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Express Tribune
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
After the last word
On April 22, nearly two and a half years after Joan Didion's death, a slim but arresting volume titled Notes to John appeared on shelves. Published by Knopf, the collection comprises fragments: personal memos, tender jottings, reminders to herself, and letters addressed to her late husband, John Gregory Dunne, after his death in 2003. In true Didion style, even her unfinished, offhand scraps shimmer with clarity and literary precision. But reading Notes to John is a disquieting experience: you are tugged in close, into the bone of her grief, and yet held at arm's length. It is as if you've found someone's diary under their pillow and, despite knowing better, can't stop turning the pages. That tug-of-war between public and private, between a writer's legacy and their consent, is the central tension in publishing a dead person's notebooks. It's a literary act and a voyeuristic one. Notes to John may be the catalyst, but the phenomenon is hardly new. From the exhaustive curation of Virginia Woolf's diaries to the belated release of Franz Kafka's letters (which he explicitly asked to be destroyed), publishing posthumous writing has become a well-oiled machine. The ethics, however, remain as blurry as a half-erased pencil note in the margin of a draft. The author is absent There is something particularly vulnerable about the genre of the note. Unlike novels or essays, letters and diaries are not written with an audience in mind; at least, not a public one. And yet, perhaps paradoxically, they often reveal more than an entire memoir. In Didion's Notes to John, her sentences are brief, sharp, sometimes halting. "I never feel guilty about working," she writes, somewhere between dream and discipline. It's devastating in its casualness. But should we be reading this? When you hold a writer's diary, you are confronted with the illusion of intimacy. But the writer is gone. They cannot clarify, redact, or resist. Their editor is often a family member, a literary executor, or a publisher with contractual rights but not always moral ones. Shaun Usher's Lists of Note and More Lists of Note anthologise lists written by the famous and the long-dead: Da Vinci's shopping notes, Marilyn Monroe's acting prep, Isaac Newton's sins, presented with curatorial glee. They're fascinating, yes, but they also decontextualise deeply personal documents into coffee-table curiosities. Dead men do tell tales In Kafka's case, the betrayal was flagrant. He instructed his friend Max Brod to burn all of his unpublished manuscripts. Brod didn't, and the result is that much of Kafka's genius, The Trial, The Castle, his heartbreaking letters to Milena and Felice, came to light only after his death. Without that breach of trust, there would be no Kafka in the canon. So was Brod wrong? Legally, no. Literarily, certainly not. Ethically? Well. Virginia Woolf's diaries and letters were curated posthumously first by her husband Leonard Woolf, and then by his nephew, Quentin Bell. Leonard admitted to cutting large swathes of material. Her personality, her flirtations, her frustrations with the Bloomsbury crowd, these only surfaced in later, more complete editions. Each round of publication brought her closer to her readers and arguably farther from the version of herself she wanted to project. We are reading a Woolf curated by Leonard, filtered through edits and omissions; we are mourning a Didion arranged by her editor, not by Didion herself. The issue at hand is not just literary but legal. The ownership of the "self" after death falls into ambiguous hands, sometimes the estate, sometimes the publisher, sometimes the reader's projection. In Didion's case, her longtime editor Shelley Wanger helped assemble the notes, presumably with care and intention. But Didion, famously in control of her image and language, is no longer here to confirm whether she wanted these fragments to be seen. The romance of rawness There's something addictive about the "raw" version of a writer. We crave the uncut, the messy, the bloodied first draft. That desire is partly what fuels the publication of these private documents. They allow us to feel like we've accessed something real, beyond performance. The literary world, in turn, benefits from this hunger. Editors gain prestige for unearthing unpublished material. Publishers reap sales from both completists and the newly curious. Fans post screenshots of notes that feel like confessions. Everyone wins, except maybe the person who wrote them. This urge isn't limited to literary estates. Think of how Anne Frank's diary was originally edited by her father to remove parts about her sexuality and frustration with her mother. Later, full editions emerged, richer and more complicated. Readers rejoiced, but the diary's shift from personal record to historical document carries a cost. Somewhere, the lines blur between honouring a voice and exploiting it. Afterlife in the internet age Today, we all keep fragments: Google Docs with no title, iPhone notes about dreams or shopping or shame. If we're writers, perhaps we think some of these might be useful for a future essay, a novel, a letter we mean to write but never do. But what if, after we die, someone else decides what deserves to be seen? The politics of posthumous publication are not just about famous authors; they are about all of us. In the digital age, where drafts and thoughts live forever in clouds and caches, anyone's notes might outlive them. The desire to know a person more "authentically" can too easily become a desire to know them without their permission. Copyright adds another layer of complexity. A note never meant for publication occupies a murky legal space; its ownership is uncertain. Grief, nostalgia, even a stray sentence from