Stay ConnectedSynopsis: Almost every weekday, our ALL-IN-ONE channel showcases discussions on Singapore youth perspectives and social issues, geopolitics through an Asian lens, health, climate change, personal finance and career.
Follow our shows on your favourite audio apps Apple Podcasts, Spotify or even ST’s app, which has a dedicated podcast player section.
Produced by podcast editor Ernest Luis & The Straits Times, SPH Media.
An ongoing SMRT campaign, meant to inspire a gracious commute culture, has laid down the law on what’s acceptable, or not, on the train.
Two bubble-like characters – named “Dotties” by SMRT – are accompanied by the caption, “Don’t groom in public”. One is shown clipping their toenails and the other, applying make-up.
It got the internet talking about the boundaries of personal grooming in public.
But after decades of public etiquette and courtesy campaigns across Singapore, why is there still a need for this conversation? And if Singapore is a first-world city, why don’t we have a handle on what’s acceptable and what isn’t in public?
In this episode of the podcast, I chat with Elysia Tan, a clinical psychologist, and Shila Naidu, a trauma therapist, to work through how to behave on public transport?
Highlights (click/tap above):
4:08 Why have we not learnt from decades of courtesy campaigns?
9:54 Why don’t people realise they are irritating others?
14:29 Are these behaviours a reflection of a stressed society?
18:08 How did we become a “shame-based” society?
21:59 Commuters with mental health issues
24:41 Should we confront people on the train?
28:24 No PDA, no nose picking and distance please!
Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)
Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm
Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: https://str.sg/8KNT
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN
Filmed by: Studio+65
Edited by: Eden Soh, Amirul Karim & Natasha Liew
Executive producer: Danson Cheong
Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law
Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday:
Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX
Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P
YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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Is “not spicy enough” a legitimate criticism of a dish?
Synopsis: On Wednesdays, The Straits Times takes a hard look at key issues of the day with newsmakers.
Across Singapore’s diverse culinary landscape, chilli is a common accompaniment to almost any meal — think sambal belachan, chilli paste mixed with garlic and ginger or freshly cut chilli padi.
The unique chilli condiment paired with a meal can sometimes make or break a dish. Do we judge a dish by its chilli — and rightly or wrongly so? Do we wear our tolerance toward spiciness as an undeserved badge of honour? And with the influx of Chinese mala cuisine and Korean gochujang, has Singapore's chilli culture become more adventurous in the last decade?
In this episode, opinion editor Lin Suling speaks to food influencer Alderic Teo and private chef Schira Hassan.
Highlights (click/tap above):
7:20 Is “not spicy enough” a legitimate criticism of a dish?
8:10 Korean spicy noodles: Why the performative element?
9:30 How to make traditional dishes accessible to a wider audience while retaining authenticity?
11:10 Do people’s spice tolerances decline with age?
22:00 Can the accompanying chilli become the dealbreaker for a dish?
Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH
Host: Lin Suling (linsuling@sph.com.sg)
Produced & edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Executive producers: Danson Cheong and Lynda Hong
Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wukb
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Our hosts try to make sense of conflicting developments in this city state.
Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times provides you with a South-east Asian perspective to global environmental challenges.
Trees can keep urban environments cool, and Singapore has been leveraging this “superpower” of nature by expanding its tree-planting efforts. There is a plan to plant a million trees across the country by 2030, while organisations are rolling out microforests and skyrise greenery to beautify and cool down concrete environments.
Yet, at the same time, Singapore is also cutting down secondary forests to meet other national needs, including for housing and industrial purposes. How can we make sense of this green paradox?
Listen to the discussion on this episode of Green Pulse, and stay tuned till the end for a special announcement!
Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):
1:50 How has Singapore’s greening strategy changed over the years?
11:40 What are some existing tools used in Singapore to make decisions on which secondary forest plot to conserve or develop?
18:15 Can Singapore consider an EIA law or biodiversity offsets?
