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  • Are the extinct dire wolves really back?

    Are the extinct dire wolves really back?
    2025/05/05
    The world of science was rocked early last month when U.S. company Colossal Biosciences announced that it had resurrected the dire wolf—a species that went extinct more than 10,000 years ago. Three pups, named Remus, Romulus, and Khaleesi are now living on a 2,000-acre enclosure in a secret location. Videos of the wolf pups howling went viral across the internet, as did photographs of their snowy white fur. How did Colossal achieve this? Through genetic editing. After first extracting DNA from an ancient dire wolf skull and tooth and studying its genome, the company claims it then took the genome of a grey wolf, the closest living ancestor of the dire wolf, and made precise edits at 20 locations across 14 genes. Most of these edits were cosmetic changes—to do with fur colour and size. The modified genome was then implanted in embryos, and surrogate dog mothers gave birth to the wolf pups. While the science sounds immensely exciting, several experts have contested the claim that these pups are dire wolves. Can a few edits in a genome truly recreate a lost species? Can these wolves behave just as the real dire wolves did, given that the ecology and environment that the dire wolves existed in no longer exist? The company claims that it wants to secure the health and biodiversity of our planet’s future—its next project is to ‘de-extinct’ the woolly mammoth. Is this the right way to go about conservation, and can it even work? Guest: Kartik Shanker, Professor & Chairperson, Centre for Ecological Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru Host: Zubeda Hamid Produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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    28 分
  • Is a candidate winning an election ‘unopposed’ unconstitutional?

    Is a candidate winning an election ‘unopposed’ unconstitutional?
    2025/05/02
    According to Section 53 (2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, if there is only candidate contesting an election, then she can be declared elected unopposed. Now a legal think tank, the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of this provision. It cites the 2013 order of the Supreme Court which held that the right to cast a negative vote by choosing ‘NOTA’ was protected under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. It argues that this right is independent of how many candidates are contesting – therefore, not holding the election on the grounds that there is only one candidate deprives voters of this right. Last week, the Supreme Court, while hearing this petition, suggested that in cases where there is only one candidate, there could be a requirement that the candidate should win a prescribed minimum of vote share – be it 20% or 25% or whatever – in order to be declared as elected. But the Election Commission seems keen to retain the status quo, arguing that cases of candidates winning unopposed are rare and therefore the court should not entertain such a petition. Is the Election Commission right? What if the phenomenon of candidates standing unopposed becomes more widespread in the future? What happens to the NOTA option then? Guest: Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, Delhi. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Shivaraj S and Sharada Venkatasubramnian
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    29 分
  • Aamir Aziz-Anita Dube controversy: What does the copyright law say?

    Aamir Aziz-Anita Dube controversy: What does the copyright law say?
    2025/04/29
    In a controversy that seems to have divided the art world in India, Mumbai-based poet-activist Aamir Aziz has accused well known artist Anita Dube of using his poem without his consent, and profiting from it without giving him credit or compensation. The poem in question is ‘Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega’, which became an anthem of the anti-CAA protests and later a global phenomenon after English rock musician Roger Waters read it out at an event in London. While Dube has admitted to an “ethical lapse” and reportedly offered some remuneration to Aziz, the dispute has acquired a legal dimension, with Aziz sending her a legal notice. What does the copyright law say in a case like this – where an artist may feel she has the right to ‘fair use’ of a text, but another artist feels that his copyright has been violated? Guest: Shantanu Sood, a lawyer who specialises in intellectual property-related issues. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Recorded by Aniket Singh Chauhan Edited by Shivaraj S Produced by Jude Francis Weston
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    44 分
  • How can India strengthen the foundations of its justice delivery system?

    How can India strengthen the foundations of its justice delivery system?
    2025/04/28
    Recently, a debate about appointing judges has gained momentum in light of cash allegedly being found in the house of a Delhi High Court judge. What began as a discussion about transparency in judicial appointments has widened into a broader conversation about the functioning of India’s justice system, which is already strained by millions of pending cases. But concerns run deeper than just courtrooms. A recent report, called the India Justice Report 2025, flags critical issues across four pillars of the justice system: police, judiciary, prisons, and legal aid. The report shows that no State or Union Territory has fulfilled its own commitments for improving representation, particularly for women and SC/STs, within the police force. Vacancy rates remain alarmingly high, regular training is neglected, and appointments to the judiciary continue at a sluggish pace, weakening public trust in institutions meant to uphold the rule of law. Against this backdrop, two critical questions emerge: How can India strengthen the foundations of its justice delivery system? What institutional reforms are urgently needed to ensure fairness, inclusivity, and efficiency for all? Guests: Maja Daruwala, chief editor, IJR and Valay Singh, Lead, IJR Host: Nivedita V Edited by Jude Francis Weston
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    1 時間 3 分
  • What can we expect from the US-Iran nuclear talks?

