Stafford

Interesting video, especially your chat about the future of media and Indian politics. I have one tiny disagreement, though. One of you all likened Mamdani to a meme leader. Zohran was a local representative in New York's state assembly, he worked on a ground-up campaign, spoke to regular people on what they wanted from their Mayor and built his campaign message around it. He is fighting the establishment, and by the looks of it he is winning. I think it is important for us to recognise good politics and highlight good campaigns that focus on people. We often ask ourselves why we do not have good politics and a strong opposition; maybe a campaign like Zohran's is the answer.

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Yogesh Chandra

Hello Hafta peeps,

Kudos for reporting on Indian public spaces. Being an autistic person with spatial awareness issues, walking outside in India is like playing that chicken crossing game in which you can even lose your safety or even life. I hope you are covering that as well. I will support the project as soon as I receive my salary.

Also, when is the next Newslaundry app update coming up? It is much needed. I would also recommend people to read Manu Joseph's latest book. It is much cheaper in ebook format. My other recommendations are below. The myth of the good old days: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rivu-e23sv8 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KJTWmRrneo 

IMO every Indian must go through all these recommendations, including Manu's book, especially pensioner Sanghi uncles, who didn't even protest while they were getting snipped forcefully by Congress and have suddenly become Hindu Shers while their one foot on the grave.

Regards,

Yogesh

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Amrinder 

My dear Sekhri Sahb,

Our PM wasn’t stopped by farmers . It was all Indian media BS. Our PM stopped on a flyover in the village Pyareaana. Farmers were beneath the flyover bridge. Leave farmers or their tractor-trollies, not a dog was let on that road all the way up to the rally ground that day. That day it was raining and there were empty chairs at the rally place. So our supreme leader got off the chopper at Bathinda, and decided to travel by road (two-hour journey), and buy time for the chairs to fill up. He was 6 km from the rally place in Ferozpur and his convoy suddenly stopped over the FOB and lurked there for 15-20 minutes. Mainstream channels started crying that PM is under threat. No doubt those farmers who were beneath the FOB shouted slogans. And he returned.

Amrinder Singh Hundal (हुंदल).

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Raman

Dear TNM and NL team, 

Just finished listening to the Hafta x South Central episode, and oh my! It was like a total page-turner in audio form. I hung on every word, pushing my earbuds deep to ensure I did not miss a word and at the same time eagerly awaiting what the next speaker had to say. Every word spoken was pure gold – especially since Abhinandan’s expletives (Delhi flair?) were beeped out!

This is the best podcast episode I've ever tuned into.  It is a great idea to keep this special episode outside the paywall.  I’ve already shared the link with a bunch of friends – hoping that it nudges them to subscribe!

Amen to Sudipto's prediction how times shall a-changing – here's hoping I stick around long enough to cheer on the good stuff unfolding. You all are killing it – keep the magic coming!

Yours in exuberance!

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Abhilasha 

Hi NL team, I am a regular listener to Hafta. I appreciate its long format as it delves into a topic in depth and helps understand what's going on instead of just creating triggering emotions when one reads just simple headlines given out by mainstream media outlets. 

On a lighter note, in your recent Hafta, I found it entertaining when Abhinandan talked and joked about mean comments on him. I think having a segment where the familiar NL team members read mean comments on them would be a fun thing to do. But of course, only if they are ok with it.

Keep doing great work!  

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R 

The NL-TNM Crossover:

Because Abhinandan brings it up so frequently, I just had to write in to say that the slackening pace of funding for the urban elite story might not necessarily be because we fear scrutiny. I think many of us rely on thoughtful and thought-provoking journalism to examine our own biases and improve. However, as a salaried professional who doesn’t make much but subscribes to Wire, Caravan, Scroll and Newslaundry and The News Minute (separately) and also succumbs to appeals for funds for Gaza, floods in India, different charities, sometimes there just isn’t enough money to fund individual campaigns. Which is why I think Josy’s idea of expanding reach is critical. Harnessing new tech for this does seem like the way to go, although I must confess I am not sure how. All the best! :D

At any rate, keep up the good work! Your work is greatly appreciated. 

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