25:25 Do Singaporeans recognise the inherent value of nature?
Green Pulse LinkedIn newsletter: https://str.sg/green-pulse-nl
Follow Audrey Tan on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/848W
Read her articles: https://str.sg/JLM2
Follow David Fogarty on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/jcvy
Read his articles: https://str.sg/JLMu
Hosts: Audrey Tan (audreyt@sph.com.sg) & David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg)
Produced & edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong
Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaf
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWaY
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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Get a peek into the workings of the viral community choir and unpack the importance of finding your tribe.
Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a head start in your personal finance, career and life with The Straits Times.
In this episode, Singaporean musician Aarika Lee tells host See Kai Wen her inspiration and journey in starting the viral community choir Sing Song Social Club.
Through the choir’s inclusivity, people from all walks of life and ages - ranging from four to 90 years of age - come to sing together. No auditions are needed to join the sessions, which have grown from 30 to 400 participants in less than two years.
Aarika also talks about why having a community is so important and discusses parallels between the science of trees and the psychological need of humans to feel a sense of belonging.
Highlights (click/tap above):
0:00 What is the Sing Song Social Club (SSSC)?
5:30 Role of communities and how Aarika keeps SSSC safe
8:40 How the science of trees explains our need for community
15:40 Independence vs interdependence
20:50 Disagreements in SSSC?
23:50 How Aarika started SSSC, and the roles of the other founding members
29:50 Advice for those who want to find or start their own community
36:03 Aarika plays “This or That”
Follow See Kai Wen on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/qfwqQ
Host: See Kai Wen (seekw@sph.com.sg)
Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim & Natasha Liew
Executive producers: Danson Cheong and Joanna Seow
Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law
Follow Headstart On Record Podcast channel here:
Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wuN3
Spotify: https://str.sg/wBr9
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Get business/career tips in ST's Headstart newsletter: https://str.sg/headstart-nl
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Do note: All analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast are for your general information only. You should not rely on them in making any decision. Please consult a fully qualified financial adviser or professional expert for independent advice and verification. To the fullest extent permitted by law, SPH Media shall not be liable for any loss arising from the use of or reliance on any analyses, opinions, recommendations and other information in this podcast. SPH Media accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever that may result or arise from the products, services or information of any third parties.
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Over the last couple of years, several of Singapore’s well-known boys’ schools have opened their doors to girls.
The latest to join the list is Montfort Junior School. In March, it was announced that the primary school will become co-ed from 2028, while Montfort Secondary School will follow suit by 2034 or earlier.
As such announcements often do, it got people talking – about heritage, cultural identity, and what may be lost when single-sex schools go co-ed.
In this episode, I speak with a former deputy principal at Raffles Girls’ School, an academic from the National Institute of Education, and a mother of three boys who sits on two school boards and an alumni board.
With shrinking student numbers and competing demands for space, is there still a case for teaching boys and girls separately?
Highlights (click/tap above):
2:20 Why do alumni get upset when their schools go co-ed?
6:59 “It didn’t feel like it was mine anymore.”
10:05 How girls flourish in the single-sex school environment
15:56 Why a school’s history is powerful
17:57 Do single-sex schools reinforce gender stereotypes?
22:00 Finding balance in the school experience
24:00 Less prepared for the real world?
27:22 “Eh bro, that’s really toxic.”
31:34 Focus on quality curriculum
33:07 Shut down single-sex schools with falling enrolment?
Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)
Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm
Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: https://str.sg/8KNT
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN
Filmed by: Studio+65
Edited by: Eden Soh, Hadyu Rahim & Natasha Liew
Executive producer: Danson Cheong
Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law
Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday:
Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX
Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P
YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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Why Singapore’s low fertility rate last year could really redefine real estate from 2050.
Synopsis: On Wednesdays, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with newsmakers.
