Livin' it up in Lion City!

We have a chat with Maria Isaeva, a long time resident of Singapore who recently left the country, about identity, about integration, and what it means to call Singapore home.

Racism is a touchy topic in Singapore, but there has been a resurgence in dialogue in light of recent events that highlight the problem of racism in Singapore. The voices are many, and highly polarized. So how do we talk about this effectively? We chat with Mohd Suhaile, a former journalist, Syafiqah Taufek, a grad student in the Department of Malay Studies, NUS, and Daniel Goh, Associate Professor of Sociology, NUS. This is part of the series Coming Together, a collaboration with NGO The Whitehatters.

In the wake of rising anti-foreigner sentiments in a country that has always been labeled an "expat paradise", what do foreigners need to know, when arriving in Singapore? We have a chat with expats Melissa and Amanda. This episode is part of the series "Coming Together", a collaboration with The Whitehatters, a local NGO that seeks to foster dialogue between various communities of topics of social cohesion.

What makes a Singaporean "Singaporean"? We have a conversation about Singaporean identity,  about notions of "true blue Singaporeans" and "new Singaporeans",  and why this is prevalent in contemporary discourse today. Our guest is Danny Koordi, a podcast producer and founder of the local podcaster community Podcast SG.

In the first episode of the series "Coming Together" in collaboration with the NGO theWhiteHatters.sg, we have a conversation about the local sentiments of foreigners seemingly not integrating in Singapore, and what the word "integration" actually means.

I have a chat with two friends Tomas and Michele about the metal genre, and the scene in Singapore.

In the fourth episode of the series "Understanding Xenophobia in Singapore", I chat with Singaporeans I know to get their takes on the issue of rising nativism, nationalism and protectionism during COVID times, and even before that. Huge shoutout to Gary Tan of "Not Again Podcast"; Deeban, Josiah and Shaun of "Lords of Lobang"; and Jon Wang of "Longkangkitties" for being part of this and providing their insight!

Jasmin and I talk about interracial dating in Singapore, our experiences with dating across cultural and racial lines, and how we handle perceptions other people have of our love lives.

I have a chat with Avijit Das Patnaik, an Indian citizen who was a target of online vitriol over a contentious facebook post he shared in 2018. We talk about how he incurred the wrath of the internet, how it changed his and his family's lives, and why that incident got the reaction that it did. Check out the other episodes on the series "Understanding Xenophobia in Singapore" here: https://livingitupinlioncity.com/tag/uxs/

I chat with good friend Nikki, a Singaporean living in Estonia. We talk about living life as a foreigner, the startup scene in Tallinn, and most importantly, we talk about food. We recorded this episode way back in February 2020, right before COVID took the world by storm.

I seek to understand what cultural intelligence means, with Ling Ling Tai, a seasoned learning and development professional on increasing intercultural awareness, and cultivating inclusive workplaces. She's the founder of Culture Spark Global, that focuses on exactly this, and also the host of the podcast Leaders of Learning, which is the top podcast in South East Asia on personal and organizational development. https://www.culturesparkglobal.com/ https://leadersoflearning.asia/ https://leadersoflearning.asia/

So the cool dudes of The Listening Room podcast invited me over again, for their latest episode! We talk about the proposed rollout of wearable devices for contact tracing for COVID19, and also the furore around pulling down statues of controversial historical figures, in the wake of  the Black Lives Matter movement raging across the US. For more of their irreverent and hilarious takes on current affairs, check them out here! https://anchor.fm/listeningroom

This is Part 2 of the series on "Understanding Xenophobia in Singapore". This episode, we analyze the nature of local discomfort over foreigners in Singapore. More links to references can be found on the website here: http://livingitupinlioncity.com/podcast/understanding-xenophobia-in-singapore-part-2-the-nature-of-local-discomfort-over-foreigners/

Recent conversations with friends and observations around social media have highlighted the pervasive "otherness" of Chinese people in popular culture, during the COVID19 coronavirus crisis, and even outside of that. Rooted in history, propaganda and internet culture, I try to understand why people struggle to find Chinese people "relatable". Liziqi's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/cnliziqi background music credits: https://www.purple-planet.com/

This is Part 1 of the series on "Understanding Xenophobia in Singapore". In this episode the history of immigration in Singapore, and various events along the way that built up the anti-foreigner narrative here. As a foreigner myself, I believe it's important to understand the hows and the whys, and how to deal with the situation. I referenced a whole bunch of sources for this podcast series - I've listed them in the podcast website. Do check them out, some make for fantastic reading! http://livingitupinlioncity.com/podcast/xenophobia-in-singapore/    

Happy new year! It's 2020, and I talk about some of the cool things that happened last year, and some things you all can look forward to, this year. Enjoy!

