Synopsis: A monthly literary podcast by The Straits Times featuring titles in the headlines and sizzling reads. In the latest episode of this literary podcast, The Straits Times journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li take on six books shortlisted for the International Booker Prize – from Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s sweeping novel The Books Of Jacob to Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb Of Sand, the first Hindi-language novel shortlisted for the award. Highlights(click/tap above): 01:31 The Books of...

Synopsis: A monthly literary podcast by The Straits Times featuring titles in the headlines and sizzling reads. In the latest episode of this literary podcast, The Straits Times journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li go on a whistle-stop tour of books about travelling -- from the journeys of Rebecca Solnit and Sanmao, to the introspective musings of Italo Calvino and Robert Macfarlane. Highlights (click/tap above): 01:53 Unfathomable City, by Rebecca Solnit and Snedeker 05:53 Stories Of The...

Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, took place over last weekend in Los Angeles, Hollywood and despite historic wins and a Beyonce performance, all anyone can talk about since is The Slap. The night's Best Actor winner Will Smith marched on stage to slap comedian Chris Rock after he made a joke at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. #PopVultures host...

Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. Music's biggest night - the Grammys - are just around the corner as the ceremony prepares to take place on Monday morning (April 4) Singapore time. But one notable nominee - with five nominations going into the ceremony - has been banned from performing and that is rapper Kanye West, now officially known as Ye. The Grammys confirmed they made the decision in light of the...

Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. The news of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu getting hitched with her former flame, the South Korean musician DJ Koo or Koo Jun-yup of the dance music duo Clon, sent shockwaves through the Asian entertainment industry. Hsu, 45, only divorced her Chinese businessman husband Wang Xiaofei in November 2021. But upon hearing news of her divorce, Koo, 52, whom Hsu dated over two...

Synopsis: A monthly literary podcast by The Straits Times featuring titles in the headlines and sizzling reads. In the latest episode, The Straits Times' journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li delve into novels about romantic love in the 21st century, including Monica Ali's Love Marriage and Jane Pek's The Verifiers. Highlights (click/tap above): 00:55 The Verifiers by Jane Pek 07:47 Love Marriage by Monica Ali Produced by: Olivia Ho ([email protected]), Toh Wen Li ([email protected])...

Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. This week, #PopVultures host Jan Lee gives you some of the latest celebrity news updates before diving into the news of Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming and his divorce from model-actress Angelababy.  The high profile A-list couple announced their divorce in January this year, after being mired in divorce rumours for years. Using that as a jumping off point, Jan discusses the...

Synopsis: A monthly literary podcast by The Straits Times featuring titles in the headlines and sizzling reads. In the latest episode of this literary podcast, The Straits Times journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li look at a new wave of pandemic novels, including To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara and How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu.   Produced by: Olivia Ho ([email protected]), Toh Wen Li ([email protected]) and Penelope Lee Edited by: Penelope Lee, Teo Tong Kai and Hadyu...

Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. This week, #PopVultures host Jan Lee welcomes podcast producer Penelope Lee to talk and air their feelings about idols dating! Did you know that South Korean tabloid Dispatch usually releases a report on the first day of the new year that exposes a celebrity romance? Celebrity couples who confirmed they were dating after the Dispatch New Year report includes Hyun Bin and Son...

Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. In this episode, host Jan Lee runs down some of the 10 biggest stories covered by #PopVultures this year - from Harry and Meghan's explosive interview with Oprah about their exit from the royal family to the ongoing Chinese entertainment crackdown. She also names the best and worst stories of the year and includes an honourable mention - listen to find out who it is! Produced...

Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. In this latest episode of #PopVultures, host Jan Lee discusses the gossip story of the week, month and possibly entire year - the expose of Taiwanese-American singer Wang Leehom and his various misdeeds during his marriage to ex-wife Lee Jinglei. She runs down how the saga unfolded with a timeline detailing the war of words between Wang and Lee after Wang confirmed the two...

Bookmark This! Ep 27: The 50 greatest SingLit books 34:21 mins Synopsis: A monthly literary podcast by The Straits Times featuring titles in the headlines and sizzling reads. In the latest episode of this literary podcast, The Straits Times journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li, along with a special guest, Senior Culture Correspondent Ong Sor Fern, discuss The 50 Greatest Works Of SingLit, a list published in The Sunday Times on Dec 12, and take listeners on a crash course through local...

#PopVultures Ep 56: Chinese entertainment updates, divorces, marriages and BTS gets on Instagram 29:06 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. This week, #PopVultures host Jan Lee runs down some of the news and happenings over the past month. This includes Chinese producer Li Xuezheng questioning the legality and transparency of the organisation China Association of Performing Arts, which recently released a...