Singapore is producing fewer babies. Its birth rate, measured by the total fertility rate (TFR), plunged to a record low of 0.87 in 2025, continuing the downtrend of 0.97 in 2023.
The citizen population may start to shrink by the early 2040s. In February 2026, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong stressed the need to therefore have a “carefully managed immigration flow to augment our low birth rate”.
As the population shrinks, who would be the buyers in the property market in the future? To delve deeper into this, Lynda Hong hosts Mr Alan Cheong, executive director of consultancy at Savills Singapore.
They also discuss how fewer buyers in the future would push the property market to be rental-based, rather than ownership-driven. They chat too, about the future of the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (Vers) and how rapid changing technology could change immigration policy.
Highlights (click/tap above):
7:54 How shrinking family sizes have concentrated wealth for young buyers
15:38 The AI threat also applies to immigrant skills
20:09 How Vers could be implemented
24:10 Why Singapore may be leaning towards Generation Rent in the future
25:28 Why youth of the future may not have the same desire to own property later on
27:25 The looming divide between appreciating freeholds and plunging ageing leaseholds
Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH
Follow Lynda Hong on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/Gm2v
Host: Lynda Hong (lyndahong@sph.com.sg)
Produced and edited by: Teo Tong Kai
Executive producers: Danson Cheong and Lynda Hong
Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wukb
Spotify: https://str.sg/w7sV
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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Navigating Singapore’s evolving health insurance landscape.
Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.
The rules for Integrated Shield Plan (IP) riders changed on Apr 1, 2026. New mandates from the Ministry of Health mean that riders that offer nearly full coverage can no longer be sold. They have been replaced by plans that require higher out-of-pocket costs in exchange for lower premiums. These new riders promote greater accountability in controlling escalating healthcare expenses.
If you have an existing IP rider, you might wonder if you should "grandfather" your current plan, switch to a new one to save on premiums, or perhaps do without one?
If you are just starting your healthcare journey, you need to understand why MOH is removing deductible coverage and doubling the co-payment cap from $3,000 to $6,000.
In this episode, host Joyce Teo engages with a private sector surgeon and a health economist to discuss the new landscape of health insurance, how to think about your future healthcare needs, and the crucial role of personal responsibility.
The guests are Dr. Tan Yia Swam, a breast surgeon and former president of the Singapore Medical Association, and Dr. Akshar Saxena, an Assistant Professor of Economics at Nanyang Technological University.
In the podcast, Dr Tan also addresses a common misconception that private sector doctors frequently overcharge.
Highlights (click/tap above):
8:05 Knowing the difference between an elective surgery and an emergency one.
10:40 Addressing the public perception that some doctors overcharge patients…
15:20 On the importance of personal responsibility…
23:07 Dr Akshar on the impact of the Apr 1 changes on legacy riders
24:18 Dr Tan’s perspective on preparing for her future medical needs.
Read Joyce Teo's stories: https://str.sg/JbxN
Host: Joyce Teo (joyceteo@sph.com.sg)
Produced and edited by: Amirul Karim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong
Follow Health Check Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWaN
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWRX
Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaQ
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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The Iran war is an unprecedented crisis but South-east Asia is better placed to handle it.
Synopsis: Every second Friday of the month, The Straits Times’ senior columnist Ravi Velloor distils 45 years of experience covering the Asian continent, with expert guests.
The US-Israeli assault on Iran, which led to the effective closure of the Straits of Hormuz, has seized up many Asian economies which are seeing rising fuel prices, soaring airline ticket costs and leaving restaurants short of cooking fuel.
But South-east Asia, with memories of the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s still fresh in memory is better placed macro-economically to tackle the crisis - evidenced in investors’ confidence in stocks such as DBS, SIA and OCBC.
In this wide-ranging episode, host Ravi Velloor speaks with Thilan Wickramasinghe, head of research at Maybank Securities and an expert on the interplay of geopolitics, macro-economics and the stock market. They unpack the full dimensions of the crisis before discussing how Asia is likely to fare when it ends, as it must some day.
