A Bit of Culture

Our culture vultures are on point with their topics in this latest episode of A Bit of Culture. Dhanya Nair and Julian Yap join Kam Raslan to chat about all things contemporary. First, they get philosophical by contemplating what is the news? From there, they then talk about the book blob trend - a new approach to making book covers in a certain style that’s supposed to be more artsy and ambiguous...

Our guests of the week, Matt Armitage and Azmyl Yunor return from their respective sojourns to join Kam Raslan on another exciting episode of A Bit of Culture. Azmyl reflects on his recent music tours and how spiritual they are for him, prompting curious questions from Kam and Matt. Then it’s Matt’s turn to reflect on his trip back home and the observation that he made when he was there - the supe...

We return to the studio again, this time around with BFM News Producer Dhanya Nair and advertising guru, Vernon Adrian Emuang joining Kam on the show. Right off the bat, they open the chat by talking about the recent controversy involving comedian Jocelyn Chia. From there, they move on to Kam’s topic - projects that they embarked on during the MCO. Later in the show, Dhanya shares the movies that...

Another week, another exciting episode of A Bit of Culture, this time featuring Ong Kar Jin and Zan Azlee! Kar Jin starts the show with his take on the Fair Use & Copyright debate that happened recently involving Prince and Andy Warhol. The folks chime in before moving on to yet another take on the topic of the year so far, ChatGPT. Zan shares his very interesting perspective on it before ranting...

It has finally happened! A Bit of Culture has managed to bring its host, Kam, with writer Na’a Murad and BFM producer Michael Gong together in the studio for the very first time since the pandemic. The long awaited in-person reunion kicks off with the trio discussing the revenge trope in movies and how they’re a bit overused by Hollywood. They then move on to Mikey’s topic on transhumanism and whe...

BFM’s culture vulture, Kam Raslan returns to the studio, and joining him in this episode are documentary filmmaker, Ahmad Yazid, and BFM’s Dhanya Nair. Yazid kicks off the show by talking about HBO’s Succession and its portrayal of how the media control the narrative. Kam then talks about TikTok Food and how Malaysian dishes can survive in this medium, as Kam thinks that Malaysian (and Asian) food...

It’s a hip episode of A Bit of Culture when Morning Run producer Sim Wie Boon and movie buff Julian Yap get together to chill with Kam Raslan. Julian opens the show by talking about Tumblr’s uniqueness as a social media site, and its potential return to popular culture as people consider an alternative to Twitter. Sim then continues the conversation with his topic - quiet luxury, a fashion trend f...

A Bit of Culture returns after a short break, with Na’a Murad and Vernon Adrian Emuang joining Kam Raslan on another exciting episode full of wonderful conversations. Kam starts the show by looking at how cultural products can be marketed differently, using Rolling Stones’ success despite having to compete with The Beatles as an example. Na’a then picks up the baton by talking about a very trendy...

It’s time for another debut on A Bit of Culture, this time featuring playwright, writer and translator, Adriana Nordin Manan. In her first appearance on the show, she will be talking about translations and the nuances that she observed throughout her experiences translating various old documents. But before that, Kam starts the show by pondering about AI and how it has already affected our lives a...

What do you get when you put an academic, who’s also a musician, a futurist and a culture vulture together in a show? A Bit of Culture, of course! Our lovely host, Kam Raslan gets the ball rolling with a topic on passions that turned out to be completely secret. What is this passion of his that’s not known to many, until now? Tune in to find out. After that, the academic-cum-musician Azmyl Yunor t...

Are we in the age of Trough TV? What’s a Trough TV, anyway? That’s what A Bit of Culture will be discussing in this episode, alongside the ethics involved in making documentaries, as well as slangs and whether that will hinder our comprehension. Joining Kam Raslan to discuss these three varied topics are Julian Yap and Ahmad Yazid, and together they reflect on whether TV has changed after its so-c...

Another week, another new episode of A Bit of Culture, this time featuring BFM News producer, Dhanya Nair and writer Lim Sheau Yun. They start the show by looking at the demographics of Facebook users and whether that’s actually reflected among the people that they know personally. Afterwards, Dhanya introduces the barefoot movement - where people go shoeless - to the team, and tries to convince t...

