Share
NL Hafta
Hafta 276: Bois Locker Room, Atmanirbharta, changes to labour laws, and more
•
In this episode of NL Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Mehraj D Lone, Raman Kirpal, and Manisha Pande are joined by Pragya Tiwari, journalist and regional director of Flint Asia.
Starting off with the “Bois Locker Room” controversy, Pragya suggests that the group was “a manifestation of an endemic crisis” that we tend to ignore.
“We keep forgetting how thin a line it is between inappropriate conversation and rape culture. It is on a spectrum,” she says. “The same thing about the guy’s death. That is another thing we don’t talk about as a society, as families, which is mental health. So this is just a manifestation of two conversations we radically need to have — in our schools, in our colleges, in our homes, through counselling — which is mental health and addressing rape culture, patriarchal attitudes.”
Manisha says the incident demonstrates that social media allegations should be taken with a grain of salt, especially as they detract from legitimate societal challenges. Raman agrees, suggesting that the problem was further compounded by the “social media trial”.
With regards to the prime minister’s recent speech, Pragya bemoans Modi’s use of “tyag” and “tapasya” to describe the distress faced by migrant workers, since it implies that their struggles were of their own volition.
The panel discusses Modi’s emphasis on “atmanirbharta” and the concept of “self-reliance”. Raman points out the dire state of manufacturing in India over the past decade, and suggests that protectionism is not the answer. Mehraj is more sympathetic to the concept of Swadeshi, but laments that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s conception of Swadeshi is only centred on the capitalist class.
Manisha brings up the media’s misreporting of Modi’s announcement as a new “Rs 20 lakh crore package”, when the prime minister actually included previously-announced schemes and the RBI’s liquidity measures as part of the “package”. Pragya agrees, arguing that it is “slightly inappropriate because the RBI is technically an independent institution that decides monetary policy by itself”.
The panel also discusses the recent changes to labour laws in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. Pragya describes the changes as “abject regulations” and deplores the use of the ordinances to bring about these changes. She points out that labour and capital do not have equal bargaining power and that labourers have very little legal recourse. “Instead of rationalising compliance, you have basically thrown out the baby with the bathwater,” she says.
Abhinandan agrees, suggesting that the government is just “taking a flamethrower to a problem”. He adds that the power of labourers and trade unions has greatly decreased over the past three decades.
To listen to this and much more, tune in!
More episodes
View all episodes
Hafta X South Central: Highs & lows of media in 2025, influencers in news, Arnab’s ‘turnaround’
01:42:40|For this special year-ender episode, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Manisha Pande and The News Minute’s Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by columnist and media critic Santosh Desai. The conversation begins with a wrap of the Indian media ecosystem this year. Santosh says, “Institutions are struggling to retain credibility and resist pressure.” Dhanya argues that mainstream media exerts significant influence over people, but on social media, the results vary. Discussing the state of the media more specifically in Karnataka, Pooja notes that although it's “heavily compromised”, it can still be seen as a “lesser evil” compared to the Hindi and English media.Manisha argues that, in terms of news consumption, the internet can be very ruthless – in contrast to legacy media, which does not have to face the crash and burn. She cites the example of Beer Biceps, whose rapid rise and fall illustrate this ruthlessness. Some influencers, Dhanya says, have also realised that “credibility comes with consistency”. On the economic front, Abhinandan explains, “It is the lethargy of legacy media that is reflected in their belief about how business is done – in large spaces and studios. Hence, sustainability and viewership become two completely different things.”The panel also discusses advertisements that make them nostalgic. Dhanya says, “Now, we pay to remove ads. I cannot remember the last time I watched an ad.” Meanwhile, Abhinandan notes, “The death of ads is the death of jingles, which in turn traces to the death of radio.”While discussing Arnab Goswami's recent shows that questioned the central government, Pooja remarks, “This man can damage the country by stooping so low, but all it takes for him to be viewed as a crusader is the targeting of a soft issue as a larger strategy.”This and a lot more. Tune in!We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here. And click here to contribute to our new Sena project.Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app. Once a month, we will invite one TNM subscriber to the show. Write to us on what you would like to speak about to southcentral@thenewsminute.com Send your thoughts, suggestions, and criticism as well.You can also let us know what you think by filling out our quick feedback form. Your suggestions help shape future episodes of South Central.Become a subscriber - Click here.Contribute to our reporting fund. Click here. To check out our other shows, Click here To not miss any updates, join TNM's WhatsApp Channel! Click hereTimecodes00:00:00 - Introductions & announcements00:02:16 - Headlines00:07:30 - Brands vs individuals: Understanding news models 00:33:15 - Karnataka Hate Speech Bill00:38:00 - How has advertising changed?00:59:00 - Santosh’s recommendations01:00:00 - Arnab Goswami’s turnaround 01:07:00 - Christmas violence 01:12:00 - Letters01:35:13 - Recommendations Check out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Recorded and produced by Priyali Dhingra. Production assistance by Megha Mukundan and Ajai. Edited by Saif Ali Ekram.
