Akansha   

Hi,  

Thank you, Manan, for your letter in Hafta 570 about how the government controls the media. I have been wondering for a while. I have a follow-up question: if it is as simple as a WhatsApp group where media houses are directed, how did Arnab Goswami's reporting against the government happen? Was it a slip? Do we know of any consequences for his actions? Even if he did it for the TRP, does he suddenly not fear the government?

I do wonder if it was supposed to distract us from something worse?

***

Manan Shah

I love listening to Hafta every week. In this episode, I think you missed discussing the Trump invasion of Venezuela. I strongly feel this is going to be the first chapter of World War III, with parallels to Hitler’s invasion of Poland or the assassination in Austria that led to the first one. 

Secondly, on gig workers, Manisha talked about 10-minute deliveries. This is simply because the company can make more profit. You have a fixed number of workers per day and 24 hours. If you need more deliveries, each delivery has to be for a short period of time. No customer asked for a 10-minute delivery. It’s for the company's benefit. 

Best,

Manan 

***

Prakyath 

Hi Team NL, 

At the end of the year, Hafta X South Central, one of my earlier emails was probably misinterpreted, sparking off a North-South debate on a tangent I did not intend.

In my email, I mentioned North India-centric and male chauvinist as two exclusive terms. If upon reading it leads to a different interpretation, I must be more diligent with reviewing my email.

It is common knowledge that male chauvinism is commonplace. That sentiment will probably erase all the borders in South Asia, let alone one that doesn't exist between North and South India.

I should get my hands on the show Abhinandan referred to. It is actually the spin-off podcast of his former show 'Highway on My Podcast' that brought the apolitical me of yesteryears to Newslaundry's content and to the eventual subscription.

Keep up the great work!

Best Regards,

Prakyath

***

Sekhar

I enjoyed the discussion about the IndiGo fiasco. Definitely, the entire panel is part of the 1% richest Indians, dependent on air travel. Thanks, Anand, for bringing some pointers about Railways. Dear Abhinandan, please bring in a few experts to discuss the current status of Railways, as it's worth rekindling. Also, can you discuss how much pollution is caused by air travel and how we are behind on reducing it? To fellow conspiracy enthusiast, Jayashree, I heard that the IndiGo incident is a step towards selling it to the Adani Group.

***

Faizan Ansari

Hello, 

So many times someone has articulated really well on Hafta, and I've thought to myself – if only non-subscribers could hear this one excerpt, they would be hooked to the podcast. At times, I've even thought of screen recording those sections and uploading them to my Instagram stories.

It only recently occurred to me that Newslaundry also has an Instagram account. 

I think that most people love to amplify political views on Insta stories, and it's a very effective medium for discovery. If you made even 5 x 1-2-minute reels for every Hafta, it would only benefit the podcast. If you don't want to crowd the NL Insta that much, you could have a separate page for Hafta alone. Democracy Now uses this method well. 

Most recently, I felt that Jayshree's thoughts on the gig worker issue were very well expressed and could definitely go “viral”.

Much love,

Faizan

***

Priyanka Acharekar 

Hello, I am unable to listen to or download any podcasts on the app. I do have a subscription as well. Please help.

***

Drishti Bhattacharya

Hi,

Last week you took my letter. Please keep doing what you are doing. Please keep it up.

Small teams can do great things. All it takes is a subscription. Subscribe now and power Newslaundry’s work.