Happenings in Venezuela, Iran have shone the spotlight on energy security

Synopsis: Every fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times will now analyse the hottest political and trending talking points, alternating between its Malaysia and Greater China bureaus.

For January, host and deputy foreign editor Albert Wai teams up again with senior China correspondent Yew Lun Tian.

Dramatic developments in Venezuela and Iran, both important oil suppliers for China, have exposed Beijing’s vulnerability in terms of energy security.

Oil only accounts for around 18 per cent of China’s energy mix but most of this is imported.

While both regimes have enjoyed solid ties with Beijing, the reality is there is little China can do directly to preserve its interests there.

Domestically, China has achieved remarkable success in its clean energy transition. But the human cost of this effort, particularly when it comes to poorer communities, should not be underestimated.

Clean tech may have played a part in China’s soft power rise (BYD electric vehicles and solar panels are obvious examples), but there is no guarantee that this will translate into a stronger hand geopolitically.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:02 Are China’s interests in Venezuela dead in the water?

4:58 Impacts of developments in Venezuela, Iran on upcoming Trump-Xi meeting

7:37 Is China prepared to use force to defend its energy security interests?

09:44 The human cost of China’s clean energy transition

14:11 Challenges in clean energy storage, distribution

17:28 Clean tech fuels China’s soft power rise

20:14 Existential survival instinct: Running out of energy

Read more: https://str.sg/tBih

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Host: Albert Wai (albertw@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani

Executive producer: Ernest Luis

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Lab-grown meat. The way of the future or a hard act to swallow?

Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.

In this episode, hosts Audrey Tan and David Fogarty get their teeth into cultivated meat, a topic that was very much in the headlines a few years back. Singapore was the first nation to approve the sale of cultivated chicken meat in 2020 but investment in the sector, after much fanfare, has slowed.

So is there still potential for this sector to take off? The pay-off could be huge if companies can create safe, tasty and affordable beef, chicken, lamb and even seafood in bioreactors instead of relying on huge tracts of land and the sea. Meeting the needs of billions of people, could slash the impacts on the environment and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Is this your vision of the future? Or still too soon to say? Let us know what you think!

Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):

2:24 What is the difference between cultivated meat and plant-based alternatives?

3:24 Why the interest in cultivated meat? What are the environmental benefits?

6:20 How cultivated meat products are made and why is the process challenging?

12:14 If companies succeed, the prize could be huge but there are still hurdles

20:32 Stay the course: Cultivated meat could become an important tool to fight climate change

23:04 Better information, better decisions by consumers. For instance: CO2 content labels on food products

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 and edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong

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Learn how to better reconcile the mixed feelings that come with work transitions.

Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, get a headstart in your personal finance and career with The Straits Times.

It seems like one of life’s cruel ironies.

Do well, and go far together in a bonded team, and yet further progression may require you to move on elsewhere.

If this is a familiar scenario to you, fear not.

A psychologist experienced in helping clients navigate work-related issues speaks to ST correspondent Tay Hong Yi on the latest episode of Headstart On Record.

This is Hong Yi’s final podcast for now as he transitions to a new role elsewhere - and what better topic to talk about than this?

The guest was:

Mr Aneel Singh Gill, a psychologist with Talk Your Heart Out, an online and face-to-face therapy platform

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:07 Why might someone feel a sense of loss despite exciting times ahead?

4:13 How to identify and reconcile mixed feelings towards impending change

11:59 Looking past “Stockholm syndrome” after leaving a toxic workplace

15:22 What makes the transition from school to first job especially hard

Read an askST Jobs column on leaving well-loved colleagues: https://str.sg/qGTR

Read Tay Hong Yi's articles: https://str.sg/w6cz

Follow Tay Hong Yi on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/AAxy

Host: Tay Hong Yi

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis, Lynda Hong & Joanna Seow

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Channel: https://str.sg/wB2m

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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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We dissect the abduction of a sitting president and predict what might come next.

Synopsis: Every third Friday of the month, The Straits Times gets its US Bureau Chief to analyse the hottest political and trending talking points.

Was it all about oil? Transnational crime cartels? Or China? In this episode, US Bureau Chief Bhagyashree Garekar chats with Hoover Fellow Joseph Ledford and veteran oil analyst Carl Larry to understand Washington’s real game in Venezuela.

Dr Joseph Ledford is a Hoover Fellow and the Assistant Director of the Hoover History Lab at the Hoover Institution. His research focuses on the exercise of American power, especially in the Western Hemisphere.

Mr Carl Larry is a Sales Manager at Enverus MarketView with over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, covering financial, commercial, and physical aspects of the market.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:31 The 3 goals of the US military operation in Venezuela

3:45 So, was it about oil?

6:31 Is the world going to get cheaper petrol now?

7:54 Why does the US not want China as a ‘neighbour’?

