Asian Insider

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in China in this weekly podcast. Dr Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow at Singapore Institute of International Affairs, stands in for The Straits Times' China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei who is on leave, and he chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. In this week's China Perspective the team discusses China's reaction to Speaker of the US House o...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in the United States in this weekly podcast.  The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. They discuss the key takeaways from the final Congressional hearing into the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.  They also chat about China issuing stark private warnings to the Biden administration ab...

Synopsis: Every month, The Straits Times Kuala Lumpur bureau analyses the latest issues making the headlines in Malaysia. This ST video livestream was hosted by Hairianto Diman on July 22. Malaysia's Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz will be appointed treasurer of Selangor Barisan Nasional at a ceremony graced by the Umno-led coalition’s top state leaders on Sunday (July 31), confirming months of rumou...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses South-east Asia's top news developments in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' regional correspondent Leslie Lopez chats with Money FM's Elliott Danker. They discuss ex-Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's possible next move after being asked to leave Singapore.  They also cover the latest from Malaysia's Lower House meetings and the rejected attempts b...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in China in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. They discuss the Covid-19 situation in China, with case numbers increasing once again. Also, highlights from Chinese Premier Xi Jinping visit to Xinjiang last week and the possibility of China stumbling into its...

Synopsis: In this special series, The Straits Times dives into some of the greatest unsolved mysteries in South-east Asia, and examines the underlying issues that they exposed. In this episode, we revisit the spate of mass hysteria in Malaysia's north-eastern state of Kelantan to find out why the disorder is more prevalent among schoolgirls. ST regional correspondent Jia Ning Tan speaks to Ustaz A...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in the United States in this weekly podcast.  The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. They discuss US President Joe Biden's first presidential trip to the Middle East where he confronted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  They als...

Synopsis: On the third Friday of every month, The Straits Times examines various facets of the US-China rivalry and its implications for Asia. Join Charissa Yong and Danson Cheong - ST’s US and China correspondents respectively based in Washington DC and Beijing - as they chat about the prospect or possibility of an "Asian Nato". Nato is the well-known US-led military alliance in Europe. But how l...

Synopsis: Every fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh presents an Asian perspective of the biggest global talking points with expert guests. In this episode, Nirmal Ghosh hosts Dr Aparna Pande, Research Fellow & director of Hudson Institute's Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia, and ST's Japan correspondent Walter Sim.  When news of former Jap...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses South-east Asia's top news developments in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' regional correspondent Leslie Lopez chats with Money FM's Elliott Danker. They discuss Malaysia and Philippines' respective ongoing struggles with Covid-19, the battle between Malaysia and Indonesia in palm oil exports, and the future of leadership in Sri Lanka following the curr...

Synopsis: The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar hosts ST’s Indochina bureau chief Tan Hui Yee. They talk about China’s presence especially in this region in light of Hui Yee's recent reporting trip to Cambodia. She visited Sihanoukville, a quiet coastal town which has been transformed by Chinese investment. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, a flood of Chinese casino and hotel investmen...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in China in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. They review the results of a survey that illustrated the public's willingness to stay in China, and the discussion US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the topic of R...

Synopsis: Every second Friday of the month, join The Straits Times' associate editor Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the continent. In this episode, he hosts Ms Eirliani Abdul Rahman, former Singapore diplomat and co-founder of the Berlin-backed Global Diplomacy Lab, to discuss if a feminine foreign policy (FFP) could prove a balm for global conflicts and t...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses East Asia's top news developments in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' Japan correspondent Walter Sim chats with Money FM's Elliott Danker. They discuss Japan's upcoming Upper House election, the importance of a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) win and the battle for the Okinawa prefectural constituency.  Produced by: Walter Sim ( waltsim@sph.com.sg ) &...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses South-east Asia's top news developments in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' regional correspondent Leslie Lopez chats with Money FM's Elliott Danker. They discuss Malaysia’s central bank Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) increasing the overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 per cent, to tame inflation. They also cover how Malaysian authorities are not...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in China in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. The team discusses China tightening Covid-19 curbs for cities in the eastern part of the country. Also, China has hit back at New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s comments on them.  They also chat about...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in the United States in this weekly podcast.  The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. The team discusses US President Joe Biden’s plans to protect women travelling for abortion after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Also, according to a poll, 71 per cent of Americans do not want Biden to...

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe. They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises. In this episode, she chats with ST's China correspondent Elizabeth Law.  China, which has maintained some of the world's strictest entry requireme...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses South-east Asia's top news developments in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' regional correspondent Leslie Lopez chats with Money FM's Elliott Danker. They discuss Malaysia spending 77.3 billion ringgit (S$24.26 billion) in subsidies and cash aid this year to help temper the effects of rising prices. Indonesian President Joko Widodo is attempting to hold...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in China in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. They discuss the G-7’s attempt to compete with China’s formidable Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and how the situation is potentially easing up in Beijing with schools reopening. Chinese President Xi Jinping take...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in the United States in this weekly podcast.  The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. Roe v Wade is in focus in this episode after The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision overturned abortion rights in the country. How did it come to this? Is there any way abortion rights can be made legal in th...

Synopsis: This podcast series is based on selected chapters from a book detailing Singapore’s experience battling the Covid-19 pandemic. The book - written by journalists of The Straits Times and edited by ST’s executive editor Sumiko Tan - is titled In This Together: Singapore's Covid-19 Story and is available in major bookstores. Details online: https://www.stbooks.sg/ In this fifth...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses South-east Asia's top news developments in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' regional correspondent Leslie Lopez chats with Money FM's Elliott Danker. In this week's episode, the team discusses the possible effects of Malaysia’s decision to raise the ceiling price of sugar. Moreover, was stopping their chicken exports a good move?  Indonesian authorities...

Synopsis: The Straits Times analyses the latest developments in China in this weekly podcast. The Straits Times' China bureau chief Tan Dawn Wei chats with Money FM 89.3's Elliott Danker. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden could be having a video discussion about global security issues in the next one to three months. Their dispute over Taiwan continues to get more heated. Dom...

Synopsis: In this special series, The Straits Times dives into some of the greatest unsolved mysteries in South-east Asia, and examines the underlying issues that they exposed. In this episode, we investigate the source of the red and orange fireballs that emerge from the Mekong River once every year. ST Indochina bureau chief Tan Hui Yee speaks to Dr San Sunthornthanakul, mayor of Phon Phisai mun...