Hi NL team,

Today the situation in India is so bleak, so bad, so surreal that I wonder if it's just a bad nightmare. Common people are gasping for O₂, scrambling for beds, medicine etc, and the government is just not giving up denial and continues the blame game.

When will this government come back to sense? Each day it's getting worse and worse, and I don't know how much more we still need to go through to see normal days (if not "achhe din"). Is there any way to hit the reset button?

I have been a proud subscriber for more than a year and I am glad to have stumbled across NL.

Love you folks for your work. Stay safe.

Ashish Gupta

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Hi team NL,

I am a longtime subscriber.

I wanted to share my thoughts on the discussion about vaccines in Hafta 325, particularly what Abhinandan said.

I think long discussions based on anecdata about sensitive topics such as Covid vaccines should be avoided. Abhinandan may know 200 people who got infected despite getting vaccinated but does he know if they took both doses, if they managed to keep themselves from getting exposed to the virus during the time the vaccine-induced immune response develops, etc? Moreover, vaccines don't provide 100 percent protection from getting infected. As it is, there is widespread vaccine hesitancy. Let's not encourage it inadvertently.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks,

Dharmendra Rai

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Hi team ,

I m a regular listener of Hafta , I have two points I want to raise:

1) Abhinandan, though I love your rants, I do feel that the ratio of your rants vs others is kind of skewed, and I would appreciate it if you can really bring others into ranting and not just putting relatively more diplomatic answers.

2) I love the guests in the past weeks, where their knowledge have really improved my understanding about Covid. Kudos and do please keep getting more subject experts talking casually about their subjects.

Keep discussing and keep up the amazing articles.

Divye Marwah

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Hi guys,

I have been a subscriber for a while now and it is heartening to see Newslaundry doing ground reports and to see the NL logo mic out there in the field. I wanted to take a moment to admire my hum naam Ayush, Basant, Nidhi, Akanksha and all the field reporters who are not at the forefront but have done a stellar job through these man-made calamities, from riots to Covid.

I wanted to get your thoughts on how Newslaundry has grown in these times. Is our subscriber growth trending well? Could the crowd-funding model be successful or is it already a success? (I take the liberty to say "our" here as it does feel like I am personally one of the group.)

Keep up all the great work. I have not added kudos for the usual Hafta crew as I have done this a few times in the past.

Thanks,

Ayush Ayyangar

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Hi,

Would like to request a separate Covid tab on Newslaundry website. Just like you had one for the assembly elections.

Sorry if you already have one and I missed it.

Manasvi Karanam

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I think this week you all had some unprecedented bashing on Twitter. The only nuanced view was that of Omair Ahmed of Third Pole. It was surprising to see that just because they critiqued or disagreed with her, they were called "jealous". Such sexism even in liberals! When are men called jealous when they abuse their colleagues, let alone critique?

Mirza Arif tweeted how you never invited lesser known people on Media Rumble in a perfectly civil manner and Abhinandan's response to that was so unsavoury. He came back with your brochure but you didn't bother to comment after that.

I am only coming to terms that even the Left liberals, who are otherwise rational, do not apologise for their outbursts or irrationalities. Rohini Singh and others' outburst on Sharjeel Usmani was absolutely uncalled for but she refused to budge and apologise. That they too can be snowflakes and block people at the slightest criticism was a lesson indeed.

Keep doing your great work.

Thanks

Shaba

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Email 1

NL Team,

I am an annual subscriber. I write about the noticeably diminishing standards in NL’s work.

1) Hafta: Lately, the quality of discussions on NL Hafta have taken a marked downturn and seems very rushed, as is evident just by listening to an older episode. The panel hardly discusses anything in depth, and Abhinandan is eager to rush through and complete the episode, not even taking up 2-3 topics in depth. I don’t see what the hurry is. Would rather have a two-hour Hafta than a half-baked discussion that’s rushed through.

2) Stories and NL Sena: A lot of recent reportage seems reactionary, with no fresh leads/insights. Especially with election coverage, one would expect quality journalism to uncover how exactly voter suppression or EVM mishandling takes place, explore if there are similarities to past incidents, etc. However, the latest election coverage simply seems to have been casual accounts of airdropped NL reporters which barely scratched the surface. Especially since it is so expensive, one would think NL would make better use of resources, empanel as many local journalists, while telling us stories nobody else will.

