The podcast where we discuss the news of the week.
This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by writer and podcaster Amit Varma.
The panel first discusses pre-Holi communal concerns, including a Sambhal cop saying Muslims should stay inside this Holi if they don’t want to be smeared with colour. Jayashree says communal provocations during Holi have become normal: “We have this delusional idea of Hindus and Muslims holding hands and celebrating Holi. But that is not the country we live in now.”
Anand explains the history of Bhojpuri Holi songs and the evolution of vulgarity. “The sexualised space has been taken into account by the pop music industry for its titillation value…These songs were not always vulgar, some even represented female desire.”
The panel then moves on to the controversies around the recently concluded Champions Trophy. Abhinandan says, “There was nothing offensive about the Indian team not wanting to go to Pakistan due to security issues. Look at what has happened with the Balochistan train hijack this week.”
Amit explains the tariff wars with the US: “Of all that Trump is doing, tariffs are the most bizarre. They are a disaster, period, and this has been the economic consensus for the last 200 years.”
This and a lot more. Tune in!
We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here.
Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media.
Download the Newslaundry app.
Contribute to our latest NL Sena here.
Song: होली में गोड लागे देवरा
Timecodes
00:00:00 – Introductions and announcements
00:03:22 – Headlines
00:19:33 - Holi and communal narratives
00:26:41 - Holi and vulgar songs
00:42:52 - Introduction to tariff wars
00:45:37 - Champions Trophy and cricket controversies
01:01:08 - Tariff wars
01:39:38 - Amit’s recommendations
01:42:17 - Panel recommendations
References
NL Sena - The impunity of India’s police
The Seen and the Unseen | Amit Varma
Everything is Everything | Amit Varma
Life Lessons | Online course by Amit Varma
Recommendations
Amit
The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Jayashree
Manisha
Can Kara Save The Washington Post From Jeff Bezos?
Anand
Manu Joseph: Our politics is usually shaped by the people we dislike
Manu Joseph: America and the bearable loneliness of losing the West
Manu Joseph: How entertainment got boring in the age of streaming
Raman
Abhinandan
Why Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Work | The Ezra Klein Show
Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters
Produced and recorded by Priyali Dhingra, Hassan Bilal and Anil Kumar.
This episode is outside of the paywall for now. Before it goes behind the paywall, why not subscribe? Get brand-new episodes of all our podcasts every week, while also doing your bit to support independent media. Click here to subscribe.