Hello everyone,
I’m 21 years old and have been following Hafta since the very first episode and must say that I always used to find Hafta a really fresh overview that would give me different points of view about the issues of the week.
Now, however it has become a necessity for me since mainstream media has gone from bad to worse. Therefore I just wait for the weekend to get information and POVs about issues instead of even attempting TimesNow. No offence to them but I find it hard to watch even on mute.
I like how the panelists of Hafta speak with nuance instead of ridiculous binaries.Having said that, Abhinandan’s humor is so bad that it is almost endearing so that makes him a great host. That irreverence and crassness seems to hide the fact that he is so well read. I also tend to agree to his opinions on most things and his piece on reservation made me change on own point of view on the subject. However I sparked outrage in class when I was the only person who did not raise my hand when asked if reservation should be abolished so that was fun, bohot gaali khayi.
I love how Madhu ma’am is totally no nonsense and to the point and her experience and wisdom is eye-opening. So is Mr. Ranganathan’s piece “Of Molecular Machines and Merchants of Dreams” that made me fall in love with science all over again. I recently graduated with a degree in Genetics from the University of Manchester and always enjoy his deeply informed views and that his writing is data-driven yet romantic. I want to express me gratitude to the entire team for not only making me better informed but also sparking my hidden interest in journalism and writing.
I’ll also become a subscriber once I receive my first salary which is very soon.
Hello Newslaundry folks,
I am a proud Newslaundry supporter.
I don’t quite remember how I stumbled upon Newslaundary, perhaps it was the ‘Can you take it ?’ series on you tube but however it was, what a great find :). And yes after hearing the hafta a few times, I did subscribe. I love the podcast and am addicted. Today’s ‘kachaa monologue’ marketing NL was pure genius.
I know you guys know that NLhafta is good content. So let’s get on with it, here is what Newslaundary and Hafta have done for me personally. I live in California, far away from my country and the discussions on Hafta are a lifeline, takes me back home every single time. Its an oddly comforting feeling and it comes from your newsroom. There is a serious need (within me) to stay in touch with things that go on back home and thank you for being that link.
Following exposure to NL, I have detoxified myself of channels like NDTV ( thats the only one I could tolerate anyway but the ads get to me now). I pay to read NYT. Your arguments about paying to keep news free make a whole lot of sense. I got off my ass, paid for a bunch of stuff and have stopped reading sponsored content. I agonized as a teenager over TOI morphing into yellow pages and others following suit but am happy to see sites like NL blossom. Der aaye durust aaye. 🙂
The weekly reading suggestions are interesting. Thanks to Abhinandan I have discovered the world of podcasts. Thanks to everyone else I have read some engaging long form articles:- the one about the manipur cop was gut wrenching. I try to read most of the suggestions but kabhie kabhie reh jata hai. But for me personally, reading the recommendations has been quite enriching . Thank you.
Watching Madhu’s recommended Newstrack episode on Kashmir was overwhelming and hard. I was perhaps 8-9 when that first came out , so I must admit I had no clue something like Newstrack existed. It was a sobering excercise. It’s a shame when you talk to people about Kashmir, Manipur or AFSPA the nuance is missing. I don’t think people don’t care but people don’t know and it is far easier to indulge in the ‘ Indian state is always right’ sentiment than look at or seek it’s record. This would bring me to my first question. Is there an accessible archive of Newstrack episodes for interested folks like me?
I am waiting eagerly for ‘Deep Dive’ to begin. I am aware NL has changed the name but I am sorry I can’t remember it ;).
I would like to recommend the following for deep dive (a) landmark judgements that have shaped us as a country (b) investigative journalism in India- landmark stories and (c) why do Indian universities fail to pay scholarship money, to PhD students, on time ? What scam is this ? Money is allocated but where does it get stalled in the pipeline and why ?
Regarding (c) I would like to know what Anand has to say about it. What I have gathered from friends is that payments just don’t come- sometimes the lag is upto two years- so effectively the state, universities (whoever is responsible) -expect someone else (parents) to pay for the basic upkeep of PhD. students. It’s humiliating. A close friend, affiliated with Delhi University, went through a lot of trouble. At the time of her defense, they owed her 1.5 years of scholarship money. This harassment, perhaps at the hand of UGC, was sufficient for her to leave academia.
