This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pandey, and Jayashree Arunachalam were joined by parliamentary affairs expert and journalist Meghnad S.

On the debate on the One Nation, One Election bill, Jayashree says that “the proposal reflects a strong anti-federalism stance.” She pointed out that while the bill may reduce costs, “it could strip states of their power”. Manisha says, “In terms of organising this it could be a mammoth task, especially with the inclusion of panchayat elections, making it an expensive exercise.” Abhinandan asks, “Is Modi the right leader to bring about such changes?”  

The panel then discusses the row over scuffle in parliament between the opposition MPs and those in the governing parties. Meghnad says, “It's like a WWE match in Parliament.” Abhinandan questions its media coverage, “Do you feel any shame or guilt about the way you work? How do you face your children?” 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

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Watch the full video here: 

https://youtu.be/rayJQarf4Sk

Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:00:27 - Announcements

00:08:20 - Headlines

00:15:42 - NL Sena Announcement

00:17:55- One Nation, One Election

00:46:49 - Parliament: Scuffles, allegations, and theatrics

01:10:37 - Subscriber’s letters

01:50:08 - Recommendations

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Prashant & Priyali. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal, and Manisha Pandey were joined by journalist Faye D’Souza.

On the BJP’s narrative against George Soros, Abhinandan says, “Adani money is good, Soros money bad? No sensible discussion has happened around it.” Faye says, “We are living in a post-truth world where ridiculous claims take root and attention spans have shrunk too much for nuanced conversations.”

On the Congress’s response to allegations about links with Soros, Manisha says, “Their communication is stale. You can’t keep repeating the same thing without innovation.” She points out that news channels have been quoting dubious sources like “nancho.net” to accuse Sonia Gandhi of collusion with Soros.

The panel then discusses the misuse of dowry laws and the tragic case of a techie’s suicide in Bengaluru. Anand says, “Lawyers often weaponise these cases, and the Supreme Court has already intervened to mandate preliminary investigations before arrests.” Faye emphasises the need for balanced discourse. On media coverage of the issue, Abhinandan says, “The TikTokisation of news has taken over.” 

On the Kapoor family’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Manisha says, “The event was supposed to honour Raj Kapoor, but it ended up being all about praising Modi.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. 

Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download the Newslaundry app.

Watch the full video here: 

https://youtu.be/BL8HPSF9NFs

Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:0:00 - Headlines

00:18:00 - Adani vs Soros

00:34:28- Special Message 

00:35:27 - Dowry law misuse debate

00:56:12 - Bollywood’s Modi moment

01:06:43 - Subscriber letters and recommendations

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Prashant & Priyali. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Raman Kirpal and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by author Chetan Bhagat, academic Sarthak Bagchi, and journalist Dhiren A Sadokpam to discuss the Maharashtra government formation, the increased violence in Manipur, and the ‘foreign hand’ allegations against OCCRP. 

On BJP’s campaign in Maharashtra, Chetan says, “A little bit of humility has come to the BJP. The whole talk of building a larger than life image – the party feels that the voters don’t need it right now.” Sarthak explains how the BJP may absorb Shiv Sainiks in the state, saying the party “wants to establish hegemonic dominance”. 

Moving on to the BJP’s ‘US propaganda’ allegations and primetime outrage against OCCRP, Abhinandan says, “I just find it fascinating that Indian media that is surviving on sarkari patronage is outraging about another media surviving on sarkari patronage.” 

Dhiren then explains the spike in violence in Manipur and what it’s like to live in a state of war. “We need to understand the intersection between insurgency, ethnic violence, poppy cultivation, and national security,” he says. 

This and a lot more. Tune in!

We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. 

Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download the Newslaundry app.

Watch the full video here: 

https://youtu.be/PIiK-K8fbQ0

Audio timecodes

00:00:00 - Introductions

00:04:36 - Announcements

00:15:00 - Headlines

00:19:00 - OCCRP controversy

00:32:41 - Maharashtra government formation

01:20:00 - New wave of violence in Manipur?

00:49:38 - Maharashtra election results

01:57:30 - Letters

02:06:30 - Recommendations

Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters 

Produced & recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Prashant Kumar, edited by Hassan Bilal. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan to discuss the violence in Sambhal and the Maharashtra-Jharkhand assembly election results.

Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Raman Kirpal are joined by environment and air pollution expert Sunil Dahiya.

Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download the Newslaundry app.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal, and Anand Vardhan are joined by Newslaundry reporter Prateek Goyal.

Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download the Newslaundry app.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Raman Kirpal are joined by Supreme Court advocate Shahrukh Alam and senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain. 

Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download the Newslaundry app.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Raman Kirpal are joined by Washington-based columnist Seema Sirohi.

Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. 

Download the Newslaundry app.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has threatened to scrap America’s Constitution, has denied the results of the last election, and has been charged with inciting a riot. His rival, Kamala Harris, is none of those things. 

Yet, after a high-voltage entry into the US presidential race, Harris seems to be losing momentum and is deadlocked at the polls. This is despite the Harris campaign raising a staggering 1 billion dollars, more than half of what the Trump campaign has raised. 

In the second episode of the three-part series Mandate 2024: US Edition, Sreenivasan Jain reports from a Harris rally in #GroundZero at Michigan – a key swing state – to understand the dynamics of why the US election has become a kante ki takkar.

Jain speaks to Hispanic voters who are leaning Trump, despite Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, to Muslim Americans, angry with the US support to the war in Gaza. 

As Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Democrat Congresswoman, tells Jain, the Gaza conflict could cost Harris the election.

Watch our compelling ground report. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US election – a high-stakes battle between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – is being perceived as critical for the future of democracy in America.  

The fear is that if Trump wins, he will undermine key tenets of American democracy, like using government agencies to settle scores with his rivals. Despite this, he remains a formidable contender. 

In the first episode of the three-part mini-series Mandate 2024: US Edition Sreenivasan Jain reports from a Trump rally in Arizona – a crucial swing state – to understand what is driving Trump bhakti.

Why do so many Americans buy into the cult of Trump, despite the red flags? Is it because he stokes fear of an immigrant invasion, of America’s white majority being overrun? Or is there more to it?

Watch our compelling ground report for answers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After last year’s October 7 attack, the Israeli army has justified its brutal offensive in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. But the aftermath of October 7 witnessed an escalation of violence in the West Bank, the Palestinian territory not controlled by Hamas.

In the final episode of our three-part mini-series Gaza: One Year Later, Sreenivasan Jain investigates fears that the West Bank is emerging as the new Gaza.

Jain reports from Qusra, a village in Nablus, in the West Bank, which witnessed the biggest number of Palestinians being killed by Israeli settlers in a 48 hour period in the aftermath of October 7th, even as Israeli forces looked on. 

As an activist from Qusra told Jain, “The soldiers are always with the settlers”. 

Jain speaks to a member of Regavim, an Israeli settler group that is trying to speed up the demolition of Palestinian structures in the West Bank. 

As Israel’s aggression ramps up, it is triggering an upsurge of armed Palestinian resistance. 

Jain meets fighters of the newly formed Jenin Brigade, who say they are willing to die for their cause. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.