Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
Wanted: A fabulous editor for Advisory
Our weekend edition—the Advisory—is all about helping our community get the best advice on what to watch, where to travel, what to buy etc. All of it served with wonderful essays on art, music, food, history and more. We are looking for someone who really gets what makes the Advisory special—and can take it to the next level. Requirements of the job include:
- At least five years experience in lifestyle/culture content.
- A well-informed taste in books, travel, movies and more—and the network to commission content across a range of categories.
- Impeccable writing and editing skills is a must.
- Ability to work closely with our partners—and forge new relationships with institutions and brands.
- Willingness to explore lifestyle & culture in new and innovative ways.
- A knowledge of and love for splainer is a huge plus—since we’re not the usual news product.
Please note this isn’t a job for someone who is looking to edit the standard lifestyle section of a newspaper or site. Our aim is to break new ground—and build something truly valuable for our subscribers.
As for the rest: There is a six-month probation period and the pay will be industry standard. We are an equal opportunity employer and work remotely. Please send your resumes and cover letter—telling us why you want this job—to talktous@splainer.in. We will reach out to you if you’re shortlisted.
Talking about Donald Trump…
A new veep wannabe: The presidential candidate kicked off the first night of the Republican Convention by announcing his running mate: JD Vance. Wondering who he is? Once upon a time, Vance was the kind of rightwinger that liberal mags like New Yorker love to love. He wrote an excellent book called ‘Hillbilly Elegy’—calling out liberals for feeling the pain of every marginalised community—except white poor people.
Also: He is a Yale alum and former Marine—who called out the crazies on the far-right—including Donald Trump. In Trump’s case, Vance said he could be “America’s Hitler.” Either he no longer thinks so—or no longer cares. New York Times has more on his change of heart. Of course, he has an Indian-American wife named Usha—because no one loves Republicans better than desis these days. CNN has that story.
Clean chit for Trump: His near-death experience seems to have deeply affected the judge in the classified documents case against Trump. This is the one where he took top-secret files with him to Mar-a-Largo—and forgot to give them back when he stopped being president (explained in this Big Story). In any case, the judge—who has always been bizarrely in his corner—arbitrarily decided the special counsel investigating Trump is ‘unconstitutional’. (AFP via The Hindu)
As for the assassination attempt: We now know that Thomas Matthew Crooks had a busy shopping day before he tried to kill Trump—buying a five-foot ladder and 50 rounds of ammunition. But we still don’t know why he did what he did. What’s notable: A cop confronted Crooks on the rooftop seconds before he shot Trump—but retreated when Crooks aimed his rifle at him. A related read: TIME Magazine on the rightwing campaign against the female Secret Service agents on the scene. This Big Story has more on the shooting, ICYMI.
Pakistan government’s plan to ban Imran
The context: Former PM Imran Khan has been languishing in jail since May 2023. He faces a barrage of charges in several court cases (see: this Big Story). Both Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) had to sit the national election out in February this year. Candidates instead ran as independents—and won 93 seats. The party decided to remain as the Opposition. Our Big Story has lots more on the election results.
What happened next: Last week, PTI scored two big wins. The Supreme Court said the party is eligible for its share of the Parliament seats reserved for women and minorities. These are allocated to winning parties in proportion to their seat tally. This means that PTI now is the largest party with 109 seats. Next, Khan and his wife were acquitted in a bizarre case that claimed their marriage was illegal—and sentenced to seven years in jail.
What happened now: In a shamelessly transparent move to block Khan, the government announced plans to ban PTI. The reason: a wide range of alleged crimes including the “incitement of violent protests last year and the leaking of classified information.” Khan is also accused of treason. Al Jazeera has that story.
Google’s big $23 billion buy
Parent company Alphabet is close to sealing a deal to buy the Israeli cybersecurity company Wiz. This would be the most expensive acquisition in its history—surpassing its purchase of Motorola for $12.5 billion ten years ago. Why this matters: Cybersecurity has emerged as the hottest space in tech (other than AI)—as companies increasingly store all their data on the cloud. What’s also interesting: Buying a company founded by three former Israeli military spooks could intensify employee protests over Gaza. (CNN)
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong: The government will develop its own AI chatbot—after OpenAI blocked access to ChatGPT in all Chinese territories. It’s super catchy name: ‘document editing co-pilot application for civil servants’. We love it! (South China Morning Post)
Big brouhaha over Kedarnath
The context: There are plans to build a new Kedarnath temple in Delhi—which is controversial since there is already a revered Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand. The religious establishment hates this plan—including the priests at the OG temple.
What happened now: The temple has become a political lightning rod for two reasons. One: The Congress party claims this is part of BJP’s plan to create temples and priests who toe its line:
Just as the BJP previously created dozens of its own Shankaracharyas, in addition to the traditional four (by going) against Vedic tradition, they are now tampering with the glory of Jyotirlingas… The Kedarnath Dham has its own history and beliefs. It is not a franchise that you can establish anywhere.
Two: The Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath has also come out against the temple—claiming 228 kgs of gold were embezzled from the OG Kedarnath temple—but the same trust is now planning to build a new temple in Delhi. This is the same Shankracharya who has been saying salty things about the BJP (and very nice things about Rahul Gandhi).
Why any of this matters: The Congress seems to have put the BJP on the back foot in the territory it traditionally owns—Hindu sanskar etc. The temple drama also dovetails with Gandhi’s bhashan on Shiva in Parliament—since Kedarnath is also dedicated to Lord Shiva. Is Indian politics going to turn into the war of the Hindu gods? (Indian Express)
Flipkart embraces super-speedy delivery
Flipkart is following the footsteps of Zepto, Blinkit etc. with a service called Flipkart Minutes. It plans to open at least 100 “dark stores”—which are mini warehouses—spread across the big metros. The new service has already kicked off in Bangalore—and will be officially launched in two weeks. Data point to note: While quick commerce has not been a grand success in the West, it has grown 10X in India—from 2021 to 2023. (Economic Times)
A herpes vaccine for elephants
Scientists have developed the first mRNA vaccine for elephants to protect them against the lethal elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV). It has a mortality rate of 70%. The vaccine’s design is “similar” to the Covid vaccines for humans. FYI: the vaccine was developed by a partnership between the Houston zoo, Baylor College of Medicine, and Colossal—yup, the same ‘de-extinction’ company working on the revival of woolly mammoths (more in this Big Story).
Forty-year-old Tess at Houston zoo became the first Asian elephant to receive the trial shot. As you can see, she was a very good girl about it. The excitement of the zoo staff is also infectious. (The Guardian)
In sadder news about vaccines: A new WHO report shows that children around the world are not being vaccinated because of war and domestic unrest—especially in Gaza, Afghanistan etc. The most critical among these is the the DTP3 (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine: “the number of children who had not received a single dose of DTP3 increased by 600,000 from 2022 to 2023, leaving 2.7 million more children un- and under-immunised than before the pandemic.” (CNN)
Two things to see
One: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau made a cameo appearance at the Diljit Dosanjh concert in Toronto. Mercifully, Trudeau was not in full desi attire—unlike his India trip in 2018. (Mint)
Two: Messi’s heartbreaking injury did not stop fans in Buenos Aires from flooding the streets—to celebrate Argentina’s Copa America title win. (ABC News)
But, but, but: Footage from Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium shows the uglier side of the final—which was a chaotic shitshow. Thousands of fans stormed the gates to get in without tickets. The more enterprising kind climbed through the vents to get in on the action. (USA Today)
