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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Aryan Mahtta andThe Quint’s Fatima Khan. Fatima reported on Muslim vendors and delivery agents employed by online platforms that leave them vulnerable to discrimination and hate speech. She says bigots use technology as a tool to spread hate and fintech companies do nothing to stop them. To some people, she says, simply being a Muslim vendor is a “crime”. Aryan reported on the ongoing farmers’ protests. He says it devolved into a stand-off between farmers and security personnel, since the forces were using a “very aggressive” approach towards the protesters.  Tune in. Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:03:52 - Boycott of Muslim vendors 00:26:15 - Farmers’ protest 00:43:22 - Recommendations Recommendations Aryan Red Love: The Story of an East German Family Fatima The Day I Became a Runner: A Women's History of India through the Lens of Sport Basant Unfiltered by Samdish ft. Vikrant Massey | Powered by Woodland Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Prashant Kumar. Avdhesh talks about his report on the ongoing farmers’ protest at Shambhu border in Haryana’s Ambala, where thousands of farmers have gathered to march to Delhi. He delves into the police crackdown on protesters, demands of the farmers, and why they are accusing the government of fooling them.  Prashant reported from ground zero at Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, where violence erupted after authorities razed a mosque and madrasa citing “encroachment”, despite the matter being subjudice. He talks about the chaos and police action that unfolded in the locality, reportedly resulting in several Muslim residents leaving the locality.     Tune in. By the way, general elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans together. Choose an election project you would like to support and power our journalism. Click here. Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:23 - Farmer Protest 00:08:36 - Haldwani Violence 00:39:46 - Recommendations Recommendations Avdhesh Jobless Youth : Jharkhand CGL Exam Paper Leak के चलते रद्द हुआ, तैयारी करने वाले छात्रों का हाल... Prashant MUJHE CHAAND CHAHIYE Shivnarayan ‘Govt concealing facts’: Caravan notice points to ‘absurd confidentiality’ of takedown https://caravanmagazine.in/crime/indian-army-torture-jammu-and-kashmir-poonch-bjp-gujjar-bakkerwal Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Tanishka Sodhi and The Caravan’s Sagar. Tanishka reported on the push for Ram temple consecration celebrations by resident welfare associations in Delhi. She talks about the discriminatory policies practised by many RWAs, resulting in the isolation of non-Hindus.   Sagar talks about his reports on the Ram temple trust in Ayodhya. He delves into the “undeclared” collusion between Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra's trust and the government, and says the trust is involved in murky land deals. Tune in. Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:08 - RWA’s discriminatory “rules and regulations 00:18:02 - Shady deals in Ayodhya 00:43:43 - Recommendations Recommendations Sagar Peaky Blinders Tanishka A thank you where it's due NL@12 musical Sumedha The RSS: A Menace to India Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Mid-Day’s Neerja Deodhar. Neerja reported on India’s slipping rank in the Academic Freedom Index, placing it behind Sri Lanka and Pakistan. She says this is a result of the growing “culture of surveillance” on professors and faculty members which affects campus integrity. Sumedha reported on how prisoners jailed under the Public Safety Act in J&K are granted bail, but aren’t released since authorities want “clearance letters” that take time. Doesn’t this go against court orders? Listen to find out. Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:04 - Academic Freedom Index 00:24:06 - PSA prisoners 00:35:21 - Recommendations Recommendations Neerja Abbott Elementary Sumedha Our Struggle Tanishka Merry Christmas Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar, and recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Ayush Tiwari from Scroll and independent journalist Srishti Jaswal. Ayush reported on shady land deals in Ayodhya, where a firm linked to the BJP sold ecologically sensitive land to the Adani group. He explains how there have been other “crazy” land deals over the past years. Srishti talks about her report on the BJP’s data collection app, Saral, and what the party hopes to achieve from it. She says data manipulation in India is “too easy”. Tune in! Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:20 - Land deals in Ayodhya 00:20:41 - Data collection in India 00:44:55 - Recommendations Recommendations Srishti Faiz Ahmad Faiz Ayush The windfall gains made in the name of the Ram temple Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest to End Privacy as We Know It Basant In Ayodhya, firm linked to BJP leaders sold ecologically sensitive land to Adani – for a big profit Ayodhya: Temple is inaugurated, ‘Balak Ram’ consecrated. What next? Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Avdhesh Kumar along with independent journalists Shweta Desai and Kashif Kakvi. Shweta was in Ayodhya to report on locals’ fear and excitement over the Ram Mandir project. She says they’re happy it’s being built but are worried about the city’s ‘redevelopment’ wrecking their homes and livelihoods. She also explains why there’s tension between Ramanandi akharas and the temple trust. Basant spoke to youths in the temple town for their views on the BJP and Ram Mandir, and also visited the site of the proposed mosque – to find nothing there. Away from the Ayodhya mayhem, Kashif reported on the release of a Muslim teenager in Ujjain, five months after he was jailed for purportedly ‘spitting’ on a Hindu procession. He says there was no evidence and hostile witnesses, but the administration had bulldozed the accused’s home anyway. Finally, Avdhesh talks about why students were protesting at Jantar Mantar and why they’re upset with the government’s Agnipath scheme. Tune in! Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:34 - Ayodhya’s redevelopment 00:11:06 - Battle to control the temple 00:19:53 - Land acquisition in Ayodhya 00:34:31 - False cases in Madhya Pradesh 00:49:57 - Negative impact of Agnipath Yojna 00:53:53 - Recommendations Recommendations Avdhesh 'मैला ढोने, गटर में जाने वाले दलित...', Bezwada Wilson सरकारों पर बरस पड़े! Manual Scavenging |GITN Shweta Ayodhya: The Dark Night Basant Dhimi Wali Fast Passenger Kashif City Of My Heart Shivnarayan Exclusive: AAP govt procured drugs from 2 blacklisted pharma firms with many failed quality tests Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Naresh Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Basant Kumar and Shivnarayan Rajpurohit. Basant reported on an ANI senior editor who allegedly “infiltrated” a dozen Indian army internal WhatsApp groups. He talks about how he stumbled upon the story and dug deep into the controversy of journalist Ajit Kumar Dubey entering these groups “by hiding his identity”.  Shivnarayan talks about his report on Rohit Godara, the gangster who claimed the responsibility of the murder of Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi and gang operations. He traces Godara’s journey from being a mobile technician to becoming a gangland godfather associated with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.  Tune in! Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:00:59 - ANI’s ‘infiltrator’ 00:12:54 - Rohit Godara 00:30:38 - Recommendations Recommendations Shivnarayan 96 Basant Three of Us 12th Fail Mrityu Katha Sumedha ​​The rise of Narendra Modi Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the last episode of Reporters Without Orders for the year, so we’ve got a special episode featuring an all-Newslaundry panel. Hosts Tanishka Sodhi and Basant Kumar are joined by Avdhesh Kumar, Pratyush Deep, Sumedha Mittal and Prateek Goyal to pick through their reportage in 2023 and discuss what worked, what didn’t, and what impact they had. The panellists share behind-the-scenes experiences from their time on the field. They also tell you exactly why independent media outlets are vital to India’s democracy today. Tune in! Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:04:10 - Wrestlers’ protest 00:07:09 - Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh  00:14:24 - Manipur violence 00:22:35 - Sachin-Seema love story  00:32:50 - Controversy over flats for MPs 00:39:49 - Manual scavenging in India 00:44:14 - Changes at NDTV 00:51:24 - Nuh violence 00:54:29 - Balasore train accident 00:59:21 - Real-life Dunki Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Avdhesh Kumar from Newslaundry and Ayush Tiwari from Scroll. Ayush reported on the impact of the Ram Mandir construction on Ayodhya’s residents. He says some residents were evicted with poor compensation while others had their homes demolished by authorities. Avdhesh talks about his report on NDTV’s shrinking digital viewership. Comparing data before and after the Adani takeover, he says “more than 50 percent of viewers” have moved on from NDTV. Tune in! Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:36 - Ayodhya’s development 00:15:14 - NDTV’s shrinking viewership 00:29:25 - Recommendations Recommendations Ayush Ayodhya The Dark Night Avdhesh UPSC Wala Love - Collector Sahiba Basant Telgi: A Reporter's Diary Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Naresh Kumar, and edited by Samarendra K Dash. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Basant Kumar from Newslaundry, and Astha Savyasachi and Tapasya from The Reporters’ Collective. Astha and Tapasya had reported on how the Haryana government turned the state pollution control board “into a body that serves the potential polluters” by including it in the Right to Service Act. They explain how Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar weakened the agency and regulations to stay on top of the centre’s ease of doing business rankings. Basant reported on operational changes at BBC India – it’s metamorphosis into a new firm called Collective Newsroom that will be wholly owned by Indian citizens. He tells the panel why this had to happen to conform with Indian FDI rules.  Tune in. Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:19 - Haryana’s state pollution control board 00:18:30 - Changes at BBC India 00:27:27 - Recommendations Recommendations Basant  The inevitable evisceration of Sansad TV Astha Gandhi's Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India Tapasya Princess Mononoke Tanishka Masks are still being worn by some individuals—but not for health reasons Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar, and recorded by Naresh Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 300 episodes of Reporters Without Orders! So it’s a full house this week, with hosts Sumedha Mittal and Basant Kumar being joined by Newslaundry’s editor-in-chief Raman Kirpal and Newslaundry reporters Prateek Goyal, Shivnarayan Rajpurohit, Pratyush Deep and Avdhesh Kumar. The panel talks about the ups and downs of reporting, the challenges and the opportunities. Raman talks about how the field has changed over the decades, the ethical issues that crop up, and why it’s hard to be a good reporter today. Tune in! Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar, and edited by Samarendra Kumar Dash. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Pratyush Deep. Shiv talks about the experience of reporting from Rajasthan on the assembly elections. He compares strategies used by the BJP and Congress to influence voters, from Gehlot’s welfarism plank to the BJP’s sprawling WhatsApp enterprise.  Pratyush then explains his report on Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar – his controversies and his tussles with the AAP government. Pratyush says the AAP has a litany of woes against Kumar, though Kumar himself says these allegations are “false”. Tune in. Timecodes 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:03 - Rajasthan assembly polls  00:22:22 - Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar 00:36:11 - Recommendations Recommendations Pratyush Editor Missing: The Media in Today's India Shivnarayan A thorn in Kejriwal’s side: The controversies of Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar Sumedha Facing pressure in India, Netflix and Amazon back down on daring films Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.