Surviving on vibes and hard work? What it's like working as a freelance artist overseas.

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

How does a Singaporean make her way onto London’s glittering West End?

Nathania Ong made her mark by playing well-loved characters like Eponine in Les Miserables and Eliza Hamilton in Hamilton, putting Singapore on the world theatre map.

But how did it happen and what does the life of a freelance artist overseas look like?

In this episode, ST business correspondent Sue-Ann Tan looks at the realities and joys of working in the arts.

Her guest is musical theatre actress Nathania Ong.

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:12 Being initially rejected from every drama school

6:39 Nathania’s West End debut

10:54 Deciding to be an actress

18:00 Realities of working in London

22:13 Advice to anyone aspiring to be an actor

26:23 What’s next for Nathania

Read Sue-Ann Tan's articles: https://str.sg/mvSa

Follow Sue-Ann Tan on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/A86X

Host: Sue-Ann Tan (suetan@sph.com.sg)

Produced & edited by: Amirul Karim

Executive producers: Joanna Seow and 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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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast

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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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The stakes are high. A region’s association with a popular dish is increasingly big business, as the Chinese eat out more.

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they're based in.

Disputes over where popular dishes originated are common across Asia. The world-famous butter chicken is fought over by two restaurants - one that started out in Peshawar, now in Pakistan, and one in New Delhi, India. In Southeast Asia, neighbours Singapore and Malaysia have also tussled over chicken rice.

It is little wonder that China, given its geographic scale and the incredible richness of its regional cuisines, has its own internal food feuds.

Kaoyu, or grilled fish, is a regional speciality of Chongqing, made with freshwater fish from the Yangtze River and spices such as mala peppercorns and Chinese chillies.

The dish’s commercial success, both inside and outside of China, has raised questions about its true origin story, with two regions in Chongqing, Wanzhou and Wushan, laying claim to it.

In this episode, host Li Xueying asks Chongqing-based correspondent Aw Cheng Wei to share his journey in tracking down where kaoyu came from, and to get to the heart of why food is so important to the Chinese.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:23 How Chongqing’s cuisine reflects its local environment and culture

4:39 Popularity of the kaoyu dish across China

5:59 Beginning of the dispute over the dish’s origin

8:46 Government efforts to preserve authenticity through industry standards and culinary schools

10:31 The complexities of culinary origin disputes across China and beyond

13:40 China’s attitude towards food

15:42 Food’s power to connect and what it means for China

Read Aw Cheng Wei’s article here: https://str.sg/6y3x

Read Li Xueying’s articles: https://str.sg/iqmR

Follow Li Xueying on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/ip4x

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

Host: Li Xueying (xueying@sph.com.sg)

Edited by: Fa’izah Sani

Executive producer: Ernest Luis

Follow Asian Insider on Fridays here:

Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8

Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

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Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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Would changes to Singapore’s education system fix our low fertility rate?

A new work group, comprising political office holders from various ministries, has been set up to encourage Singaporeans to marry and have children, with broader support from society.

In this podcast episode, I chat with Minister of State for Education Jasmin Lau and stay-at-home mother Vivien Lim, who has three children.

We discuss the “education arms race” and whether the Primary School Leaving Examination really needs to be a such high-stakes exam for 12-year-olds.

With the big question looming - whether we can get the total fertility rate back up - Jasmin and Vivien talk about steering children on the best pathways, the pressures of juggling careers and motherhood, and finding joy in parenting.

Highlights (click/tap above):

1:53 Will this new work group change anything?

5:45 Jasmin on the education arms race

9:04 Preschool: the “honeymoon’ years

14:33 Stressful education system or anxious parents?

17:53 “This is not something to look forward to.”

23:12 PSLE reflects on everyone from children to teachers

27:02 What’s the point of the PSLE if it doesn’t test real-world skills?

34:05 The PSLE parent: why some women leave their jobs

36:10 Jasmin would leave her role if her kids aren’t doing well

43:07 Are we raising kids for the future?

47:40 Will changing the education system encourage couples to have kids?

50:46 What’s stopping couples from having kids?

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

Executive producer: Danson Cheong

Producers: Natasha Ann Zachariah and 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

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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From drink-driving to MACC scandal, is Malaysia's justice system bending to public pressure or finally getting serious?

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

For our April episode, ST's Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh and host Zurairi A.R. are joined by Latheefa Koya, executive director of Lawyers for Liberty and former chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:10 Spate of fatal drink-driving crashes sparking a national debate: Why did one Klang case change everything?

5:44 Does this mask a deeper racial and class divide in Malaysian society?

8:26 Is a murder charge for drink-driving legally sound – or is the Attorney General bowing to public pressure?

12:57 Malaysia's road safety debate: Does the Islamic "diyat" mechanism have any place?

14:17 How can an anti-corruption body be weaponised as corporate mafia – and what powers make that possible?

20:41 MACC parading suspects in orange shirts: Does the humiliation tactic actually achieve anything?

25:15 Is PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's expected non-renewal of MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki a genuine reckoning – or just the bare minimum?

35:11 News nugget opinion: What 'energy-wasting' habit our guests absolutely refuse to give up, no matter what the authorities say?

Read more:

Malaysians are again up in arms over drink-driving, but this time it's for a different reason: https://str.sg/e3Gz

Why Malaysia PM Anwar's invoking a 'Zionist bogeyman' and a plot to topple the government: https://str.sg/rSwE

What fuel crisis? Why Malaysians are losing patience with their leaders' mileage: https://str.sg/H4H3

Read Zurairi A.R.’s articles: https://str.sg/DCfr

Read Shannon Teoh's articles: https://str.sg/wzyK

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

Host: Zurairi A.R. (zurairi@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

Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX

Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

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Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

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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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All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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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

Spotify: https://str.sg/w7sV

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

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Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast

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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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Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast

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The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

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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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Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast

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Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

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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.

---

#headstart

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.