The ruling People’s Action Party turned 70, and has officially entered its Lawrence Wong era. At its ginormous biennial conference, our new PM formally took over as the party’s Secretary-General. Of course, we had to read between the lines and dissect his speech, as hype builds towards next year’s general election. Is that the oft-mentioned “fear-mongering” about the Opposition we’re hearing? And just how hard is it to recruit new blood? Speaking of which, an inventor-turned Hokkien Mee seller f...
Nov 25, 2024•59 min•Ep. 597
Today’s episode is all about sending messages and changing behaviours. An NUS student thought it was a good idea to deflate the tyres of several cars to send a message about vehicular carbon emissions. Deflate only; no harm done right? We discuss the global movement that inspired this student, and why such actions may not be as clever as they seem. Meanwhile, the government has re-introduced a toilet hygiene mascot from two years ago, called Toilemon. It is a literal toilet bowl with eyes, to en...
Nov 22, 2024•52 min•Ep. 596
There’s a saying in gambling: the house always wins. Unless, it seems, you’re Resorts World Sentosa. Due to unsatisfactory tourism metrics, authorities have only renewed its casino licence for two years, instead of the usual three. The Integrated Resorts opened to such fanfare in 2010, yet RWS’ facade now seems to be… dare we say… DISintegrating? Where did it all go wrong? In other news, HSBC’s new head honcho is doing such a big business shakeup that senior managers now have to reapply for thei...
Nov 21, 2024•48 min•Ep. 595
Big Tech used to be all about big employee perks: flexible hours, free food, travel opportunities, in-office naps and massages, all to attract top talent to do high-value work. But as the tech crunch continues, these perks are being swallowed. Will glamorous tech firms eventually become like all other mundane companies? Separately, we look at what is arguably the biggest employee perk ever: diplomatic immunity. A Singapore government officer in London has been found guilty of child neglect, but ...
Nov 18, 2024•59 min•Ep. 594
In Parliament this week, an epic 5-hour debate about how to save our hawker culture took place. PSP’s Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa put forth a slew of suggestions, which were hotly debated by both sides of the floor. At the end, the amended bill was passed unanimously, highlighting the pressing need to preserve our hawker culture, but will it be enough? Elsewhere, a Singapore PR made headlines when she brought the Singapore flag to space as part of a Blue Origin mission to space. She’s actually S...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 593
In a surprising move, the Ministry of Home Affairs is proposing a slew of legal amendments that will lessen the punishment for road traffic offences, even if they result in grievous hurt or death. Pretty unusual for a country that tends towards harsher punishments for many things! We discuss the MHA’s thinking behind this, and what signals it may inadvertently send. In other news, the days of individual school canteen stalls may be numbered, as fewer people want to do the job. What will students...
Nov 13, 2024•49 min•Ep. 592
People are calling the 2024 US Presidential Election the ‘Podcast Election’ for the role that long-form, unfiltered conversations played in shaping popular opinion. So is Lawrence Wong becoming our ‘Press Conference Prime Minister’? He has pledged to do more press conferences, not tied to any specific announcements, just to improve the government’s public communications. In a recent one, he weighed in on the outcome of the US election. Meanwhile, Australia is considering a ban on social media fo...
Nov 11, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 591
It happened. Trump is once again the US president-elect, and suddenly everyone’s an expert. Including us! Well, not really. We can’t claim to know the situation as well as political analysts, so for this episode, we drop casual observations with our guest host, comedian Rishi Budhrani. Also, we look at an AsiaOne survey on the least satisfying places to live in Singapore while asking “eh where ah” and “what kind of survey is this?” (00:00) A Message From SCDF (01:11) Intro (08:40) A Singaporean ...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 590
A Singaporean film about censorship, has been banned in Singapore by film censors. You can’t make this stuff up. We speak with actor and guest host Caitanya Tan about Daniel Hui’s film Small Hours of the Night, and what lines it could have crossed, because they’re not obvious. We also discuss the role that censors play in Singapore, and what exactly they protect Singaporeans from. Separately, a private-hire driver’s detailed written warning to his passengers has been circulating online. Paggro m...
