Yah Lah But

Hope you had a new year! After China recently eased Covid restrictions internally, many residents eagerly booked trips overseas. However, multiple countries, including the US and Japan, rushed to impose restrictions on these travellers, provoking an angry response from the Chinese government. Is this a lingering paranoia about Covid-19, or just plain xenophobia? Closer to home, the repeal of Secti...

Part 2 of our countdown of the most searched terms in Singapore for 2022! The #1 term is a puzzling one! To avoid spoilers, don’t check out the links in the description before listening to the podcast. Check out Part 1 for the complete roundup, and have a new year! Find us here! YLB Subreddit   YLB TikTok YLB IG   YLB YouTube Just Try Only , our new weekly newsletter Folklory Get 25% off any Folkl...

It’s almost becomes an annual tradition: the YLB end-of-year countdown of the most searched terms in Singapore for the year! We’re doing it in 2 parts this time, and in today’s ep, we cover #6-#10. To avoid spoilers, don’t check out the links in the description before listening to the podcast! This is Part 1, look out for Part 2 soon! Find us here! YLB Subreddit   YLB TikTok  YLB IG  YLB YouTube J...

HDB announced that it will investigate and take action against homeowners who flout the Minimum Occupation Period rule for their BTO flats. This comes after some supposedly “vacant” BTO units were listed for sale on an online property site. Why the big hoo-hah over a practice that anecdotally has been happening for a while now? Elsewhere, FIFA will investigate how the restaurateur and influencer k...

We continue our discussion and look back to the formative period in Yah Lah But’s history - the first 5 episodes! Find us here! YLB Subreddit YLB TikTok   YLB IG YLB YouTube Just Try Only , our new weekly newsletter Folklory If you’re looking for a meaningful Christmas gift, we’d love to help you create a personal podcast for a loved one. Get started at Folklory.com ! And here are the full answers...

Even with Haresh away getting married, the YLB goodness doesn’t stop! Today, in the spirit of end of year festivities, we look back at and react to our early episodes of YLB. What were we talking about almost 350 episodes ago? How has our podcast evolved over time? Do we still think the same way about things? This is part 1 of 2 of the discussion, so stay tuned for the second episode soon! Find us...

2nd special guest host in a week! Haresh is still away getting married, so this time, Andie Chen steps in to guest host! We talk about why he’s appearing in back-to-back productions set in the MRT (TV series Third Rail and movie Circle Line), and also discuss why he thinks it’s a great time to be learning about crypto and NFTs. We also analyse why rich Taiwanese people are moving their assets to S...

In this special episode on the week of Haresh’s wedding, comedian Rishi Budhrani steps in to guest host! We talk about life after hosting NDP, his Esquire cover, and why he recently suffered from bleeding nipples. Regarding this episode’s topics, we discuss the recent research report that revealed uni grads’ median pay to be twice that of ITE grads; what does that say about Singapore society? Rish...

In parliament, DPM Lawrence Wong revealed that Temasek will launch an internal review into its FTX investment, and also characterised the loss as “disappointing”. Was that statement enough to ease the public pressure on the state investment firm? Elsewhere, Will Smith appeared on Trevor Noah’s Daily Show program to promote his new movie, and also addressed his Oscars slap incident. Why is online o...

At this week’s parliamentary debate on the repeal of Section 377A, the Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh lifted the party whip to allow Workers' Party MPs to vote freely on their conscience regarding the touchy subject. Reception to this action of his was mixed, with some calling it weak leadership, while others saying this is what democracy looks like. Who’s right? Elsewhere, Balenciaga has a...

Chinese citizens are taking to the streets in major cities across the country, in an unprecedented protest against the government’s Covid-zero policy and prolonged lockdowns. We discuss the significance of these protests, and what might happen next. Closer to home, Minister Shanmugam deadlifted a new personal best of 125kg at a community fitness event. Was this just a soft flex, or will it really...

An OCBC report revealed that young Singaporeans want to retire “in style”, which translates to $6K in expenses a month. We dissect the results and other surprising statistics about Singaporeans’ relationship with money. Elsewhere, Haidilao got flak after offering a performance-based discount based on one’s PSLE 2022 results. Was it really wrong of them to offer this incentive to families celebrati...