a dead woman to her dead husband all become subject to claims, though they resist easy commodification. In The Year of Magical Thinking, Didion wrote about keeping John's shoes after he died, irrationally believing he might need them. Notes to John feels like an extension of that magical thinking, a belief that speaking to the dead can somehow keep them present, or that reading their words might bring them back. Yet publishing such words transforms a private ritual into a public spectacle. The dynamics of posthumous publication often benefit publishers, estates, and readers, while consent from the author remains absent. As readers, we inherit both the privilege and the burden of that imbalance. We are owed nothing, and yet we often take everything. To read Notes to John is to be moved, but also to be implicated. The dead may not speak for themselves, but they wrote. That, sometimes, must be enough.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Khaby Lame Deported: What TikTok star's treatment tells us about Trump's America; and its apathy
In The Trial, Franz Kafka's bewildered protagonist wakes up one morning to find himself under arrest by an opaque, faceless authority — accused of a crime never named, tried by a system that never explains itself. In Amerika , another young man arrives in the United States with dreams of freedom and opportunity, only to be ensnared in a country where bureaucracy, misunderstanding, and endless rules turn liberty into exile. These aren't just novels — they're warning labels for modern life. And so, when Khaby Lame, the world's most famous silent comedian, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for overstaying his visa, the irony wasn't just poetic — it was Kafkaesque. A man who rose to global stardom by silently mocking pointless complexity found himself swallowed whole by one of the most pointlessly complex systems on Earth. The universally beloved TikTok star, whose 162 million followers know him for his mute mastery of common sense, was quietly escorted out of America by a bureaucracy that doesn't speak his language — or anyone's, really — unless it's in visa codes, I-94 expiry dates, and the cold calculus of 'voluntary departure.' His gesture — palms raised, eyes widened in comic disbelief — became a grim parody of its original intent: the everyman's reaction to the world's absurdities, now trapped in one of the greatest absurdities of all. A system designed to punish movement, erase context, and reduce human lives to immigration case files had, at last, found its most ironic victim — a man who made complexity laughable, until complexity laughed back. To borrow one of Khaby's trademark gestures — palms up, eyes wide, head tilted — the whole thing was absurd. When Bureaucracy Became the Joke Khaby didn't need punchlines. His comedic empire was built on the ability to mock overly complicated solutions to simple problems — slicing through the internet's life-hack clutter with a single shrug. But no number of well-timed glances could rescue him from the labyrinth of U.S. visa law. He arrived in America in late April, attended the Met Gala, posed with celebs, and flew between events and engagements — only to be detained by ICE officers at Las Vegas airport weeks later. His crime? A visa that had technically expired. His punishment? Voluntary departure, which sounds polite but is essentially deportation with better branding. Let's pause there. A man whose entire career is based on mocking senseless complexity was swallowed whole by the most senselessly complex immigration system on Earth. If this were a Khaby Lame sketch, the officer would whip out a 500-page rulebook, flip to page 473, paragraph C, subsection viii, and declare: 'You didn't file Form I-539 within 60 days of your I-94 expiration.' Khaby would shrug and point at a calendar. End scene. But this wasn't a skit. It was reality. And it revealed something deeper about where America is headed. Trump 2.0 and the Theatre of the Border Khaby Lame's brush with ICE didn't happen in isolation. It came amid President Donald Trump's second-term blitz on immigration. A few years older, not a shade mellower, Trump has brought back his signature approach with a vengeance — this time with more executive orders, more raids, and an even more aggressive ICE. Recent weeks have seen federal troops patrolling Los Angeles after mass immigration raids. Labour leaders were arrested. Protests erupted. In the midst of it all, the world's most apolitical TikTok star became political by accident — just by existing in the wrong place, at the wrong bureaucratic time. Trump's slogan may be "Make America Great Again," but in practice it often reads as "Make Immigration Grievous Again." And in this performance, everyone's a prop — whether it's an undocumented mother, a tech CEO on an expired H1B, or a globally beloved influencer who didn't leave on the dot. The kicker? Trump loyalists on social media actually celebrated Khaby's removal. One even claimed credit for alerting DHS. In this America, it seems, even laughter is foreign. And must therefore be deported. A Face Known to Billions, But Not to ICE There's something cosmically ridiculous about the U.S. treating Khaby Lame like a flight risk. This is a man whose entire presence — from fashion campaigns to UNICEF ambassadorships — is plastered across half the world's billboards and screens. He's not hiding in basements. He's walking red carpets. He's judging Italia's Got Talent. He's making cameos in Black Panther and Bad Boys movies. His life is one long, wordless resume of harmless, global goodwill. But to the American immigration system, he was just another case number. Just another "removable alien." That's the cruelty of it: the bureaucracy doesn't care if you've helped children through UNICEF, redefined online comedy, or single-handedly made Gen Z laugh during a pandemic. You're