NL Hafta

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Weekly wrap of events of the week peppered with context, commentary and opinion by a superstar panel. Click here to support Newslaundry: http://bit.ly/paytokeepnewsfree Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1d ago

NL Hafta 601 Snippet : Why Meta took down the PM’s video | Hafta panel on Modi, Meta and censorship

On Meta, Abhinandan Sekhri asked whether the platform has the bandwidth to process takedown requests in India at that scale, or whether “it’s actually a phase where it’s the Wild West”. Independent tech journalist Abhishek Baxi agreed with that characterisation and explained that Meta’s automated moderation system – a response to takedown requests in India doubling year on year – was behind the technical glitch that pulled down PM Modi’s video from Facebook. Meta’s global affairs chief had to fly down to apologise to IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw directly. Manisha Pande pointed to a recent instance where an interview with a CJP protester, conducted by Priyanshi Sharma, a journalist with Peak TV, was repeatedly taken down from Instagram and reinstated without explanation, alongside three of Newslaundry’s own videos that are restricted in India. “I don’t think these platforms are going to fight the freedom of speech fight for us,” she said. “They want to continue doing business here.” On the ruling establishment’s inability to figure out Instagram like they did WhatsApp, Shardool added that it was “a sad fact that a government governing 1.4 billion people doesn't understand Instagram” and that “it takes one conversation with creators to understand how the platform works, but instead every viral trend is seen as a conspiracy.” Abhinandan went on to argue that US tech giants “don't have our interest in mind at all”, and would readily compromise on user protections if it meant preserving profit and market access, leaving Indians caught “between two [powers] who basically don't have your interest in mind.” Subscribe to watch the entire discussion. Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters. Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav .Sound by Anil Kumar . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 1

Are Liberals Snowflakes? NL Hafta's Unpopular Opinions Special

For the 600th episode of NL Hafta, the panel – Abhinandan Sekhri and Anand Vardhan – are joined by Hafta alumni Jayashree Arunachalam and Mehraj Lone, who set the usual rules aside for an “unpopular opinions” special. Abhinandan’s own unpopular opinion is that the liberal “snowflake” stereotype often holds up in practice, with an inability among some liberals, particularly in journalist and writer circles active on social media, to sit with positions or people they disagree with. Mehraj traces the “snowflake” problem to what he describes as the hyper-individualisation at the heart of modern liberalism, i.e. the elevation of individual grievance and “triggers” above community consensus. He links this to the broader Western backlash against “wokeism” and what some commentators are calling a post-liberal turn. Jayashree closes out the segment on “cancel culture”, arguing it’s often just accountability rebranded. Getting arrested for something illegal isn’t cancellation, she argues. “Being blacklisted for saying a certain thing isn’t being cancelled. It’s just facing a consequence.” Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters. Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav .Sound by Anil Kumar . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 25

NL Hafta Snippet : Chetan Bhagat On Gen Z, The CJP Protest And Online Anger | NL Hafta

This Hafta episode features author Chetan Bhagat unpacking why a youth-led street protest snowballed the way it did, and what it reveals about how anger travels online. Abhinandan Sekhri opens with a mea culpa on having dismissed “Gen Z” too readily. Bhagat is explicit in his assertion that the protest itself “would have been limited” were it not for visuals like that of a Delhi Police officer in riot gear and a helmet, wielding a baton, chasing a 16-year-old girl. It was footage like this, not the underlying policy grievances, that he calls the “content gold” – the emotionally engaging visual that made the protest go viral. Drawing on examples from Gujarat, Satara, and a bouncer-contractor's Instagram post racking up 400,000 likes, Bhagat argues this generation instinctively performs for the camera – as captured in a viral Mumbai clip where teenagers laugh off a cop threatening to plant drugs on them. His point is that virality isn’t accidental; an audience-literate generation produces it. A recurring metaphor – an argument that "it isn't really about a dirty plate" – is used to explain why the protest isn’t really about paper leaks, even if that's the government's chosen frame. Finally, Bhagat also reflects on being called a “Modi bhakt” then later a critic, and his defence of centrism as pragmatism rather than fence-sitting. Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters. Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Hassan .Sound by Naresh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 18

NL Hafta Snippet | Can a Protest Movement Succeed Without a Clear Ideology?

