Safety Last

Imagine growing up in an environment where you were expected to wake up before the crack of dawn to feed your farm animals, imagine having no internet until you were an adult, imagine riding your horse for hours after school. The suburbs and rural areas have long had an interesting relationship with each other, with both envying the other, yet simultaneously condescending the other party. For the...

The word that comes to my mind when I think of BTS is meteoric. For what might possibly be the most popular band in the world right now, I had no idea they existed a few years ago (seriously, the first time I heard their name in 2017, I was just confused). Since then I've been very curious how they managed to break into the Western market despite only a single member being fluent in English. How d...

Society has not been kind of vegetarians as their defining depiction is a screaming banshee drunk off self-importance. However, isn't activism for animal rights just another off-shoot of climate change activism? Isn't the push for safer and more humane conditions for animals just another form of loving the planet and all that exist on it? Today, I speak with Yenfei, someone who is both a vegetaria...

[SPOILERS - This podcast will dive and discuss all parts of this manga] Buddhism, murder, violence, sex, philosophy, self-development, ego, greatness... Such large and varied topics that may not naturally seem like they can fit together. Yet Vagabond by Inoue Takehiko not only weaves together the previous ideas, it does it with such care and skill that one is regularly left at the edge of their se...

The dominating emotion I felt as I watched the class of 2021 graduate was a mixture of empathy and pity. As a teacher, and someone who has graduated from high school, I understand how important the rites of passage and rituals are to learning. A program without sport, camps or the chance for students to socialise is more akin to a prison than a school. So today, I interview the graduating captain...

The one who holds the pen, controls the narrative. This is part two of my interview with Uma. For the first half, please refer to #11 - Hallyu: Beyond the Pretty Lights. Today, we look at how K-pop is beginning to challenge traditional Western ideas of beauty that have spread around the world for the last two centuries. We'll also take a peek into how the growing cultural reach of East Asia has ch...

Hallyu (韓流/한류) refers to a cultural, aesthetic and artistic movement where Korean media continues to spread and grow more relevant around the world. In this episode, we look beyond the shiny exterior, thin waistlines and glossy skin, there is a much more serious and strategic aspect to Korea's immense soft power. From the United Nations selecting BTS as their official ambassadors, to the Oxfor...

"Generation" is a ten-letter word that tries to do the impossible, summarise the vast, vague and undefined zeitgeist of a group of people that span nations, religions, class and ethnicity. Yet to simply pretend there are no distinctions between people of various ages is just as far-fetched. Today, we bring on the intelligent and well-spoken Olivia (YouTube: olisunvia) to discuss what exactly const...

Teaching is a profession that everyone seems to have an opinion about. Perhaps this is because education seems to be a rite of passage that all must pass through. Today, I bring on my good friend Jacob to discuss the intricacies of this job. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. 

Are tarot cards just cardboard with fancy images or are they objects with deeply embedded with archetypes that lurk at the very centre of humanity's psyche? Today, I bring back Gio, a valued friend and a return guest to the podcast, to answer the fundamental question..."Do you believe in the heart of the cards?"

With the onset of this century, there seems to be a growing market (ironically) and drive for filmmakers and audiences to consume anti-capitalist films. What does this say about our society? What does this say about the new generation's trust in capitalism and the current economic structures? Finally, can a billion-dollar industry truly be expected or able to carry a torch of anti-capitalist rheto...

What does it mean to live with Dwarfism? For most of us, physical disabilities are something we rarely come into contact with and we often speak about it in euphemism. Today, I talk to Becks, a friend of mine who has Dwarfism, as I try to better understand something that has been socially marginalised for too long.

Nietzsche famously spoke about "If you stare too long into the abyss, then it stares back at you." I talk to Shaun Phuah, author of Providence on All Fours, a new horror novel, whose job and passion is to do exactly that...to stare into the abyss. P APERBACK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DFQ2FV2/ E-BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DBD3KLQ/ SHAUN'S INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mnolololo/

Today, I dive into a deep conversation about relationships, memories and life with Nick.  As someone who is just recovering from being cheated on in his last relationship, we try to answer the most important question together  "What is the function of a relationship?"

From April to June of 2021, we saw a nation brought to its knees by an invisible enemy. Today, I interview Tathagat Singh, an Indian man who experienced the devastation first hand, to discuss what life was like during the worst of the second wave (an average of 5,000 people were dying a day) and how India is faring in the aftermath.

Why have people spent so much time obsessing over every little detail in art? Why are we, as humans, so preoccupied with the creation of imaginary worlds and what do these imaginary worlds say about us, our community and our historical moment? What can we learn from the changes and repeated ideas in Asian art from the West? Today, we'll answer all these questions and more with our guest Chris Zhan...

Why do people jump out of the sky? And more importantly, should you soar through the clouds? Today, I'll be bringing on my friend Gio to tackle a question that has been around since the myth of Icarus. Not only will we be talking about what skydiving feels like and how we felt before the initial jump. We will be tackling about the emotional and philosophical reasons why one should, at least for a...