Reporters Without Orders

This week, host Pratyush Deep is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Sumedha Mittal.

Shivnarayan talks about his profile of BJP president JP Nadda, diving deep into his rise from an ABVP worker to the president of the world’s largest political party. He also sheds light on the Chetna Sansthan, an NGO run by Nadda’s wife which received significant corporate and government-linked CSR funding after the BJP came to power.

Sumedha talks about her report which looks at an unusual surge in the number of voters in Devendra Fadnavis’s constituency in Nagpur South West between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra elections. A section of poll staff told her about alleged lapses in the manner these voters were added to the electoral rolls. 

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:36 - J P Nadda

00:21:59 - Unusual spike in the voter roll

00:33:20 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Shivnarayan

Sir

Sumedha

Official Secrets

Pratyush

The Bilaspur blueprint: JP Nadda’s political rise and the parallel growth of his family-run NGO

In 6 months, Fadnavis seat added 29,219 voters. Poll staff claim lapses

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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This week, host Avdhesh Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal, BBC’s Abhinav Goel and reporter Akansha Kumar.

Abhinav presents an in-depth report on the true death toll of the Mahakumbh Mela tragedy that happened in January. While the Uttar Pradesh government has officially acknowledged 37 deaths due to the stampede, BBC’s investigation has uncovered at least 82 fatalities so far. Despite government promises, many of the victims' families have yet to receive the promised compensation.

Akansha uncovers allegations of police impunity in Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh. Her deep dive into police encounters in Uttar Pradesh reveal chilling accounts from families who lost loved ones in suspected extrajudicial killings.

Several families allege that police not only carried out unlawful encounters but also attempted to silence them with bribes. Many of these encounters took place in the same location: Goonghwa Ka Bagh in Kaushambi. Affected families are running from pillar to post in their fight for justice and accountability.

Meanwhile, Sumedha brings a sharply different story from Delhi. Since his appointment as Lieutenant Governor in May 2022, VK Saxena was known for publicly targeting the AAP-led government over civic issues. However, his stance appears to have softened following the BJP’s rise to power in February 2025.

Sumedha’s report explores this shift in tone – tracing how the LG's confrontational approach has evolved and what it reveals about the changing political dynamics in the capital.

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:04 - Beyond 82: The Controversy Over Kumbh Stampede Casualties

00:31:20 - Encounter Raj in UP: A Deep Dive into Its Persistent Reality

00:52:24 -  Dynamics Between Delhi's LG and the Ruling Party: An observer’s view

00:59: 58 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Abhinav

The Unwomanly Face of War

The Sharp Knife of Memory

Sumedha 

Rahul Gandhi writes: Match-fixing Maharashtra

Today in Politics: Congress to make people aware of Rahul’s ‘fixing polls claims’ with processions across Maharashtra

Akansha

Among the Trolls: My Journey Through Conspiracyland

Avdhesh

Dr. Ambedkar: Life And Mission

Produced and edited by Hassan Bilal and Tista Roy Chowdhury, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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This week, host Anmol Pritam is joined by Newslandry’s Basant Kumar and The Reporters' Collective’s Ayushi Kar.

Ayushi talks about her report on the recent controversy between content creators and the news agency ANI. She explains how India’s guidelines on fair uses are not so publicly disclosed which leads to such disputes. Some of YouTube’s policies of fair use are also undefined that is why ANI weaponises its claim on their videos, she adds.

Basant reported on the shift of Gujarat Samachar, a prominent newspaper in Gujarat, which once stood by the then CM Narendra Modi during the 2002 Godhara riots. He explains how the nature between Modi and the organisation changed over time and the situation worsened to such an extent that it led to ED and IT searches.

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:04:04 - ANI vs content creators

00:18:15 - Gujarat Samachar

00:49:39 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Ayushi

My Year of Meats

Basant

ANI Finds Business Niche In Copyright Claims Against YouTubers

पहली बार सांसद बने बृजभूषण सिंह के बेटे को मिला मंत्रियों वाला बंगला, गेट पर अभी भी पापा का नाम दर्ज

Anmol

ANI’s news business: ‘PR’ contracts with CMs, podcasts and a quest for power

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Anmol Pritam and The News Minute’s Nidhi Suresh.

While the rest of the country exhaled a sigh of relief at the announcement of a ceasefire in the India-Pakistan conflict, Poonch held its breath – and bled quietly.  

Nidhi and Anmol were on the ground, when the cross-border shelling began. Thirteen lives were lost. Thirteen names that won’t make it into strategic briefings or celebration speeches. Parents buried their twins, Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima – born five minutes apart, and died  five minutes apart. In another home, a wedding that was about to be planned turned into a funeral when the father of the bride-to-be never came home.

These aren’t just tragic anecdotes. This is the aftermath of a conflict that never really ends for the people living on its edge. Nidhi and Anmol’s reports on the families in both the city and the villages reveal that all of them carry the same expression – numb, disbelief, and tired of being forgotten. Their stories don’t scream, they ache. And in that ache lies a quiet question: why is Poonch always left behind?

They came back with more than interviews. They came back with grief, with names, with stories that deserve to be told. Stories of loss, of resilience, of people who live through war long after the last gun falls silent.

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:15 - From Tension to Tranquility: Ceasefire was announced

00:09:34 - Shelling without Warning: The Unseen Threat Lurked in Poonch

00:36:56 - Misinformation flooded in mainstream  and social media 

00:43: 58 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Nidhi

Society Girl: A Tale of Sex, Lies, and Scandal  

Anmol

Saving Private Ryan

Basant

American Man Hunt: Osama Bin Laden 

Produced and edited by Hassan Bilal, Ashish Anand and Tista Roy Chowdhury, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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This week, host Pratyush Deep is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Drishti Choudhary.

