In Your Opinion

This Budget 2024 special analysis examines how measures announced would benefit Singaporean youth, from education, to housing, childcare and inflation.  Synopsis: Titled “Building our Shared Future Together”, Budget 2024 was delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Feb 16, 2024.  The plan for revenue and expenditure of the Singapore government was laid...

Empathy for the generation divide and user behaviour patterns may need to be studied more as Singapore digitalises itself rapidly. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. The hard deadline for full transition from an older card-based ticketing system to the account-based SimplyGo public transport payment sy...

How can community spaces co-exist with competing demands while fostering spontaneous and free play? Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Managing the use of void decks in Singapore is like a cagey board game – one where Sembawang Town Council played the ultimate “no ball games” card, recently barricading...

Why more evidence is needed to break down the cost of transitioning migrant workers away from being ferried on lorries. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Migrant workers have been transported in the backs of lorries here for decades, with an ongoing debate about whether the practice should be banned....

Hear how you can donate in terms of financial assistance or even in other ways if you can set aside your time. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and over 16 months, more than 200,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life have taken part in e...

Each follow on the audio apps below and a rating really helps us! Happy listening! Synopsis: A brand new feature is within The Straits Times app, which you can download from the Apple app store or the Google Play store. For those of you who already have it, the latest version update now has a dedicated Podcast Section, where you can listen to our latest incoming show episodes and check out back ep...

Will new systemic changes make first-time couples adopt a new "forever home" mentality? Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and since then, many Singaporeans from all walks of life have taken part in engagement sessions on a wide range of to...

The intention is to give young people a voice on national issues. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and since then, over 14,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life have participated in about 140 engagement sessions on a wide range of topic...

Our guests on how youth in Singapore, aged 18 to 35, can be quite diverse in opinions. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. In this episode, we look at how social media and podcasts have helped presidential candidates win hearts and minds before Singaporeans go to the polls on Sept 1, 2023, t...

Progression, resilience, and inclusion are key areas of concern at public Forward SG sessions on jobs and upskilling. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and since then, over 14,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life have participated in about 140 enga...

Our guests have regularly attended Forward SG engagement sessions to air their views. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. At the National Day Rally recently on Aug 20, 2023, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced an overhaul of the current housing estate classification system. The current...

NTU don says votes should determine whether Singaporeans can stomach politicians involved in such affairs. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. July 17 marked the death knell of not one, but four political careers. Just hours before the shock resignations of former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and...

As more are priced out of owning cars, will the cost of vehicle-sharing services shoot up and be passed on to those who use them?  Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. The certificate of entitlement (COE) is the permit needed for a vehicle to be used on the road in Singapore. This cost then needs to be a...

Find out why human-based detection to sift through the Internet's growing volume of content is getting harder to do. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Recently, a 2023 Global Digital Report of digital behaviour, usage and connectivity insights from around the world was released by media intelligence a...

From late-2023, these new youth-led panels will be introduced by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and supported by the National Youth Council and other government agencies. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. On April 10, Parliament resumed with an address by President Halimah Yacob. She out...

Fair, inclusive, a new era: Do these two words and a phrase best underline the spirit of Budget 2023? Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Singapore's Parliament has passed in early March, the Government’s $123.7 billion spending plans for the coming financial year. In this episode, ST's podcast editor E...

Singapore's Parliament has passed in early March, the Government’s $123.7 billion spending plans for the coming financial year. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Two single and unattached youths - aged 26 and 36 respectively - share their reactions to Budget 2023's new public housing measures after th...

Why youths do not want financial advice from a 'suit', but from those they can identify with. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis and business journalist Tay Hong Yi invite two young Singaporeans in their early 30s to share their own financial literacy awareness, and conc...

Parliament will next debate the Budget and the spending plans of various ministries from Feb 22 to March 6. Synopsis: In this episode, you will hear audio highlights of Budget 2023, as delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on February 14. He announced more support measures and payouts to help households, workers and businesses deal with inflation in his Budget speec...

Are copycat art pieces going to become a legal battleground? Synopsis: The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests.  Three years ago, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan sold a banana duct-taped to a wall for a cool US$120,000 (S$167,000) at Art Basel Miami. But according to American artist Joe Morford, it was plagiarised from his own artwork of a duct-taped orange and...

Pei Rong and Leon Lee, both 33, secured their Build-To-Order (BTO) flat in 2021 and it will be ready in 2027. Synopsis: The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis invites a young married couple - both 33 - to share their journey in securing their first home in Singapore and other housing concerns, calculations and considerations. Th...

Two single and unattached youths share their thoughts on housing in Singapore. Synopsis: The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis finds out the sentiments of Mr Mohamad Arshad, a 26-year-old sales development executive who recently graduated from Singapore University of Technology and Design and now works in his family’s business....

Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times’ Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. Earlier this year, the admission by three national swimmers - Commonwealth Games silver medallist Teong Tzen Wei, Olympic champion Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim - that they had consumed controlled drugs, in particula...

Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. December 9 marks the official launch of Mentoring SG, the national mentoring movement. Themed ‘Standing on the shoulders of Giants', this movement believes that every youth should have the opportunity to grow together...

Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times’ Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. The term "strawberry generation" usually refers to those born after 1981. Over time, the term has expanded to include pretty much any young person whom the older generation consider to be easily bruised - like a strawb...