Nikhila Natarajan (Niki)
I’m a Ph.D. student at the School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University. My research examines young people’s interactions in a networked public sphere. I’m also Contributing Editor at Indo Asian News Service. Below is a sample scroll of recent work, last updated: 10/22/2021
1. Technology, Society and Big Tech Regulation
Big Tobacco metaphor drags US Congress towards tricky puff on Facebook.
US vs Big Tech: Ten Trends Pointing to a Fundamental Relationship Reboot
Twitter study on 7 countries confirms right-leaning skew except in Germany
Bipartisan roadblock coming Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet, Apple way next week
Reuters investigation on Amazon snowballs into fiery letter by 5 US lawmakers
BOOK CHAPTERS
2020. Doctors As Storytellers, Chapter 4, The Viral World, Global Policy Series by Durham University-Wiley Blackwell (https://www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Viral-World.pdf)
SPECIAL REPORTS
2018. In Pursuit of Autonomy, AI and National Strategies, co-authored with Dr. Samir Saran and Madhulika Srikumar.
(https://www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Ai_Book.pdf)
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
Online platforms and market power: What next after the 5-hour theater of July 29, 2020 big tech hearing in US Congress?
Digital public goods and India’s public square, a conversation with Dr. Pramod Varma, chief architect of India’s digital identity program.
Is it time for a digital bill of rights? A conversation with Dr. Ramesh Srinivasan
5G in India, through the lens of US cybersecurity diplomat, Amb. Robert Strayer
The meaning of Trump’s attack on Sec 230 of the Communications Decency Act
‘Machine, Platform, Crowd’, The Erik Brynjolffson interview
https://youtu.be/PidbPG16KDE
How robots learn, a conversation with Chelsea Finn
https://youtu.be/wDgkqOQ1QKUHow prediction machines work, a conversation with Prof. Avi Goldfarb https://youtu.be/rPfKbZitFdE
Prof. Eddie Glaude, on the Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s murder: “It is a hope not hopeless but unhopeful”. https://youtu.be/6ZS3Usp5xNk
UNGA 2020, pandemic edition: Reporting on the art of the 15 min pitch amidst the dispersal of community from the annual pageantry
https://youtu.be/TSxM4ufyBBU, https://youtu.be/v8fx8dE4Xg8, https://youtu.be/dPhmelRPTck, https://youtu.be/VnT2X8KXSTE
https://youtu.be/mcOlF-2QNdU, https://youtu.be/Nog9SmhGII4
https://youtu.be/5EoI5Qr8Xt4, https://youtu.be/P8vusJ9rpIM
Remdesivir use in US patient # 1 https://youtu.be/kLOs4gZlcnI
What’s it like to be New York’s first patient to donate convalescent plasma?
The Modi — Trump relationship seen through the lens of Indo-US history.
INVITED SPEAKER / MODERATOR
Moderator, Democracy And The Economy, ICCR-Rutgers conference on India https://youtu.be/BMz60YmQ21k
Moderator, The New India fireside with Chip Kaye of Warburg Pincus “Investing in India”, 5th New India Lecture by Mr. Charles R. Kaye
Kigali Global Dialogue, Rwanda, East Africa, 2019
(Anchored breakout sessions and led a 5 person local team to manage live studio) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHu-cm5A_l80Cqi6dSpCr4WSpvZB8KRcN
SAMPLE CONTENT FROM PUBLISHED NEWS REPORTS / FEATURES
The Novel Sobriety Of Joe Biden’s Public Health Playbook: Five Highlights — Analysis
Unlikely superstars of US 2020 election: The mailbox, a sealed envelope
“It’s a hope not hopeless but unhopeful”: Prof. Eddie Glaude on the American uprising of 2020
A December like no other: 10 COVID19 highlights from the US
कोविड-19: कोरोना वायरस से लड़ाई में अगला मोर्चा होगा बच्चों के लिए वैक्सीन
Pfizer declares victory with 95% effective vaccine
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines: Here’s everything we know so far
Eight months of COVID-19 in the US, through the lens of Anthony Fauci
अमेरिका में कोविड19, और डॉक्टरों के रॉकस्टार बनने की कहानियाँ!
