NL Hafta

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi​'s opinion that paternity leave will just be a 'holiday' ​for men​ brought out unexpected sides to all our panellists, particularly Anand Ranganathan​. ​We discuss ​OP Jaisha​'s Rio experience and how Big Media made primetime pantomime out of it. ​Over in France​, the police's crackdown on burkinis​ ​has everyone up in arms​. ​Madhu Trehan raises...

In this week’s episode, Deepanjana Pal and Rajyasree Sen discuss Chetan Bhagat’s #BeatPeBooty dance, his new novel, One Indian Girl & we even read out some parts from the book. Rohit Shetty directed Return of Ranveer Ching ad & Anouk’s Bold is Beautiful ad both leave us with one question - what on earth was going on? Spending so much money on celebrities and production value and still not making a...

​The ​PMO delet​ed ​tweets​, which was new, and the PM ​brought up Balochistan in his Independence Day Speech​, which was not new. The Amnesty issue escalated ​as did Arnab's temper on ​Newshour. Meanwhile, ​athletes like Sakshi Malik shone despite the gloom and doom that is sports infrastructure in India. Consulting editor, Anand Ranganathan ​unleashed his philosophical​ side​ about death. ​Madhu...

Did your last week go by watching uber patriotic videos that made your chest swell up to 56-inch with pride and nationalism and drove you out on the streets to celebrate the Independence Day? No, right? It went pretty much the same for Deepanjana Pal and Rajyasree Sen. In this episode, listen to them talk about the videos which did the rounds on the internet giving the occasion of Independence Day...

Is it now Modiji vs the gau rakshaks? Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence and came down heavily against the increasing violent attacks by gau rakshaks . But did he answer the question raised in the last episode of NL Hafta — should the fringe be taken seriously? Why are the TV news channels not paying any heed to #ChaloUna, the Dalit march that's taking place right now in solidarity wit...

In this week’s episode, Deepanjana Pal and Rajyasree Sen jump on the bandwagon to discuss what the world cannot stop talking about- Olympics! Dipa Karmakar wins hearts and prayers while American athletes set camp on a ship. Freaky Ali promises to educate Bollywood about golf while The Great Indian Penis Survey hits below the belt (see what we did there?) with enlightening and amusing results. Oh a...

Our two consulting editors, Anand Ranganathan and Kishalay Bhattacharjee, join the Hafta panel this week. In Delhi, the big question is, where does the AAP-led government stand after Delhi High Court rooted for Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung over Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal? Madhu Trehan has some provocative ideas about rape, when she points to sexual frustration as its source. Should the fringe be taken s...

​It's the only podcast that goes fearlessly from arty Death in the Gunj to pulpy Mamta Kulkarni. Listen up as Deepanjana Pal and Rajyasree Sen talk about ​Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, ​the newly​-​launched TV channel FYI, ​cheer for the new Ghostbusters, salute ​Mamta Kulkarni, analyse the furore over ​Melania Trump’s photos in New York​ Post. Plus, there’s a quiz question at the end. Write...

In this special segment, Kishalay Bhattacharjee, journalist, author & consulting editor with Newslaundry, joins Madhu Trehan, Anand Ranganathan, Deepanjana Pal & Abhinandan Sekhri to discuss Michelle Obama, Donald Trump & Hillary Clinton’s speeches at the Democratic National Convention. We take a shot at guessing who the next President of the United States of America may be and explore that one im...

After the apex court allowed a rape survivor to terminate her pregnancy post the mandated 20 weeks, we asked our panel: Shouldn’t abortion be a woman’s prerogative? Is it Barkha vs Arnab or the media vs Arnab? What led Irom Sharmila to break her 16-year-long fast? Why Prime Ministers, from Nehru to Modi, have continued with Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA)? Why are AAP and BJP always at...

Did you miss Comic-Con in America? Don’t worry, we have it covered for you. What is right or perhaps wrong with Tata Salt’s campaign #NamakKeWaastey? In this week’s episode, Deepanjana Pal and Rajyasree Sen review Kabali, Wonder Woman’s new trailer, Sherlock Holmes Season 4 & a lot more. Plus, there’s a quiz question at the end. Write to us at contact@newslaundry.com with your answers and comments...

Should the media be blamed for Kashmir unrest? How should journalists report conflict? Who ordered the gag on media in Kashmir? Why have so few women politicians come out in support of Mayawati? Are Indians blind to Dalit oppression? Is Twitter a good place for sensible debates? We discuss all this and a lot more on this episode of Hafta. And, of course, we have a song, this time dedicated to Arvi...

