#PopVultures Ep 37: The Crown and all that Diana Drama! 31:15 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood industries. This week the #PopVultures Jan Lee and Yeo Sam Jo wade into the world of prestige drama - Netflix's hit series The Crown, about the British royal family and the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. In Season Four, its latest season, The Crown covered what everyone was waiting for - the toxic, dramatic and eventually t...
Dec 11, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 37
#PopVultures Ep 36: Harry Styles in a dress and what it means for men 29:30 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood industries. Pop culture pundits Jan Lee and Yeo Sam Jo discuss British singer-songwriter Harry Styles and his historic Vogue magazine cover, where he treads the Fine Line between menswear and female fashion. The former One Direction boy band member, who became the first man to grace the cover of Vogue solo, ...
Nov 27, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 36
#PopVultures Ep 35: US election memes, Worst Chris (Pratt?) and Red Velvet's Irene 26:08 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood industries. This week the #PopVultures have a potluck episode of East and West topics! Yeo Sam Jo discusses his favourite pop-culture related memes of the US presidential election and Jan Lee talks about the Worst Chris debate that saw the Internet dunking on Chris Pratt amid a politically fraug...
Nov 13, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 35
#PopVultures Ep 34: Emily In Paris and the Art of Hate-watching 24:10 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood industries. This week the #PopVultures get into everybody's favourite show to hate right now - Netflix's Emily In Paris! Jan Lee and Yeo Sam Jo get into what they hated and what they inadvertently loved about the hotly-debated/criticised/memed comedy-drama about a young American woman (played by Lily Collins, the ...
Oct 23, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 34
#PopVultures Ep 33: What's wrong with Mulan 2020? 34:37 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood industries. This week the #PopVultures review Mulan, spoilers and all! Jan and Sam Jo give their unfiltered thoughts on the recent Disney live-action adaptation of Mulan, focusing on what they liked and hated about the film. Where is the music? What is 'qi'? Do the Chinese characters of Loyal, Brave and True look like a bad tat...
Oct 05, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 33
#PopVultures Ep 32: All You Need To Know About #FreeBritney 34:54 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. Oops!...The #PopVultures did it again this week with yet another action-packed episode, this time on the #FreeBritney movement that has taken social media by storm. Hosts Jan and Sam Jo Break The Ice by discussing pop princess Britney Spears' controversial conservatorship, her father Jamie Spears...
Sep 14, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 32
#PopVultures Ep 31: The Tea on Dee Kosh 21:48 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week, the #PopVultures give their thoughts on the recent scandal surrounding local YouTuber and deejay Dee Kosh (real name Darryl Ian Koshy), who has been accused of sexual harassment and is currently under police investigation. Show hosts Jan Lee and Yeo Sam Jo give a quick recap of what happened, and share th...
Aug 24, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 31
#PopVultures Ep 30: Cancel culture and celebrities 31:21 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. After a short hiatus, the #PopVultures are back and this time with piping hot tea on the phrase on everyone's minds recently - cancel culture. Hosts Jan Lee and Yeo Sam Jo dive deep into two recent incidents of what may be perceived as "cancel culture" - the shift in public opinion towards daytime talksho...
Aug 07, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Pop Vultures Ep 29: Stefanie Sun and the 2000 Mandopop scene! 28:54 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. Can you believe it's been 20 years since homegrown songstress Stefanie Sun debuted, singing Cloudy Day (Tee Aw Aw..) - her first big hit of a song? As one of Singapore's most famous music exports celebrates her 20th anniversary in showbiz, the #PopVultures dive into her music and the factors th...
Jun 19, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 29
#PopVultures Ep 28: George Floyd, Black Lives Matter & celeb backlash 29:11 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week the #PopVultures Jan and Sam Jo examine how celebrities have responded to the widespread protests in America following the death of an unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of the police. While many celebrities have spoken out in support of the #BlackLivesMatter move...
Jun 04, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 28
#PopVultures Ep 27: Elon Musk & kooky celebrity baby names 26:20 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. What do businessman Elon Musk, superstar Beyonce, socialite Kim Kardashian and chef Jamie Oliver have in common? Other than being celebrities, these parents have also cooked up some of the kookiest children names over the years. In this episode, the #PopVultures stroll down the name hall of fa...
May 22, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 27
#PopVultures Ep 26: Show Lo and Grace Chow's ugly break-up - will the Show be able to go on? 31:48 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week the #PopVultures dive into the hottest topic in Mandarin entertainment right now - the ugly break-up of Taiwanese pop star Show Lo and his Chinese influencer ex-girlfriend Grace Chow. The #savage Chow exposed Lo's many infidelities over the course of the...
May 01, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 26
#PopVultures Ep 25: Celebrity couples with large age gaps - creepy or true love? 32:42 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week, following the news of South Korean star So Ji-Sub, 42, and his marriage to a 26-year-old former TV presenter, the #PopVultures dive into celebrity relationships with large age gaps. They talk stars like Jay Chou, Mariah Carey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Elva Hsiao and even...
Apr 17, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 25
#PopVultures Ep 24: Cardi B's coronavirus rant, Gal Gadot's cringy Imagine, JJ Lin's free concert and more 24:59 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. With people spending more time at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the #PopVultures round up some of the best and worst celebrity moments on social media. Was Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot's rendition of John Lennon's Imagine tone deaf in more...
Apr 03, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 24
#PopVultures Ep 23: Celebrity missteps, reactions as coronavirus paralyses Hollywood and Asia 23:26 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week, the #PopVultures delve once again into the global Covid-19 pandemic that has paralysed entertainment in Hollywood and Asia. With the coronavirus now ravaging North America and Europe, celebrities in the West are reacting but unfortunately, some of them...
