socialservice.sg

Aaron is a Fellow of Practice and Director of Digital Transformation Education at the University of Oxford. He was also previously on the podcast, exploring citizen foresight work and the influence of language and metaphors on futures thinking.

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Hannah Sibayan on Unsplash.

This episode was recorded on September 11, 2023. She was previously on the podcast before and after GE2020. You can also read the publication, “Lights on the Istana: Training the Spotlight on the Presidency”.

Listen to the full mini-series:

1. ⁠Much ado about “independence”, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Rosamund Lim)
2. ⁠Constitution? Ceremonial? Community?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Liang Weiting)
3. ⁠A “GE2020 Jamus Lim debate moment”?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Aamir Bana)
4. ⁠Singapore’s presidential… Group job interview? (PE2023)⁠
5. ⁠Veteran journalist Bertha Henson on PE2023, the PEC and CPA, and the office of the elected presidency⁠

Resources for information about presidency:

• The president's constitutional, ceremonial, and community duties, ⁠as described on its website⁠.
• A primer by “The Straits Times” on ⁠the president’s role and powers⁠.
• An explainer on Singapore’s elected presidency by ⁠CAPE⁠.
• Resources and readings compiled by ⁠academia.sg⁠, including “⁠Why Singapore’s next elected President should be one of its last⁠”.
• ⁠The Menon Commission Report⁠.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (⁠https://socialservice.sg/podcast/⁠). The feature photo is by Max Oh on Unsplash.

What are the experiences of Singaporean academics who have spent time abroad, before returning home and working to reintegrate, both as academics, and as Singapore citizens. Together with her collaborators, in the article - "International academic or citizen scholar?: Singaporean returnees in the global city" - lead author Yasmin Ortiga focused on this notion of reintegration as well as the conflicting demands associated with it. Like many others, I enjoyed reading the article, and the conversation I had with her, as you'll hear, was a delight.

Dr. Ortiga is an assistant professor at Singapore Management University.

This episode is part of the “Making Research Sense” series of the podcast’s sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Rogan Yeoh on Unsplash.

1. ⁠Much ado about “independence”, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Rosamund Lim)
2. ⁠Constitution? Ceremonial? Community?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Liang Weiting)
3. ⁠A “GE2020 Jamus Lim debate moment”?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Aamir Bana)
4. ⁠Singapore’s presidential… Group job interview? (PE2023)⁠
5. ⁠Veteran journalist Bertha Henson on PE2023, the PEC and CPA, and the office of the elected presidency⁠

Resources for information about presidency:

• The president's constitutional, ceremonial, and community duties, ⁠as described on its website⁠.
• A primer by “The Straits Times” on ⁠the president’s role and powers⁠.
• An explainer on Singapore’s elected presidency by ⁠CAPE⁠.
• Resources and readings compiled by ⁠academia.sg⁠, including “⁠Why Singapore’s next elected President should be one of its last⁠”.
• ⁠The Menon Commission Report⁠.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (⁠https://socialservice.sg/podcast/⁠).

Today, in the final episode of our three-part mini-series, we have 24-year-old Aamir Bana, a student at Yale-NUS and the National University of Singapore. He is part of CAPE, but speaks in his personal capacity in this episode. This was recorded on August 22, 2023.

Listen to the full mini-series:

1. ⁠Much ado about “independence”, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Rosamund Lim)
2. ⁠Constitution? Ceremonial? Community?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Liang Weiting)
3. ⁠A “GE2020 Jamus Lim debate moment”?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Aamir Bana)
4. ⁠Singapore’s presidential… Group job interview? (PE2023)⁠
5. ⁠Veteran journalist Bertha Henson on PE2023, the PEC and CPA, and the office of the elected presidency⁠

Resources for information about presidency:

• The president's constitutional, ceremonial, and community duties, as described on its website.
• A primer by “The Straits Times” on the president’s role and powers.
• An explainer on Singapore’s elected presidency by CAPE.
• Resources and readings compiled by academia.sg, including “Why Singapore’s next elected President should be one of its last”.
• The Menon Commission Report.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Max Oh on Unsplash.

