Did You Miss Me? I Am Back

I’ve been pacing around trying to figure out how to even begin writing this after ghosting you for over two months (I know, I know. Sigh). And no, I wasn’t channeling the men from my 20s on dating apps who vanished without warning. These days, I reserve that kind of behavior mostly for bigoted relatives.

But something strange happened when I finally peeked at this newsletter list, expecting a drop in subscribers. Instead, there are more of you here. Welcome, and thank you for signing up to read my ramblings from the weird, wonderful, and occasionally worrying corners of the Internet.

This one’s not going to be the usual “here’s what’s blowing up on your feed” edition (shoutout to my OG readers!). Instead, I thought I’d offer a little catch-up on what I’ve been up to—and justify my ghosting.

Back in April, I was selected as one of the fellows for the Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme. I spent seven weeks in London with journalists from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India.

We read Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum, and then—flex incoming—met her in person. We watched Kyoto, a three-hour play about the 1997 climate conference, and while it wasn’t billed as a comedy, I found myself laughing through parts of it, only to sit with it for days after.

We wandered around Brick Lane (aka “Banglatown”), full of wall art, food, and history. I was especially drawn to the Jamme Masjid—a building that started as a French Protestant church in 1743, became a synagogue, and then turned into a mosque in 1976.

One building, many identities. A quiet reminder that coexistence is possible.

We explored museums with curators, asked questions to Samir Shah (BBC Chair!), and had editorial deep dives with folks from The Economist.

And somewhere between all the panels, essays, and endless cups of tea, I made friends—across borders. Never thought I’d say this, especially when the news from India and Pakistan is mostly hostile, but yes, I now have Pakistani journalist friends. We even sat together comparing how the same stories were covered in our home countries vs. the international press. It was disorienting, sometimes infuriating. But as one of the fellows reminded me, when we’re here, we’re not Indians or Pakistanis. We’re just journalists.

Part of the fellowship involved writing an essay. I focused on the manosphere—that rabbit hole of online misogyny. I went to Luton (where Andrew Tate grew up), spoke to academics, educators, and yes, even Laura Bates (fangirl moment). I’ll write more about what I found in the next edition.

We also put together a symposium titled: “South Asia at a Crossroads: Media, Power, and Authoritarianism.” It featured three panels on press freedom, protest, and surveillance. I moderated the one on surveillance, joined by Dr Yung Au, researcher at Oxford, Ziaullah Hamdard, journalist & academic from Pakistan, Aman Sethi, editor-in-chief, OpenDemocracy and Dr Chintan Chandrachud, barrister based in London. 

Honestly, I thought I understood surveillance. But this conversation really hit home: autocracies don’t just invent new ways to control—they borrow, replicate, and make the worst ideas scalable. And guess who wins in all this? The big tech bros. Naturally.

There’s no recording of the discussion, but do check out the work of each of these speakers—they’re incredible.

That’s all from me this time.

Got a story to share or spotted something strange, shady, or simply fascinating on your feed? Hit reply—I might include it in the next edition.

For my new readers:
I launched Decode three years ago as an investigative vertical digging into the big stories shaping our digital lives. From online scams to AI-generated misinformation, I’ve been tracking the underbelly of the Internet—now through this newsletter, too.

See you in your inbox, every other Wednesday at 12 pm! (This time I promise. No ghosting.)

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