Development writer and international negotiations watcher, Biraj Swain discusses the WTO 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi with farmer and Farmers' Forum editor Ajay Vir Jhakar, trade analyst and journalist Devinder Sharma, Third World Network's Ranja Sengupta and CUTS International's Executive Director Bipul Chatterjee. They discuss the wins and losses at the WTO Summit, the fate of Indian agriculture and India public stock-holding for food security, the hard game that US and EU played and...
Dec 30, 2015•13 hr 34 min
In this episode of NL Hafta, Ramanathan S, partner and journalist at The News Minute, joins us as we discuss the Chennai flood coverage and the relief and rescue work done by the News Minute team. Then, the team moves on to discuss the new Juvenile Justice Bill. We also discuss Facebook’s campaign to push Free Basics in India, Kirti Azad’s suspension from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bajirao Mastani and more. It’s Christmas, so we have a special song for our listeners.Please visit Newslaundry web...
Dec 24, 2015•45 hr 11 min
In this episode of NL Hafta, we discuss the Central Bureau of Investigation raid on the Delhi secretariat and Aam Aadmi Party’s allegations against Arun Jaitley. We then move on to discuss the attention Barkha Dutt’s book has been getting on Amazon. The team debates whether the word “presstitute” is offensive or not, and we also discuss the larger issue of taking offence. Was the cartoon in the Australian newspaper racist? We give our take on what constitutes stereotyping and racism. Madhu Treha...
Dec 19, 2015•98 hr 55 min
Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain discusses the recently concluded climate change conference at Paris with Mukul Sanwal, India's first chief COP negotiator, Darryl D' Monte, veteran environmental journalist, Aditi Kapoor of Alternative Futures, Raman Mehta of Climate Action Network South Asia. They discuss the outcomes of the conference, the stand-off between United States-European Union and rest of the world, the role India and China played. They also discuss...
Dec 16, 2015•94 hr 31 min
In this episode of NL Hafta, Kanwar Sandhu, founder of Free Media Initiative, joins us as we discuss his cover story in Outlook magazine, “Confessions Of A Killer Cop”. Sandhu in his story gets Gurmeet Singh Pinky, a former “encounter specialist” of Punjab Police, to reveal in detail how hundreds were eliminated in staged killings as a preventive measure to tackle Sikh militancy after 1984. The team also discusses the uproar in Parliament over the National Herald case and whether the blanket cov...
Dec 11, 2015•95 hr 48 min
In this episode of NL Hafta, Hartosh Singh Bal, Political Editor of The Caravan, joins us to discuss the magazine’s cover story on NDTV. We also talk about the Bhopal gas tragedy and the lives of the victims 31 years on. The team, then, moves on to discuss Chennai floods and how the national media covered it and the Delhi government’s recently passed Lokpal Bill. The incident of a family being forced out of a theatre in Mumbai for not standing up during the national anthem generates an interesti...
Dec 04, 2015•6 hr 51 min
R Jagannathan, former Editor-in-Chief at Firstpost, joins us this week as we discuss Aamir Khan’s statements at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards and the media coverage they received. We also talk about people boycotting Snapdeal to protest against Khan’s views. We, then, discuss Smriti Irani’s latest interview to Barkha Dutt. Jagannathan also opens up about his tenure at Firstpost and tells us why his piece criticising Arun Jaitely was pulled down from the website. The team als...
Nov 27, 2015•42 hr 28 min
Development writer and international-negotiations watcher Biraj Swain talks to Leena Meghaney of Medicines Sans Frontiers', Pradeep S Mehta of Consumer Unity Trust Society, political commentator and trade analyst Devinder Sharma and Professor Sachin Chaturvedi of Research and Information Systems for Developing countries of Ministry of External Affairs, government of India, about the upcoming 10th Ministerial of World Trade Orgnisation (WTO) at Nairobi, Kenya. They discuss the agenda on the table...
Nov 25, 2015•45 hr 8 min
In this episode of NL Hafta, Prasanna Viswanathan, CEO, Sawrajya magazine joins us as we discuss the legacy of the magazine, Swatantra Party and C Rajagopalachari. Then the team moves on to discuss the Paris attack and how the Indian media covered it. Also, did Pahlaj Nihalani end up embarrassing Narendra Modi with his tribute song? Also: Mani Shankar Aiyar’s “solution” to resume bilateral talks between India and Pakistan. Finally, we discuss Subramanian Swamy’s allegations about Rahul Gandhi’s ...