either documented or not. Welcome or not. Legal or illegal. No nuance, no context, no humanity. Just codes and categories. The Great Wall of Paperwork America's immigration regime is the only place where Kafka would feel at home. It is a thicket of forms, timelines, acronyms, and discretionary rules that even lawyers struggle to decipher. And it is weaponised not just against those who slip in quietly, but also against those who arrive with fanfare. In that sense, Khaby's exit wasn't about him at all. It was about the system's need to make an example. Even the world's most famous TikToker must follow the rules — or be ejected. Zero tolerance, maximum theatre. And let's be clear: Khaby was lucky. A voluntary departure means no black mark on his record, and he can return legally if he wants to. But the message is clear — you are welcome until you are not. The Global Everyman vs. Fortress America Khaby Lame is a symbol of everything globalisation used to promise — that talent, charm, and relatability could transcend borders. That a Senegalese-born, Italian-raised Muslim man could make the whole world laugh without uttering a word. That a shared joke could bridge cultures. That virality could lead to Vogue covers, fashion deals, and seats at the table. Trump's America, by contrast, is a fortress in retreat. Its posture is paranoid. Its immigration policies are not about who you are, but about whether you overstayed by a day. It's not a system designed to welcome the world's best — it's a system built to keep everyone guessing, and many out. Khaby didn't just overstay a visa. He overstayed his welcome in a nation that sees visas not as opportunities, but as traps — designed to expire just in time for headlines. Deporting Optimism If Khaby Lame had been a symbol of hopeful globalism, his treatment in America symbolises something darker: the triumph of punitive bureaucracy over common sense. The rise of performance policy over practicality. The elevation of 'showing toughness' over showing grace. And yet, in perfect irony, this episode may only enhance Khaby's mythos. He didn't complain. He didn't post a dramatic TikTok from the airport. He left — silently, perhaps with a knowing shrug — and the world noticed. He reminded us that silence can speak volumes. That a gesture can say more than a grievance. That you don't need a monologue to reveal the absurdity of systems. Final Act: The Joke's on Us In a year where America claims to be defending democracy by tightening borders, it has also managed to kick out one of the least threatening, most beloved people on the planet. That's not immigration enforcement. That's satire. So here's the punchline, delivered with no words, just a raised brow and two upturned palms: A man whose silence made the world laugh was silenced by a system that doesn't know how to smile. The land of the free just sent a message to the world's most-followed man: We're closed. Come back later — with the right paperwork. Or better yet, bring a suitcase full of money. And maybe then, just maybe, we'll laugh with you. Until then, keep quiet. Oh wait. He already does.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Abrego Garcia is back but contempt and sanctions for Trump admin still on the table
With Kilmar Abrego Garcia back in the U.S. after his illegal removal to a notorious Salvadoran prison, followed by months of Trump administration delay and defiance, the administration wants to focus on the new criminal charges it had waiting for him upon his return. But understanding what brought us to this point is crucial not only for how to think about the criminal case, but also because his civil case against the government isn't over just because he's back. Abrego Garcia's lawyers reminded us of that Sunday in their latest court filing to U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, the Maryland judge who ordered the government to facilitate his return back in April. The filing came in response to the Trump Justice Department's request Friday to halt pending civil litigation over fact-finding into the government's facilitation efforts, just after Xinis had approved Abrego Garcia's lawyers' bid to file a sanctions motion against the government, due Wednesday. Responding to the claim that the civil case is now moot due to his return, Abrego Garcia's lawyers reminded the Obama appointee that she 'still retains jurisdiction to find contempt and impose sanctions.' They called the government's claim that it has complied with her order 'pure farce,' writing: The Government flouted rather than followed the orders of this Court and the United States Supreme Court. Instead of facilitating Abrego Garcia's return, for the past two months Defendants have engaged in an elaborate, all-of-government effort to defy court orders, deny due process, and disparage Abrego Garcia. In its latest act of contempt, the Government arranged for Abrego Garcia's return, not to Maryland in compliance with the Supreme Court's directive to 'ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,' . . . but rather to Tennessee so that he could be charged with a crime in a case that the Government only developed while it was under threat of sanctions. Farcical is a good summary of this case and the administration's broader immigration stance. The description pairs well with U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's recent nod to Franz Kafka's 'The Trial,' in comparing the novel's absurd legal ordeal to the administration's summary removals of scores of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador's mega-prison known for human rights abuses. (Litigation is pending separately in that case in Washington, D.C., as lawyers try to secure the immigrants' return. That case also includes an attempt to hold the administration accountable for contempt, which is pending separately on the government's appeal