COVID19: How are US kids doing?
How a brainstrust and POTUS aligned over messages to Modi
Chelsea Finn is teaching Brett the Robot how the world works
“Managers who know how to use machine learning will replace managers who don’t” — Erik Brynjolfsson
The networked K-12 school — the next big idea in disruptive ed-tech innovation
“Thinking about AI as a drop in the cost of prediction is transformational” — Avi Goldfarb
Trump Twitter thumb has a final ask from America: Virality
From super spreader to Superman: 5 wild moments from Donald Trump’s 2020
The epic big tech hearing: five highlights
Your AI versus my AI: Zachary Lipton on the dangers of the AI and machine learning hype cycle | ORF
COVID19: How are US kids doing?
Covid-19: What US, China data tell us about children’s risk profile | ORF
COVID19: The global race for a cure
Imran Khan’s UNGA 2020 speech almost replica of 2019 litany
Ahead of PM Modi’s UNGA speech, spotlight on art of 15-minute pitch
Citibank economists urge investors to brace for wild, complicated US election
‘If Joe Biden, Kamala Harris don’t get 90% of Black vote, it’s trouble’
Morgan Stanley predicts ‘sharper V’ recovery to take hold by 2Q21
Data from Sumit Nagal-Dominic Thiem match point to Nagal’s serve as weak link
COVID19: Americans brace for brutal week against grim backdrop of chaotic policymaking
Timing is everything: COVID-19 caseload pattern and mitigation strategies in 4 US hot spots
New Jersey-Mumbai Vande Bharat flight passengers laud Indian govt
Viral load matters: Frontline healthcare workers 11% of US COVID19 cases
US trade deficit with India sign of strength, Trump doesn’t understand this: NYU economist
Modi dominates India’s lockdown TV numbers SSR leads smartphone public square (Ld)
US vs Google antitrust case: 10 top takeaways from 64 page complaint
IANS NY’s UNGA playbook Modi tells UN to fix its ‘confidence crisis’
World powers clash as virus sparks anger at UNGA: IANS Report,
Preview of India’s turn at the UNGA general debate
Pak PM does a copy paste of 2019 speech with a few edits to insert Covid-19 into the mix
As we await India’s turn at the UNGA, Team IANS in New York flips the pages to the 2019 edition
IANS sums up the day’s happenings, from Pak PM’s address to India’s blistering reply
India walks out of UNGA just as Pak PM Imran Khan’s turn is announced at the high level week,
India’s PM Narendra Modi at UNGA 2020
Can true stories outperform lies on Twitter?
For students on F1 visa hunting for jobs, Trump’s America is ‘closing the door’ — World News
PODCASTS
Voiced, produced and beta tested #NewsForKids — a world class news podcast for children, long before podcasts heated up.
What’s Quid Pro Quo? by News For Kids on SoundCloud — Hear the world’s sounds
What’s Impeachment? by News For Kids on SoundCloud — Hear the world’s sounds
Could a robot work a toll booth? by News For Kids on SoundCloud — Hear the world’s sounds
What’s artificial intelligence?
#NewsForKids — Why do leaves change colour in autumn?
What Is Politics? by News For Kids on SoundCloud — Hear the world’s sounds
News For Kids — Why is Trump raging against Iran?
NewsForKids — Seed versus soil by News For Kids on SoundCloud — Hear the world’s sounds
#NewsForKids — Good robot, bad robot by News For Kids on SoundCloud — Hear the world’s sounds
#NewsForKids — What’s an algorithm? by News For Kids on SoundCloud — Hear the world’s sounds
#NewsForKids — #HurricaneHarvey is what climate change looks like
India for millennials — the mobile phone’s arrival
I am an Indian, I live in America. Am I a migrant?