Life Weekend Picks Ep 142: Dive into gripping documentary about 2018 Thai cave rescue 9:46 mins Synopsis: Every Thursday, The Straits Times recommends lifestyle and food picks for the coming weekend in Singapore.  This week's Life Picks highlights two new releases on the big screen. Film correspondent John Lui talks about The Rescue, a National Geographic documentary on the 2018 mission to rescue 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in northern Thailand. (0:56) Journalist...

#PopVultures Ep 55: Rebecca Lim gets engaged, Britney Spears is free and Taylor Swift revisits Red (and Jake Gyllenhaal) 28:37 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. This week, #PopVultures host Jan Lee runs down note-worthy entertainment news for listeners. In local news, Mediacorp actress Rebecca Lim gets engaged to her mystery fiance. She announced the happy news on her Instagram and while she received...

Bookmark This! Ep 26: The worlds of Sally Rooney and Anne Carson 18:48 mins Synopsis: A monthly literary podcast by The Straits Times featuring titles in the headlines and sizzling reads. In the latest episode of this literary podcast, The Straits Times journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li talk about new and old in the latest works by Sally Rooney and Anne Carson, from the millennial crisis of Beautiful World, Where Are You to the reworking of Greek myth in H Of H Playbook. Beautiful...

#PopVultures Ep 54: Dissecting Singapore's Night Owl Cinematics influencer scandal 38:52 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. This week, #PopVulture Jan Lee talks about the biggest influencer scandal in Singapore now - the expose related to media outfit Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) and its co-founder Sylvia Chan. All, complete with leaked audio and video recordings. Be aware that this podcast episode...

Life Weekend Picks Ep 141: Indulge yourself with 'Guilty Pleasures' at Singapore Writers Festival 11:02 mins Synopsis: Every Thursday, The Straits Times recommends lifestyle and food picks for the coming weekend in Singapore.  In this week's Life Picks, assistant Life editor Olivia Ho shares more on the upcoming Singapore Writers Festival (0:46). With television personality Tan France and romance writer Julia Quinn included in this year's line-up, organisers are challenging the...

Bookmark This! Ep 25: Hooked on the Booker Prize? Not quite 25:13 mins Synopsis: A monthly literary podcast by The Straits Times featuring titles in the headlines and sizzling reads. In the latest episode of this literary podcast, The Straits Times journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li lay down what they loved (and didn’t) about the six books on this year’s Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist, from heavyweights such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Powers and three-time Booker nominee Damon...

Life Weekend Picks Ep 140: Singaporeans' top picks among countries on Vaccinated Travel scheme 7:53 mins Synopsis: Every Thursday, The Straits Times recommends lifestyle and food picks for the coming weekend in Singapore.  Deciding where to go to on one of Singapore's vaccinated travel lanes? Travel correspondent Clara Lock shares which countries Singaporeans are opting for in this week's episode. (0:49) Food correspondent Eunice Quek takes us through the new bakeries in the Katong area...

#PopVultures Ep 53: Let's talk Shane Pow, Chantalle Ng, Britney Spears and Squid Game!  18:48 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. This week #PopVultures host Jan Lee runs down note-worthy entertainment news for listeners. In local news, she talks about former Mediacorp Shane Pow's comeback after his second drink driving conviction landed him in jail and goes through local actress Chantalle Ng's...

Life Weekend Picks Ep 139: No Time To Die: A fitting farewell for Daniel Craig? 7:54 mins Synopsis: Every Thursday, The Straits Times recommends lifestyle and food picks for the coming weekend in Singapore.  In this week’s episode, journalist Jan Lee reviews the latest James Bond film No Time to Die, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final outing as 007. (0:49) Travel correspondent Clara Lock roughs it out in a survival camp that is inspired by the Mongolian outdoors....

#PopVultures Ep 52: China cancels Little Swallow Vicki Zhao, Word Of Honor star Zhang Zhehan and cracks down on entertainment industry 48:21 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. In this episode, host Jan Lee is joined by The Straits Times' China correspondent Aw Cheng Wei as they discuss the recent spate of state-sanctioned cancellations of A-list celebrities in China. They delve into two case...

Life Weekend Picks Ep 138: Dune is an admirable introduction into its sprawling, sandy universe 7:41 mins Synopsis: Every Thursday, The Straits Times recommends lifestyle and food picks for the coming weekend in Singapore.  In this week's Life Picks, film correspondent John Lui shares his review of Dune. (0:44)  Since flying is not an option these days, travel correspondent Clara Lock discusses the next best thing: Plane-spotting. (3:35) Food correspondent Eunice Quek recommends new hot...