Reporters Without Orders

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by independent journalist Angad Singh.Formerly with Vice News, Angad was “blacklisted” by the Indian government over a documentary called India Burning, which he worked on as a production assistant. He talks about dealing with court cases after being accused by the central government of portraying India in a “negative” light. He says his OCI card was taken anyway and talks about the sorrow of not being able to return to India anymore.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:03:01 - Angad’s story00:30:29 - RecommendationsRecommendationsAngadCaptivating the Simple-Hearted: A Struggle for Human Dignity in the Indian SubcontinentSumedhaTime Is Running Out for Rahul Gandhi’s Vision for IndiaProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by independent journalist Astha Savyasachi and The Mooknayak’s Arun Kumar Verma.Arun reported on the rise and fall of the Bahujan Samaj Party. He delves into the ups and downs of Mayawati’s political career and explains how the BSP became sidelined. He also talks about the new leadership with Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand and what changes are expected from him to revive the party.Astha reported on how most Sainik schools across India are run by people with direct or indirect connections to the BJP or RSS. She explains how the central government essentially handed over 62 percent of new military schools to the Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians, and allies, bypassing eligibility criteria in the process.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:28 - BSP’s rise and fall00:10:41 - Sainik schools00:38:08 - RecommendationsRecommendationsArunAmar Singh ChamkilaAsthaCentre hands over 62% of new Sainik Schools to Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians and allies.ShivnarayanHow BJP ‘won’ in Surat: Unravelling 24 hours of peculiaritiesProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalist Rahul Singh.Rahul talks about his report on the shortcomings of the public distribution system in Jharkhand. He says despite the online mechanism, food security is poor in rural areas, and instead of helping, the system “is emerging as a hurdle” for the Adivasis.Basant reported on people falsely named as beneficiaries of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in a report by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which also claimed their farm incomes doubled in 2022. He shares how he found out the factual errors in the government body’s book.   Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:14 - Lok Sabha Election00:07:57 - Issues in getting Ration in Jharkhand00:25:21 - Farmers’ income00:36:45 - RecommendationsRecommendationsRahulJawanBasantScoopMedia Ka LoktantraProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and The Quint’s Himanshi Dahiya.Shivnarayan talks about his profile of ANI and how it became the Modi government’s favourite media outlet. But the story isn’t that simple, he explains, because beyond ANI’s dismal coverage of the opposition are a number of contracts that the agency has signed with state governments. Himanshi reported on a Gujarat Dalit family that was “cheated” into giving a whopping Rs 11 crore in electoral bonds, of which Rs 10 crore was encashed by the BJP. She explains how the alleged scam took place and just how a company linked to the Adani group was involved. Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:05 - ANI’s journalism00:25:25 - Gujarat family’s electoral bonds 00:49:07 - RecommendationsRecommendationsHimanshiGita Press and the Making of Hindu India2024 Pro-Hindutva Films Were Funded By BJP-Linked People, Promoted by BJP NetasShivnarayanAamisTanishkaHow National Creators Award Winners Amplified BJP’s MessageProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Anmol Pritam and The News Minute’s Jahnavi.Jahnavi talks about her report on businessman P Sarath Chandra Reddy, accused-turned-approver in the Delhi liquor policy case. She says his firms bought electoral bonds worth Rs 55 crore, later encashed by the BJP, and also explains the ‘South Group’ connection to the case.Anmol was on the ground during the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He talks about the mood among the people, based on his interviews with locals, whether the Delhi police is being ‘biased’, and how the AAP believes their right to protest is being suppressed.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:31 - Kejriwal’s arrest00:20:39 - P Sarath Chandra Reddy00:29:06 - RecommendationsRecommendationsJahnaviAnatomy of a FallAnmolMedia Control: The Spectacular Achievements of PropagandaSumedhaAamisThe arrest of Mr Kejriwal: A PMLA caseProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Pooja Prasanna is joined by the Ramnath Goenka awardees from Newslaundry and The News Minute, to talk about the four awards they won this year.While Ayush Tiwari and Basant Kumar won in the environment, science and technology category for the plunder of the Aravalli series, Hridayesh Joshi’s video report on arsenic in water triggering diseases in several villages, supported by the Thakur Foundation, was honoured in the Hindi broadcast category.The News Minute also won two awards. While Azeefa Fathima, Balakrishnan Ganesan, and Prajwal Bhat won in the civic journalism category for their five-part series on exposing manual scavenging, Prajwal’s reports on the 2022 hijab protests in Karnataka were awarded in the political reporting category.They look back at their work to discuss its importance and impact on society.Tune in.RecommendationsAyushThe Rise and Fall of the Third ReichBasant21वीं सदी : पहला दशकHridayeshबड़े शहरों में जंगल? बिल्कुल, खुद देखिए [Forest restoration in Delhi and NCR]The Cooking of Books : A Literary MemoirAzeefaACCESS DENIEDThese Precious DaysBalakrishna3 Body ProblemGita Press and the Making of Hindu IndiaThe Seven Moons of Maali AlmeidaPoojaLove Jihad and Other Fictions: Simple Facts to Counter Viral FalsehoodsThe GentlemenThe costs of Reliance’s wildlife ambitionsProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram; recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Basant Kumar.Both Prateek and Basant share their experience of investigating the patterns in political funding in India, and decoding the State Bank of India’s data dump on electoral bonds. They discuss how they found out about “a very strange pattern” of donation to political parties, with some companies donating or lapping up their donations after raids by central agencies. In some cases, the companies’ donations even surpassed their profit growth and revenue.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:21 - Donations to parties00:05:18 - Electoral bonds00:25:22 - RecommendationsRecommendationsBasantProject Electoral Bond (Report)PrateekMaamla Legal HaiTanishkaPlunder of the AravallisProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Pratyush Deep.Pratyush reported on the Assam police increasing security and barricading in anticipation of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, which the government this week said it would soon implement. He says there’s a huge difference in intensity of protests between 2019 and 2024. But Basant points out the government laid the groundwork to make sure no protest could take place.Basant talks about his report on Uttar Pradesh appointing a chief information commissioner and 10 information commissioners last week. At least four have links to the BJP or are favourable to Chief Minister Adityanath, he says. He also explains his interview with Indrajeet Ghorpade, a 32-year-old techie and activist from Pune who has filed over 50 complaints against hate speech on news channels. Watch. Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:05:53 - Cops try to quell Assam’s CAA disquiet 00:24:10 - Appointments of information commissioners in UP 00:33:42 - Interview with Indrajeet Ghorpade 00:34:48 - RecommendationsRecommendationsPratyushIn 15 more donors of BJP, 4 shell firms, 11 companies that faced central action by Prateek GoyalBasantPoacher on Amazon PrimeProduced by Prashant Kumar, edited by Parikshit Sanyal, and recorded by Anil Kumar.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Pratyush Deep and The News Minute’s Nidharshana Raju.Pratyush reported on Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s media conglomerate, Pride East Entertainment, which is also the Northeast’s biggest media network. He delves into the hold of Sarma’s family on the media outlet and how its political leanings change as Sarma switches sides.  Nidharshana talks about her report on the killing of a 22-year-old Dalit man by his caste Hindu brother-in-law in broad daylight in Chennai. She says the city has been witnessing crime against Dalits, but had not witnessed such a caste killing in recent years.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:12 - Himanta’s media empire00:11:25 - Caste killing in Chennai00:36:26 - RecommendationsRecommendationsPratyushULFA: The Mirage of Dawn NidharshanaKaruvadu: the wet world of dry fishTanishkaIndia’s iPhone factory is keeping women workers isolatedProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.