In the first part of this week’s South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna discuss the Kerala and Tamil Nadu exit polls and the recent political developments in both states.

They are joined by TNM’s Tamil Nadu bureau chief Shabbir Ahmed, Kerala bureau chief Haritha John, and senior reporter Azeefa Fathima.

In the second part of the episode, the hosts discuss the World Press Freedom Index 2026, in which India has slipped down to 157. They are joined by senior journalist Laxmi Murthy, who is also the founder and co-editor of the Free Speech Collective.

Audio timecodes:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:03:58 - Headlines

00:14:04 - Kerala & Tamil Nadu exit polls

00:51:25 - India slips in Press Freedom Index

1:18:15 - Recommendations

Check out the recommendations and references from this episode.

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Produced by Jaseem Ali, Megha Mukundan, edited by Jaseem Ali, written by Sukanya Shaji, Camera by Ajay R

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