The Rona Returns
Stephen Colbert’s Late Night team brings you ‘’, starring Donald Trump as Thanos who makes post-boxes disappear.
ALIBABA HITS PAUSE ON INDIA The Chinese tech giant is freezing new investments in the country due to ongoing diplomatic tensions. Even money that has been committed is being held up by the government’s stricter foreign investment rules. Example: Zomato is still waiting on $100 million of the $150 million committed by Ant Financial—owned by Alibaba. Startup money from Chinese investors dipped to $166 million between January and July compared with $197 million during the same months last year. Total Chinese investment in Indian startups: $641 million in 2019. () Also on the anti-China radar: NASA’s collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. : Musk’s other company Tesla secured a line of credit worth approximately $1.4 billion from Chinese state-owned banks in December. Now, some Republican Congressmen are all worried: > “I'm concerned that companies in China could come into the U.S., make a sweetheart deal, take sensitive information, take > proprietary technologies, and use it to enrich their own space program, their own national security efforts in China.” AMAZON INDIA IS BEING SUED A group of more than 2,000 online sellers has filed an antitrust case against the company. They claim that Amazon’s wholesale unit sells goods at a loss to select companies like Cloudtail (in which Amazon is an investor). This allows Cloudtail to heavily discount their products and undercut others on the platform. The filing claims: “This anti-competitive arrangement ... is causing foreclosure of competition by driving independent sellers out of the market.” has the exclusive. Also being sued, Netflix: And by none other than Mehul Choksi—the uncle and co-conspirator of the infamous Nirav Modi (The of bank loans). Choksi is upset about its upcoming series ‘Bad Boy Billionaires’ which “explores the greed, fraud and corruption that built up—and ultimately brought down—India’s most infamous tycoons.” Oddly, Choksi is not suing to ban the series but to get an early look at it. () YET ANOTHER FACEBOOK EXPOSÉ has uncovered a number of pro-BJP pages that are hiding their connection to the party—in violation of FB rules. Two of them label themselves as ‘News and Media’ websites: > Three of these five pages—Nation With Namo, My First Vote for Modi and Bharat Ke Mann ki Baat—feature among Facebook’s top 10 > India advertising spenders. Together, these three account for Rs 4.83 crore of the nearly Rs 16 crore spent by Facebook’s top 10 > political advertisers since February 2019, or more than a quarter, company data show. > > > > In submissions to Facebook, all three admitted to operating from the same address—6-A, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi. This > is the registered address of the BJP’s national headquarters. We are shocked. NEW CHARGES AGAINST RHEA CHAKRABORTY The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has filed a criminal case against the actor and three of her acquaintances. The reason: The Enforcement Directorate—which is investigating her role in Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide—alerted the NCB to WhatsApp conversations between Chakraborty and others regarding cannabidiol, LSD, MDMA and marijuana. Now the NCB aims “to unearth the nexus of trafficking.” Chakraborty’s lawyer says she has “never consumed drugs in her life.” Alarming point to note: The charges are non-bailable and carry punishments between 1-10 years. Yup, now it’s officially a witch hunt. () WOMEN MAKE BETTER CORONA WARRIORS A compared 19 countries led by women with male-led countries closest to them in terms of population, economy, gender equality etc. On average, nations with a woman in charge had half as many Covid deaths. Likely reason: They generally ordered lockdowns much earlier and “flattened the curve” more quickly. The most interesting bit of speculation is this: > “One reason could be that women are more averse to risk, as most studies corroborate. But the choice facing leaders this spring > wasn’t simply between more or less risk. It was a trade-off between one risk, that to life, and another, that of economic loss. > So the difference between the men and women, as the study’s authors point out, was really that the women took less risk with > lives and more with the economy, whereas men did the opposite.” COMING SOON: A WEST WING REUNION The cast will reunite for a special to be aired on HBOMax right before the election. The aim: to encourage Americans to vote. No, this won’t be a Zoom-only episode, but will be shot at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. Yes, Barack Obama will make a guest appearance. Still delayed due to the pandemic: The ‘Friends’ reunion. () ACTIVISTS DISMANTLE ‘ILLEGAL ZOO’ The so-called ‘emu park’ in a South Delhi park had birds—including a turkey, geese and emus!—and also: rabbits, guinea pigs and persian cats. Activists have now , and relocated the animals to shelters. The reason: They were being kept in tiny cages and in filthy conditions. Everyone—including park authorities—are feigning total ignorance. But the park has long been a . EMPTY PATRA MAKES GREAT NOISE The ‘Rasode mein kaun tha’ meme took a bizarre and insane turn on television thanks to BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra—who gave it a whole new ‘Rahul is Rashi’ spin. Bonus points to the anchor for keeping a straight face—and to the Congress rep who offered a . Watch Patra .
