Meet Sunetra Choudhury, Journo Whose Book Inspired Netflix’s ‘Black Warrant’

Arts & Culture, Books

Black Warrant, a new gripping Netflix release, details the story of lives in India’s Tihar Jail, which holds some of the country’s most notorious criminals. The crime drama set in the 1980s traces themes of systemic oppression, political corruption, and the struggle for justice, offering a raw and unflinching look at the harsh realities of India’s penal system. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, the show stars Joy Sengupta, Shivam Rathore, and Zahan Kapoor in lead roles. 
AdvertismentBlack Warrant is inspired by an eponymous book authored in 2019 by former Tihar Jail superintendent Sunil Gupta and journalist Sunetra Choudhury. Choudhury has also written Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous, about the lives of India’s ‘VIP inmates’ — the rich and powerful criminals.

Who Is Sunetra Choudhury?
Sunetra Choudhury is an acclaimed journalist who is currently the National Political Editor at Hindustan Times. Born in Shillong, she pursued her education at reputed institutions like the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi; Cardiff University/ Prifysgol Caerdydd, UK; East-West Center; and the University of Chicago.
According to Choudhury’s LinkedIn profile, she started her career at Indian Express in 1999 and became the Deputy Chief Reporter at the young age of 24. In 2000, the publication sent her for Japan’s Foreign Press Centre Fellowship. After working there for three years, she worked at NDTV for over 15 years, before joining Hindustan Times in 2019. 
In 2010, Choudhury authored a book called Braking News, about the electoral climate of India ahead of the 2009 elections. She travelled everywhere from bustling cities to remote villages, to capture voters’ insights on Indian politics. She describes it as a ‘Part travelogue, part election special, part candid confessions of an inveterate TV cameratime junkie.’
AdvertismentIn 2015, Choudhury received the Red Ink Award for her story on how disabled children were being adopted by Indian families for the very first time. In 2017, she authored Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous (2017), published by Roli Books. Two years later, she wrote Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer with Sunil Gupta.
Choudhury earned the Mary Morgan Hewett Award from Friends of East-West Center in 2018. She is known for her expansive reporting career, spanning diverse topics including politics, crime, investigative stories, and natural disasters. Her ability to provide insightful analysis and compelling narratives has earned her a reputation as a trusted voice in journalism.

Hello, Tech Bros

Technology

This is part of Hello, Trumpworld, Slate’s reluctant guide to the people who will be calling the shots now—at least for as long as they last in Washington.

One of the most significant and consequential differences between Donald Trump’s first term and his reelection concerned his relationship with Silicon Valley’s top moneymakers. While Trump had a few such folks on hand in 2016 (e.g., Peter Thiel, Palmer Luckey, Balaji Srinivasan), he had difficulty earning other industry leaders’ consistent support. It didn’t help that the president weaponized his administration’s powers against companies he didn’t like, such as Amazon and Facebook, and publicly disparaged cryptocurrencies as being “based on thin air.” After the Capitol insurrection, even his staunchest tech-world supporters seemed more inclined to place their hopes in Ron DeSantis, who’d hoped to turn his “anti-woke” Florida into a refuge from California liberalism.

But things changed. The Biden administration began trust-busting Big Tech, prosecuting crypto crimes, and hiking interest rates, while DeSantis proved to be a real meatball. Rich techies like Elon Musk grew more resentful in the COVID era as offices shut down, employees protested on behalf of feminist and social justice causes, and global economic weirdness disrupted the move-fast-and-break-things business ethos, which had been better suited for the postrecession, zero-interest-rate period. (And then there are those who just want to say demeaning things without fear of social pushback.) Most tech guys may have previously voted for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden, but now Donald Trump didn’t seem so bad after all—at least, not for their pocketbooks.