Prateek and Drishti have reported on the fake news being peddled on social media during the India-Pakistan conflict, following Operation Sindoor. Both of them closely tracked the misinformation campaign run on both sides of the border and analysed the deeper implications of this information warfare. 

Prateek’s report looked at how Pakistan weaponised disinformation against India by underplaying aggression, claiming victimhood, and sowing seeds of disunity and repurposing it for the age of AI. Drishti, on the other hand, spoke to digital experts to report on how “misinformation and propaganda” was passed off under the garb of information warfare in India. 

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:46 - Misinformation against India

00:16:20 - Misinformation against Pakistan

00:27:11 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Drishti

Guthlee Ladoo

Prateek

Spy Stories

Pratyush

Is the reign of the dollar over?

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Pratyush Deep and reporter Ankita Dhar Karmakar.

Pratyush reported on the mining mafia that built two illegal roads through forests and farms in the Aravallis. He explains how this violated rules and regulations, and it “enables the mining mafia to exploit the location and situation”, given its geographical location. “This illegal mining is not just done by mafias but also a nexus of local politicians and some government administrations are involved,” he says. 

Ankita talks about her report on the falling standards of Delhi School of Journalism, established with the hope of being India’s Columbia School of Journalism. She says it’s plagued by poor infrastructure, ill-equipped classrooms and high fees. She also explains how over half of its governing body is populated by members linked to the BJP or RSS.

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:13 - Mining mafia in the Aravallis 

00:06:42 - Delhi School of Journalism

00:33:23 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Ankita

What Killed Mukesh Chandrakar

Pratyush

An elephant never forgets his phandi

Shivnarayan

2 roads expose how forests, farms and laws were flattened for Aravallis’ mining mafia

Repression, Hindutva and the fall of Delhi School of Journalism

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalists Tanzil Asif, Neetu Singh and Sagar Patel, who talk about working in mainstream media, why they quit it and decided to go independent. 

Legacy media, Tanzil says, only focuses on feeding their agenda rather than serving public interest, making a journalist morally corrupt. Neetu explains that mainstream media restricted her freedom to report because it lacked the guts to hold the government accountable. Some reporters, however, are just fooling people by pretending to be independent journalists, remarks Sagar. 

They talk of their challenges in opting to work in independent media after exiting mainstream media. Despite lack of resources, hurdles in reporting and problems in their establishing and running their organisations, they say their decision to quit legacy media was most satisfactory.

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Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:02 - Reasons for exiting mainstream media

00:12:28 - Challenges for independent media

00:23:24 - Hurdles for being independent journalist

00:56:48 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Neetu

Pahalgam Attack में मारे गए Shubham Dwivedi की पत्नी Aishanya Dwivedi ने हमले के बारे में क्या बताया

Sagar 

કણબી પટેલોના નાક વાઢવાની હચમચાવી દે તેવી કહાણી| Journalist Naresh Shah | Patidar Samaj History Video

Shatranj

Tanzil

Common People

BAKKHO Documentary | A Pasmanda Muslim Story | बक्खो | पसमांदा मुस्लिम की कहानी | Bihar Caste Census

Basant

What Killed Mukesh Chandrakar - The Reporters' Collective

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

Complaining about the media is easy. Why not do something to make it better? Click here to subscribe to Newslaundry and join the tribe that pays to keep news free.

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This week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by The News Minute’s Anjana Meenakshi and Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit.

Anjana talks about her report on Isha home schools being run by Jaggi Vasudev, where alleged cases of molestation and sexual assault unfolded. She explains how these misconducts led to traumatic experiences for some, but there is a lack of a grievance redressing mechanism within the organisation. She finds the functional body of the school to be an absurd way of spiritual business.

Shivnarayan reported on the legal fight between electronic companies and the government in the Delhi High Court over the new e-waste policy. Some electronic companies like Havells, Voltas, Dainkin, Hitachi, Bluestar, LG, and Samsung challenged the Indian government’s 2024 amendment to e-waste management rules, where the government fixed the minimum and maximum price caps for recycling their waste to meet their recycling targets. Companies argue that the government’s decision is arbitrary. 

Tune in.

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:23 - Isha home schools

00:16:38 - E-waste case

00:30:11 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Anjana

A Tale of Two Cities

Supreme Whispers: Supreme Court Judges

Shivnarayan

‘Thought they were Army, but they opened fire’: Survivors recount Pahalgam horror

Sumedha

A storm brews at Isha Foundation: Sexual assault allegations and countercharges

Church and State

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by independent journalist Vishnu Narayan.

Vishnu breaks down how political parties are gearing up for a high-voltage election in Bihar. He analyses how political players are trying to finetune their strategies to get different caste groups on their side. He also talks about former civil servants jumping into the political arena and how that can affect the fortunes of the parties in the fray.

He sheds light on how the incumbent chief minister’s age will affect his party’s prospects. “Like him or not, you can’t ignore him,” Vishnu says about CM Nitish Kumar. 

Tune in.

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:52 - Political slugfest in Bihar

00:44:37 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Vishnu 

Kitna Raj, Kitna Kaj

JP to BJP

Basant

द जननायक Karpoori Thakur: वॉयस ऑफ वॉयसलेस किताब के लेखक Santosh Singh से बातचीत

Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar.

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