NL Hafta

This week on Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain and Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute. The panel dives into the high-stakes 2026 assembly elections across Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry. Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Priyali Dhingra and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Manisha Pande are joined by The New York Times journalist Mujib Mashal and Aishwaria Sonavane, research analyst for Pakistan studies at the Takshashila Institution.Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Priyali Dhingra and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Shardool Katyayan are joined by independent journalist Nidhi Suresh and Mridul Dudeja, a freelance technologist who has been engaged with queer-trans community spaces in Mumbai and across India for over 15 years. Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Sourav Ranjan and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Anil Kumar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, Raman Kirpal and Anand Vardhan discuss three big themes: Nitish Kumar’s succession politics in Bihar, religion creeping into sport, and the ethics of euthanasia.Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by Amit Pandey with production assistance from Saif Ekram and Abhay Kumar. Sound by Naresh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A roundtable on rising US-Iran tensions and whether recent strikes amount to war. Discussion of US public opinion and political positioning around military action. Debate over civilian casualties, humanitarian obligations and media rhetoric. Technical breakdown of a sunken Iranian vessel and how submarines are detected. Conversation about Iran’s drone and missile capabilities and India’s cautious diplomatic posture.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by academic and columnist Fahad Zuberi and Kallol Bhattacherjee, the foreign affairs editor of The Hindu.Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and subscriber letters.Produced by Amit Pandey & Priyali DhingraSound by Anil Kumar  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lively look at an AI summit that swung from safety debates to business deals. Conversations about chaotic conference logistics and the public disruptions caused by VIP visits. Debates on AI’s rapid growth, market concentration and realistic local use cases like health tools for community workers. Clear takes on what large language models do versus traditional machine learning.

Sudhir Mishra, veteran film director and screenwriter known for influential Hindi cinema. He discusses controversial releases and censorship battles. He explores why spectacle and nationalist themes win at the box office. The conversation also touches on how media and performance shape political theatre.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by musician and author T.M. Krishna and defence analyst Ajai Shukla for a conversation that spans Parliament flashpoints, billionaire ownership in journalism, and the deeper cultural fight over India’s national symbols.The panel opens with a discussion around the furore in Parliament over former Army chief General M.M. Naravane’s yet-to-be-released memoir this week. Questioning Om Birla’s claim that the Opposition was planning an attack on PM Narendra Modi, Manisha says, “It’s fear-mongering… the same story as what prime time had done back when the Prime Minister got stuck in a traffic jam.”Ajai Shukla opines that the very fact that a former Army Chief’s account is stuck in clearance limbo shows how tightly the government controls uncomfortable narratives around national security and China.The discussion then transitions to the layoff purge at The Washington Post, which Jayashree describes as a symptom of a world where media outlets are “bought by a billionaire” and then “gutted to maximise profits”. Abhinandan argues that economics is not just a study of money, but a study of societies, adding that journalism is a public good that cannot be left to the mercy of a billionaire.Finally, TM Krishna discusses his new book, We, the People of India, which examines India’s anthem, flag, and other national symbols. Krishna contrasts Vande Mataram with Jana Gana Mana, arguing they reflect very different ideas of India. He also points to a deeper democratic failure. “We entirely failed in making democracy a culture,” Krishna says, arguing that constitutional values were reduced to textbook lines you “just mugged up to write in an examination.”This and a lot more. Tune in!Timecodes00:00:00 - Introductions and birthday announcements!00:05:25 - Headlines00:28:14 - T.M. Krishna on his book and being an artist today01:28:00 - Controversy over General MM Naravane’s book01:49:11 - Letters02:08:10 - RecommendationsIf you want to write to Hafta, click here. Click here to contribute to our Sena project. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app. Check out Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by Priyali Dhingra, with assistant production by Ashish Anand. Sound by Anil Kumar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam, and Anand Vardhan are joined by journalist Nikhil Inamdar and Sudipto Mondal, executive editor of The News Minute.Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by Amit Pandey, with assistant production by Ashish ,Sound by Anil Kumar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.