This disaffected executive class, including many of Thiel’s fellow VCs and “PayPal Mafia” alumni, began to influence Trump’s campaign. They fundraised for the candidate and persuaded him to do things like change his mind on crypto, pick Thiel mentee J.D. Vance as his running mate, and give their own weirdo-libertarian political theories around government shrinkage and tech accelerationism a bit more consideration. The effort began paying off right after Trump won, with Crypto.com’s Kris Marszalek and Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse—whose company is represented by a lobbying firm that once employed two incoming Trump administration appointees—meeting with the president-elect to pitch him on their ideas. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, one of this election cycle’s most potent fundraisers, will be joining a presidential dinner during the inauguration. As Trump recently put it: “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!”

Undoubtedly, the right wing of the tech world has already gained more political influence than it ever had before. Musk and former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy are heading up a “department” named after a memecoin, and some of Musk’s pals, like frequent Mar-a-Lago guest Marc Andreessen and disgraced ex–Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, are helping recruit for the effort, urging friends and CEOs to advise their efforts for free. Meanwhile, the president-elect runs his own crypto fund and has announced an official White House crypto council, to be headed up by PayPal Mafioso David Sacks and failed congressional candidate Bo Hines. Bitcoin maximalist Kevin O’Leary is also advising Trump on the whole “annexing Canada” thing.

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Trump has already been more than happy to give all these guys what they want when it comes to both his formal and informal staff. His picks to head the treasury (Scott Bessent), the Commerce Department (Howard Lutnick), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (Paul Atkins) have already been praised by this very brain trust as champions of crypto. Bessent endorsed Trump’s idea of a strategic bitcoin reserve, and industry lobbyist Atkins has promised to lay off the lawsuits and regulations. Lutnick, meanwhile, manages a fund that holds most of the shares for the crypto industry’s most essential (and sketchiest) dollar-backed asset, the stablecoin Tether.

It’s also striking how many of Trump’s appointees have either direct or secondary connections with Peter Thiel, the antidemocratic neoreactionary who recently penned a Financial Times op-ed parroting conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and comparing other nations’ social media regulations to “Orwellian dictatorships.” There’s David Sacks as “White House A.I. and Crypto czar,” former Thiel business partner Michael Kratsios as Office of Science and Technology Policy director, ex–Thiel Foundation Director Jim O’Neill at Health and Human Services, and PayPal alum Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark. (You can bet that he’ll eagerly wish to pursue Trump’s dream of annexing Greenland.)

But it’s not just patronage driving these appointments—it’s concerted ideology. These right-wing techies all share a hostility to government regulation at any level, a desire to run the White House like a startup, a vision of global American tech hegemony, and a firm conviction that what’s best for Silicon Valley’s wallets is what’s best for the world.

The most self-serving, venal, greedy, and entitled members of Silicon Valley are hoping to reshape American governance in their image, with the help of a willing and pliant Trump. The enshittification of America has begun.

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OSC’s Science on Tap returns to Loch Haven Park this weekend

