Interview / Why the Padma Barrage will be a disaster for Bangladesh
19 May 2026, 08:33 AM
Big Picture
The proposed Padma Barrage will deepen Bangladesh’s sediment, water, and ecological crises rather than sustainably resolving them.
The puppets we become: Reading Manik Bandopadhyay in 2026
19 May 2026, 09:30 AM
In 2026, this narrative cuts deeper than ever. Millions live as modern Shoshis — outwardly functional yet existentially adrift.
Clay toys lose ground as plastic dominates childhood
19 May 2026, 10:00 AM
Once central to rural Bengal, traditional pottery now struggles to survive amid plastic dominance and fading public interest.
Memories of Indigo Rebellion and the question of national identity
18 May 2026, 00:00 AM
In 1897, synthetic indigo was introduced to the market by BASF and Hoechst, two German chemical giants.
Interactive / The haor crisis explained
16 May 2026, 22:36 PM
The crisis in the Haor region of north-eastern Bangladesh is explained in an interactive, Slow Reads Special.
The expansion of wage labour and the message of May Day
1 May 2026, 11:09 AM
Big Picture
Capitalist exploitation and wealth inequality in Bangladesh highlight why the May Day legacy remains vital for labour rights.
Interactive: Bangladesh Labour History · 1881 - 2026 / Fight for Justice
30 April 2026, 20:55 PM
In Focus
This timeline traces key moments, documenting adversity and progress, and offering insight into the quest for justice.
In conversation with Richard Wolff / Can workers seize the opportunity as Western capitalism declines?
30 April 2026, 22:10 PM
Big Picture
Richard Wolff argues that capitalist decline and Western hegemony offer the Global South opportunities for working-class organisation.
Beyond reform: Securing dignity for Bangladesh’s workers
30 April 2026, 22:20 PM
Unheard Voices
ILO Director-General reflects on Bangladesh’s labour progress, reforms, and global work challenges on International Labour Day message
The forgotten art of Bengali advertising
17 May 2026, 14:00 PM
In Focus
Someone’s great-grandfather might have known which drummers came beating the kara and nakara to announce, "Tonight at seven, the Chaitanya-lila folk play commences."
Re-reading Nizamuddin Auliya in history and memory
15 May 2026, 08:30 AM
In Focus
As legends associated with the charisma and spiritual power of Nizamuddin Auliya spread, many anecdotes from folkloric traditions began to be linked with his life, which cannot be entirely discarded either.
Remembering Mrinal Sen: Through rain, memory, and cinema
14 May 2026, 16:39 PM
In Focus
Mrinal Sen transformed South Asian cinema by turning political unrest, middle-class anxieties, and moral contradictions into art.
How secular is the orna?
16 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Big Picture
Talk to any women in Dhaka, the bustling capital of twenty-two million people, and they will tell you a story about the orna.
Haor crisis turning into a national crisis: Is the government aware?
13 May 2026, 09:30 AM
Big Picture
Bangladesh's haor floods severely threaten national food security, demanding systemic livelihood recovery, climate adaptation, and debt relief.
Photo Story / The Mro children who could not reach the vaccine
12 May 2026, 17:40 PM
Big Picture
Geographic isolation and severe infrastructural deficits drive a devastating measles outbreak among Bandarban’s remote Mro community.
The slow death of the haors and their swamp forests
12 May 2026, 11:11 AM
Big Picture
The destruction of ancient swamp forests and upstream mining has caused the disastrous flooding of Bangladesh’s haors.
Kaarina Kaisar’s death and the politics of cruelty
18 May 2026, 09:00 AM
Wisdom
For many young Bangladeshis living abroad, content creators like Kaarina meant something special.
Sword fighting in my head
15 May 2026, 09:30 AM
Wisdom
Writing, at its core, demands a degree of honesty after all.
The lost art of coffeehouse conversations
8 May 2026, 09:23 AM
Wisdom
From London’s ‘Penny Universities’ to Dhaka’s modern cafés, coffeehouses have long shaped conversations, ideas, and human connection.
How not to use AI in children’s education
5 May 2026, 15:22 PM
Wisdom
Global AI frameworks often focus on optimisation, yet they overlook a unique reality of early childhood.
Interview / Haor crisis is fundamentally a management failure: Ainun Nishat
16 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Unheard Voices
A defining factor is the massive rainfall it receives upstream. Across the border lies Cherrapunji, historically the wettest place on Earth.
The long road for women drivers in Bangladesh
15 May 2026, 09:00 AM
Unheard Voices
Women drivers in Bangladesh face stereotypes, safety risks and structural barriers while challenging deep-rooted gender inequality on roads.
Who speaks for the tiger widows of Sundarbans?
14 May 2026, 09:45 AM
Unheard Voices
Bangladesh’s tiger widows endure stigma, poverty, and neglect while bearing conservation’s hidden human costs alone for decades.
Behind the bright bangles of Dhaka
12 May 2026, 11:00 AM
Unheard Voices
Behind the colourful bangles in Shahbagh and Nilkhet, women street vendors fight for survival in Dhaka's informal economy. Read their stories of resilience.
Why are Bangladesh’s mothers still going hungry?
9 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Unheard Voices
This was the first time I was visiting Lalmonirhat, excited to see how the urban/peri-urban living structure differed from what I was used to seeing in Dhaka city, with a goal of examining whether the children in the region are eating well.
Living on the edge: How monsoon turns coastal life into survival
9 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Unheard Voices
Before the start of the disaster season, there is a rush of house changes along the coast. People on the banks of the Meghna River are busy repairing their houses.
The hunt for the Holy Grail: The repurposed US-Israeli casus belli for Iran’s uranium
18 May 2026, 11:00 AM
Geopolitical Insights
A literary geopolitical essay tracing how war in Iran becomes a recursive quest for symbolic control and meaning.
Does the US-Bangladesh trade deal mirror colonial economics?
17 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Geopolitical Insights
One might hear this and think it is history. But move forward 150 years to twenty-first-century Bangladesh, and the same story appears to be repeating itself.
What is the ‘Thucydides trap’ Xi warned Trump about?
17 May 2026, 00:00 AM
Geopolitical Insights
During their high-stakes meeting in Beijing this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly asked US President Donald Trump if the two countries could overcome the “Thucydides trap”.
What will stop killings at the Bangladesh–India border?
16 May 2026, 15:55 PM
Geopolitical Insights
Persistent killings along the Bangladesh-India border expose deepening impunity, nationalist politics, and failures of accountability mechanisms today.
Prelude to an order for genocide
18 March 2026, 10:00 AM
Slow Reads Classics
AS President Yahya flew out of Dacca on the night of March 25 he took with him the last hopes of a united Pakistan. For the final two days he had been holed up in the Dacca cantonment with the junta of generals who rule Pakistan, putting the finishing touches to Operation Genocide.
Bangabandhu and the world
17 March 2026, 19:28 PM
Slow Reads Classics
As a professional diplomat, I saw Bangabandhu as a symbol of Bangladesh's freedom and independence.
In Focus / The untold history of why Khaleda Zia entered politics
30 December 2025, 11:53 AM
In Focus
Why did Khaleda Zia, a typical housewife who had become widow at a critical age in terms of Bangladesh's culture, join politics?