber. We are sending out a matchmaking form to our subscribers to pair them up for See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything?We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Abhinandan Sekhri and Mehraj D Lone debate whether soldiers should be allowed to express dissent publicly. While Mehraj thinks they should be, Abhinandan doesn’t.Listen and tell us who you agree or disagree with, and why.Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Abhinandan and Mehraj.***If you haven't subscribed to Newslaundry yet, you might want to do so now. Why? Because you will get a chance to be part of NL vs NL once you are a subscriber. We are sending out a matchmaking form to our subscribers to pair them up for future episodes. Pay to keep news free by subscribing to Newslaundry today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything?We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Prateek Goyal and Meghnad S debate whether the sedition law in India should be repealed. Meghnad says it should be scrapped, but Prateek says it's still applicable in certain situations. Listen and tell us who you agree with or disagree with, and why.Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Prateek and Meghnad.If you haven't subscribed to Newslaundry yet, you might want to do so now. Why? Because you will get a chance to be part of NL vs NL once you are a subscriber. We are sending out a matchmaking form to our subscribers to pair them up for future episodes. Subscribe to Newslaundry today and pay to keep news free. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of NL conversations, part of Newslaundry’s ongoing series on Covid-19,Varun Thomas and James Asirvadam, discuss what it's like being stuck in Europe as a result of the pandemic. They are both Newslaundry subscribers.Varun Thomas has recently completed a dual degree masters in MSC Management in Germany, from the EBS University for Economics and Law. He has a Bachelor’s degree in IT engineering, and an MBA from OP Jindal Global University.James Asirvadam is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in sustainable manufacturing, working with polymer technology and recycling from NTNU, Norway. He has also worked as a Research Assistant with Advanced Sustainable Engineering Materials lab (ASEMlab), following which he took up thesis engagement to work on the lifetime prediction of HDPE (high density polyethylene) use in Norwegian fish farms.With his current student visa about to expire, Thomas talks about graduating in these uncertain times. This uncertainty further exacerbated by his job offer being put on hold, and the indefinite suspension of international flights to India. ‘It’s kind of a huge question mark,’ he says, while talking about others facing a similar predicament. He opens up about living under partial lockdown in Germany, without any close relations. Asirvadam, who is in his final semester, is unable to work on his thesis. Since his thesis requires experimental laboratory work, the current lockdown will inevitably delay his graduation, as well. Since he lives in a sparsely populated county, there has not been a drastic change in everyday life.‘They (Norway) are looking after human welfare over the economy. Like I’ve been laid off and I’ve applied for unemployment benefits,’ he says. For this and a lot more, tune in.Recorded by Snigdha Sharma, edited by Parikshit Sanyal.***You can also listen to all our podcasts on the Newslaundry app and get updates about them via Twitter and Facebook.Follow and engage with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this episode, Manisha Pande and Ayush Tiwari debate whether the Aam Aadmi Party dabbles in “soft Hindutva”. Ayush thinks it does, but Manisha doesn’t. Listen and tell us who you agree with or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Manisha and Ayush. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The world’s gotten a little more interested in bats over the past one month or so, since the novel coronavirus hit global headlines. In this podcast, Manisha Pande brings on board Rohit Chakravarty to discuss this much-maligned mammal. Rohit is a PhD student at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany. He studies bats in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand, investigating how their diversity changes across elevations, what they eat and generally, how they get by in their lives in the mountains. “Bats have been living all around us for centuries…they live close to you but they know how to mind their own business,” Rohit explains. The novel coronavirus outbreak has occurred for reasons that are more manmade than naturally occuring, he says. Which means eating bats, right? Nope. Listen on and find out why. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tired of loud frothy-mouth, potty-mouth debates on primetime TV? Tired of sad character-limited fights on Twitter where you don't really learn anything? We have something that might excite you. Newslaundry presents a new podcast: NL vs NL. Let's make debates great again!In this first episode, Abhinadan Sekhri and Meghnad S battle it out over the age-old question, "What is better, Big Government or Small Government?" Meghnad bats in favour of Big and Abhinandan votes for Small. Listen and tell us who you agree with or disagree with, and why. Write to us at [email protected], or tweet to Abhinandan and Meghnad. