Will new systemic changes make first-time couples adopt a new "forever home" mentality? Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and since then, many Singaporeans from all walks of life have taken part in engagement sessions on a wide range of topics, including housing. This is the third of four podcast discussions, and part of the ongoing conv...
Sep 24, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 33
The intention is to give young people a voice on national issues. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and since then, over 14,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life have participated in about 140 engagement sessions on a wide range of topics. This is the second of four podcast discussions, and part of the ongoing conversation to refresh o...
Sep 10, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Our guests on how youth in Singapore, aged 18 to 35, can be quite diverse in opinions. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests. In this episode, we look at how social media and podcasts have helped presidential candidates win hearts and minds before Singaporeans go to the polls on Sept 1, 2023, this coming Friday. ST's Jean Iau and Natasha Ann Zachariah - who cover Singapore politics - host two...
Aug 30, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Progression, resilience, and inclusion are key areas of concern at public Forward SG sessions on jobs and upskilling. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. The Forward Singapore exercise began in June 2022, and since then, over 14,000 Singaporeans from all walks of life have participated in about 140 engagement sessions on a wide range of topics. This is the first of four podcast discussions till mid-Oc...
Aug 27, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Our guests have regularly attended Forward SG engagement sessions to air their views. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. At the National Day Rally recently on Aug 20, 2023, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced an overhaul of the current housing estate classification system. The current mature and non-mature system will end by the second half of 2024, and from then on, new Build-To-Ord...
Aug 23, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 29
NTU don says votes should determine whether Singaporeans can stomach politicians involved in such affairs. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. July 17 marked the death knell of not one, but four political careers. Just hours before the shock resignations of former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and ex-Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui, a leaked video circulated online, showing former Workers’ Party MP...
Aug 13, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 28
As more are priced out of owning cars, will the cost of vehicle-sharing services shoot up and be passed on to those who use them? Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. The certificate of entitlement (COE) is the permit needed for a vehicle to be used on the road in Singapore. This cost then needs to be added to the cost of the vehicle itself before it hits the road. Coupled with a zero-growth policy, th...
May 28, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Find out why human-based detection to sift through the Internet's growing volume of content is getting harder to do. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Recently, a 2023 Global Digital Report of digital behaviour, usage and connectivity insights from around the world was released by media intelligence and data analytics company Meltwater, and We Are Social. A key report takeaway: 60.7 per cent of Sing...
May 08, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 26
From late-2023, these new youth-led panels will be introduced by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and supported by the National Youth Council and other government agencies. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. On April 10, Parliament resumed with an address by President Halimah Yacob. She outlined the Government’s priorities, policies and programmes for the rest of its term ahead of the nex...
Apr 24, 2023•20 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Fair, inclusive, a new era: Do these two words and a phrase best underline the spirit of Budget 2023? Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Singapore's Parliament has passed in early March, the Government’s $123.7 billion spending plans for the coming financial year. In this episode, ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis hosts colleague and deputy news editor Grace Ho, who monitored around 70 hours of speeche...
Mar 28, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Singapore's Parliament has passed in early March, the Government’s $123.7 billion spending plans for the coming financial year. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Two single and unattached youths - aged 26 and 36 respectively - share their reactions to Budget 2023's new public housing measures after they had raised their concerns and thoughts about housing issues in prior episodes. ST's podcast edito...
Mar 13, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Why youths do not want financial advice from a 'suit', but from those they can identify with. Synopsis: Every second and fourth Monday of the month, The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis and business journalist Tay Hong Yi invite two young Singaporeans in their early 30s to share their own financial literacy awareness, and concerns about the financial knowledge level of youth in the country. Shubaashini Vijayamohan is a lead ...
Feb 27, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Parliament will next debate the Budget and the spending plans of various ministries from Feb 22 to March 6. Synopsis: In this episode, you will hear audio highlights of Budget 2023, as delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on February 14. He announced more support measures and payouts to help households, workers and businesses deal with inflation in his Budget speech. DPM Wong loosened the Government’s purse strings in a $123.7 billion proposal - about 18.2 per ce...
Feb 14, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Are copycat art pieces going to become a legal battleground? Synopsis: The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. Three years ago, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan sold a banana duct-taped to a wall for a cool US$120,000 (S$167,000) at Art Basel Miami. But according to American artist Joe Morford, it was plagiarised from his own artwork of a duct-taped orange and banana. Did Morford sufficiently prove that Cattelan's banana infringed his banana? And will a legal...
Feb 12, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Pei Rong and Leon Lee, both 33, secured their Build-To-Order (BTO) flat in 2021 and it will be ready in 2027. Synopsis: The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis invites a young married couple - both 33 - to share their journey in securing their first home in Singapore and other housing concerns, calculations and considerations. They also discuss highlights from a new National Youth Council poll on housing. The survey had 1,000 y...
