Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar
Our daily list of Souk picks
Editor’s note: As you may have noticed, we just unveiled a beta version of Souk—which has one simple goal: To help you find unique, high quality products that are worth your time and money.
One: Looking for the perfect-sized organiser for your electronics? The Marshal Mini keeps your essentials—chargers, earphones, USBs—all sorted in one compact case. The firm structure means your cables don’t get squished or bent, and everything stays where it’s supposed to. With elastic loops, a zip pouch, and that sleek tan finish, it’s the kind of organiser that works hard—without looking clunky.
Two: The Houseplant Jungle 1000-Piece Puzzle is basically plant parenting without the heartbreak. Designed by Troy Litten, it’s a lush sprawl of patterned leaves that feels like a mini jungle getaway—minus the humidity. Amazon swears it’s a toddler puzzle, which is hilarious, because if there’s a two-year-old out there breezing through 1000 pieces of leafy chaos, we’d like to shake their tiny hand. For the rest of us, it’s that perfect sweet spot of beautiful and brain-teasing, ideal for a quiet evening when your actual plants are on life support.
Three: Skip the wallet this time. This Gentleman's Gift Hamper is under Rs.1,000 (if you go for the festive box instead of the handcrafted basket option) and feels like a little care package: two solid soap bars (one coffee, one clean and gentle), a cocoa butter lip balm, a rainforest moisturiser, and a mini scrub to wake up tired skin. Everyday basics that feel good, and do good—no plastic, no fluff.
PS: This is a beta launch and feedback—good or bad—is key. So please email the team at dearsouk@splainer.in with your thoughts. We want to get this right!
Women’s World Cup: Bye bye Bengaluru?
The context: On June 4, a planned victory parade in Bangalore—to celebrate RCB’s maiden IPL title triumph—turned into a stampede, killing 11 people and injuring 33. The team had planned to make their way in an open air bus to Chinnaswamy Stadium—which can accommodate 32,000 fans but more than 200,000 turned up. It was an organisational sh*tshow from everyone involved—the team management, the police and the state government. But, but, but: the government slyly passed the buck—RCB officials, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and the event management company DNA were charged with culpable homicide.
What happened now: The Women’s World Cup kicks off on September 30—and will be spread across five cities. Bangalore was slated to host the tournament opener between India and Sri Lanka on September 30, three qualification matches, the second semi-final on October 30, and possibly the final on November 2.
Or maybe not. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has missed BCCI’s August 10 deadline to secure police approvals to host the games at the venue. This is now becoming a trend. The KSCA’s T20 competition—the Maharaja Trophy—had to be moved to Mysore for the same reason—despite offering to play the matches behind closed doors. The likely reason: The state government blames the KSCA for the June 4 stampede—which was also a PR disaster for the local police.
What happens next: The KSCA is exploring the possibility of hosting the matches—with caps on attendance. It isn’t clear whether BCCI will accept the proposal. If the matches are yanked from Bangalore, the Greenfields Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram is the most likely alternative:
As things stand, the Greenfields Stadium is preparing to host the second season of the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) from August 21 to September 7. However, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is believed to have a back-up plan in place, with the KCL being moved to another venue, should they be required as World Cup hosts.
Point to note: If this impasse over Chinnaswamy continues—it would dash any hopes of hosting matches for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup and the 2026 IPL season. Also: A new stadium was recently inaugurated at the outskirts of the city—but is unlikely to be ready any time soon. (ESPNCricInfo)
First salvo against same-sex marriage in the US
When the US Supreme Court overturned abortion rights in 2022, many predicted that same-sex marriages would be next on the rightwing hit list. They have now been proven right. The Court has agreed to take up a case challenging the 2015 ruling—Obergefell v Hodges—that legalised same-sex marriages in the US.
About the case: Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, was found in contempt of court for refusing to issue a marriage licence to a gay couple—citing her religious beliefs—just weeks after the 2015 ruling. She spent six days in jail and paid $360,000 in penalties.
Davis has appealed that judgement on the following grounds:
Davis argues First Amendment protection for free exercise of religion immunizes her from personal liability for the denial of marriage licenses. More fundamentally, she claims the high court's decision in Obergefell v Hodges — extending marriage rights for same-sex couples under the 14th Amendment's due process protections — was "egregiously wrong."
Point to note: Davis is moving the Supreme Court because lower courts rejected her argument about the First Amendment. The challenge to the legalisation of same-sex marriage remains unaddressed. Her lawyer called Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion in Obergefell “legal fiction.”
Is the danger real? Although Davis’ case is considered a ‘long shot’ by legal experts, it’s the first time the Court has indicated a willingness to revisit Obergefell vs Hodges. It comes at a time when same-sex couples are under fire at the state level:
So far in 2025, at least nine states have either introduced legislation aimed at blocking new marriage licenses for LGBTQ people or passed resolutions urging the Supreme Court to reverse Obergefell at the earliest opportunity, according to the advocacy group Lambda Legal.