in D.C.'s federal appeals court.) Urging Xinis to keep the civil case alive, Abrego Garcia's lawyers said the government's 'wanton disregard for the judicial branch has left a stain on the Constitution' and that if there's 'any hope of removing that stain, it must start by shining a light on the improper actions of the Government in this tragic affair and imposing meaningful remedies.' Meanwhile, Abrego Garcia's criminal case is getting started in Tennessee, where he's charged with illegally transporting undocumented immigrants. It's an understatement to say the new case will be highly scrutinized, given how it came about in an apparent attempt by the administration to save face. That doesn't mean federal prosecutors won't be able to secure a conviction; they may be even more motivated to do so, given the political stakes. On that note, ABC News reported, citing unnamed sources, that the decision to pursue the criminal case led high-ranking Tennessee prosecutor Ben Schrader to resign due to 'concerns that the case was being pursued for political reasons.' Asked about the reason for his resignation, Schrader declined to comment to NBC News. If his resignation is connected to the criminal case against Abrego Garcia, then the administration's political posturing through the Justice Department has led to the loss of yet another career prosecutor — one of this administration's sordid legacies, as exemplified by the Eric Adams dismissal debacle earlier this year. Abrego Garcia is reportedly set to go before a judge Friday for arraignment, where he'll presumably plead not guilty and the government will press its case for detaining him pending trial. We don't know how this criminal case will end, but it will proceed in a U.S. court under the due process protections the administration has resisted providing in this case and others. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for expert analysis on the top legal stories of the week, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in the Trump administration's legal cases. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The case a federal judge called 'Kafkaesque'
Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter readers. Have you ever had a word stuck in your head? I can't seem to shake this one from a court decision this week: entombed. The haunting term came from the chief federal trial judge in Washington, D.C., James Boasberg. He's presiding over a lawsuit from scores of Venezuelan immigrants held in a Salvadoran prison known for human rights abuses, called the Center for Terrorism Confinement, or CECOT for short. The judge wrote a 69-page opinion, published Wednesday, explaining why the Trump administration must work to let the immigrants challenge their rushed renditions to that prison back in March. Boasberg opened with a nod to Franz Kafka's 'The Trial.' The Obama appointee compared the ordeal to that of Kafka's protagonist, Josef K., whose absurd legal saga is a helpful shorthand to draw attention to farcical affairs. While the term Kafkaesque can seem dramatic, it applies here. After all, U.S. agents hustled the men out of the country without due process, backed by the purported authority of an 18th-century wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, whose factual and legal propriety has been called into grave doubt not only by judges around the country but by U.S. intelligence agencies. On the latter front, a declassified memo released last month showed that officials had rejected President Donald Trump's basis for citing the act. He had claimed the Venezuelan government controlled the gang to which these men allegedly belonged. But experts in Trump's own government disagreed. So, Trump's use of the law was bogus from the start. On top of that, at a hurried hearing in March, Boasberg had ordered the U.S. to keep custody of the men — an order the government ignored, and that disobedience is the subject of separate contempt litigation that the administration is appealing. But that foundational sham and defiance wasn't the issue in Boasberg's ruling this week. His narrower, modest point was that the men never got due process to challenge their removals under the act. 'Perhaps the President lawfully invoked the Alien Enemies Act. Perhaps, moreover, [government] Defendants are correct that Plaintiffs are gang members,' the judge wrote, adding: 'But — and this is the critical point — there is simply no way to know for sure, as the CECOT Plaintiffs never had any opportunity to challenge the Government's say-so.' Our word-of-the-week then emerged when the jurist observed that 'significant evidence has come to light indicating that many of those currently entombed in CECOT have no connection to the gang and thus languish in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous, accusations.' Entombed in CECOT. Now what? Boasberg said the government must facilitate the plaintiffs' ability to challenge their removals. But he left it to the government to decide how to make that happen. 'Exactly what such facilitation must entail will be determined in future proceedings,' the judge wrote, giving the administration a week to come up with a plan. We'll be eagerly awaiting the official response — or, the latest emergency Supreme Court appeal from a judge's effort to bring the administration into legal compliance. At any rate, it doesn't seem like anyone is going anywhere anytime soon, even if Boasberg's order stays on track, which is not a sure bet. Until then: entombed. Have any questions or comments for me? Please submit them on this form for a chance to be featured in the Deadline: Legal blog and newsletter. This article was originally published on
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
From Panchayat season 4 to The Family Man season 3 to Mirzapur season 4 to Farzi season 2: When are these web series likely to release?