1. ⁠Much ado about “independence”, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Rosamund Lim)
2. ⁠Constitution? Ceremonial? Community?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Liang Weiting)
3. ⁠A “GE2020 Jamus Lim debate moment”?, PE2023’s young voters⁠ (with Aamir Bana)
4. ⁠Singapore’s presidential… Group job interview? (PE2023)⁠
5. ⁠Veteran journalist Bertha Henson on PE2023, the PEC and CPA, and the office of the elected presidency⁠

Resources for information about presidency:

• The president's constitutional, ceremonial, and community duties, as described on its website.
• A primer by “The Straits Times” on the president’s role and powers.
• An explainer on Singapore’s elected presidency by CAPE.
• Resources and readings compiled by academia.sg, including “Why Singapore’s next elected President should be one of its last”.
• The Menon Commission Report.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Max Oh on Unsplash.

1. Much ado about “independence”, PE2023’s young voters (with Rosamund Lim)
2. Constitution? Ceremonial? Community?, PE2023’s young voters (with Liang Weiting)
3. A “GE2020 Jamus Lim debate moment”?, PE2023’s young voters (with Aamir Bana)
4. Singapore’s presidential… Group job interview? (PE2023)
5. Veteran journalist Bertha Henson on PE2023, the PEC and CPA, and the office of the elected presidency

Resources for information about presidency:

• The president's constitutional, ceremonial, and community duties, as described on its website.
• A primer by “The Straits Times” on the president’s role and powers.
• An explainer on Singapore’s elected presidency by CAPE.
• Resources and readings compiled by academia.sg, including “Why Singapore’s next elected President should be one of its last”.
• The Menon Commission Report.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Max Oh on Unsplash.

We're trying something new today, and it's something we've wanted to do for some time. Together with a new co-host, Estella Ho, we've picked a book of interest to discuss and explore. For this episode, the book we've chosen is titled "Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It" by US journalist and scholar Richard V. Reeves. Estella and I first explain why and how we chose the book, share what we liked and didn't enjoy, and draw some Singaporean connections and personal reflections.

Resources referenced in the episode:

• "The men - and boys - are not alright" (The New York Times)
• "Living alone a risk factor for social isolation, especially for men: NUS study" (The Straits Times)

Today, in this first part, we hear from Louis Ng Kok Kwang, a member of the governing People's Action Party. He was previously on this podcast, highlighting his advocacy for social work and social workers in parliament.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by VENUS MAJOR on Unsplash.

On this podcast, we've moved away from direct features of charities and social service agencies, not only because there are so many with interesting stories, but also because a greater focus on systemic trends and structural solutions - involving multiple parties - feels more productive. Nevertheless, the story of Glyph Community (https://www.glyphcommunity.com/) and one of its founders, Lim Si Hui, was very compelling.

Glyph is a charity offering non-academic enrichment programmes to disadvantaged children, and 26-year-old Si Hui herself dropped out of university to work at and manage Glyph full-time. Given her young age, leading a direct-service charity, I was interested in how she managed staff and volunteers, challenges she's faced, and how she navigated the broader social work and social service space in Singapore as a young leader.

This episode is part of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Alaric Sim on Unsplash.

Read the full “Future of Asian Philanthropy” reports. The first is titled “Scenarios for Asia in 2050”, and the second “Strategies for a Better Future”.

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Kelvin Zyteng on Unsplash.

Did you know that Asia is home to more billionaires than any other continent in the world? Wealth Report predicts that the region will see its fastest growth in ultra-high net-worth individuals between 2022 and 2026. The Asia Philanthropy Circle (APC) recently released two reports focused on the Future of Asian Philanthropy. The first is titled “Scenarios for Asia in 2050”, and the second “Strategies for a Better Future”. “Scenarios for Asia in 2050” lays out a set of four imagined scenarios for an Asian society in the future, while the second report, “Strategies for a Better Future”, identifies strategies and recommendations for philanthropy today to shape how society will develop.