Jan 30, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Two single and unattached youths share their thoughts on housing in Singapore. Synopsis: The Straits Times takes a hard look at social issues of the day with guests. ST's podcast editor Ernest Luis finds out the sentiments of Mr Mohamad Arshad, a 26-year-old sales development executive who recently graduated from Singapore University of Technology and Design and now works in his family’s business. His second guest is Mr Cho Ming Xiu, 36, who started a non-profit mental health organisation in 201...
Jan 18, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times’ Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. Earlier this year, the admission by three national swimmers - Commonwealth Games silver medallist Teong Tzen Wei, Olympic champion Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim - that they had consumed controlled drugs, in particular, cannabis, while abroad, sent shockwaves through the sporting community in Singapore. Mr Schooling...
Dec 22, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. December 9 marks the official launch of Mentoring SG, the national mentoring movement. Themed ‘Standing on the shoulders of Giants', this movement believes that every youth should have the opportunity to grow together with mentors who care. In this episode, Grace looks at what it takes to be a mentor, how others have...
Dec 08, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times’ Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. The term "strawberry generation" usually refers to those born after 1981. Over time, the term has expanded to include pretty much any young person whom the older generation consider to be easily bruised - like a strawberry. But is this a fair perception of the younger generation? Here to help unpack the strawberries ...
Nov 24, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. We've all read reports of million-dollar HDB resale flats. To ensure that HDB flats remain affordable and to encourage prudent borrowing amid the rising interest rate environment, a slew of new measures were announced on Sept 30. One of them is a wait-out period of 15 months before private property owners are allowed...
Nov 10, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In Part Two, she takes a closer look at how the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) scheme works, and how it could evolve over time. In the studio to share their experiences are two former NMPs: Anthea Ong, also the editor of a new book called The Nominated Member Of Parliament Scheme: Are Unelected Voices Still Nec...
Oct 27, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. The Nominated Member of Parliament, or NMP, scheme was introduced by then-First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in November 1989. It was meant to evolve a more consensual style of government where alternative views would be heard and constructive dissent accommodated. But 32 years later, and with 10 opposition MP...
Oct 13, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this episode, she looks at how the tobacco-free generation (TFG) approach - which proposes to ban the sale of tobacco to people born after a certain year - can reduce smoking prevalence. In the studio to explain what this means, and whether it can be achieved in Singapore, is Emeritus Professor Jon Berrick of Yale...
Sep 22, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' Insight editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this episode, she looks at the different ways in which Singapore can reduce smoking prevalence, such as bans on flavoured cigarettes and raising the minimum legal age. She also looks at newer approaches being adopted by other countries, including the tobacco-free generation and nicotine caps. In the studio to weig...
Sep 08, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' opinion editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this episode, she looks at why the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) exercise for a few Housing Board blocks of flats in Ang Mo Kio attracted controversy, especially after elderly residents found out that they had to pay up to $100,000 to move to a replacement flat of the same size. Several steps have ...
Aug 25, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' opinion editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this episode, she looks at why planning for one's death remains a difficult subject, and how people can better prepare themselves and their loved ones for end-of-life matters. In the studio to explore Singaporeans' attitudes towards death, as well as recent trends in end-of-life preparations, are Rosie Ching, seni...
Aug 11, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Synopsis: Every second and fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' opinion editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this episode, she looks at what outdoor adventure education means, why it’s useful, the kinds of standards or guidelines that govern it, and the future of this sector. In the studio to explain what steps have been taken to improve safety and quality - and why Grace should still do height-based activities even thou...
Jul 21, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Synopsis: The Straits Times' opinion editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. Happiness and wellbeing are big and nebulous concepts, but it goes without saying that everyone wants to be happy. Helping to unpack these concepts and offer tips on staying upbeat, are Sherman Ho and Simon Leow, the co-founders of the Happiness Initiative. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:00 Is Singapore a happy country? 3:24 Taking a preventive approach to men...
Jul 07, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Synopsis: The Straits Times' opinion editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this episode, she looks at why stable housing matters especially for single parents, and the impact it has on their careers, income and family well-being. In the studio to explain what steps have been taken, and what the remaining gaps are, is Shailey Hingorani, Head of Advocacy, Research, and Communications at the Association of Women for Action and Researc...
Jun 23, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Synopsis: The Straits Times' opinion editor Grace Ho takes a hard look at political and social issues of the day with her expert guests. In this second-parter, she looks at what the recent Budget and other policy changes have done to boost wages and alleviate cost pressures, and what more can be done for children and single parent households. In the studio to explain how policies have evolved as well as the remaining gaps, are Associate Professor Teo You Yenn of the School of Social Sciences, Na...
May 26, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 5