In Rohith Vemula’s suicide letter there is a mention of funds being withheld. I think this problem is rampant. After hearing multiple stories, I do feel PhD programs should be scrapped if the country can’t ensure basic necessities like food and rent are being met without the student having to feel like a beggar. I tried to get some data on this but nope found nothing .
Anyways, moving on, I have recommendations for the NL team and hopefully you guys will like these
(i) For everyone but especially Anand, I would like to recommend the documentary :-‘ The Light in Her Eyes.’ If you would accept, I would like to mail a DVD to NL, if that is ok. The point here is , I beleive that reform in any religion can only come from within and this documentary makes a strong case for it. It also makes us question how we look at so called conservative, fundamentalist muslim people.
(ii) I expected to see this in the weekly recommendation list but did not. NYT devoted an entire magazine issue to a single article investigating what went wrong in the middle east. Took time but in my opinion was worth it.
(iii) And this one is for Dipanjana and Rajshree, its a podcast talking about death, sex and money. Since they are the culture vultures, I thought they would enjoy this.
I have stayed away from writing about individual members of the NL team because it’s the dynamics that count, dynamics that I enjoy quite a bit as I listen to the podcasts. But I cannot refrain from giving a big shout out to Abhinandan. It’s a bias of course, you see I am half a Tam Bram too, a rare breed. :).
Cheers to NL, keep up the good work and thanks for bringing the change in my life. And if any one of you guys come to LA or San Deigo please drop in a line. Would love to catch up, I live exactly midway.
Divya Swaminathan.
Irvine, California.
Hello NL Hafta Team,
I am Soumyadeep Ghosh, a subscriber and yet another of those academic types that seem to make up such a large part of your following. I am currently finishing up my Ph.D. in Computer Science at Princeton University and must tell you that your podcasts, videos, and articles have, over the years, provided for an often entertaining, sometimes thought-provoking, but always informative downtime from my research.
I must compliment the whole Newslaundry team—whether I echo their views or not—for your efforts in ensuring that there are a few islands still standing in the race to the bottom that journalism in India has become. I won’t add individual words of praise for every member as I feel my views have been well expressed by so many other people who have written in to you in previous weeks. I would like to give a special shout-out to Kartik though. If you have not done so already, do consider publishing a guide to producing one’s own awesome podcast, considering that you produce one of India’s best ones (and certainly my favorite podcast from the motherland).
I wish to draw attention to two specific points that came to my mind when listening to Hafta 89.
Regarding the discussion on Barun Kashyap’s “confession”, I agree fully with the panel’s broad view that a single lie does not make the broader point of rising cow vigilantism wrong. However, I was a little disappointed that you let the mainstream media off despite yet another glaring example of them abdicating their most basic responsibility—that of fact checking something before putting it on air/or in print. I think this was a point that the panel missed last week, even though Hartosh said something that hinted at it from afar.
The second point is related to your discussions on the US Presidential elections, which I frankly find superficial. Note I don’t say misinformed, wrong, or anything else that indicates disagreement with your perplexity about the Trump phenomenon. I am not an expert on American culture or politics, but I do think that Trump is the symptom and not the cause for the churn gripping and American society facing economic hardships, increasing economic inequality, greater polarization in political viewpoints, a lack of adequate choice due to the two-party system, and a demographic shift in the population. To not recognize this reality and to simply portray all Trump supporters as extremists, loonies, or something similar is thus, a superficial assessment. That said, can I ask Anand if the JNU computer science department has any faculty openings for me to apply to, if Trump becomes the President?
I would also draw your attention to the fact that even though Trump had one event under the umbrella of “Hindus for Trump”, the vast majority of Indian-Americans will vote for the Democratic ticket, as indicated by the findings of this survey (http://www.apiavote.org/sites/apiavote/files/Inclusion-2016-AAVS-final.pdf) Maybe this can help dispel the sense that Indian-Americans are losing their collective heads and jumping on board the Trump train.
Finally, I would love it if you shared Michelle Obama’s speech in the aftermath of the sexual assault allegations against Trump (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7e3QKKOp50). Whether one is male or female, feminist or not, it is a must watch.
Thanks once again for all your efforts and I look forward to reading, hearing, and watching more of your content in the future!