Today, we have invited two guests to tell us more about these reports. Bradley Wo and Stacey Choe will share more about the reports and how they have been using them to generate conversations towards crucial partnerships in achieving a better future. Today, we’ll focus on the first report.

Bradley was previously APC’s Knowledge Resources Manager. In addition to this report, he also worked on APC's book, “The Philanthropist’s Guide to Giving”, and other publications on cross-border giving. He previously studied Chinese high-net worth philanthropy at Peking University and is currently at New York University for his MBA. Stacey is APC’s COO. She served as the Membership Services Director at the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network for four years before her last role as Director of Policy Engagement. In her earlier life before the social sector, she specialised in marketing communications and market entry in corporate and government roles, and also worked in China for three years.

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Matt LaVasseur on Unsplash.

Centred on the Singapore government's plan to enact new legislation to prohibit workplace discrimination, the Association of Women for Action and Research, or AWARE, published a position paper with recommendations to address gaps in coverage and implementation related to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. Today, we speak with two people who were part of the team behind the position paper, Apoorva Shukla and Daryl Yang, asking them about AWARE’s advocacy for anti-discrimination in the workplace, thoughts about the Tripartite Committee’s proposals, and various forms of workplace discrimination.

Apoorva is an Executive at AWARE's Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Advisory, or the WHDA, where she supports victim-survivors of workplace harassment and discrimination, and advocates for workers' rights in Singapore. A lawyer and activist, Daryl recently returned to Singapore after completing his Masters in Law on a Fulbright Scholarship at UC Berkeley, where he wrote his thesis on the evolution of Singapore’s approach to workplace discrimination. 

Relatedly, in our last episode, we spoke to Max Soh from the Disabled People’s Association on related topics for people with disabilities, which you should check out if you’ve not already done so.

Here’s a link to AWARE’s position paper. If you have faced discrimination or harassment at your workplace, contact WHDA at 6777 0318 from Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm, or email them at whda@aware.org.sg. Follow AWARE on social media: @awaresingapore on Instagram, @awarenews on Twitter, and AWARE Singapore on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Here are some additional references: (a) A "Chicago Law Review" article; and (b) Consent as core to mediation.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in 2021 that the government would enshrine into law the current workplace anti-discrimination guidelines. Since then, the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness, comprising the Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress, and the Singapore National Employers Federation, has been reviewing the current guidelines. The Tripartite Committee then released a report with 20 recommendations of what the anti-discrimination law should contain. The main recommendation was that the law should prohibit workplace discrimination in respect of (i) age, (ii) nationality, (iii) sex, marital status, pregnancy status, caregiving responsibilities, (iv) race, religion, language, as well as (v) disability and mental health conditions.

After the report’s release, several organisations released their responses to the report with their own recommendations. Today, we speak to a representative from one of these organisations, Max Soh, who is the Research and Policy Manager for the Disabled People’s Association or DPA, Singapore’s only cross-disability non-profit organisation. Max joined DPA in 2021 and manages the organisation’s various research and policy related initiatives. In addition to being disabled himself (visually impaired since birth), he brings experience with disability and disability advocacy through his prior involvements with disability organisations especially internationally. In this episode, we talk about the work of DPA and what DPA feels should be included in the anti-discrimination law for people with disabilities.

You can read DPA’s response. A transcript of today’s episode is also available on our website.

Here's the link to the Labour Day event.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Nicholas Chester-Adams on Unsplash.

• The future of… Water and water scarcity (with Wateroam’s Lim Chong Tee)
• The future of… Marrying purpose and profit (with StoneSoup Partner’s Samantha Lee)
• The future of… Eye-care and eye-health (with Eyeviser’s Chen Weiwen)
• The future of… Finance and leaving nobody behind (with Givfunds’ and Masref’s Edward Yee)

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Rayson Tan on Unsplash.