Reminder: In its 2022 ruling, the Court gave states free rein to deny abortion rights and criminalise those who either seek or provide abortions—all in the name of federalism. While greater majorities favour equal marriage rights, support has plateaued at 70% since 2020. More notably, Republican support has dipped over the past decade, from 55% in 2021 to 41% this year. ABC News and Associated Press have more.
Ford unveils big breakthrough in EV manufacturing
The company has developed a new “universal” vehicle platform—that uses more automation, fewer workers and fewer parts:
The new “universal” vehicle platform uses 20% fewer parts than a typical vehicle, with 25% fewer fasteners and 40% fewer workstations dock-to-dock in the plant. That results in a fast assembly time of about 15 percent as compared to traditional vehicle manufacturing... Ford estimates that its new low-cost EVs will have a lower cost of ownership over five years as compared to a three-year-old Tesla Model Y.
Ford will start production of a four-door midsized pickup truck in 2027—priced at about $30,000. In comparison, a Tesla truck costs ~$70,000.
How it works: Ford is calling the innovation a ‘Model T’ moment—which ushered in the assembly line manufacturing process that revolutionized the auto industry. That assembly line has now become an ‘assembly tree’:
Ford says that it has taken the traditional, linear assembly line and transformed it into an “assembly tree.” Instead of one long conveyor, three sub-assemblies run down their own lines simultaneously before joining together at the end, the company says. Using this method, a large single-piece aluminum unicasting can replace dozens of smaller parts, enabling the front and rear of the vehicle to be assembled separately.
That said, Wall Street wasn’t all that impressed. The Ford stock closed down 0.27%. But this isn’t just about innovation. Ford’s EV and software division is set to lose around $5.5 billion this year. On top of that, Donald Trump’s new tariffs and planned rollback of EV tax credits are expected to shave $2 billion off its annual earnings. The Verge and Detroit Free Press have the best reporting on Ford’s new process.
MAP Academy fellowships alert!!
Editor’s note: As you know, the wonderful MAP Academy is our content partner for Advisory. It is one of the few Indian institutions deeply invested in cultural research and education. They also offer rare funded opportunities for researchers, designers, archivists, journalists, writers and educators. The Nalli Fellowship is one of them.
Over to MAP Academy…
We’re pleased to announce that a new cycle of the MAP Academy & Nalli Fellowships will open to applications soon. Designed to support research and practice in South Asia’s diverse textile traditions, the Fellowship is born out of a collaboration between MAP Academy and Nalli Silks, a heritage textile brand based in India.
Programme Details: Four fellowships, each with a grant of INR 5,50,000, will be awarded.
The programme is open to a wide range of people, from individuals to collectives, from researchers to practitioners. We’re hoping to receive applications on a range of subjects, and these include:
- Histories of clothing and costume
- Community or personal textile archives
- Textiles in religious or liturgical contexts
- Environmental impact of textile production and consumption
- Endangered or disappearing textile traditions
- Critical perspectives on revivalism
- Labour in textile production, with a focus on caste, class, and gender
- Textiles in relation to other cultural forms—storytelling, poetry, music, architecture, and material culture
- Textiles in the context of archaeological study
- Textiles as symbols or metaphors in literature or mythology
- Techniques and tools used in specific textile traditions
You can read more about the Fellowships here. We will begin accepting applications starting August 18, 2025.
To register your interest and receive a reminder when applications open, please visit this link. For any queries, contact us at: fellowships@map-india.org
what caught our eye
business & tech
- The Ambanis have once again topped the 2025 Hurun India Most Valuable Family Businesses list, with a valuation of Rs 28.2 lakh crore—an outrageous one-twelfth of India’s GDP.
- International spot gold prices may touch $7,000 an ounce by 2030—more than double the current rate—in the event of a dollar devaluation.
- AI startup Perplexity has made an unsolicited offer to buy Google Chrome for $34.5 billion.
- Reddit will block the Internet Archive from indexing most of its site after discovering AI companies were scraping data from its Wayback Machine snapshots.
- Elon Musk has threatened Apple with an antitrust lawsuit, claiming that Apple is making it "impossible" for AI companies other than OpenAI to reach the top spot in its App Store.
- Meanwhile, OpenAI is planning to invest in an AI brain implant startup called Merge Labs in order to rival Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Our Big Story has more on tech bros torturing monkeys.
- Pronto, a Delhi startup promising house-help within 10 minutes, has seen its valuation triple to $45 million in under three months amid India’s quick-commerce boom.
- Financial Times (splainer gift link) has a good read on pacifist Japan taking a major step toward becoming a top arms exporter, with Australia’s purchase of Mitsubishi frigates paving the way despite challenges like production limits and labor shortages.
sports & entertainment
- Bhumi Pednekar and her sister Samiksha have launched a premium water brand called Backbay together. It is priced at Rs 150 for a 500ml and Rs 200 for 750ml to ensure it is “accessible to people.”
- Strike in Kollywood: The Telugu film industry is at a standstill as the Telugu Film Industry Employees Federation demands a 30% increase in wages.
- ‘To All the Boys I’ve Ever Loved’ star Noah Centineo is set to play a young John Rambo—the role made famous by Sylvester Stallone—in the prequel.