16:42 Why was Machado not made president?

21:26 Will the US’ shale miners be hurt?

23:58 Lessons from Iraq and clues for Asia

26:45 How will the US recover from the reputational hit?

Read Bhagyashree Garekar’s articles: https://str.sg/whNo

Bhagyashree Garekar’s LinkedIn: https://str.sg/gD6E

Sign up for ST’s weekly Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/sfpz

Host: Bhagyashree Garekar (bhagya@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Fa’izah Sani

Executive producer: Ernest Luis

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Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7

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It’s the saga that has gone from Parliament, to the courts, and back to Parliament.

Yesterday, Parliament overwhelmingly voted for the motion that Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh is unsuitable to be Leader of the Opposition (LO).

This comes after a district court found him guilty of lying to a parliamentary committee, a ruling that was upheld on appeal.

But what does this all mean for the LO office, the Workers’ Party, and politics in Singapore?

Joining me on this episode of The Usual Place are:

• Mr Peh Shing Huei, a regular commentator on Singapore and China affairs, and a former ST news editor. He’s also the founding partner of content agency The Nutgraf, and author of several books, including Tall Order: The Goh Chok Tong Story and Neither Civil Nor Servant: The Philip Yeo Story, and

• Singapore Management University’s Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan, who is a political analyst. He was also a former Nominated Member of Parliament from February 2012 to August 2014.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:47 Lifting of the WP whip for debate about Pritam Singh

5:08 “It wasn’t a good day at the office for Parliament.”: Prof Tan

9:57 Pritam vs Tharman: What’s the difference in cases?

14:22 Will there be a political cost to the PAP for this motion?

17:14 Was it the right move for WP MP to bring up PAP MP’s indiscretion?

22:23 Fatigue about the matter

25:23 “This is closing the loop.”: Prof Tan

27:55 Are the cracks showing in the WP, despite show of unity in Parliament?

30:15 Possible leadership challenge within the WP?

34:29 This issue an “albatross” around the WP’s neck: Prof Tan

41:51 Peh on why Pritam didn’t resign first

42:57 What does removing the LO office mean for S’pore politics?

Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/theusualplacepodcast

Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN

Filmed by: Studio+65

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Chen Junyi

Executive producers: Danson Cheong, Elizabeth Khor & Ernest Luis

Editorial producers: Elizabeth Law & Lynda Hong

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As AI reshapes work and life, schools are changing too. But before we redesign education, should we ask what it’s really for?

Synopsis: On Wednesdays, The Straits Times takes a hard look at Singapore's social issues of the day with guests.

Education is one of the few institutions almost every Singaporean passes through - and one of the most contested. From debates about declining attention spans to rising anxiety, we now wonder about the role of artificial intelligence in classrooms. Questions about standards, equity, excellence and inclusion continue to surface.

Schools are expected to prepare students not just for jobs, but for citizenship and for lives that feel meaningful. Sometimes these expectations are in tension with one another as we grapple with the AI revolution that’s underway.

In this episode, we ask a more fundamental question: What purpose does education serve in a world increasingly driven by technology and AI?

And how should our answers change when the world students are entering - shaped by AI and rapid technological change - may look radically different from the one schools were designed for?

Joining the discussion with Deputy Opinion Editor Mubin Saadat are Ms Elisha Tushara, The Straits Times education correspondent who spent a decade teaching before moving into journalism, and Dr Liu Woon Chia, Director and researcher at the National Institute of Education and co-founder of its Motivation in Educational Research Laboratory.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:30 AI impact on education

11:55 What do PISA and OECD studies tell us?

15: 03 Friction in learning

19:35 A focus on human qualities in learning

26:35 AI as a teacher’s tool

Read ST’s Opinion section: https://str.sg/w7sH

Host: Mubin Saadat (mubin@sph.com.sg)

Produced and edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong

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The science of getting unstuck from OCD in four days.

Synopsis: Every first Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is often misunderstood. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is frequently misunderstood. Although the term is often used casually, it is a potentially severe disorder that can drastically disrupt a person's life.

However, it is highly treatable. Yet, many people remain undiagnosed and untreated for years.

To learn more about OCD, ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo talks to two psychologists who specialise in the treatment of OCD for a two-part series on what the disorder is about and how the Bergen approach treats OCD in just four days?

They are Dr Jackki Yim, Principal Clinical Psychologist & Deputy Head of Anxiety Service, Department of Mood & Anxiety at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and Ms Tammie Kwek, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Department of Mood & Anxiety, IMH.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:56 How is OCD treated?

6:00 What does the Bergen treatment entail?

11:00 Is it for everyone suffering from OCD?

14:05 What is the “homework” that patients have to do?

21:52 How should families accommodate a family member living with OCD?

Listen to OCD Part 1: The hidden reality and a new way out - https://str.sg/yBjG

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:

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