Geylang is widely known as the 'red light district' of Singapore, a den of sin and debauchery that should be given wide berth, as common wisdom goes. What's it really like though? Friends and I talk about the history of this infamous neighbourhood, and personal experiences living here.

We recorded this episode two days after the ban was announced. We asked two friends who do food delivery about the ban and how it would affect them.

Suraj and I talk about a book we've been reading, called "200 years of Singapore and the United Kingdom". It's an interesting book that aims to provide a more balanced understanding of Singapore's history, viewed through the lens of both Singaporean and British voices. We also talk about the Singapore Bicentennial Experience at Fort Canning. If you haven't seen it yet, CHECK IT OUT NOW! It's pretty awesome.

What makes a city boring? Friends from Singapore, Spain and Belgium weigh in.

"Disneyland with the Death Penalty" has become synonymous with Singapore. Spawned from an essay in 1993, does the epithet still apply? And why is a phrase from 3 decades ago still being used, in any discussion about Singapore? This episode looks at the historical, social and political context around William Gibson's essay.

A German friend - who lives in Singapore - and a Singaporean friend - who's lived in Germany - talk about their experiences living life as foreigners. About language, about culture shock, about stereotypes, about racism...

Hafiz from episode 13 is back, and we chat about a lot of things: about how a lot of colonial architecture was exclusionary, how that famous sign at Cavenagh Bridge may have been meant to keep local riffraff out, how the trope that "Malays are lazy" is a myth perpetuated by colonialists, and about the movie scene in Singapore, then and now.

Ever wonder why the lion is called the King of the Jungle? Is there more to "The Lion King" than meets the eye? We look at cultural depictions and symbolism of lions in history, and make some interesting - even if implausible - connections. Sources: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/150391/1/Strawn_2005_What_Is_Stronger_than_a_Lion.pdf   https://www.jstor.org/stable/40341534?read-now=1   Lion roar credit: BBC Sound Effects Library, http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk

Rindo chats with a redditor about Munshi Abdullah, also known as the father of modern Malay literature. He arrived in Singapore in 1819, along with Stamford Raffles, and wrote about life in Singapore in its early years, in his autobiography "Hikayat Abdullah". A statue of Munshi Abdullah has been erected close to the Raffles statue at Boat Quay, one of four others to celebrate the Singapore Bicentennial, acknowledging his influence in the young colony.

Random stuff. Rindo talks about what kept him from soapboxing on the podcast, why Mass Effect 3 is the greatest thing since Mass Effect 3, and how youtube is bigger than Sagittarius A*.

Khai talks about life as a foreigner in Stockholm, about Crazy Rich Asians, and about the interesting Swedish philosophy of "Lagom"... unless when it comes to KFC.

Shian Bang and I have three beers too many, while chatting about the Singapore Bicentennial, going beyond the colonial narrative, and his hobby of breathing colour into old black-and-white photos. Check his photography at https://www.bangphotography.net/

This episode, we explore Singaporean folklore, and realize that there is more historical context to the stories, than the popular narratives. The Malay Annals, a historical chronicle of the region, throws some light into these 'legends', and we learn more about the history of the region, which unfolds centuries before Stamford Raffles ever set foot in Singapore. Read the Malay Annals here: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/printheritage/detail/403dde58-c3c4-4a53-ba21-f11e813f434f.aspx Watch the documentary "Hunt for the Red Lion" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypT_Foy552E  

Virtually everyone in Singapore seems to have a "you know that one Indian national ah..." story to tell. What's the deal? Who are these asshole Indian nationals, and where do these perceptions come from? Rindo, an Indian national himself, asks Raj why it's so.   We use the term NRI a lot. NRI is "Non-Resident Indian" a term used for Indian passport-holders living outside of India, aka Indian national.

My brother and I talk about bias, cultural hegemony, and post-colonial hangover that creep into any conversation about Singapore, and non-Western countries in general.

We want to thank our viewers and friends for listening to our podcast, and for providing invaluable feedback. In this episode we talk about some of the things our friends had to say.

What's it like being a foreigner? We talk to a Singaporean who lived overseas, and a Canadian who lives here in Singapore. #Singapore #NewZealand, #Canada #Foreigner #Experience #Life

In this episode, we follow up on the questions we had about the narrative of Singapore's soul (or lack of it) in Episode One. Three Singaporean friends weigh in on the discussion about the perception of Singapore, and the feedback we got from Episode One. Enjoy! One of the news articles we discussed in this episode: sg.news.yahoo.com/top-values-singa…y-093021416.html

We talk to good friend and artist Luke Tan of Mural Lingo, about art, Singapore and other stuff.

We talk about our gripes with relation the popular perception of Singapore, of "lacking soul", and discuss whether it's balanced or biased...