The Straits Times Podcasts

Dig deeper into why Singapore's food sustainability targets have changed. Synopsis: Join Natasha Ann Zachariah at The Usual Place every Thursday as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. The original goal was for farms here to produce 30 per cent of the country’s nutritional needs, which include fish, eggs and vegetables. Now it's 20 per cent of Singapore's fibre and 30 per cent...

Apart from their vocation, teachers also handle administrative work and counselling. Synopsis: Every second Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. Teachers in Singapore work longer than their peers in other advanced economies. They spend less time teaching but more on planning, counselling and communicating with students&rsq...

Spoiler: Politics, and the private lives of politicians.  Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they're based in. For more than a century, it was quite accepted in France that Presidents and male politicians could have mistresses, and no one would pry into their private lives.  But pu...

This follows a debate over a school's alumni reaction to an ST report on a major scam operation. Synopsis: Join Natasha Ann Zachariah at The Usual Place every Thursday as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. It was a crime report meant to highlight the suspects behind a major scam operation, but a nugget of information sparked an uproar over a school’s image. Last week, The St...

Boys who slept nine hours or more every night had a lower obesity risk and less dangerous fat. Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. A recent A*Star study found that boys who slept at least nine hours every night had a 51 per cent lower obesity risk and less abdominal fat.  Abdominal fat, particularly fat around...

Vital need for insurance to bridge the region’s ‘protection gap’ and drive the green transition. Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change. Insurance is a safety net and is increasingly vital as climate change risks grow and as more people, homes and busin...

Find out how to choose the right employers, training and career paths to ride the wave. Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times. We are in the thick of it. Artificial intelligence (AI) has already taken root in our personal and professional lives, and is set to reshape society even more. How best to set ou...

Megan Khung would have turned 10 a few weeks ago, if she were still alive today. Synopsis: Join Natasha Ann Zachariah at The Usual Place every Thursday as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. Instead, five years after her death, the findings by a review panel detailed how, within a year, there were several lapses at various agencies that could have helped her. The panel’s repo...

Hear from home-grown singer Regina Song, one of the most streamed Singapore artistes in the past year. Synopsis (headphones recommended): This Music Lab playlist features the full live performance of music acts invited by The Straits Times to its podcast studio. Listen to Regina Song talk about her musical journey in the full audio-only podcast here: https://str.sg/fsHh Discover home-grown artiste...

Hear from home-grown singer Regina Song, one of the most streamed Singapore artistes in the past year. Synopsis: Synopsis (headphones recommended): The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio. In this special episode of Music Lab, ST’s music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts Regina Song, one of the most streamed Singapore artistes in the past year. The 21-year-old first en...

A grand bargain will be hard to strike at the upcoming US-China presidential summit, says a top trade expert. Synopsis: Every third Friday of the month, The Straits Times gets its US Bureau Chief to analyse the hottest political and trending talking points. In this episode, former US trade negotiator Wendy Cutler - who was recently a panellist at SPH Media’s Oct 9 Asia Future Summit - speaks...

Many people switch from smoking to vaping for different reasons. Synopsis: Join Natasha Ann Zachariah at The Usual Place every Thursday as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. For Mr Muhammad Dandiar Rosli, he saw vaping as a cheaper alternative to smoking, so he decided to give it a try. But it nearly cost him his life. Just a month after he started vaping in 2020, he ended up in h...

Fresh off tabling Budget 2026, Malaysia is set to host world’s superpowers during the Asean Summit in KL starting Oct 26. For our October episode, ST’s Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh and host Zurairi A.R. are joined by Tony Pua, an ex-member of Parliament from DAP, and previously a political secretary for former finance minister Lim Guan Eng. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim just table...

Hear home-grown rapper Abangsapau's intimate live take of wow. and selamat, sayang, two songs from his latest debut album, Abangsapau. 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 full performance and podcast on YouTube:  https://str.sg/uiSd Listen to Abangsapau talk ab...

Hear from home-grown rapper Abangsapau, one of the Singapore hip-hop scene’s most promising young rappers. Synopsis (headphones recommended): The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio. In this special episode of Music Lab, ST’s music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts one of the Singapore hip-hop scene’s most promising young rappers, Abangsapau. Known for his...

A greener, climate-friendly future is an opportunity to do well financially and not just to do good. Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change. What is it like to be on the frontline of climate finance and investing? To many, it might seem a pretty challenging time, with so...

Platform work can expand employment options and opportunities, but only with careful regulation. Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times. Digital platform work has become a fixture of Singapore society, with a contingent of almost 70,000 plying their trade, mostly in ride-hailing or food delivery. In a special...

Parliament convened in September, but a familiar face from the previous term wasn’t there. Synopsis: Join Natasha Ann Zachariah at The Usual Place every Thursday as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. Progress Singapore Party’s secretary-general Leong Mun Wai was a notable presence as a Non-Constituency MP during the 14th term of Parliament, sometimes having heated exch...

Three finance graduates had used data to create a business that completes the BYD experience in a restaurant  Synopsis: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times examines not just vehicle prices but wider transport issues and trends connected to public and private transport. While other car dealerships put a cafe in their showrooms, 1826’s car selling business is built into it...

How geopolitics is pushing manufacturers from China to South-east Asia and India. Synopsis: The Straits Times’ senior columnist Ravi Velloor distils 40 years of experience covering the Asian continent, with expert guests. In this episode, Ravi hosts Mridula Iyer, Asia South Head of Services at Citi, the global financial services firm, on shifts in Asia’s supply chain and how it matters...

Hybrid work arrangements were once widely seen as the future of work, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic upended the daily grind we were used to. Synopsis: Join Natasha Ann Zachariah at The Usual Place every Thursday as she unpacks the latest current affairs with guests. Now, some businesses and employers appear to be changing course. Last week, the National University of Singapore raised eyeb...

Buying new iPhones, wardrobe makeovers and single-use products have become social norms. But what happens to the old, replaced items?  Synopsis: Every second Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. Annual launches like Apple’s iPhone have spurred the desire to own the latest piece of technology, as consumers face u...

Tune in for a discussion on whether there is an environmental and business case for Asia’s ocean crop. Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change. As discussions on the blue economy pick up, one particular area has garnered plenty of attention: Seaweed.  Environme...

Investing your CPF might be exciting, but ensure you have enough too for housing and retirement.  Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times. Retirement seems like ages away for a young person, and the CPF that accumulates can feel like money just sitting in a fund.  But what can we use CPF for? And shou...

Asia’s only Christian nation, the Philippines, is devoutly Catholic. Yet, why do so many turn to peddlers of potions and talismans as well?  Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they're based in. One afternoon, Philippines correspondent Mara Cepeda popped into church to whisper a pr...