• What’s next for youth climate change activism and action in Singapore?
• The potential and challenges of social media civic discussions in Singapore (with assistant professor Walid Jumblatt Bin Abdullah)
• Role-playing as a Singaporean civil servant in “What’s the Matter, Mr. Monster?” (with director Roshan Singh Sambhi)
• Sustaining migrant worker advocacy and volunteer involvement in Singapore (with HealthServe executive director Michael Cheah)
• Let’s talk about “Jom”: Singapore’s new digital magazine

And here is the article Isaac wrote for "Jom" (subscription needed): "Pragmatic resistance: adaptation or co-option?"

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Gregoire Jeanneau on Unsplash.

You can read the journal article (paywalled): Do ethnic integration policies also improve socio-economic integration? A study of residential segregation in Singapore.

This episode is part of the "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's sixth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Shermin Ng on Unsplash.

This episode is part of “The Community” mini-series, co-produced with AMKFSC Community Services. Learn more about AMKFSC's community-driven initiatives and play a part in building thriving communities: https://bit.ly/amkfsc-tcf.

This episode is part of “The Community” mini-series, co-produced with AMKFSC Community Services. Learn more about AMKFSC's community-driven initiatives and play a part in building thriving communities: https://bit.ly/amkfsc-tcf.

This episode is part of “The Community” mini-series, co-produced with AMKFSC Community Services. Learn more about AMKFSC's community-driven initiatives and play a part in building thriving communities: https://bit.ly/amkfsc-tcf.

This episode is part of “The Community” mini-series, co-produced with AMKFSC Community Services. Learn more about AMKFSC's community-driven initiatives and play a part in building thriving communities: https://bit.ly/amkfsc-tcf.

This episode is part of “The Community” mini-series, co-produced with AMKFSC Community Services. Learn more about AMKFSC's community-driven initiatives and play a part in building thriving communities: https://bit.ly/amkfsc-tcf.

In the first part, I explore the first paper, titled: “Youth civic and community engagement under Singapore’s COVID-19 lockdown: Motivations, online mobilisation, action, and future directions”. This paper draws directly from socialservice.sg’s first season, “COVID-19 Community Chronicles”. After Singapore announced the first circuit-breaker, from April 9 to June 24, 2020, we had guests running community initiatives, some of whom talked about structural or systemic issues.

In the second part, I feature the second paper. It’s titled, “‘Democracy and active citizenship are not just about the elections’: Youth civic and political participation during and beyond Singapore’s nine-day pandemic election (GE2020)”. “The Nine Days”, was socialservice.sg’s second season, and the season was titled as such because that was the length of the general election campaign period. From June 30 to July 11, 2020, we solicited youth views on election issues and candidates and their thoughts on the election.

And in the third and final part of this episode, very briefly, I summarise the key findings and reflect on the potential of podcasts – in Singapore and beyond – to bridging research, practice, education, and policy. Parts of this episode were adapted largely from a June 2022 seminar I delivered, as part of the AcademiaSG Junior Scholar Seminar.

This episode is part of the "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

"Jom" (Malay for "let's"; jom.media) is Singapore's new weekly digital magazine covering the arts, culture, politics, business, technology, and more in the country. With co-founders Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh, Charmaine Poh, and Tsen-Waye Tay, we ask them about how they got started, their plans to cover civic issues that are somewhat controversial or contested in society, and navigating long-term journalistic integrity and financial sustainability.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

"Seeking Shelter: Homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore" is the country's second nationwide street count of its unhoused and homeless, conducted in 2021. With its authors Dr. Ng Kok Hoe and Jeyda Simren Sekhon Atac, we begin by reviewing the first street count and report in 2019. Thereafter, we dive deeper into their most recent report, to understand the state of homelessness during COVID-19, explore the role of social policy, and discuss volunteer engagement and ethical priorities.

Dr. Ng is Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Social Inclusion Project and Case Study Unit at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), National University of Singapore. He previously shared about his other research projects and the Minimum Income Standard study on this podcast. Simren is a Research Assistant in the Social Inclusion Project at LKYSPP.

This episode is part of "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/).

