It's Not You, It's The Media

Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri tackle the harrowing question: why won’t the media call what is happening in Palestine a genocide? Through incisive analysis, the hosts unravel the complicity of international law and media institutions in denying and obfuscating the reality of genocide, exposing the colonial frameworks that govern both. They discuss the ICC’s delayed and inadequate response, the ICJ’...

Suchitra, Bhakti and Madhuri start off the new year with a focus on the crop of Indian Americans who support Donald Trump, MAGA and have emerged as shamelessly racist and anti-migrant despite their own immigrant background. A recent feud between Trump, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy over the topic of H1-B visas and who gets to migrate into the US tech empire brought out all the racist rhe...

Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri ask what happens when the media tries to be woke. Turns out, it all becomes very cringe. The episode unpacks performative wokeness in mainstream media, and exposes how the term woke – rooted in Black resistance – has been stripped of its radical origins and become a marketing tool. The word woke originates in abolitionist and Black liberation movements but today it ha...

Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri examine a year of prize scandals, immoral literary institutions and inappropriate red carpet galas. They ask why the genocide in Gaza has not been a red line for many prestigious literary institutions who have insisted on going about business as usual. They look at how literary institutions, prize committees, cultural events and writers themselves are complicit in per...

Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri embark on a detailed breakdown of Islamophobia, dissecting its historical roots, modern manifestations, and the critical role the media plays in perpetuating anti-Muslim sentiment. They examine how Islamophobia has evolved from colonial narratives into a sophisticated mechanism of systemic hatred, embedded in global power structures. The episode traces the etymology a...

Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri discuss narratives of blame in the aftermath of the loss of Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party in the 2024 US elections. Donald Trump’s win sent shockwaves through liberal media who have been uncritically championing a candidate who played to the center and styled herself as a conservative rather than connecting with her progressive base. Within hours of exit poll...

Suchitra, Bhakti and Madhuri declare “We Told You So” in light of the disastrous defeat of Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party in the 2024 US elections. By "we," the hosts refer to the loyal constituency of people who definitely did not want to see Donald Trump in power. These very people have been offering feedback to the Kamala Harris campaign and calling out mainstream media’s uncritical app...

Suchitra, Bhakti and Madhuri analyze the genre of "book reviews" and the ways in which they are instrumental in shaping opinion on writers, literature, ideas, and culture, more broadly. Book reviews are an extremely vital part of all newspapers and media outlets but the undergirding questions is who gets reviewed and who gets ignored? Book reviews have moved away from tackling ideas, and have...

Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri delve into the media's problematic portrayal of children, particularly in conflict zones. The episode asks: who gets to be a “child” in mainstream media? The coverage of children over the years reveals two broad themes: 1) the process of “un-childing” and 2) tendency towards saviorism that can produce troubling representations of children’s bodies, especially girls. I...

Suchitra, Bhakti and Madhuri analyze shocking, biased and racist headlines from mainstream newspapers from the past year with a focus on Palestine, Lebanon and Iran. They discuss the importance and impact of headlines historically but also in a world defined by ever-diminishing attention spans, and where news is mainly read on smartphones. The media appears to have an active investment in war,&nbs...

In this episode Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri delve into the unethical reporting on sexual violence, particularly in the context of the ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israel on Gaza. The hosts discuss the trends of hyper-reporting and zero reporting, the ethics of how victims are portrayed, and the media's role in fabricating narratives that serve political agendas. They highlight the systemic vi...

Suchitra Vijayan, Bhakti Shringarpure and Madhuri Sastry dissect the media's coverage of Kamala Harris, focusing on the Democratic National Convention and the presidential debate. Coverage of Harris has focused on the portrayal of her as a youthful 'brat', excessive focus on aesthetics, and the lack of critical analysis in mainstream media. They explore the implications of her political identity,...

Are you questioning your reality? Do you feel gaslighted? It's not you, it's the media. Tune in each week. It's Not You, It's the Media. A podcast by the Polis Project. https://www.thepolisproject.com/ Hosts: Suchitra Vijayan is a writer, photographer and activist. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Polis Project. For her first book, The Midnight's Border: A People's History of India...