3) My letters: I raised what I thought to be an important issue (caste) in a previous letter, kept it within the word limit, and emailed the correct ID. Yet, I have not received a response, on or off Hafta. This, even as less questioning letters made it to the podcast. My intention was not to be be read out, but to be responded to at least by email. Since that didn’t happen, I will insist that this one be read out, and if Abhinandan is not in a rush, to take up my earlier (trailing) email as well. Not receiving a response at all makes me questions NL’s accountability.

Needless to say, I love the NL team and their work, but will not waste my limited words on praise. Stay safe, take care. Happy to be corrected on any/all of the above, much love to you all.

In all fairness, Hafta #324 serves as an exception to the trend I mention in point number one above.

This episode covered a lot of nuances, and was very well done by every member of the panel. I believe that I should add this caveat and give credit where it is due, because it is important to recognise the good work you do and not sound like a disgruntled and ungrateful subscriber. I mean everything above in the nicest way, and will continue to be a loyal subscriber for the good work NL does.

Ujval Mohan

Email 2

Hi NL team,

Saw the controversy that NL waded into after Manisha "attacked" Rana. I don't think she did but her tone, I'm sure, caused a lot of this ruckus.

That said, NL does need to account for its complacency around issues like diversity. I tweeted out to you, so that's my input for your consideration. Of course the NL (latter part) of the thread is the relevant piece.

Also attaching a small critique of Abhinandan's attitude towards this:

PS: Hoping at least this one reaches you all unlike my previous three (what I consider important) letters. If possible, please do address those too, at least by email if not orally on Hafta.

As always, love you all, stay safe.

Ujval

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Hi team,

Thank you for the excellent work you do.

I'm new to Delhi, arriving at the end of 2020 to follow my partner who is a diplomat here. Being of Indian descent, I had visited family in India many times, but never for an extended period. The economic and social outlook for India is gloomy, but it is hard not to feel a buzz and optimism when working and interacting with Indians. And when listening to your excellent panelists full of knowledge, ideas and critique. I've been listening to Hafta after becoming an annual subscriber for a few months now, here are some thoughts and requests.

RSS propaganda is global, uncles of mine are indoctrinated by the cult of Modi. One from NZ recently said "you're living in India, you should support that country" after I questioned the Covid stats he’d mentioned. This sentiment from "liberal" Hindus that may have experienced racism in the West and are likely to support working-class parties. They are being fed by WhatsApp, mainstream media, and without a regular link India has warped them. Sad to see and feels I imagine a big source of funds for RSS.

Sadly, this "blind faith" extends to Indian-origin politicians, even when their politics are questionable (Priti Patel comes to mind).

I would love to engage with family more often, but find that they are blinded by their awe of Modi, and wouldn't hear a bad word against him. Is there a way that you can shine a spotlight on good governance? Even once a week from the BJP or another state government? I know it is not your job, but helping balance out the critique with some praise would help with finding the middle ground when speaking to family. You mentioned that "if people were going to get it they would have already" but I remember the counter that many do not focus on politics and GOI's activity daily, so it isn’t on their radar. Having a regular feature on one positive story, might help in a step to bridge the divide and is still reporting the news.

Amar

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Dear Abhinandan,

Your longtime subscriber and faithful listener Harjant here, writing in with some thoughts about the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.

In your previous episode, you had mentioned that anecdotally you knew a disproportionate number of individuals who contracted Covid-19 even after receiving both jabs, calling into question the efficacy of the two vaccines currently available. I am wondering if these issues with efficacy might stem from problems in supply chain management of vaccines rather than the vaccines themselves. Both Covishield and Covaxin must be stored at temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius consistently for them to maintain their efficacy. Once thawed, they must be used immediately and cannot be refrozen. I can imagine scenarios where such consistent refrigeration and temperature control might be difficult to maintain, even in cities like New Delhi that experiences routine blackouts and power cuts in the summer.

It would be worth looking into the supply chain management of Covid-19 vaccines in India, in addition to the complete lack of follow and the kind of data gathering needed to prove that these vaccines are in fact preventing infection among those who have been fully inoculated. I am not sure if such an investigation is within Newslaundry's purview, perhaps this might make a worthy NL Sena project?

Thank you for your reporting during these bleak times. Wishing you and NL team good health.

Stay well,

Harjant Gill