Panchayat Season 4 The Trial Season 2 The Family Man Season 3 Kohrra Season 2 Mirzapur Season 4 Farzi Season 2 Rana Naidu Season 2 2025 is shaping up to be a golden year for Indian OTT, as fan-favourite series across genres are making long-awaited comebacks. Whether it's small-town satire, high-stakes espionage, gritty crime, or intense courtroom drama, there's something for every kind of viewer. Platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar are rolling out the red carpet for sequels and new seasons of their most-loved titles—some with fresh twists, others with interactive surprises. Here's your ultimate watchlist of the year's most anticipated continues to be a darling of the Indian streaming scene, striking a rare balance between humour, heart, and rural realism. Initially scheduled for a July 2 release, the makers have now handed over the decision to fans. In a new promo, Phulera's political campaign turns into a tongue-in-cheek viewer poll where you can "vote" to watch the show early. Jitendra Kumar (Sachiv ji) and the ensemble cast—Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Sanvikaa and more—return to add yet another chapter to the quirky lives of the Phulera residents. Get ready for catchy campaign songs, wild promises, and emotional punches wrapped in bold move into the digital courtroom is far from over. The Trial: Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha returns for a second season, with Noyonika Sengupta stepping deeper into legal drama and personal chaos. Spotted filming with veteran actor Asrani, the BTS glimpses have already sparked major buzz. The series follows Noyonika's struggle to rebuild her life and career as a lawyer after her husband is jailed in a sex scandal. Balancing courtroom battles and domestic tensions, the new season is expected to intensify the moral dilemmas and emotional stakes introduced in Season 1. Streaming soon on Disney+ years of anticipation, The Family Man Season 3 is finally dropping in November 2025 on Amazon Prime Video. Manoj Bajpayee returns as Srikant Tiwari, the relatable intelligence officer trying to balance family dinners and national danger. This time, the scale is even bigger, with Jaideep Ahlawat joining the cast as a formidable new antagonist. The show, known for blending sharp commentary with edge-of-your-seat action, will pick up from where Season 2 left off. With Raj & DK steering the ship, fans can expect yet another masterclass in storytelling, espionage, and emotional Punjabi crime gem Kohrra will be back with a chilling new case. The new season will revolve around the brutal murder of a woman found at her brother's home, sparking an investigation led by a newly transferred officer and his tough-as-nails boss, Dhanwant Kaur. As secrets unravel, the detectives must also confront their own emotional baggage. With the same dark, atmospheric style and a fresh narrative, Kohrra Season 2 aims to delve even deeper into human psychology, family complexities, and small-town corruption. It's expected to premiere later in 2025, bringing back Sudip Sharma's signature tension-filled a stormy third season, Mirzapur has officially been renewed for Season 4. While the release date is still under wraps, fans can expect it between late 2025 and early 2026. The blood-soaked world of Purvanchal is far from done, as Guddu Pandit battles to retain power and Kaleen Bhaiya plots his revenge. The gritty, violent saga promises new rivalries and the return of familiar power players like Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, and Shweta Tripathi. With Excel Media and Prime Video backing the project, Mirzapur Season 4 is gearing up to raise the Kapoor is ready to dive back into the world of counterfeiting with Farzi Season 2, which is expected to go on floors before the end of 2025. According to a Pinkvilla report, filming could begin as early as December. While an official release date is still under wraps, the makers are reportedly eyeing a festive release around Diwali 2026. The first season, directed by Raj & DK, won praise for its gritty storyline, smart visuals, and Kapoor's solid OTT debut. With fans eagerly waiting for what Sunny does next, Farzi 2 could be one of the biggest releases of 2026—if everything goes as Naidu is back—and this time, it's personal. The second season of the Rana Daggubati-Venkatesh Daggubati starrer will hit Netflix on June 13, 2025, and its recently released trailer is already creating waves. As Rana takes on a new adversary—Rauf, played by Arjun Rampal—the stakes are higher than ever. With family tensions, old scores, and risky operations piling up, this season promises to be darker, grittier, and even more emotionally charged. The cast also includes Surveen Chawla, Kriti Kharbanda, Abhishek Banerjee, Sushant Singh, and Dino Morea, making it a full-blown ensemble showdown with all the ingredients of a binge-worthy drama.