After the latest General Election, Malaysia is facing a hung parliament for the first time ever, with two rival factions tussling for power. The king has been tasked with the tough decision of selecting the new PM. We go through the sequence of events that led us to this situation, and try to break it down for the average Singaporean to understand. Closer to home, we might have an extra 1.5 hours...

It’s a special episode today, where Alvin Tan, Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and the Ministry of Trade & Industry, dropped by the YLB studio for a frank conversation that went deep. He opened up about his struggles with his A-level exams, why he left his private sector career behind to enter politics, and the secret MP’s book club… Find us here! YLB Subred...

Ex-employees of Twitter Singapore have come forward with accounts of how the layoffs at their office were handled, and it’s not a good look for the social media giant. How did the process compare to other recent Big Tech layoffs? Elsewhere, buskers are lamenting the restrictions on performing at Orchard Road, which were implemented to control crowds during the holiday season. We debate the merits...

A British expat recently took to social media to blast his condo security guards as “racist” for their differential treatment of his migrant worker colleagues who were invited to his place for a party. He even added that Singapore needs to “grow up”. We examine if there is merit to his complaints. Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo dropped a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan, in which he criticised...

The crypto ecosystem experienced another massive shakeup this week when one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, FTX, unexpectedly went bankrupt. We discuss how Singapore is linked to FTX’s collapse, and what lessons can be learnt from this debacle. Elsewhere, as Qatar gets ready to welcome World Cup 2022, its appointed football ambassadors have not been doing the host nation’s image any good...

This past week, a new law that will require social media sites to block harmful content 'within hours' was passed by Parliament. Furthermore, if the platforms do not comply, the IMDA can get Internet service providers to block access to the content. We discuss why these sweeping changes are, unfortunately, necessary. Elsewhere, the 3 female hosts of a local podcast were slammed for allegedly justi...

Last week, IPS released the results of a survey of 1,002 food delivery workers that highlighted the vulnerabilities of delivery work; low pay, long working hours and lack of medical benefits were just a few of the issues that came forth in the paper. We dissect the findings and discuss what can be done to better support platform workers. In the wake of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the compa...

In the past week, the tech world has been shaken by Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and his first actions as CEO. We go through the sequence of events leading up to this momentous week, and speculate on what’s to come for the social media giant. Elsewhere, IKEA sent a cease and desist letter to the person behind the horror survival game “The Store Is Closed”, triggering an outpouring of support...

This past weekend, over 150 partygoers perished during a crowd crush that happened during Halloween festivities in the Seoul clubbing district, Itaewon. We discuss whether the authorities should be culpable when an unfortunate freak incident like this happens. Closer to home, thousands of people in Singapore got to see the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex up close before it heads for auction in Hon...

A recent study by women-first dating app Bumble revealed that 3 in 5 Singaporean singles have ghosted or been ghosted in their dating history. The differences between Millennials and Gen Y respondents in attitudes towards ghosting also surprised us, and we examine why. Elsewhere, “Milkshake” singer Kelis recently shared a video of her braids being fondled by 2 women in a Singapore coffee shop, whi...

Coinciding with Deepavali festivities around the world, Rishi Sunak won the race to lead the Conservative Party, and therefore to become the UK’s first ever British Asian PM. How are Indians around the world feeling about this watershed moment in international politics? Closer to home, the Ministry of Home Affairs have officially invited UK billionaire Sir Richard Branson to Singapore to debate th...

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently released 3 full studies on the death penalty, one of which found that 73% of Singapore residents believed that some form of death penalty was an appropriate punishment for drug trafficking. What can we make of these studies, and why are they being released now? Elsewhere, a Cambodian delegation wants to examine the Asian Civilisations Museum’s Cambodian collec...

In his speech at the Singapore Economic Policy Forum, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong pointed out that the Singapore economy places too much emphasis on cognitive abilities – “head” work – and does not equally value those engaging in more technical “hands-on” work, or service and care roles, which he christened “heart” work. We discuss why this admission is important. Elsewhere, the IMDA has b...