Chota hafta 568
15:08|This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by Development economist Reetika Khera & ESPN’s Anirudhh Menon. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.
Chota hafta 567
17:32|This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute and Anupam Manur, professor at the Takshashila Institution. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.
Chota Hafta 566
14:14|This week, Newslaundry’s Manisha Pande, Shardool Katyayan and Raman Kirpal are joined by Medianama founder and editor Nikhil Pahwa and senior journalist Maya Mirchandani.Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.
Chota Hafta 565
16:07|This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan are joined by content creator Meghnad S and Pooja Prasanna of The News Minute.Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.
Hafta 564: Killing of Madvi Hidma and aftermath of Red Fort blast
01:45:26|This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam and Shardool Katyayan are joined by journalist and author Rahul Pandita and The News Minute’s Sudipto Mondal.The discussion begins with Rahul’s new novel, Our Friends in Good Houses, and then turns to the recent killing of Maoist commander Madvi Hidma in Andhra Pradesh.Rahul recalls meeting the man who recruited Hidma as a child. He then talks about the “tragedy” of the Maoists and the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). “One reason why we are witnessing this downfall now of the CPM office is that this somehow, in the passage of this time, steered away from what they had set out to do, which is to basically protect the adivasis and their natural resources. But during this course, I think they became obsessive about fighting the state…and became, in their own ways, stakeholders in these natural resources. That is the tragedy of the CPM.”Sudipto says, “The worst part about the Maoist movement is that it follows one basic principle of armed conflict, which is that the people sending people to war are old men. The people going to war are young boys."The conversation then moves to the Red Fort blasts. Abhinandan asks the panel about the video of a key suspect in the case justifying suicide attacks, seeking their views on whether airing such footage is irresponsible or journalistically necessary.This and a lot more. Tune in!Timecodes00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements00:03:37 - Discussion on Rahul Pandita’s Book00:11:40 - Headlines 00:18:33 - Killing of Madvi Hidma01:00:38 - Red Fort Blasts Aftermath01:21:36 - Sudipto & Rahul Pandita’s Recommendations01:24:58 - Letters01:36:40- RecommendationsCheck out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by Amit Pandey with Ashish Anand & Sourav Ranjan. Sound Recordist Anil
Hafta 563: Everything you need to know about Bihar
01:56:32|In this special NL Hafta Live episode, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan and Raman Kirpal were joined by The Hindu’s Sobhana K Nair and senior journalist Neerja Chowdhury to decode the Bihar poll results.On the sweeping mandate for the NDA, Anand spoke about Nitish Kumar’s enduring appeal, noting that he “maximises his EBC base better than anyone else. He knows how to balance administrative acumen with realpolitik.”Sobhana weighed in on Prashant Kishor’s poor performance, saying, “It is not a surprise to me that Jan Suraaj did not get even a single seat. There was a lot of disinterest in the rural regions of Bihar. A lot of distrust also. There were questions being asked about where he was getting so much money to put up such a big campaign.”Neerja highlighted the unusual nature of the mandate. “I have not seen this kind of a pro-incumbency wave in India despite 20 years in power. It is unprecedented.”On Nitish Kumar’s future in Bihar, she pointed to his biggest vulnerability: “The minus point of Nitish Kumar is that he doesn’t have a second line of leadership. Nor has he named a successor. At one point he considered Prashant Kishor but the story would have been different had they not fallen out.”This and a lot more. Tune in!Timecodes00:00:00 - Introductions and announcements00:01:25 - Headlines 00:13:28 - Discussion on Bihar Election results 01:34:17 - Neerja’s Recommendations01:37:07 - Concluding remarks 01:46:06- RecommendationsCheck out previous Hafta recommendations, references, songs and letters.Produced by NL Team.
Chota Hafta 562
18:07|This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by The Hindu journalist Sobhana K Nair and screenwriter, producer and professor Sabrina Dhawan.Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.
Chota Hafta 561
17:58|This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by journalist Sreenivasan Jain and Ritu Rao, writer, INTACH consultant, and researcher on water sustainability. Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media. Download the Newslaundry app.