This episode of A Bit of Culture features two guests that are highly invested in the arts - singer Bihzhu Foo and marketing guru Vernon Adrian Emuang. Together, they start the show by responding to the recent retabling of Budget 2023 and the lack of direct funding for the arts. Why does this keep happening, and will it ever be addressed eventually? From there, the group moves on to Vernon’s admira...

Na’a Murad and Michael Gong join Kam on the show to talk about all things culture. Michael gets the ball rolling with a thought experiment - how can we write literary classics with a Malaysian flavour? This gets the team on a whimsical and thoughtful tangent. Kam then talks about 15 Minutes Cities and how KL has missed the opportunity to design itself to be this way in the 90s. Later in the second...

Kam, returning after recovering from his second Covid-19 infection, decides to talk about his experience losing his sense of taste in this episode, and how that experience changes his understanding and appreciation of food. But before that, Ong Kar Jin talks about the novelties of time capsules, after reading an article about a letter that was only delivered 100 years later to its intended address...

Azmyl Yunor and Zan Azlee join Kam Raslan in this episode of A Bit of Culture to dissect and analyse recent events. Azmyl starts off by sharing his frustrations of yet another music venue being raided by the authorities and then wonders whether we should be allowed to vote for our own mayor. Kam then shares his experience going through Youtube’s most viewed videos and how he does not recognise mos...

Kam Raslan returns on A Bit of Culture and this time around, he poses the dilemma that he has about digital piracy and the ethical conundrum that comes with it to his two guests, Dhanya Nair and Ahmad Yazid. But before that, Dhanya looks at how the self-help genre has now evolved in the digital age, and tying it all together afterwards, Ahmad Yazid shares his experience going through therapy and h...

It’s an episode of A Bit of Culture that’s also a bit more nostalgic and reflective, as our guests look back and look ahead. But first up, our host Kam Raslan gets the ball rolling by talking about public spaces and our relationship with them. Regular contributor, Na’a Murad then reminisces about his experiences watching concerts in KL during the good old days. Later, debutant Lim Sheau Yun speaks...

The conversation on A Bit of Culture in this episode revolves around martial arts, data privacy and leadership, with BFM producer Michael Gong kicking off the conversation by reflecting on the evolution of martial arts from being a practice that’s violent, to one that’s now perceived as a form of art. Kam then reflects on the attitude people his age have towards data privacy. Are they more particu...

We kick off our first episode of A Bit of Culture in 2023 with Ong Kar Jin and Julian Yap joining Kam Raslan on the show. Together, they talk about mechanical keyboards (Kar Jin’s current obsession) and the rise of maker culture, things that Kam discovered about our society when he broke his ankle, and the owning of actual, physical things, after HBO recently decided to remove some shows from thei...

It’s an episode of A Bit of Culture where Kam Raslan, Azmyl Yunor and Matt Armittage reveal their obsessions, during the recommendation segment. But before that, Kam wonders whether being obsessive is healthy. Matt then continues the flow of the conversation by talking about AIs that can create content. But do they create good content? In the second part of the show, Azmyl talks about toxic leisur...

A Bit of Culture returns again this week, with Na’a Murad and Dhanya Nair joining Kam Raslan on the show. Dhanya gets the ball rolling with a thematic end of the year topic - weddings! She questions the necessity of wedding receptions, and this gets Kam and Na’a a bit worried on behalf of her parents. Moving on from that, Kam looks at the difference between problem and dilemma and how they’re pres...

It’s all things advertising in this episode of A Bit of Culture featuring advertising veteran, Vernon Adrian Emuang and comedian-come-creative-director, Kuah Jenhan. Jenhan gets the ball rolling by wondering what’s the difference between creatives and suits in an agency. Vernon then tackles the notorious notion that the world of advertising is highly stressful, highly toxic, but highly paid, which...

A Bit of Culture returns with a vengeance and the topic that’s occupying Kam’s mind is Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter and how that will change the landscape of that platform. Helping him to understand more about it are Matt Armitage and Bihzhu Foo. But before they discuss that topic, Bihzhu touches on the return of live events after the pandemic and how things are getting more vibrant again. Matt...

Another week, another episode of A Bit of Culture, this time featuring a first timer and a returning guest. Rahmah Pauzi marks her return from a long hiatus with a confessional topic - she’s now addicted to TikTok Shopping! She finds the experience very theatrical and fascinating, bemusing Kam, who himself is still discovering TikTok. Kam then continues the conversation by asking the gang whether...