Nov 19, 2015•23 hr 48 min
In this episode of NL Hafta, we talk about Bihar election results and how most TV news channels got it wrong. Then we move on to talk about sections of the Sikh community boycotting Diwali to protest against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and the scant media coverage this received. The team also discusses the Australian government’s decision to scrap religion classes in schools. We conclude the podcast with a discussion on Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani’s letter addressed to t...
Nov 12, 2015•96 hr 11 min
Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain discusses with D Raghunandan from Centre for Science, Technology and Development, Vijeta Rattani, Senior Researcher at Centre for Science and Environment, Ben Phillips of ActionAid International and Nitin Sethi of Business Standard the Bonn Climate Talks, the upcoming climate summit, COP 21 at Paris, the developed countries’ role thus far, climate justice and inequality, India's pitch and participation, and if Indian NGOs were...
Nov 07, 2015•21 hr 26 min
Shivam Vij joins us on the phone from Bihar as we discuss election coverage. Vij sheds light on the current mahaul in Patna and how it may affect the results. The team discusses the various connotations of ‘tolerance’ and why it’s so important. We then discuss why the media treats Amit Shah with kid gloves. It’s No Shave November and we discuss how this beard fascination has manifested in the media. We then go on to discuss what we particularly liked or disliked in the media. Finally, a song ded...
Nov 06, 2015•49 hr 58 min
Saurav Datta, senior special correspondent at The Quint, and freelance columnist Rajyasree Sen join us for this episode of NL Hafta. The team discusses Times Now’s National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) debate and whether the NJAC is a bad idea as compared to the collegium system. We, then, go on to discuss “Award Wapsi” and Chetan Bhagat’s recent comment on Twitter pertaining to historians. We also talks about interesting reads that came out in the news media over the last week. The t...
Oct 30, 2015•51 hr 41 min
Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain discusses with Prof Sanjay Reddy of New School of Social Research, New York, Prof John Clammer of UN University, Tokyo, Dipa Sinha of Right to Food Campaign, Nilachala Acharya of Centre of Budget and Governance Accountability and Prof Praveen Jha of Jawaharlal Nehru University, the definition, reasons and nature of renewed energy around universal social protection globally. They take stock of social protection programmes in In...
Oct 25, 2015•62 hr 11 min
Vipin Pubby, former Resident Editor of the Indian Express in Chandigarh, joins us to shed some light on the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab that led to violence in the state; why the mainstream media didn't pay much attention to it; and how the Punjab government has handled the situation. We then discuss whether Newslaundry should carry articles under pseudonyms. We then move on to discussing the pros and cons of basing outcomes of complex social and political issues on data alone. FI...
Oct 23, 2015•12 hr 45 min
In this special segment, Akshaya Mukul, journalist with The Times of India and author of the book Gita Press and The Making of Hindu India joins the Newslaundry team discuss to discuss the etymological history of “Hinduvta”. Also, how similar are Hinduism and Hinduvta? Mukul shares some insights on why the cow and women are integral to the idea of Hinduvta. Additionally: the role of the Gita Press in propagating Hinduvta. Produced by Kartik Nijhawan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...
Oct 15, 2015•69 hr 52 min
Akshaya Mukul, journalist with The Times of India and author of the book Gita Press and The Making of Hindu India joins us to talk about his book and how he went about researching for it. Then we talk about writers returning their Sahitya Akademi awards and the politics behind it. Then, has India indeed become more intolerant under the new regime? Finally, the song of the week: this time it’s dedicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Produced by Kartik Nijhawan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...
Oct 15, 2015•14 hr 13 min
Sachin Kalbag, former editor of Mid Day and currently working on launching The Hindus’s Mumbai edition, joins us for this episode of NL Hafta. Kalbag tells us his plans to customise the newspaper to cater to Mubai’s voracious appetite for “entertainment” and yet stay true to The Hindu’s core values of good journalism. We also debate whether Svetlana Alexievich, the first person to be awarded the Nobel for literature, got the award for her body of work or for her politics. Then we discuss why pol...
