The Straits Times Podcasts

The affordable luxury of personalised car licence plates are proving an enduring and endearing avenue for self-expression in a changing Hong Kong  Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  HEY YU, DREAMER, ADD OIL. The messages on Ho...

Swiping for love used to be the way for millennials to find a connection, but there seems to be growing dating app disillusionment among the young. Synopsis: The Straits Times’ Natasha Ann Zachariah explores contemporary societal choices and youth perspectives. Bernice Fong, Dhareeni Shanmugam and John Lim are three under-30s who have had different experiences with dating apps over the years. John...

Vape users inhale not just harmful chemicals, but toxic metals into their lungs. Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. E-cigarettes or vapes can contain less chemicals than cigarettes, but did you know that the former can expose users to toxic metals?  Is vaping safer than smoking and just how harmful is vaping? Find...

Local solutions are critical for vulnerable millions as the scorching heat rapidly melts snow and ice across the fragile "third pole". Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change. As the planet warms, with north India’s plains sweltering under an unprecedented heat wave, Himal...

How a variety talk show with one of the oddest hosting pairings became one of the most successful in the Chinese language entertainment scene. Synopsis: How Did We Get Here is a new scripted series under the #PopVultures banner, which will take a look in each episode about a celebrity, a band or the cast of a movie or film that made an impact on Asian entertainment and how they got to where they a...

South-east Asian countries appreciate there is no strategic balance in the region without the US, so they will find ways to deal with whoever is in the White House. Synopsis: Every fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' global contributor Nirmal Ghosh shines a light on Asian perspectives of global and Asian issues with expert guests. How South-east Asia - situated at the crossroads of Asia...

A seasoned motor industry insider says the COE system is bad for health because of the stress that comes with not knowing “the full picture”. Synopsis: The Straits Times offers expert insights if you are in the market for a new vehicle or are tracking transportation trends. The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Singapore seems to be tracking well. In 2023, 18.2 per cent of all new car registr...

Join in this passionate post mortem of the recently concluded 2023/24 English Premier League season. Synopsis: The Straits Times tackles the talking points in sport every second Wednesday of the month.  As the dust settles on another thrilling English Premier League (EPL) season, the post-campaign analysis has begun at the Hard Tackle. ST Sports reporter Deepanraj Ganesan and guest co-host Zia-ul...

Home-grown singer-songwriter rhyu's intimate live studio take of It's fine, a song first released in 2023, which has a million streams on just Spotify alone. Synopsis (headphones recommended): This Music Lab playlist features the full live performance of music acts invited by The Straits Times to its podcast studio. Watch the special live performance and video podcast version of this episode on th...

Home-grown singer and songwriter rhyu is the 11th guest in this music channel. Synopsis (headphones recommended): Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio. In the 11th episode of Music Lab, ST's music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts home-grown singer and songwriter rhyu. The newcomer’s arresting vocals and original songs, a mixture of pop, jazz, and R&B, hav...

Hear why active ETFs are becoming more popular.    Synopsis: Every third Monday of the month, hosts Lee Su Shyan and Ven Sreenivasan - both senior columnists at The Straits Times - offer you an extra edge in managing your hard-earned money. In this episode, J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Apac head of ETF - Philippe El-Asmar - discusses the growth of ETFs in Asia. In particular, there is a growing...

Investors are on the hunt for companies that not only cut greenhouse gas emissions but also transform industry and society.  Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change. There’s growing investor interest in companies at the cutting edge of green tech innovation. Specifically,...

Singapore’s most well-known OnlyFans creator Titus Low is slowly moving on from the platform that has brought him fame, money and drama. Lots of it. Synopsis: The Straits Times’ Natasha Ann Zachariah explores contemporary societal choices and youth perspectives and digs deeper into issues of the day. Sitting down with The Usual Place’s host Natasha Ann Zachariah, Titus opens up about asking to wor...

Adult learning research shows “productive failure” builds tenacity and deepens learning. Synopsis: Every second Monday of the month, The Straits Times helps you put your career on the right footing from the outset. Failure is not fatal. Instead, organisations and individuals can set themselves up to learn from each failure better and faster. However, this requires thought and effort to be put into...

This generation, it appears in a survey result too, is not afraid to spend immediately for happiness or instant gratification, but they do so within their means. Synopsis: Every second Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. It used to be that avocado toast was the symbol of millennial extravagance, infamous for dashing that gen...

Hear from our guest expert on Singapore’s stakes in seeing a stable government rule the world’s fifth biggest economy. Synopsis: Join The Straits Times' senior columnist Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the continent. The world’s most populous nation began voting on April 19 in a seven-phase election in which nearly one billion people are eligible to vote, w...

Diving into women’s football in Singapore Synopsis: The Straits Times tackles the talking points in sport every second Wednesday of the month.  In this episode of Hard Tackle, we look at the state of women’s football in Singapore and what the Republic needs to do to improve its standards.  In the Lionesses’ most recent international friendlies, they suffered 3-0 and 8-0 defeats by Bangladesh. Mean...

The promise of it transforming our work lives is happening, but maybe not in the way we expected it to. Synopsis: Every first Monday of the month, listen to the Work Talk podcast to help you work smarter, think deeper and get ahead in your work life. It has been 18 months since ChatGPT's public debut. Has the technology touted to change our work lives been helpful, but underwhelming? Or is it us?...

Migratory species are broadly in decline, disrupted by alteration of field and forest habitats, and by hunting in the case of South-east Asia. Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change. The East Asian migratory bird flyway is perhaps the most diverse of the world's nine nort...

The rise of home bars in cities across China shows how young Chinese are craving for companionship but without having to invest in relationships. Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.  #family-style bars is now a search term for l...

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong becomes Singapore’s fourth prime minister on May 15, 2024, when he succeeds current PM Lee Hsien Loong.  Synopsis: The Straits Times’ Natasha Ann Zachariah explores contemporary societal choices and youth perspectives and digs deeper into issues of the day. The upcoming leadership transition - when Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong becomes Singapore’s fourth p...

It is one of the most famous Chinese period dramas ever, but where are the members of its main cast now? Synopsis: How Did We Get Here is a new scripted series under the #PopVultures banner, where host Jan Lee will deep dive into a celebrity, a band or the cast of a movie or film that made an impact on Asian entertainment and how they got to where they are now. There is a good argument to be made...

Asia is on the cusp of a summer of life-threatening dengue fever.  Synopsis: Every fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' global contributor Nirmal Ghosh shines a light on Asian perspectives of global and Asian issues with expert guests. Dengue fever case numbers have gone up across the global tropics. This includes Singapore, a model in many respects for health surveillance and epidemic c...

The head of the EV-electric shares some of the learnings from Singapore’s electrification journey. Synopsis: The Straits Times offers expert insights if you are in the market for a new vehicle or are tracking transportation trends. The pace of EV charger deployment at HDB carparks in 2024 will likely be slower than in the previous year - at least initially - before things pick up speed again. Acco...

Why mudflats are vital for dwindling numbers of birds that stop over seasonally. Synopsis (headphones recommended): In this new 4-part environment podcast series for 2024 - Green Trails - The Straits Times hits the ground with experts in spaces that are critical to the interlinked crises the planet faces: climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. The next episode drops in June. For this in...