If you were among those gutted to learn in 2013 that Siddharth Varadarajan had quit as editor of The Hindu, there’s some good news. He’s founded a new website with journalist and author Siddharth Bhatia to house independent reportage on politics, economy, science and culture. The Wire also has journalist and author Raghu Karnad on board as contributing editor. Their mandate is to provide an alternative to “family-run, corporate-funded or advertising-driven newspapers”, ie all of them.
Here’s our pick of the most interesting stories to read on The Wire right now.
Amitav Ghosh on climate change
There is no threat to any society, anywhere, that is remotely comparable to that of climate change. How can people summon so much indignation on so many matters and yet remain indifferent to a process that threatens their very existence?
A former reporter himself, Ghosh also spoke to ELLE India this month about his frustration with the lack of outrage on this matter of life and death.
Debarshi Dasgupta on how the Naxals are using pop culture to win hearts
With Hindi still largely alien for many in this part of the state, Naxal songs and other forms of entertainment in local languages have become, not just the driver of an underground pop culture, but also an efficient way for the rebels to get their worldview across and get closer to the locals.
This cool vine of a thunderstorm over India as seen from space
In March 2015, Virts assumed command of the International Space Station, a habitable satellite in low-Earth orbit. He also spotted the disco-lights of a thunderstorm playing out over the country. The flashes are actually embedded in clouds, which aren’t visible in the darkness but give themselves away by blocking light from the ground.