Nov 04, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 589
The weather’s been hot lately, but our studio got even hotter this week when veteran journalist and political commentator Bertha Henson dropped by with a delivery of flaming hot takes on the state of journalism in Singapore, Pritam Singh’s trial, our new PM, and the Oxley Road saga. But lest we bury the lede (journalism reference), we spoke with her about her new ebook, When Mama Fell, a manual on navigating elderly healthcare in Singapore, told through her experience of helping her mother throu...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 588
Imagine the Singapore zoo being attacked by Zombies. Now imagine talking animals trying to survive it! That's our adult-themed animated TV series called "Zombie Safari"! We chat with Munah Bagharib, who plays Grace the Flamingo as well as Jerrold Chong, one of the co-creators of the show and also a co-founder of Finding Pictures, the animation studio we worked with to bring the story alive. We talk about how much effort goes into animation production (this show took over 2 years to make) as well...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 587
38 Oxley Road is the house that just won’t fall. This episode we look at the latest exchange between Lee Hsien Yang and the Singapore government over the fate of his late father’s historical home. To demolish or not demolish? What are the options, what are the precedents? And why can’t we just get this over and done with? We also discuss a viral video of a wedding proposal gone wrong, where the moment seems ruined by the production team loudly giving directions to the couple. We apply our video ...
Oct 28, 2024•53 min•Ep. 586
Is the pandemic honeymoon truly over? Singapore tech giant Grab is ending hybrid work for its employees and summoning everyone back to HQ, continuing a trend we’re seeing across the world. We discuss what working from home means for employees, as well as employers in various industries. Heck we even talk about us, and how we pivoted from recording YLB from home, to our studio! Also, Singapore recently ranked 3rd in a global ranking on burnout. Why are we so good at being so bad? (00:00) Words of...
Oct 25, 2024•52 min•Ep. 585
Somehow, NINE years after Mr Lee Kuan Yew left us, we’re still talking about his former house at 38 Oxley Road. This time it’s because his daughter Dr Lee Wei Ling recently passed away, leaving the house vacant and reigniting the debate over its fate. We look at claims that her brother Lee Hsien Yang has been making about the house and Singapore in general while in self-exile and… is it just us, or is this becoming tiring? On the other side of the world, Donald Trump continues his last-ditch cam...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 584
You held your breath waiting for us to discuss Pritam. Now you can exhale! With the trial of the year well underway, we take stock of all the revelations so far, and what is to come. Redactions, soft biscuits, Pritam’s hot lawyer…what’s next? In other news, a vice-principal has been outed for an extramarital affair with the mother of a student, and the evidence is…amusing to say the least. Are ungrammatical sexts still arousing? Decide for yourself! (00:00) Tell You First (00:46) Intro (05:19) T...
Oct 21, 2024•59 min•Ep. 583
We all thought it was a done deal, but the Singapore Government has swooped in to block the sale of a majority stake of local insurer NTUC Income, to German company Allianz. Why? Well, buckle up–this episode gets pretty technical! We also look at the bigger questions Singaporeans are asking, like should we be grateful that such a bad deal got caught, or worried it almost went through? In other news, Simu Liu of Shang-Chi fame slammed a Canadian company for marketing its bubble tea drinks without...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 582
We never thought we'd be able to make a show that involved this much gore and dark comedy, but we just did! It's called "Zombie Safari" & it's Singapore's first adult-animated series about a Zombie apocalypse involving talking animals at a Zoo. We chat with Mark Wee, co-creator and one of the co-founders of Finding Pictures, the animation studio we worked with, as well as Jun Vinh, who played the lead character of Musang the Civet Cat. We talk about the challenges we faced getting the show g...
Oct 16, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 581
This episode we ask: when is a protest, a protest? A Spanish couple on their honeymoon here are providing a fascinating test case. They held up signs denouncing Singaporean Peter Lim’s ownership of football club Valencia, and were shocked when they were not allowed to leave the country. Even with our stringent rules, this feels like a stretch. Join us as we speculate on where the tipping point is, and why! Separately, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has been hailed for his humility after he was see...
Oct 14, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 580
We’re horrified that a secondary one girl was beaten up by her own schoolmates at a HDB block near their school, resulting in a ruptured eardrum. We discuss with actor and friend of YLB Munah Bagharib what pushes young people to harm others, and why others are comfortable to watch. But it wouldn’t be YLB if we didn’t also speculate on wild ways to reform bullies! In less distressing educational news, SMU’s College of Integrative Studies allows students to design their own majors. Haven’t we hear...
Oct 10, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 579
Oh Iswaran, we wish we knew how to quit you. Just when we thought we’d packed the former Transport Minister off to prison and closed that chapter, details of his cell emerge… along with a photo of him in prison uniform!!!??? Okaaay, should we be seeing this? We discuss the treatment he will get in Changi Prison, the reasons behind it, as well as the ethics of the photo, which has now been published on several mainstream media outlets. Speaking of seeing inappropriate things, a Qantas flight rece...