With Edward Yee of Givfunds (https://www.givfunds.org/), a non-profit which lends low-cost funds at scale to South Asian social enterprises, and Masref (https://www.masref.ch/), a Swiss fintech which seeks to increase the accessibility of safe and secure saving accounts, we chat about his three big ideas on finance and leaving nobody behind. First, the removal of persistent biases; second, the reduction of servicing costs; and third, the incentives for impact in the financial sector.

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

With producers of the Singapore-based “Social Work Made Accessible” podcast, Dominic Soh, Rachel Koh, and Cheong Ming Fa​​ng (https://www.instagram.com/swmadeaccessible/), we chat about how they got started, the different social work episodes and conversations they’ve had, and how they are planning for the future.

This episode is part of the "The Work of Social Work" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

With Chen Weiwen, the founder of Eyeviser (https://eyeviser.com/), which offers 360-degree eye-care to companies and the public*, we chat about the three big ideas on the future of eye-care and eye-health. First, the shift from treatment to prevention. Second, the role of tech-powered prescription checks. And third, the personalisation of eye-care.

(*This is corrected from an earlier version of the preamble.)

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

As part of Save.Me (https://www.screeningstatistics.com/saveme/), Prof. Rosie Ching and her students interviewed almost 3,000 folks in Singapore for the country’s first national survey on sucide. We ask her about the suicide stigma index, the key findings, as well as relevant policy and practice directions.

This episode is part of "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

• #GE2020 Raising socio-political literacy and civic engagement in Singapore (CAPE’s Huang Runchen and Joel Yew)
• Intersectional climate justice, climate change and its unequal effects, and aspirations for a low-carbon Singapore
• The history of the making of youth – and the history of the present – in youth-conscious, youth-centred Singapore: PhD candidate Edgar Liao

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

“What is something that brought you joy today?” That’s the question one is encouraged to contemplate as one explores the website of HappyUrns (https://happyurns.org/), an initiative to help different groups of Singaporeans engage meaningfully with death and end-of-life topics with their loved ones. With team members Amanda Swee and Adya Sadanand, we have a thoughtful conversation about their three projects - "Residents' Urns", the "Celebration Kit"; and the "Life in a Year Book" - and for each project you’ll hear powerful stories and reflections of their design experiences and interpersonal interactions. This episode is a great complement to an earlier episode with representatives of “Both Sides, Now”, who work to normalise end-of-life conversations through artistic projects and public engagement.

HappyUrns is currently running a competition titled, "Reinterpreting the Urn: A Symbol of Celebration" (https://happyurns.org/a-happy-urns-competition/). Singaporeans of all ages and backgrounds are welcomed to create a design to give "new and personal meaning to the urn and transform it into a symbol that represents celebration and appreciation of life.”

This episode is part of "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Last year, the Lien Centre for Social Innovation published Singapore’s first nationally representative food insecurity study, finding that about 10 per cent of Singaporean households experienced food insecurity at least once in the last 12 months. This year, the centre's updated, second part of "The Hunger Report" explored two related questions. First, what is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity in Singapore? And second, how can the unique needs of food-insecure families be met? We take a deeper dive into the report with members of the report team, Dr. Dalvin Sidhu, Dr. Tania Nagpaul, and Ms. Ng Weng Lin.

This episode is part of "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Using two child cohorts, Dr. Jonathan Huang and his team at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research sought to understand - in a journal article - the lifestyle changes experienced by Singaporean children after the country's circuit-breaker as well as the potential long-term outcomes. In our conversation, we learn more about the research findings and methodology, future directions, and the potential practice and policy implications.