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bhargav Krishna is a doctoral student at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health in the United States, and serves as adjunct faculty at the Public Health Foundation of India. Atif Adam holds joint faculty positions in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Joslin Diabetes Center of Harvard Medical School. They are both Newslaundry subscribers. In this conversation with Abhinandan Sekhri, Bhargav and Atif discuss the coronavirus pandemic and its implications, especially for India.They start with pandemic prediction models, how accurate they are, and how seriously we should take them. Adam explains what various models show, and how a static model differs from a variable one. He emphasises the short-term, mid-term, and long-term actions that the government can take, to flatten the curve of the outbreak. Moving on, Bhargav explains the possible outcomes of the pandemic, including the chances of India developing herd immunity against the novel coronavirus, and how it worked during the SARS epidemic. He emphasises the importance of collecting as much data as possible on infections, deaths. Giving the example of South Korea, he points out how the government there did a stellar job of contact tracing and rapid testing. What we are seeing in India is more “reactive planning”, Adam says, comparing it to fixing a leaky balloon where everyone tries different methods to see what works. Talking about how India can deal with the situation better, he says, “Rather than copy and paste, pick up key things from these countries that have managed to flatten the curve, see what we can learn, what we can’t do. And then create public messaging that is appropriate.”They also discuss what contracting coronavirus entails for people with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and respiratory ailments; the possibility of the virus mutating into a deadlier strain; and when a vaccine may be available. And, of course, they talk about the media’s coverage of the pandemic. For this and a lot more, tune in. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this podcast, we explore various strategies for combating Covid-19.In this interview with Manisha Pande, Tomas Pueyo talks about India’s battle with the novel coronavirus, the fallout of the lockdown, and how the pandemic is reshaping the world.Pueyo is an author and Silicon Valley entrepreneur who shot to fame after writing a viral Medium post containing the gravest warnings about Covid-19.Commenting on the spread of Covid-19 in India, he asks, “Are you testing?” He hypothesizes that the virus “is everywhere already. We just don’t know it.”Talking about the fatality projections, he asks, “How equipped is India to deal with maybe not 65 million patients, but 30 million, 20 million, 10 million, five million? Nearly all countries are similar, none of them can handle capacity like this.” He argues that the curve would have to be flattened multiple times for the country’s healthcare system to be able to cope with the pandemic.Pueyo says governments could use the pretext of containing the spread of the virus to take more control which makes it imperative to hold them accountable. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

कोविड-19 पॉडकास्ट. इस सिरीज के तहत हम देश और दुनिया के अलहदा मीडिया संस्थानों द्वारा प्रकाशित होने वाली कोरोना से संबंधित लेख और रिपोर्ट्स को हिंदी पॉडकास्ट की शक्ल में आपके सामने रखेंगे. यह मूल लेख का अविकल अनुवाद नहीं बल्कि भावार्थ है.पहले पॉडकास्ट में हम न्यूयॉर्क टाइम्स में छपे डेविड काट्ज़ के लेख को प्रस्तुत कर रहे हैं. इसका हिंदी में अनुवाद बीबीसी डिजिटल के संपादक राजेश प्रियदर्शी ने किया है. इस लेख में येल-ग्रिफिन प्रिवेंशन रीसर्च सेंटर के संस्थापक अध्यक्ष डेविड काट्ज़ कोरोना के संकट से निपटने की सरकारी नीति के बारे में एक समग्र योजना का खाका पेश करते हैं.डेविड कहते हैं, “कोरोना की वजह से बहुत कम बच्चों की मौत हुई है, ऐसी हालत में हम कह सकते हैं कि 60 से ऊपर के लोगों, और जिन्हें कोई बीमारी है उन्हें पूरी तरह आइसोलेशन में रखा जाना चाहिए, उनका ख़ास ख्याल रखके वायरस से होने वाली मौतों को कम किया जा सकता है.मुझे डर है कि हमारी कोशिशों का बहुत सीमित असर होगा, इसकी वजह ये है कि हमारे पास सीमित संसाधन हैं, एक बिखरा हुआ-सा और हमेशा से उपेक्षा का शिकार एक मेडिकल सिस्टम है. इन सीमित साधनों को इतने व्यापक तौर पर फैलाकर, सतही ढंग से कोशिश करना असफल होने की ही रेसिपी है.”पूरा पॉडकास्ट हमें कोरोना से बचने और सरकारों को इससे निपटने का एक नज़रिया देता है. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A journalist for over 25 years, Govindraj Ethiraj is the founder of Boomlive, a fake news busting website, Indiaspend, which specialises in data-driven public interest journalism, and Factchecker, which keeps a record of public figures who spread misinformation. Most recently, Ethiraj helmed India Fact Quiz, an initiative supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that focuses on breaking down myths and biases around healthcare, education, gender. He speaks with Snigdha Sharma about running the quiz, the importance of data literacy in India, and how the quality of public discourse can be greatly improved by making important data more accessible. He also discusses the need for and ways of tackling misinformation and fake news.Tune in! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.