Oct 09, 2024•54 min•Ep. 578
It seems we’re not done talking about former Transport Minister Iswaran yet! Just before entering prison, he announced he will not be appealing his one-year sentence. We examine his statement and try to read between the lines. Why the change of tone? How will Singaporeans view him now? Separately, the craze over Labubu dolls here has finally spread to… Taoism?? We discuss if their use in a recent Taoist ceremony has crossed a line. (00:00) Folklory (00:40) Intro (04:48) Iswaran Apologises, Begin...
Oct 07, 2024•50 min•Ep. 577
The verdict is out! We break down former Transport Minister Iswaran’s jail sentence, and ask the tough questions. Who really won and lost? What else would we have learned if the case went to trial? What’s with Haresh and all his conspiracy theories? We also discuss how a food court ended up reproducing a local artist’s work without permission, and did they try to get around copyright concerns with generative AI? (00:00) Ergotune Vesby (01:00) Intro (07:05) Iswaran Gets 12 Months’ Jail (42:14) Fo...
Oct 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 576
In news that both sucks and blows, Dyson has become the latest tech company in Singapore to do a sudden round of retrenchments, giving the relevant union only a day’s notice! We discuss what the union can still do, as well as Dyson’s broader impact locally. Also, Singapore’s last kampung is back in the spotlight after property TikTokers reported the land to be valued at a whopping $70 million. Why won’t the owner sell, and what should its eventual fate be? Back to chew on these issues after a mo...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 575
Rishi steps up to the plate of guest host, bringing the Sindhi presence back onto the podcast! This week, we talk about the elephant in the room, the MRT East-West line disruption. As Singapore reels from the massive disruption, we sift through the chatter online and try to figure out: who’s to blame? Also, strangely enough, Rishi himself got in the news this week, where he trolled a scam caller from Pakistan. We break down the phone call and the elaborate ruses that scammers are coming up with ...
Sep 27, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 574
Just 2 days removed from F1, the trial of S Iswaran coincidentally begins…with a twist! The prosecution has amended charges of corruption against the former Minister, and he has pleaded guilty to the 5 outstanding charges. Is it over before it has even begun? What is happening here? At the same time, viral livestreamer iShowSpeed continues his whirlwind Southeast Asia tour in Singapore, crossing paths with Simu Liu, Tan Jianhao and… YLB’s very own Dom? Hear our resident Gen Zs Tristen and Dom ex...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 573
Is it Bad Behaviour Week in Singapore? A condominium guard threw an order of bubble tea at a delivery rider who did not have the unit number, and a woman helped her driver to cut into a busy lane by getting out of the car and standing in the middle of the lane! What could they have been thinking, and why are such incidents so unsurprising these days? Back to weigh in on these incidents are Team YLB’s Tristen and Dom! Ergotune Vesby is Singapore’s first 100% locally designed office task chair Ava...
Sep 20, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 572
We were thrilled to have Sergeant Gina, a paramedic who is also an Emergency Medical Service section commander, in the YLB studio. Dive into her inspiring journey with the SCDF, and how her grandmother motivated her to choose this career path. She describes the heart and soul of her lifesaving work, and tells us why, despite being a mother of four, she still volunteered her time and energy to go to Turkey with an SCDF team to provide medical aid to civilians. Don't miss this captivating conversa...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 570
From 2026, MOE is making it easier for students to qualify for Higher Mother Tongue classes. But why is studying your language at a more difficult level so desirable in Singapore? We ask former Higher Chinese student and now theatre practitioner (in both English and Chinese!) Jo Tan. Also, we discuss the growing trend of micro-weddings, and whether they address the problems of organising traditional big weddings, or create problems of their own!! Cloud Expo Asia Event Don't miss Cloud Expo Asia ...
Sep 16, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 571
What, another case of blackface in Singapore? We discuss a car dealership’s recent promo video that features a staff member in dark makeup. It directly references an African-themed meme so we ask: is this racism, or just cringe humour? How does this compare with other instances of blackface / brownface we’ve seen? Hear our takes on pigeons as we talk about a woman who has fed so many of them in Yishun, that the National Parks Board (NParks) is stepping in to control their numbers. Bringing young...
Sep 04, 2024•55 min•Ep. 569
Our latest guest Jack Sim brings a touch of good ol’ toilet humour onto YLB! As the founder of the World Toilet Organization that initiated the United Nations World Toilet Day, Jack is a self-made man who has his sights set on improving world sanitation from right here in Singapore. But rather than the usual tropes about his background, in this wide ranging discussion, we lift the lid on why he believes coffeeshop toilets will always be third-world, his “4 Jacks” framework for dealing with burea...
Aug 31, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 568