Marta Sánchez García reimagines modern iterations of all-too-familiar Disney characters. Her most recent work takes up the Vogue Challenge, and the results are delightful.
A SHORT LIST OF GOOD READS * reports on how faculty and students are working to protect wildlife on university campuses across India. * offers an intriguing list of the greatest novels ever written about every sport. Their pick for cricket—Joseph O’Neill’s ‘Netherland’—is based in post-9/11 New York! * Andy Mukherjee in looks at India’s post-Covid recovery which increasingly looks like a Monopoly board game. * The last time around, we forgot to include this eye-opening piece in on India’s African rulers. * Last but not least: This brilliant profile of Mercedes Barcha—the great muse and wife of Gabriel García Márquez.
SUGGESTED VIEWING LIST : The Great Escape : Namastey Switzerland : Alien : Alien 2
I RECOMMEND EDITOR’S NOTE Le15 founder and Cordon Bleu whiz (and splainer subscriber!) Pooja Dhingra needs no introduction. Her cafes and patisseries are madly popular, and her entrepreneurial skills landed her on Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list. But today, she’s not talking food, but instead about everyone’s other fave timepass: podcasts! (PS: Our personal podcast recommendation: Pooja’s own ) I started listening to podcasts 3 years ago when I was preparing to give a speech in French (in France!) and podcasts came to my rescue. I've been hooked ever since. Here are some of my favourites. : This is one of the first podcasts I ever listened to. I knew I'd like it (because, Oprah fangirl) but I never expected to like it SO much. It's a three-part series that takes you through Oprah's career and growth into an international powerhouse, laced with insightful stories and interviews. It's great storytelling, well produced and gripping. As an entrepreneur, I often feel defeated (and frustrated and angry) and sometimes lose sense of why I'm doing what I'm doing. Each day feels challenging sometimes, and giving up seems easy. I love this show—dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies—because it makes me feel like I'm not alone. It inspires me and gets me back on track. Great brands are built slowly, one day at a time. My personal favourite episodes are on and . When I started my own podcast, I looked at Tim Ferris as an inspiration. I love how he deep dives into complex topics with his guests—which include world class successes from Neil Gaiman to Reid Hoffman to Maria Sharapova—but makes them so easy to understand. He covers everything from how to conquer your mind, be more creative, invest better or even micro dosing. There's something for everyone here! I'll often finish a two hour-plus episode and still be left craving for more. Note: This is NOT sponsored content. We use this section to spotlight the recommendations of people we trust and admire. A SHORT LIST OF GOOD READS * reports on how faculty and students are working to protect wildlife on university campuses across India. * offers an intriguing list of the greatest novels ever written about every sport. Their pick for cricket—Joseph O’Neill’s ‘Netherland’—is based in post-9/11 New York! * Andy Mukherjee in looks at India’s post-Covid recovery which increasingly looks like a Monopoly board game. * The last time around, we forgot to include this eye-opening piece in on India’s African rulers. * Last but not least: This brilliant profile of Mercedes Barcha—the great muse and wife of Gabriel García Márquez. SUGGESTED VIEWING LIST : The Great Escape : Namastey Switzerland : Alien : Alien 2
A lively look back at our pehla election of 1951. We’ve come a long way.
Read More
Scientists are trying to alter the evolutionary course of animals—so they can survive it.
Read More
The BJP is expending astonishing amounts of energy on Tamil Nadu this election season—and it’s all about 2029.
Read More
Early-onset cancer has been steadily rising but scientists have no clue why this is happening.
Read More