- Swifties, rejoice! Taylor Swift has announced her upcoming 12th album’s title ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ on her boyfriend’s podcast.
health & environment
- The Guardian highlights the plastic crisis along the coast of Kerala as millions of tiny plastic pellets wash up on the shores due to the capsizing of a Liberian container ship in May, amidst global plastic treaty talks continuing in Geneva.
- According to climate experts, Canada’s wildfire season this year is already the second-worst on record—with more than 470 fires classified as “out of control”.
- Speaking of wildfires: Europe's wildfires—across Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans—have hit tourism spots and forests.
- Down under, the world-famous coral reefs along Western Australia's (WA) coast have witnessed the worst bleaching on record after the state's "longest, largest and most intense" marine heatwave.
- Two new studies show that weight-loss drugs—like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro—can cause a rare but serious eye condition called the “eye stroke”.
- A new hope for rheumatoid arthritis treatment: Scientists have developed a new implant that can be surgically placed into the neck and which stimulates the vagus nerve to signal the body to fight against the autoimmune condition.
- A Chinese man faces jail in the US as he admitted to exporting around 850 protected turtles to Hong Kong disguised as toys.
- The power of jellyfish: A “massive and unpredictable” swarm of jellyfish got caught in the reactors of a nuclear power plant in France, forcing it to shutdown on Sunday. According to Montel News, the incident knocked out 10% of France’s nuclear capacity.
- Dinosaur teeth from the Mesozoic Era (252 million to 66 million years ago) have helped scientists discover that Earth had a higher concentration of greenhouse gases during that era than during both pre-industrial and modern times.
meanwhile, in the world
- Israel has intensified airstrikes on Gaza, killing at least 89 Palestinians in 24 hours—including people waiting in line for food—while five more, including two children, have died of starvation.
- UN investigators warn that Myanmar’s military is detaining children as young as two—often in place of their parents—and holding them in prisons where torture is widespread.
- Russia has made advances on the battlefield in Ukraine, seeking an edge for the upcoming talks between Putin and Trump in Alaska.
- South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested following accusations of graft. Her husband—ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol—has been in jail since April after his botched attempt to impose martial law last December.
- Iran’s police say they detained 21,000 people during the 12-day June war with Israel, including hundreds accused of spying or illegal filming.
meanwhile, in India
- Rajasthan's turn now: The state High Court has ordered municipal bodies to remove stray dogs and other animals from city roads, following the Supreme Court’s directive to clear stray dogs from Delhi-NCR areas.
- The Hindu has a must read on—as the Supreme Court has ordered the sheltering of all stray dogs—how Delhi’s dog sterilisation centres are buckling under overcrowding, crumbling facilities, and staff stretched to the limit.
- The Supreme Court has given interim protection to journalist Siddharth Varadarajan and his team at The Wire from any action over an FIR in Assam that invokes a new sedition-like law carrying life imprisonment.
- Meanwhile, The Wire has an in-depth look at how Muslim residents in Dhubri were evicted first and then removed from the electoral rolls.
- The Supreme Court has flagged possible errors in Bihar’s draft electoral roll, noting the Election Commission’s readiness to fix them.
- West Bengal’s migrant welfare board chief has alleged that a worker pushed into Bangladesh by Indian security agencies has now been booked there for illegal entry, forcing the Centre to seek his return to avoid legal fallout.
- The US SEC says the Modi government has yet to deliver bribery case summons to Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and the Adani Group, six months after requesting India’s help. For information about the case, read our curation.
- Bloomberg reports that India and China will resume direct flights from September after five years, with an announcement likely at the SCO summit in China later this month.
- Jammu and Kashmir’s Special Investigation Agency has reopened the 1990 murder case of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhatt, conducting raids at eight locations in Srinagar to gather evidence.
- Parliament has passed the revised Income Tax Bill, accepting nearly all recommendations from the Select Committee, following approvals from both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
Two things to see
One: On Monday, Donald Trump announced a federal takeover of the Washington DC police department—supposedly to address the ‘out-of-control’ crime in the city. Thanks to this unprecedented move, 800 National Guard troops arrived onto the streets of the capital, as you can see below—and have already made 23 arrests. Btw, crime rates in DC reached a historic 30-year low last year—and are down another 26% so far this year. Moral of the story: Democracy is no protection against tinpot dictators. Waiting for Donald to slide into a military uniform a la Modi-ji. (CNBC)
Two: The Opposition has been waging noisy protests against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging “vote chori” (explained in detail here). You can see what happened on Day 1 here. On Day 2, yesterday, Congress MPs such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra unveiled protest merch—a white T-shirt with the face of Minta Devi—whose birthdate on the electoral roll is July 15, 1900. Hence, the slogan on the back of the tee: ‘124 Not Out’. Wah, a lajawab cricket pun! You can see them lined up in their tees here. A closer look at the tee below. (The Hindu)
feel good place
One: Can't beat ‘em? Join ‘em!
Two: See? The damn economy seats are too small!
Three: Baby deer + baby human. Enuf said.