Science and Health

One of the things the Orlando Science Center does best, says its vice president of marketing Jeff Stanford, is connecting people who have a curiosity about something in the world with the people who can help them explore it.One thing that OSC’s Science on Tap fundraiser, now in its fourth year, continues to prove is that lots of people are curious about beer.On Jan. 25, when this family-friendly festival returns to Orlando’s Loch Haven Park, there will be more than 20 craft brewers on hand to satisfy this thirst for knowledge — along with plain, old thirst.All ticketed 21+ attendees will receive a small keepsake sampling glass to taste beer and other beverages from the festival’s many participants. (Courtesy Orlando Science Center/Roberto Gonzalez)From 1-4 p.m. (noon entry for VIP guests), folks can tap into fun, sampling from the like of local favorites like Ten 10 Brewing, Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co, Three Odd Guys Brewing, Windermere Brewing Company and many more, with an all-new add, as well: mead.Stanford was among the mead-ignorant before he met Ginger and Joe Leigh from Orlando’s Zymarium Meadery, who’ll be bringing a big presentation to educate festival-goers on this ancient adult beverage made from honey.Put Zymarium Meadery, Orlando’s first, on your “Honey Do” list“I had this idea that mead was very ‘Lord of the Rings,’” he says, laughing. “But mead is this incredibly graceful, versatile beverage, and [the Leighs] are so very passionate about what they do and can bring the gentle science of the process to festival guests. I think it’s going to add another great layer to the event.”It’s one with lots of suds, from the ones topping the small, keepsake sampling glasses (they come with the price of admission) to the less potable stuff spewing from the top of their towering beer mug inflatable.“Kids love the foam!” says Stanford, noting that those ages 15 and younger enjoy free entry with their parents’ Science on Tap ticket.Guests 15 and younger get free admission with a ticketed adult. And man, do they love that foam! (Courtesy Orlando Science Center/Roberto Gonzalez)Speaking of, general admission to the festival costs $50 ($40 for OSC members), a $75 VIP ticket affords those who buy in early entry two full pours of their choice and food truck discounts along with all the regular goodies (beer samples, souvenir glass, home-brewing demos, interactive science displays and presentations, lawn games and more. $30 tickets are available for designated drivers. All proceeds benefit the Orlando Science Center.Geeks, says Stanford, are welcome.“Some people are so into beer they get into a festival and just nerd out instantly, and ours is a place where you can be comfortable asking questions about things you don’t know or share your knowledge with others.Best Brewery: 2024 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards“This event is really reflective of the OSC vibe,” says Stanford. “It’s fun, it’s family-friendly, it’s tied into topics that people are interested in.”Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Email: [email protected]. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group or follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.If you goLoch Haven Park is located at 777 E. Princeton St. in Orlando. Tickets for Science on Tap are available online at osc.org/visit/events/science-on-tap. Same-day tickets are available at the gate.

OSC’s Science on Tap returns to Loch Haven Park this weekend

Science and Health

One of the things the Orlando Science Center does best, says its vice president of marketing Jeff Stanford, is connecting people who have a curiosity about something in the world with the people who can help them explore it.One thing that OSC’s Science on Tap fundraiser, now in its fourth year, continues to prove is that lots of people are curious about beer.On Jan. 25, when this family-friendly festival returns to Orlando’s Loch Haven Park, there will be more than 20 craft brewers on hand to satisfy this thirst for knowledge — along with plain, old thirst.All ticketed 21+ attendees will receive a small keepsake sampling glass to taste beer and other beverages from the festival’s many participants. (Courtesy Orlando Science Center/Roberto Gonzalez)From 1-4 p.m. (noon entry for VIP guests), folks can tap into fun, sampling from the like of local favorites like Ten 10 Brewing, Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co, Three Odd Guys Brewing, Windermere Brewing Company and many more, with an all-new add, as well: mead.Stanford was among the mead-ignorant before he met Ginger and Joe Leigh from Orlando’s Zymarium Meadery, who’ll be bringing a big presentation to educate festival-goers on this ancient adult beverage made from honey.Put Zymarium Meadery, Orlando’s first, on your “Honey Do” list“I had this idea that mead was very ‘Lord of the Rings,’” he says, laughing. “But mead is this incredibly graceful, versatile beverage, and [the Leighs] are so very passionate about what they do and can bring the gentle science of the process to festival guests. I think it’s going to add another great layer to the event.”It’s one with lots of suds, from the ones topping the small, keepsake sampling glasses (they come with the price of admission) to the less potable stuff spewing from the top of their towering beer mug inflatable.“Kids love the foam!” says Stanford, noting that those ages 15 and younger enjoy free entry with their parents’ Science on Tap ticket.Guests 15 and younger get free admission with a ticketed adult. And man, do they love that foam! (Courtesy Orlando Science Center/Roberto Gonzalez)Speaking of, general admission to the festival costs $50 ($40 for OSC members), a $75 VIP ticket affords those who buy in early entry two full pours of their choice and food truck discounts along with all the regular goodies (beer samples, souvenir glass, home-brewing demos, interactive science displays and presentations, lawn games and more. $30 tickets are available for designated drivers. All proceeds benefit the Orlando Science Center.Geeks, says Stanford, are welcome.“Some people are so into beer they get into a festival and just nerd out instantly, and ours is a place where you can be comfortable asking questions about things you don’t know or share your knowledge with others.Best Brewery: 2024 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards“This event is really reflective of the OSC vibe,” says Stanford. “It’s fun, it’s family-friendly, it’s tied into topics that people are interested in.”Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Email: [email protected]. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group or follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.If you goLoch Haven Park is located at 777 E. Princeton St. in Orlando. Tickets for Science on Tap are available online at osc.org/visit/events/science-on-tap. Same-day tickets are available at the gate.

