Does Gyanesh Kumar have immunity from the law? | South Central 96

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1. 

   2 Oct 2026 · 53 min

   Parakala Prabhakar on the ECI, SIR and the deletion of voters | South Central 95

   In this week’s South Central, hosts Pooja Prasanna and Anisha Sheth are joined by political economist and author Dr Parakala Prabhakar for an extended conversation on the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the deletion of voters and the larger questions these developments raise about India’s electoral democracy. Audio timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:35 - Headlines 00:09:35 - ECI, SIR and the deletion of voters Support our legal fund. Click here Check out the recommendations and references from this episode . Check out the…

2. 

   25 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 15 min

   Veeramani case, Reporter TV raid and ECI dissent | South Central 94

   This week’s South Central examines the questions surrounding the Veeramani case in Tamil Nadu, allegations of police inaction and a culture of silence. Hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by TNM’s Chennai Bureau Chief Shabbir Ahmed. The episode also discusses the police raid on the Reporter TV newsroom and the wider debate over press freedom and media ownership, with senior journalist MG Radhakrishnan joining the conversation. The episode also looks at reported dissent within the Election Commission of India, questions over electoral roll verification and the centralisation…

3. 

   18 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

   Could AI destroy humanity? | What’s happening in Telangana politics? | South Central 93

   In this week's South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna explore whether AI could pose an existential threat to humanity, and what regulation and the debate over whether AI development needs to slow down. They are joined by Sarayu Natarajan, founder of Aapti Institute and Visiting Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Deepthi Bathini, AI Policy and Strategy Fellow at Successif and Associate Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. In the second part of the episode, the hosts turn to the political developments in Telangana, including the ruckus…

4. 

   11 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 31 min

   Justice Madan Lokur on SIR, fear in judiciary | Meta’s CSAM problem | South Central 92

   In this week’s South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna are joined by former Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur to discuss a wide range of issues - from the cancellation of law school convocations following student protests against the CJI to mass voter roll discrepancies and the judiciary's hesitation to intervene. In the second part of the discussion, the hosts are joined by Divya Arya, a journalist reporting for the BBC World Service, who worked on the story exposing the prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) content in Meta apps. Audio timecodes: 0:00:00 -…

5. 

   4 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 17 min

   Samastha cannot dictate to Muslim women | CM Vijay’s PM dream | South Central 91

   In this week's South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna discuss controversial remarks by Muslim religious leader Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar on women’s participation in public religious events. They are joined by Shahina KK, Founder and Editor of Offbeat Concerns, and Sunaina Shahida Ikbal, Writer, Psychologist and Academician. In the second part of the episode, the conversation turns to the growing calls for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay to become Prime Minister in 2029, and what the phenomenon says about celebrity politics, political cults and Vijay’s ambitions.…

6. 

   28 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 24 min

   CM Vijay’s Parandur decision | India’s new anti-reservation drama | South Central 90

   In this week's South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna discuss the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to scrap the Parandur airport project. They are joined by aviation safety consultant Captain Mohan Ranganathan and K E Raghunathan, national chairman of the Association of Indian Entrepreneurs. In the second part of the episode, the hosts discuss the recent anti-reservation movement. They are joined by Professor Ravikant Kisana. Audio timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:27 - Headlines 00:09:12 - Scrapping of Parandur Airport project 00:45:09 - Anti-reservation movement…

7. 

   21 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 24 min

   India’s food safety crisis and BJP’s political reshuffle | South Central 89

   In this week’s episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna first discuss raids and inspections across the country at restaurants and the prevalence of contaminated food even at top-end eateries. They are joined by food influencer and author Krish Ashok and TNM reporter Shivani Kava. In the second part of the discussion, the hosts discuss the BJP’s big political reshuffle. They are joined by Aditya Menon, journalist and Political Editor at The Quint. Audio timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:13 - Headlines 00:08:38 - Food Safety in India 00:51:02 - BJP rejig and…

8. 

   14 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 21 min

   Vikram’s Lar Gibbon video and TN Speaker’s anti-abortion speak | South Central 88

   In this week’s South Central, hosts Pooja Prasanna and Anisha Sheth first discuss the problem of exotic animals across the world being taken into private custody. They are joined by independent journalists Siddharth Prabhakar and M Rajshekhar. In the second half, the hosts discuss the Tamil Nadu Speaker JCD Prabhakar attending and leading an anti-abortion rally in Chennai. He made an anti-abortion speech and also said he would take this up with CM Vijay. They are joined by Dr Alka Barua, a senior rights activist and TNM’s senior reporter Bharathy Singaravel. Audio timecodes: 00:00:00 -…

9. 

   7 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 15 min

   Udhayanidhi’s arrest and Union government’s Meta crackdown | South Central 87

   In this week's South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Anisha Sheth discuss the arrest of Udhayanidhi Stalin and the Union government's social media crackdown following the CJP protests. They are joined by activist Tara Krishnaswamy, lawyer Nikhil Narendran, and TNM's Tamil Nadu Bureau Chief, Shabbir Ahmed. Audio timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:33 - Headlines 00:08:25 - Arrest of Udhayanidhi Stalin 00:50:17 - Crackdown on social media 1:07:52 - Recommendations Get special 6-month subscription this Independence Day at Rs 1947: https://pages.razorpay.com/tnm-1947 Check out the…

10. 

    31 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 20 min

    Protest to Crackdown: The Aftermath of Jantar Mantar | South Central 86

    In this week’s South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna discuss the aftermath of the Jantar Mantar protests, led by the Cockroach Janta Party. They are joined by senior journalist and editor of The Wire, Seema Chisti, and Peek TV co-founder Vedanta Agarwal. Audio timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:43 - Headlines 00:09:01 - Aftermath of CJP protest 1:08:12 - Recommendations 1:12:55 - Letters Get 20% off on TNM-NL Subscription https://rzp.io/rzp/tnm-nl-stickers Support PEEK TV https://pages.razorpay.com/ptvn Support The Wire https://support.thewire.in Check out the…

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