Mar 20, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 23
#PopVultures Ep 22: Remakes, reboots and reunions in Hollywood and Asia - yay or nay? 23:13 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. With news that all six main cast members of the hit American sitcom Friends will be reuniting for an unscripted special in May, the #PopVultures dive deep into the trend of remaking, rebooting and reuniting beloved shows and music acts .Is this always a good move, or doe...
Mar 07, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 22
#PopVultures Ep 21: Parasite and plagiarism controversies in film, TV and music 27:31 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week the #PopVultures go deep on plagiarism - which this year's Oscars Best Picture winner Parasite has been accused of. The producer of a Tamil movie - 1999's Minsara Kanna - alleged that the crux of Parasite was stolen from Minsara Kanna. The #PopVultures share their th...
Feb 22, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 21
#PopVultures Ep 20: Celebrities in hot soup over coronavirus outbreak 20:48 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week, the #PopVultures sound off on the celebrities mired in controversy due to the novel coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan. Taiwanese singer Christine Fan was criticised after she lashed out at Taiwan's policy of halting surgical masks exports for a month, calling it inhuma...
Feb 07, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 20
#PopVultures Ep 19: Harry, Meghan and the mayhem at Buckingham 30:32 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. This week, the #PopVultures go all in on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - aka the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - and their decision to step back as senior members of the royal family who will be spending their time between UK and Canada. Why is this such a big news story and what was brewing bef...
Jan 17, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 19
#PopVultures Ep 18: 2019's best, worst and craziest moments in Asian & Hollywood entertainment 16:21 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. In their last podcast for 2019, the #PopVultures do a quick wrap of the year. Asian entertainment was inundated with unfortunate news, from tragic deaths to sex scandals and broken marriages. Jan and Sam Jo pay tribute to the stars who left us too soon and r...
Dec 27, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 18
#PopVultures Ep 17: Sukki Singapora talks Singapore Social 37:33 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. The Netflix reality series Singapore Social - about the lives of young Singaporeans navigating romance, family, friendship and career - has been the talk of the town. The show's most colourful member, Sukki Singapora - known for her hairstyles in technicolour and burlesque performances - drops by ...
Dec 04, 2019•38 min•Season 1Ep. 17
#PopVultures Ep 16: Why is Hello Kitty so famous? 24:46 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. Do you know that Hello Kitty rakes in billions annually and has more Google hits than Mickey Mouse and Britney Spears? The beloved character created by Japanese company Sanrio has taken the world by storm since she first appeared on a coin purse in 1974. But she has also earned her fair share of detractors...
Nov 22, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 16
#PopVultures Ep 15: K-pop's dark side - suicides, sex scandals and corruption 25:22 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. The tragic death of Sulli has once again shone a light on the ugly underbelly of K-pop. Beneath the glamorous billion-dollar industry, issues like cyberbullying, abuse and corruption run rampant, enveloping K-pop stars and South Korean entertainers. PopVultures run through why t...
Oct 25, 2019•25 min•Season 1Ep. 15
#PopVultures Ep 14: Nicholas Tse, Faye Wong and everyone in between! 22:32 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. The romance of Hong Kong resident bad boy singer Nicholas Tse and Chinese pop diva Faye Wong has dominated headlines for nearly 20 years. The high-profile and dramatic May-December relationship (Wong is 11 years older than Tse), with all its twists, turns, trials and tribulations, is con...
Oct 11, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 14
#PopVultures Ep 13: Is TV becoming more "atas"? - Television, movies and the entertainment hierarchy 23:10 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. Today, the #PopVultures ask the question: Is television getting more atas or upmarket? The Primetime Emmy Awards, set to happen on Monday (Sept 23, Singapore time), has several Oscar-nominated, bona fide movie stars in its nominee list. Historically, telev...
Sep 22, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 13
#PopVultures Ep 12: Bad sex on screen! 23:22 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. Today, the #PopVultures get into the steamy topic of sex. Sex on screen can be hot, hilarious and horrifying but what goes into the work behind the scenes? How are they handled in Hollywood, Asia and Singapore? Why are more sets are now hiring intimacy coordinators to guide actors filming sex scenes? Why is it necess...
Aug 16, 2019•24 min•Season 1Ep. 12
#PopVultures Ep 11: On brownface and race depiction in SG 14:10 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. In this episode, the Pop Vultures get deep into a serious topic - the act of brown-facing in Singapore entertainment. The issue came to the forefront of the local entertainment scene this week after Mediacorp artist Dennis Chew participated in an Epay advertisement where he darkened his skin. This ...
Aug 02, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Pop Vultures Ep 10: Black mermaids & spies - Race and representation in film 20:52 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. Several casting choices, which some have deemed controversial, are in the headlines this week and the #PopVultures are here to talk these choices out. First, they dive into the backlash following the casting of black singer Halle Bailey as Little Mermaid/Ariel in the live ada...
Jul 19, 2019•21 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Pop Vultures Ep 9: Chinese celebrities caught in the middle of protests and politics 21:32 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. Chinese celebrities from Hong Kong are ducking from the ire of netizens following historic protests in Hong Kong over an extradition bill. Action star Jackie Chan was slammed for saying that he's not aware of what's going on back home. Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou and Japa...
Jun 21, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Pop Vultures Ep 8: Stars & social media stupidity - the Ian Fang-CarrieWong and Tosh Zhang sagas 26:09 mins Synopsis: A podcast by The Straits Times that examines all the ins and outs of pop culture, be it Asian entertainment or Hollywood. The past few weeks have been tumultuous in local entertainment - with the leaks of private and explicit chats between Mediacorp stars Ian Fang and Carrie Wong and the brief tenure of Tosh Zhang as Pink Dot ambassador, who stepped down after his previous ho...
May 24, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 8
