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Hafta 521: Donald Trump returns, RG Kar conviction, death penalty
The podcast where we discuss the news of the week.
This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by author and political analyst Sanjaya Baru.
The discussion begins with Donald Trump being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America. The panel analyses the fears of a second Trump presidency. “He will do a lot of damage, yes, but the fear of Trump is greatly exaggerated,” Sanjaya says, adding that India, and the world, historically, has shown the ability to withstand imperialist powers.
Jayashree adds, “Trump comes off as unhinged, but he is the essence of what America is like.”
The panel also addresses the Indian media’s exaggeration of Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s presence in the ‘front row’ at Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. Commenting on India-US relations, Manisha says, “The Joe Biden administration was kind to Narendra Modi’s administration…if Trump is not accommodative, it will affect BJP’s ‘vishwaguru’ politics domestically.”
The panel also discusses how the CBI and TMC government are appealing for the death penalty in the RG Kar case, and catches up on all the subscriber letters we’ve received so far.
Tune in!
Hafta letters: #Fight to Breathe, too many opinions, break up songs, NL merch
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Song: Village People: YMCA
Timecodes
00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements
00:03:04 - Baru on his book ‘India’s Power Elite’
00:08:12 - Headlines
00:20:28 - The return of Donald Trump
00:40:43 - Economic impact of a second Trump presidency
00:55:27 - Sanjaya on Manmohan Singh
01:02:43 - Sanjaya’s recommendations
01:04:43 - Death penalty
01:16:44 - Letters
01:59:46 - Recommendations
References
The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh
1991: How PV Narasimha Rao Made History
Sanjaya Baru writes: Fears of a Trump presidency are greatly exaggerated
Endangered and unpaid: Mukesh Chandrakar’s life symbolised the Bastar media story
Let’s Talk About: Kashmir – Part 1
Recommendations
Sanjaya
The Golden Road : How Ancient India Transformed the World
Jayashree
‘The first week was mayhem’ – How This American Life revolutionised radio
Death penalty report: On death row, they die many deaths
Manisha
Black Warrant
Abhinandan’s interview with Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhary
Is Social Media More Like Cigarettes or Junk Food?
Anand
Manu Joseph - A right that women don’t have is the right to mediocrity
Abhinandan
'Face of Capitol riot’ on being pardoned by Trump and regretting "nothing" about January 6
Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters
Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra and Anil Kumar.
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