What you should read, watch and listen to this weekend.
The CryptoQueen NPR
Ismein drama hai, glamour hai, greed hai. And it’s such a compelling story.
– Abhinandan Sekhri
Hindutva’s Reframing of Exclusion The Wire
Jagat Sohail and Apoorv Avram analyse the recalibration of Hindutva and its realignment with global Islamophobia.
– Chitranshu Tiwari
The biggest problem with today's writers? Mediocrity Spectator
Ben Sixsmith on why a good writer should be wary of the dullard within her, apart from identity politics and political correctness.
– Manisha Pande
Talking to My Daughter Yanis Varoufakis
In 2013, as the Greek economy lurched from crisis to crisis, economist Yanis Varoufakis wrote a short book for his nine-year-old daughter. He tried to explain to her the contradictions and the black magic of capitalism. It’s a well-written and accessible book for those who, like me, do not understand the verbiage of modern economics. It is full of ideas, explained with fun metaphors from Western cinema. Varoufakis would become the finance minister in a socialist government in Greece a year after writing the book.
– Ayush Tiwari
The White Helmets Netflix
This documentary is about a group of 2,700 civilians in Syria who are on a humanitarian mission to save all the lives they can in a nation being turned into rubble by external and internal forces. Along the way, they must put their lives at risk, but they push on undeterred. It is heartbreaking as it is inspiring. It’s a song of hope for these cruel times.
– Chahak Gupta
Two Nationalisms The Indian Express
Prof Gyanendra Pandey explains how the increasing preference of Indian people, especially the upper and upper middle classes, to communicate in English for almost all practical purposes signals a return to early colonial attitudes. This, he believes, stems from two factors. First, the erosion of respect in the nation, with its rich and diverse history. Second, the worldwide ascendancy of neoliberal capitalism. The transformation has penetrated deep into our political culture too. The result is a widening gap in society.
– Ayan Sharma
Astrology in the Age of Uncertainty New Yorker
We’ve all met that person who is obsessed about sun signs and what they say about you. Though most such notions were regarded as a coping mechanism in times of economic instability and uncertainty, Christine Smallwood argues that it cannot be reduced to just that through an exploration of astro readers, their lives and the kind of clients they attract.
– Veena Nair
