Hafta 107: UP Elections, Women In Politics, Whataboutery And More

Uttar Pradesh is going through legislative elections, but the media has been busy with the political fiasco that’s been unfolding in Tamil Nadu. The action in UP elections hasn’t enjoyed as much spotlight on prime time news as a result. Independent journalist Neha Dixit joins us this week on Hafta to talk about the profile of Mayawati she wrote for The Caravan magazine and what is happening on the ground along in Bundelkhand. Our regular Hafta gang of Abhinandan Sekhri, Madhu Trehan, Anand Ranganathan, Deepanjana Pal and Manisha Pande are all present. We also discuss Indian Space Research Organisation’s launch of 104 satellites in a single mission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking a dig at the media, asking scientists to be ready with proof. Sagarika Ghose’s attempt at humour has everyone rolling their eyes and our panel has some strong words for the Guntur collector who said Rohith Vemula’s mother must prove she belongs to a Scheduled Caste.

All this and a lot more, discussed and dissected on this episode. Listen up!

For references:

1. A review of #NL Hafta from Harjosh Singh, Krithika B Iyer and Indu S
2. Sagarika Ghose’s blogpost: Tamil teri maa? Even those who don’t understand Tamil, can see that the OPS-Sasikala battle is spicier than sambhar
3. Buzzfeed: North Indian Media – Going South In More Ways Than One
4. TIME: Winter Lights
5. Outlook: Why I Supported Emergency
6. Trump vs. Truth: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
7. The New York Times: An Eminent Psychiatrist Demurs on Trump’s Mental State
8. Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me by Bill Hayes
9. Wired: Inside the Macedonian Fake-News Complex
10. New Yorker: The Quiet German
11. The Atlantic: Michael Flynn’s Debacle
12. The Bold Italici: You Are Not Allowed to Be Funny
13. Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada, Michael Hofmann
14. Trump Draws official twitter page

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Produced by Kartik Nijhawan 

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