    What can we expect from the US-Iran nuclear talks?
    2025/04/23
    For the first time since 2018, the United States and Iran are holding high level negotiations. What Iran wants is clear: an end to US sanctions, and resumption of economic engagement. But the US has been speaking in different voices, ranging from a maximalist position of complete dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program, to a more moderate goal of capping the weaponistion of it. President Donald Trump has also given a two-month deadline to Iran to make a deal. If it doesn’t, he has threatened military strikes. So, what can we realistically expect from these talks? How real are American threats to bomb Iran if it doesn’t agree to a deal in two months? And is Iran negotiating from a weaker position than it was in, say, 2015 when the previous deal was signed? Guest: Stanly Johny, International Affairs Editor, The Hindu Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Sharmada Venkatsubramanian
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    39 分
  • What is Type 5 diabetes and why is it of concern in India?

    What is Type 5 diabetes and why is it of concern in India?
    2025/04/22
    Even as India grapples with its estimated 101 million cases of Type 2 diabetes, a new type of diabetes has recently hit the headlines – Type 5. At the International Diabetes Federation’s meeting held recently, an announcement was made: a working group is to be formed to develop criteria and guidelines for Type 5 diabetes. Estimates indicate that this form of diabetes affects 25 million people across the world, primarily in Asia and Africa. Though this form of diabetes was first recorded over 75 years ago, there has been very little attention paid to it so far. What is type 5 diabetes? Whom does it affect? What is its burden in India? And Do more resources need to be allocated to fighting it? Guest: Prof Nihal Thomas, senior professor, department of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, Christian Medical College, Vellore and chair of the IDF Working Group Host: Zubeda Hamid Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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    24 分
  • What are the concerns with the Income Tax Bill, 2025?

    What are the concerns with the Income Tax Bill, 2025?
    2025/04/21
    The Income Tax Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha recently. It seeks to modernise and simplify the Income Tax Act, 1961. While the Bill is indeed shorter in length than the original Act it seeks to replace, there is one major concern: privacy experts believe it institutes a regime of tax surveillance, in complete violation of the Supreme Court judgement in the landmark Justice Puttasamy case where it ruled that privacy is a fundamental right. Tax experts hold that under the provisions of this Bill, the state can claim complete access to the entirety of a person’s “virtual digital space” merely on suspicion that she may be hiding income and evading tax. Critics have also said that the Bill does not rationalise monetary thresholds for various compliances and deductions, nor does it provide meaningful revisions in the penalty and prosecution changes. Guest: Deepak Joshi, Advocate-on-Record in the Supreme Court and a qualified Chartered Accountant. Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu. Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.
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    40 分
  • What are the factors at play in content moderation

    What are the factors at play in content moderation
    2025/04/17
    Every day, millions of posts are made online — tweets, videos, memes, reels. Some content is violent, misleading, or even dangerous. This is where content moderation comes in. However, deciding what stays up and what comes down isn't as simple as it sounds. In fact, X has sued the Union government in the Karnataka High Court for the SAHYOG portal, which it says is a “censorship portal” that allows local police and different parts of the government to demand takedowns. The Karnataka High Court did not grant interim relief to X after the Centre informed the court that there was no reason for the social media platform to be apprehensive of any coercive action against it. The matter will be taken up on April 24. Taking down content is actually quite normal in India. In 2024, the govt blocked a 28,000 URLs across various social media platforms. These URLs had content linked to pro-Khalistan separatist movements, hate speech, and material that are considered to be la threat to national security and public order. A recent report in The Hindu says that nearly a third of the 66 takedown notices sent to X by the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) over the past year warn the platform to remove content about Union Ministers and Central government agencies. This included content about PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and his son Jay Shah, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Globally, too, platforms have come under criticism for content moderation, or the lack of it. Facebook’s role in amplifying hate speech during the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar is one such example. In the U.S., Twitter’s internal communications — revealed in the so-called “Twitter Files” — sparked a debate about political bias and backchannel moderation. Instagram users have repeatedly flagged the increase of graphic content. Countries are responding to this challenge in very different ways. The European Union is pushing for algorithmic transparency and accountability with its Digital Services Act. The U.S. had taken a hands off approach despite several controversies. In India, the government and law enforcement agencies flag content to be taken down. So, who gets to decide what free speech looks like in the digital age? Is it the government, the platform themselves, or the public? And how do we draw the line between harmful content and healthy debate? Guest: Dr. Sangeeta Mahapatra, Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies Host: Nivedita V Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.
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    45 分