Oct 09, 2015•7 hr 42 min
Read the full story here: http://www.newslaundry.com/2015/10/05/aarushi-was-rich-peoples-daughter-thats-why-her-death-received-more-attention-hemrajs-wife-khumkala/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 05, 2015•50 hr 33 min
Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain discusses with Samir Saran of Observer Research Foundation, Bidisha Pillai of SAVE the Children India, Amitabh Behar of National Foundation of India and Mukul Sanwal, career bureaucrat and India's chief climate negotiator at 1992 Rio the recently concluded United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Summit which were gavelled in New York in the last week of September. They discuss the goals themselves and what they hold for u...
Oct 03, 2015•75 hr 48 min
This week on NL Hafta we discuss the Dadri incident in UP where a man was beaten to death following rumours of him consuming beef. We discuss whether such crimes have become more brazen under the current government. Then we talk about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to America, his meeting with CEOs and his Facebook town hall. Then the team moves on to discuss Internet.org. Is it really as bad an idea as it is made out to be? Finally, on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, we discuss the man and his...
Oct 01, 2015•89 hr 46 min
It’s not easy to make a film on a case that has been scrutinised to shreds. The writer and director pull it off. Read the full story here: http://www.newslaundry.com/2015/09/29/murder-most-foul-talvar-stays-close-to-real-life-and-is-gripping-from-start-to-finish/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 29, 2015•27 hr 23 min
Read the full story here: http://www.newslaundry.com/2015/09/28/encounter-insurgency-how-the-army-killed-innocents-in-the-northeast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 28, 2015•77 hr 13 min
Read the full story here: http://www.newslaundry.com/2015/09/28/encounter-insurgency-how-the-army-killed-innocents-in-the-northeast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sep 28, 2015•61 hr 39 min
Anand Walunjkar, co-writer of Clothesline, joins us for this week’s NL Hafta. We start with the many prime-time debates over the week on Santhan Sanstha and the Prime Minister’s grievance against “seculars” that often finds expression on foreign shores. Also, has Arvind Kejriwal been harsh enough on “fugitive” Somnath Bharti? Then, we discuss whether Indian playing “big brother” vis-à-vis Nepal may lead to a diplomatic disaster and if the government backtracking on the Draft Encryption policy by...
Sep 25, 2015•31 hr 39 min
Development writer and international negotiations watcher Biraj Swain discusses with Prof Sachin Chaturvedi of Ministry of External Affairs RIS, Jonathan Glennie of Save the Children-UK, Vidya Venkat of The Hindu and Paul Divakar of Asia Dalit Rights Federation on the relevance of United Nations on its 70th anniversary, in a post-2008-meltdown world. They also discuss the ultra-conservative hunger and poverty definitions and the lack of ambition around 0.7% of GNI for development assistance and ...
Sep 18, 2015•91 hr 24 min
This week on NL Hafta: the fatwa against AR Rahman, and freedom of speech in India. Also, what makes a “good” Muslim? The team also discusses corporate drafting healthcare policies in India (conflict of interest, anyone?). Then we talk about television news obsessing over the government doing away with commemorative Indira and Rajiv Gandhi stamps. There’s more: slap-happy panelists, offensive dogs and parrots that cops want to arrest, raving reviews in Delhi Times, and frisking in airports. Fina...
Sep 17, 2015•6 hr 44 min
This week on NL Hafta, we discuss the meat ban in Maharashtra and the Censor Board denying clearance to some recent movies. Then the team moves on to discuss the case in Gurgaon where two Nepali women were rescued from a Saudi diplomat’s house. We also discuss the Bombay High Court's order on the National Stock Exchange’s defamation suit against Moneylife magazine.Produced by Kartik Nijhawan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 11, 2015•85 hr 53 min
The second episode of our 11-part series on the four major international development summits of the year.Development writer and international negotiations-watcher Biraj Swain, Greenpeace campaigner Priya Pillai, legal professional Saurav Datta, founder member of Association of Democratic Reforms Jagdeep Chokker, and lawyer and head of policy and research, CIVICUS, Mandeep Tiwana, discuss the rights to peaceful assembly and association. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 10, 2015•79 hr 21 min
This week on NL Hafta, Ravish Kumar of NDTV India joins us as we discuss two of his recent blogs: What prompted him to call himself a Dalaal and why he doesn't want young journalists to idolise him. We also discuss the state of journalism schools in India and idealism in journalism. Then we discuss media's irresponsible reporting in the Sheena Bora murder case: Is the media going ahead of police? The team also discussed Samajwadi Party’s exit from the Janata Parivar and caste politics in Bihar. ...
Sep 03, 2015•68 hr 57 min
