NL Hafta

Celebrating the 200th episode of Hafta, we recorded the episode live in the presence of our subscribers, at Anti Social in Delhi's Hauz Khas. For this special episode, journalist and writer Manu Joseph joins our regular Hafta gang of Abhinandan Sekhri, Madhu Trehan, Manisha Pande, and Anand Vardhan. Kicking off the event, Abhinandan talks about the history of NL Hafta and how it has evolved over time. The podcast then moves on to discuss all the news that happened this week, from the Kisan rally in Delhi to the debate over Rahul Gandhi’s gotra, and much more. The Hafta gang begins by discussing which news model is better, one that is advertisement-driven or one that is driven purely by subscribers. The panel deliberates on the pros and cons of both these models. Talking about the problems faced by the advertising model, Manu says: “Advertising is not a flawed model, the human being in itself is a flawed model.” Madhu goes on to say that the subscription model is a huge challenge primarily because the audience only wants to consume information that they agree with. Moving on, the panel discusses the recent debate around Rahul Gandhi's gotra and how relevant is it in today’s politics. Manu talks about the strong bond between one’s caste and one’s identity. Quoting P. Sainath, he says: “If you don’t know your caste you are probably upper caste.” Manu and the Hafta gang also talk about novels being made into TV series and movies, and to what extent does this transition do justice to its original form. To this, Anand Vardhan points out that novels are unique in their ability to depict the thoughts of its characters, and this is where the visual medium fails. Manu, on the other hand, feels that novels fail on their part to show life realistically. While taking questions from our subscribers, the panel answers some interesting ones on the economics of the Right-wing governments, weak and strong leaders and much more. On the question of citizen journalism, Manisha says that user-generated content is not favourable since news requires “a certain professional experience”. Towards the end, the panel talks about the recent development in Indo-Pak relations after the recent inaugural for construction of Kartarpur corridor and the outpour of different political reactions. Manu, Abhinandan and Madhu share their conflicting experiences in Pakistan. The panel also shares their opinion on resolving Indo-Pak conflict. Tune in to listen to all this and more.