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Expert guests offer a weekly analysis of three big stories making headlines.

  1. Ram Mandir 'Loot' and Proving Indian Citizenship

    Jun 27

    Ram Mandir 'Loot' and Proving Indian Citizenship

    The passport is the latest document that the government of India has said is not a proof of citizenship even though it is being used to verify voters' citizenship under the SIR of electoral rolls. Over a fortnight after allegations first surfaced, an FIR has been lodged against alleged misappropriation and embezzlement of donations at the Ram mandir in Ayodhya while Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav too is facing the heat of corruption in connection with land deals secured for him and his family. The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by M.K. Venu, founding editor, The Wire and Maya Mirchandani, senior journalist.

    39 min
  2. BJP's Defection Game, Cold Reality Behind Warm Modi-Trump Meet

    Jun 24

    BJP's Defection Game, Cold Reality Behind Warm Modi-Trump Meet

    It is the season of political defections in India. While a faction of TMC MPs have announced their merger with little known regional party Nationalist Citizens Party of India; 6 Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs are ready to jump ship having missed a parliamentary party meeting on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met US President Donald Trump in his first face to face meeting in 16 months, raising questions about the cold realities behind the warm meeting. And 110 Days After US-Israel Attacked Iran, Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian have signed initial peace deal, mediated by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Is the BJP engineering defects to manufacture a majority? Will the peace deal hold? The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor, The Wire and Zoya Hasan, professor emerita, Centre for Political Studies, JNU.

    40 min

  3. Jun 24

    Modi's Two Faces: Mum on Sailor Deaths, Swift on Opposition Mukt Bharat

    India has been directly affected by the US’s attacks on maritime vessels in West Asia this week, with three Indian sailors being killed. The Trinamool Congress has seen multiple splits over the last two weeks. The BJP has won all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh unopposed after the Congress candidate was disqualified. The Cockroach Janata Party has moved its protest to various cities across the country. And the Delhi high court has quashed the police’s foreign investment case and the ED’s proceedings against Newsclick. Jahnavi Sen is joined by Senior Deputy Editor at The Hindu Sobhana Nair and consulting editor at The Caravan and lecturer at Yale University Sushant Singh to discuss all of this.

    41 min
  4. Voters Deleted, Exams Compromised: Who Will Answer?

    May 30

    Voters Deleted, Exams Compromised: Who Will Answer?

    The Supreme Court has upheld the Election Commission of India’s power to conduct a special intensive revision of voter rolls, and said that the EC must forward names of people deleted from voter rolls because of doubtful citizenship within four weeks. Meanwhile, students across ages and states have been raising serious concerns over the way examinations are conducted and evaluated, from the CBSE board exam to entrance exams like NEET. Jahnavi Sen discusses these issues with transparency rights activist Anjali Bhardwaj and The Wire's editor Seema Chishti.

    32 min

  5. May 22

    Melody and India's Press Freedom Go Abroad

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five nation tour just days after he urged Indians to adopt austerity measures including not travelling abroad, has been in the headlines for reasons that have little to do with bilateral relations. Press freedom questions in Norway and the Netherlands, and a reel with Italian PM Georgia Meloni have been the major takeaways amid questions of how the Indian economy is coping in the aftermath of the shocks from the West Asia conflict. Meanwhile at home, Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant's remarks comparing unemployed youth to cockroaches and parasites has stirred a controversy, leading the CJI to issue a clarification of sorts. The Wire's senior political correspondent Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, senior journalist and Ghazala Wahab, author and editor, Force Magazine.

    47 min
  6. Too Little, Too Late? PM Modi's Austerity Plan Won't Stop The Crisis

    May 18

    Too Little, Too Late? PM Modi's Austerity Plan Won't Stop The Crisis

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the citizens of India to adopt some Covid era-like measures in light of the continuing West Asia crisis, including limiting the use of fuel and cooking oil, working from home, avoiding gold purchases and foreign travel, and reducing the usage of chemical fertilisers. Meanwhile across India’s industrial belt, reports of MSMEs freezing production and workers losing their jobs have been coming in. Jahnavi Sen is joined by Dr Himanshu, an economist at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and independent researcher and senior journalist Sukumar Muralidharan to discuss these issues.

    36 min
  7. A Crisis for Modi's Credibility, and a Crisis for India's Workers

    Apr 24

    A Crisis for Modi's Credibility, and a Crisis for India's Workers

    It has been a week now since the Narendra Modi government’s three-Bill push for delimitation and an expanded Lok Sabha has failed, and it’s also today that the first phase in West Bengal and voting in Tamil Nadu are being held. Meanwhile, a large number of people in Noida have been arrested after the workers' protest, and the police and state government appear keen to mask the whole thing as a law and order issue. The Wire's Jahnavi Sen is joined by senior journalist Sanjay Jha and The Wire's Founding Editor M.K. Venu.

    41 min

  8. Apr 20

    Modi-Shah's Push to Change Electoral Map Fails

    The Narendra Modi government has failed to pass bills-The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 that sought to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 and delimitation through its stated objective of operationalising 33% reservation for women. The final vote in the Lok Sabha recorded 298 ‘ayes’ and 230 ‘noes’. There were 528 MPs present and voting. The government needed two-thirds majority to pass the bills, which was 352. It fell short by 54 votes. While the government has blamed the opposition for not bringing in women's reservation, the opposition has hailed victory for stopping "an unconstitutional trick in the name of women." The Wire's Sravasti Dasgupta is joined by Seema Chishti, editor, The Wire and Siddharth Varadarajan.

    40 min
See All (21)

About

Expert guests offer a weekly analysis of three big stories making headlines.

Information

  • Creator
    The Wire
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Wire Wrap