In the latest episode of Hafta, the panel discusses whether political protest movements need ideological anchoring to succeed, sparked by a debate over the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) lack of clear ideological convictions. Poornima Joshi, the resident editor of The Hindu Businessline, argues that successful mass movements of the last decade – even ostensibly issue-based ones – have tended to carry ideological undertones. In addition to ideological moorings, Rinchen Norbu notes that mass protest movements also crucially push for structural, systemic demands that outlast a minister’s resignation or reshuffle. The CJP’s demands, he argues, don’t meet that bar. The Anna Hazare movement comes up as a test case, with Abhinandan Sekhri disputing the claim that it had RSS backing, saying the initial support came from trade unions and communist parties, not the Sangh. A similar dynamic is drawn out through the farmers’ protest, which Joshi argues benefited from ideological and organisational anchoring – support from farm unions gave it both structural backing and a wider anti-corporate framing beyond the farm laws themselves. The conversation also touches on how ideology can double as both an asset (organisational strength) and a constraint (limiting appeal). Anand Vardhan notes that once a movement positions itself in the opposition camp, its stated commitments – secularism, socialism, anti-corruption – tend to overlap with those of every other party making the same pitch, leaving it with a harder question to answer: what, then, is its actual product differentiation? Separately, Abhinandan notes that Newslaundry is lining up a follow-up round table with panellists holding more critical views of Hartosh Singh Bal’s position on the film Satluj. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 11

NL Hafta Snippet : Who was Jaswant Singh Khalra? | Hafta panel discusses Satluj

This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Hartosh Singh Bal, Executive Editor of The Caravan, and sports broadcaster Arjun Pandit. The discussion begins with Hartosh’s critique of the film Satluj (previously known as Punjab 95), which he labels as propaganda carrying partial truths. Hartosh, who has reported on Punjab for years, is also the nephew of KPS Gill – the highly controversial officer who helmed the state police at the height of militancy. This was the very force that Jaswant Singh Khalra, the central figure of the film, was investigating, and whose actions ultimately led to Khalra’s killing in custody. Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters. Produced by Ashish Anand with production assistance from Sourav. Sound by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jul 4

NL Hafta Snippet : Do Coalition Governments Make Democracies More Resilient?

This week on Hafta, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan and Rinchen Norbu are joined by historian Ramachandra Guha. Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters. Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav.Sound by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 27

NL Hafta Snippet : Who Stole From the Ram Mandir?

The alleged theft of donations from the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has opened a window into the opaque finances of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Our Hafta panel discusses the SIT investigation into missing funds from donation boxes, the unanswered questions around the crores collected during the temple construction drive, and the land purchase controversy that implicated trustee Anil Mishra – with no consequences. The panel examines who Champat Rai (the general secretary of the trust) is, why allegations are being made against him, and what Nripendra Misra – former principal secretary at the PMO and chairman of the Temple Construction Committee – characterising the incident as a “dacoity” rather than theft signals about the political dynamics at play. With UP assembly elections months away and resentment running deep in Ayodhya, the panel asks: Is this about stolen money, or a power struggle within the RSS over control of the trust? Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav.Sound by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 20

NL Hafta 594 Snippet

This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan, and Rinchen Norbu are joined by a very special guest – our former colleague Jayashree Arunachalam. Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav. Research inter Manya Garg .Sound by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4.6

out of 5

81 Ratings

The best!

09/24/2019

Anex16

Great analysis of the week’s news and its coverage. By the most passionate group of journalists around.
Opinions?

12/01/2020

RK_1028

Just heard your latest episode where you grouped all of the Punjab farmers as hooligans and stated that they can’t have civilized protests as some people from the South. How about you try to inform the public about why there are protests happening rather than influencing other people’s views in a highly negative way? Shame.
Sane Indian news

04/23/2018

dviabhav

I became politically aware when I came to the US and trump happened. One thing that helped me become interested in politics was the amazing number of podcasts about American politics that were produced. I am glad to see something similar from an Indian news source. I can’t wait to see more such podcasts come up.
Pointless bickering

09/09/2019

Le Mallu

NL spends lot of time criticizing other publications and media houses. I find their reporting void of depth lacking in objectivity. They seem emotinal and have a lot of preconceived notions. They need to bring up their game, stop bickering and produce content that brings out all the nuances, be original, else what is so different about NL?

Weekly wrap of events of the week peppered with context, commentary and opinion by a superstar panel. Click here to support Newslaundry: http://bit.ly/paytokeepnewsfree Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.