Public Convos

1 October, 2025. If you think of soup kitchens and beach cleanups when you think of volunteering, Bang is here to change your impression of what volunteering can be. Bang shares his varied volunteering experiences, encourages us to begin our own volunteering efforts, and shares why he thinks larger organisations can better manage and reward volunteers for their time.  Note: We’re experimenting wit...

10 September, 2025. Maisie and Ben have a meandering conversation around embracing the unknown through the “spirit of exploration.” We cover our changing relationship with creative endeavours, Maisie’s focus on social impact, building extroversion, risk-taking, free will, and the power of connection among a laundry list of other tantalizing tangents. Maisie has a deep interest in connection, commu...

20 August, 2025. Julian shares his process of finding inspiration for and writing poetry with the podcast. We chat about how he discovered his own poetic instincts by accident (with the help of a guitar), discuss the (false?) dichotomy between the technical and the artistic, and listen to a few of Julian’s poems. Julian is a poet & ecological storyteller. He seeks to tell compelling stories th...

July 14, 2025. Su Ting joins the podcast with the topic of self-compassion. We run through different definitions of other self-perception traits, like self-worth, self-esteem, etc, and talk about how we’ve found ways to find compassion for ourselves, others, and through creative pursuits. Su Ting also shares a nice collection of important P and C words… listen to find out what they are. Su Ting ho...

July 4, 2025. Aya recently moved to Singapore from Japan and is bringing the sencha of Shirakawa-cho along for the journey. We learn about her transition to life in Singapore, why she’s trying to share her love for the green tea of Shirakawa-cho (different from the more famous Shirakawa-go!), and learn her connection to this city amidst Japan’s rural revitalization efforts. Aya is a recent expat f...

June 4, 2025. Adi comes onto the podcast to discuss the intersectionalities between marginalised communities. We talk about queerness and neurodivergence, more specifically asexuality and ADHD, and Adi’s personal journey navigating these identities. We talk about visibility and how it helps others, and what can be gained from dropping your masks, regardless of who you are.  Adi has been navigating...

May 28, 2025. Alicia shares with us her ongoing journey in her career transition from life coach to counselor, as well as the personal reasons underpinning this change. We try to ask good questions together, ponder if the government’s current mental health push is effective. Content warning: suicide statistics Alicia is no stranger to stepping off the traditional path in pursuit of a life that fit...

May 21, 2025. Tony came to Ben wanting to share some life lessons he’d like to leave his currently 4-year-old niece! We push and pull at the life advice Tony has come to, his ongoing journey that brought him to them, and Tony shares many quotes from different figures that have shaped his current worldview. Content warning: we mention the Ian Fang sexual assault case Tony is currently residing in t...

May 15, 2025. This episode we begin with Dawne’s topic on climbing and then branch out wide to hear about her career journey, discuss how to open ourselves to new (peak) experiences, and learn to ask for help! (Please help the  podcast by following and rating!!) Dawne is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Human Studio. With a background in psychology and 15 years in international advertising,...

May 14, 2025. Xing Jian joins Ben to share his journey becoming a life coach. We also discuss ways to raise personal awareness, become better friends to others, and toss some possible answers to the point of human existence (wouldn’t we all like to know?). Content warning: brief mention of suicide Xing Jian (he/him) is the principal coach at STRANGERINABAR and a Master Certified Coach (MCC) with o...

April 16, 2025. On the first episode of Public Conversations, Ben chats with Shu about career breaks, generalisation versus specialisation, and finding one’s own identity outside of a career.  We also talk about the impetus behind the podcast, and what we’re trying to do here (in this room, and on Earth). Shu once taught at a university—until he took a career break. What began as a conventional pa...