"The contrarian has become a recognisable figure within the system he claims to resist. No matter how hard Manu Joseph tries to convince us he is a truth-teller, he is now a merchant of delusions." Diya Isha and Huzaifa Omair Siddiqi on how Manu Joseph’s new book ‘Why the Poor Don’t Kill Us’ falls short in diagnosing the ills of liberal India, and how the novelist turned provocateur has lost his way: himalmag.com/politics/manu-j… Illustration by Aishwarya Iyer

wrote about a movie that astounded me with its insipidity theswaddle.com/emerald-fenne…

i wrote on Emerald Fennell and the way her films obscure popular imaginings of excess (and why that ultimately makes for bad films): theswaddle.com/emerald-fenne…

this is perhaps why that viral MFA-writing excerpt is what it is. excerpt from Amitav Ghosh's 'The Imam and the Indian'

In the economy of literature festivals, literary merit is often optional. You just have to put up a good show. Read @contendish’s piece: theswaddle.com/to-attend-a-l…

The Special Intensive Revision, pitched as a voter verification drive to purge “illegal immigrants,” gives the state room to redefine voter eligibility. Anyone it sees as unwanted are being pushed off the rolls. Read the piece by @contendish: theswaddle.com/the-sir-s-arc…

How the world turned Malala Yousafzai into a brand of hope while letting real change slip by. Read the piece by @contendish: theswaddle.com/malala-and-th…

For some readers and critics, Arundhati Roy is either political or literary — rarely both. Read @contendish’s piece: theswaddle.com/we-re-reading…