Have you wondered what Pokemon Go is doing to the way you see the world? Why does Qandeel Baloch deserve serious respect from all of us? In this week's episode, Deepanjana Pal and Rajyasree Sen contemplate these questions, sex objects, Tam-Brahm boys, and more. Plus, there's a quiz question at the end. Write to us at contact@newslaundry.com with your answers and comments. For reference links visit...

Why is Kashmir simmering? Was Burhan Wani a terrorist or a militant? How was militancy in Punjab different from what is happening in Kashmir? Was Rajdeep Sardesai caught on the wrong foot (again) with Sania Mirza? Who exactly is a thulla? Was Arunachal Pradesh another loss for the BJP after Uttrakhand? Will there be a case against Zakir Naik? Will Priyanka Gandhi be able to revive Congress, if giv...

Project #JanaGanaMana#ValueIndependenceFor more details, visit: http://www.newslaundry.com/project-janaganamana/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who tames the Indian male? Can Sid Mallya act his pants off? Is there an ad that you should watch? From films, books, ads, magazines, to YouTube videos, Deepanjana Pal and Rajyasree Sen bring you their picks from the world of culture in The Awful and Awesome Entertainment Wrap. Sen is a consulting editor at Scoopwhoop and a longstanding member of the Newslaundry family. Pal is our managing editor....

Cabinet reshuffles, who was promoted and who was demoted? Why big media loves to hate Smriti Irani? Has The Telegraph crossed the line with their ‘Spinderella’ headline? Does the government have any business in running the media? Urmilesh, former executive editor of Rajya Sabha TV, joins us for this episode of NL Hafta. The team also discusses Ravish’s open letter to M J Akbar and terror attacks i...

Communism, capitalism or socialism – what has worked? Or is it time we look beyond isms? Is Arnab Goswami above & beyond journalism? Why would China let India into NSG? M K Venu, founding editor, TheWire.in, joins us for this episode of NL Hafta to discuss these issues. The team also discusses big media houses’ decision to block content for ad block users. Did Essar tapes get due coverage in the m...

What will be more damaging? Rexit or Brexit? Why is BJP not able to control Swamy? Is it ok for politicians to block certain media houses? What forced Aveek Sarkar to resign? Ashok Malik, an accomplished columnist, joins us for this episode of Hafta to discuss these issues. The team also discusses the recently-announced FDI in defence. Did FDI in defence get less coverage than Rexit? We also discu...

Who is a liberal? Was Gandhi a liberal? What is happening in Kairana? Is it mass exodus or mass hysteria? Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, News Editor, Scroll, joins us for this episode of NL Hafta as we discuss the news of the week. The team also talks about Kejriwal’s latest attack on PM Modi, The Indian Express’ accidental scoop and Orlando shooting. Bonus: a bad-jokes competition between Ranga Uncle...

Tune into this week's NL Hafta to listen to the "khula sandh" of Indian journalism, Hartosh Singh Bal. He trashes everyone (reasonably) from AAP to BJP and little congresses of political parties in between. Mathura-returned Ishan Kukreti offers his laterally-heard scoops from the land of saints and thugs, and the panel also finds the time to dissect the anatomy of foolishness that is the CBFC in t...

Tanmay Bhat's Snapchat video on Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar opened up the doors to the topic that we love to debate, but fall short on following it to a T. Do we have the freedom to exercise freedom of speech or is that too much for India to handle? As the news broke earlier this week of Robert Vadra buying property in London through a proxy, three news organisations claimed that they wer...

Desh Gaurav Sekhri, sports attorney, columnist for Economic Times, Business Standard and author of Not Out – The incredible story of the Indian Premier League joins us for this episode of Hafta to discuss whether sports bodies should come under RTI. Has IPL helped cricket grow in India? On Hafta we discuss the CBFC refusal to certify Udta Punjab, Tripura rewriting Indian History in its school text...

It's Bharatiya Janata Party's first government in Assam and the party has managed to oust Congress, which has governed the state for 15 years. How did it happen? Newslaundry's Subhabrata Dasgupta talks to journalist, political commentator and author Wasbir Hussain about how BJP was able to woo the voters in Assam to craft a historic victory in the recent Assembly elections. Hussain is the Executiv...

Do​ attack​s​ on journalists reflect​ a​ growing intolerance? Should Muslims ​and Hindus be allowed to reform their respective religions​ or do they lack perspective? ​We refuse to discuss ​two years of Modi government on Hafta​. Find out why.​​ Also, is Vedanta sponsoring ​Jaipur Literature Festival in London a problem? ​And what's with this obsession with renaming roads? We discuss it all and a...