Unlike 2017, top stars, tech tycoons and politicians line up for Donald Trump’s historic “inaugural”

Technology

Washington, Jan 19 (IANS): As millions all over the world anxiously wait for Donald Trump’s second inaugural address late Monday evening, India time, after he is sworn into office for another presidential term, several foreign leaders, tech billionaires and top celebrities have started arriving in the US capital to attend the ceremony that will take place inside the Capitol Rotunda.As people queue up for the ceremony, Politico revealed that seven Democrats, who had boycotted Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, are also going this time.
Breaking tradition, several foreign leaders will also be attending the high-profile ceremony.

“Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend the inauguration ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump,” stated the Italian Government Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who has already addressed a couple of events – including at the Milken Centre in Washington DC on Sunday – has called the inauguration of President Trump as a milestone event in “global crusade for freedom” and the “clearest evidence that a new era has begun”.
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck have also been invited.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who may not be able to make it for the inauguration stated over the weekend that “everything will change” after Trump takes office.
“A different day will dawn over the Western world; four bitter, difficult, painful years, punctuated by failures, will come to an end: democratic governance,” Orban said on Friday in a radio programme.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will be representing India at the swearing-in ceremony and will also have meetings with representatives of the incoming administration, as also some other dignitaries visiting the US on the occasion.
According to the New York Times, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, three of the world’s wealthiest men, are expected to be among the major tech executives who would sit in a “position of honour on the dais” at Trump’s inauguration, possibly along with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.
Regular attendees would include President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, former President George W Bush and Laura Bush, and former President Barack Obama.
While Team Trump had struggled to invite big celebs and performers in 2017, top stars are slated to perform at the inauguration ball this time.
It includes Grammy-winner Nelly, Lee Greenwood, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Christopher Macchio and many more big names.

Unlike 2017, top stars, tech tycoons and politicians line up for Donald Trump’s historic “inaugural”

Technology

Washington, Jan 19 (IANS): As millions all over the world anxiously wait for Donald Trump’s second inaugural address late Monday evening, India time, after he is sworn into office for another presidential term, several foreign leaders, tech billionaires and top celebrities have started arriving in the US capital to attend the ceremony that will take place inside the Capitol Rotunda.As people queue up for the ceremony, Politico revealed that seven Democrats, who had boycotted Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, are also going this time.
Breaking tradition, several foreign leaders will also be attending the high-profile ceremony.

“Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will attend the inauguration ceremony of US President-elect Donald Trump,” stated the Italian Government Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who has already addressed a couple of events – including at the Milken Centre in Washington DC on Sunday – has called the inauguration of President Trump as a milestone event in “global crusade for freedom” and the “clearest evidence that a new era has begun”.
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieck have also been invited.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who may not be able to make it for the inauguration stated over the weekend that “everything will change” after Trump takes office.
“A different day will dawn over the Western world; four bitter, difficult, painful years, punctuated by failures, will come to an end: democratic governance,” Orban said on Friday in a radio programme.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will be representing India at the swearing-in ceremony and will also have meetings with representatives of the incoming administration, as also some other dignitaries visiting the US on the occasion.
According to the New York Times, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, three of the world’s wealthiest men, are expected to be among the major tech executives who would sit in a “position of honour on the dais” at Trump’s inauguration, possibly along with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook.
Regular attendees would include President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, former President George W Bush and Laura Bush, and former President Barack Obama.
While Team Trump had struggled to invite big celebs and performers in 2017, top stars are slated to perform at the inauguration ball this time.
It includes Grammy-winner Nelly, Lee Greenwood, Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, Christopher Macchio and many more big names.