Mr Wickramasinghe offers some advice: It has paid off for investors to be long on stocks, he says, and there is a case to keep some gold in your portfolio, as well as energy stocks.
Highlights (click/tap above)
1:38 A Michelle Yeoh, Di Caprio-style crisis
8:16 South-east Asia is better placed than other regions
14:09 DBS, SIA - why some stocks do better than the rest
15:33 Opportunities for investors in this crisis
17:59 Post-War realities to watch for
21:10 Equities will never go out of fashion
Read Ravi's columns: https://str.sg/3xRP
Follow Ravi on X: https://twitter.com/RaviVelloor
Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/sfpz
Host: Ravi Velloor (velloor@sph.com.sg)
Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani
Executive producer: Ernest Luis
Follow Asian Insider Podcast on Fridays here:
Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8
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Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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After US President Donald Trump walked back his threats to wipe Iran off the map, there’s now a two-week ceasefire in place.
Hours before this kicked in, the Singapore Government announced in Parliament on April 7 support measures to help cushion the cost increases resulting from the Middle East conflict.
These include disbursing $500 in CDC vouchers half a year early and a $200 increase in the Cost-of-Living Special Payment.
Six weeks into this war, the question now is: Will things get better from here, or are we just having a moment of respite before the knock-on effects continue to worsen?
In this podcast episode, I chat with economists Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and Sheana Yue, a senior economist at global economic advisory firm Oxford Economics, about what else we should brace ourselves for.
Highlights (click/tap above):
4:12 Iran war uncertainty’s impact on Singapore
10:53 Singapore’s 1973 oil crisis lessons
17:21 Better placed to handle this war?
20:12 “We have a bit of breathing space.”
23:30 Do we need more handouts?
29:21 Is Singapore headed for a recession?
32:01 Stagflation a worry for all countries
35:55 Should we throw out the old diplomacy rulebook?
43:39 The worst-case Iran war scenario
Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)
Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm
Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: https://str.sg/8KNT
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN
Filmed by: Studio+65
Edited by: Eden Soh, Amirul Karim & Natasha Liew
Executive producer: Danson Cheong
Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law
Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday:
Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX
Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P
YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
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If Singapore has fuel reserves, why are electricity tariffs surging?
Synopsis: On Wednesdays, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with newsmakers.
From April to June 2026, electricity and household tariffs will be higher. And we’ve been warned to brace for even higher utility bills after this quarter, as the ongoing war in the Middle East squeezes global fuel supplies.
But this always leads to a very common question from Singaporeans. To counter these exact types of supply shocks, does Singapore actually have enough national fuel reserves to last for months? So if we have our own stockpiles, why do we still have to pay more?
In this episode, assistant podcast editor Lynda Hong unpacks the impact of the war on inflation with Dr David Broadstock, partner at energy consultancy The Lantau Group. He explains the stockpile paradox when global conflicts hit the cost of living at home.
Apart from cost of living issues related to the rise in energy prices, the episode also discusses whether it’s more cost-effective to buy an Electric Vehicle (EV) and the challenges to transition to decarbonised energy like nuclear and renewables.
Highlights (click/tap above):
4:54 Survival vs. hedging: The two types of fuel reserves Singapore uses
14:10 Will Open Electricity Market (OEM) retailers collapse again?
20:35 When will energy inflation hit food and transport?
25:52 Why the war, even if short-lived, would have long-term impact on high prices
27:58 EV vs. petrol: Does switching to an electric vehicle actually save you money right now?
30:59 Is nuclear energy the ultimate solution to Singapore's price shocks?
Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH
Follow Lynda Hong on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/Gm2v
Host: Lynda Hong (lyndahong@sph.com.sg)
Produced and edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong
Follow In Your Opinion Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/w7Qt
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wukb
Spotify: https://str.sg/w7sV
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
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