This episode is part of "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Inspired by the short story “SIN” in Singaporean writer Ng Yi-Sheng's collection “Lion City” (https://epigrambookshop.sg/products/lion-city), “What’s the Matter, Mr. Monster” (https://www.ministryofmonsters.sg/) is a dialogue-driven game where one role-plays as a civil servant settling complaints of otherworldly creatures settling into Singapore. With director Roshan Singh Sambhi, we dive into its genesis at Sing Lit Station's Sing Lit Blk Party, features of the game, and its potential for community and civic engagement.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Social enterprise Wateroam (https://www.wateroam.com) has been working to build a world without prolonged thirst, and today with one of its co-founders Lim Chong Tee we want to push the conversation a little further, by challenging him to share his big ideas about the future of water and water scarcity. After that, we talk about Wateroam’s plans in the next five years, and then the next 50 years, before rounding up with his personal development and his thoughts on the socio-political situation in Myanmar in relation to the work of the growing social enterprise.

This episode is part of "The Future of..." series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Since 2013, "Both Sides, Now" (https://www.bothsidesnow.sg/) has sought to normalise end-of-life conversations, by creating artistic projects and engaging Singaporeans at public locations such as hospitals, town centres, senior homes, and HDB void decks. Last year, in 2021, the project researched and engaged the Malay-Muslim community, culminating in the "Kata-Kata Kita" variety show (https://www.bothsidesnow.sg/programme).

And behind this endeavour was a multi-disciplinary team of creatives and researchers, four of whom are with us today. With artistic director Kok Heng Leun, lead artist Adib Kosnan, creative producer Ngiam Su-Lin, and research team member Siti Hazirah Bte Mohamad, we chat about the genesis of "Both Sides, Now", the experience of staging the "Kata-Kata Kita" variety show, and the project's upcoming public engagement programme in Bedok this year.

This episode is part of the "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

With Norvin Chan, founder of the AI therapist chatbot fire.place (https://fire.place/) where folks can vent their feelings, we learn about how users can interact with the chatbot, tech development process, and how his growing-up experience has informed his work. We conclude with a discussion of positioning fire.place in a broader constellation of mental health and wellness support, from professional help to community initiatives.

This episode is part of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Today, we have assistant professor Walid Jumblatt Bin Abdullah from the School of Social Sciences in Nanyang Technological University, whose research focuses on religion and politics with a special focus on Singapore and Malaysia. On his Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/walidj.abdullah), he hosts “Teh Tarik With Walid” (TTWW), a series of live chats with prominent socio-political figures about their work and current affairs. In this episode, we ask him about his motivations for starting this series as well as the prospects of such a format in furthering civic engagement on social media.

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

"Beneath the Rug" (https://www.solvenplus.one/btr) is a Singaporean book compilation of 30 stories, written by 30 different individuals in the social service sector. Their honest sharing on the poor/marginalised/disadvantaged in Singapore was surprising, and in this episode with editor Lewin Low we discuss the project’s journey, the writers, and the plans of his social enterprise Solve n+1 (https://www.solvenplus.one/).

(Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of the book from the editors.)

This episode is part of the "The Work of Social Work" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

In November last year, the publication titled "Scaled, citizen-led, and public qualitative research: A framework for citizen social science" explored improvements to qualitative research and suggested methods for the conduct of citizen social science. Drawing from two cases - one involving state and civil society organisations and public policy students, and another centred on low-waged migrant workers and the system processing their salary and injury disputes - we dive into the open-access publication with its three author-researchers.

This episode is part of the "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Co-operative A Good Space, a good friend to this podcast, ran two Listening Living Labs and produced two corresponding Listening Reports to document the experiences and insights of migrant worker communities and low-income communities in Singapore. With representative Nurulhuda Hassan today, we focus on low-income communities, focused on the three issues and recommendations revolving around lower-wage gig workers, customised digital guidance, as well as interim assistance.

• Listen to the preview;
• The episode on migrant worker communities; and
• On low-income communities (this episode).

This episode is part of the "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Co-operative A Good Space, a good friend to this podcast, ran two Listening Living Labs and produced two corresponding Listening Reports to document the experiences and insights of migrant worker communities and low-income communities in Singapore. With representative Vandhana Jeyaram today, we focus on migrant worker communities, focused on the four issues and recommendations on high recruitment debt, barriers of access to healthcare, struggles with dormitory experience, as well as social exclusion of migrant voices.

• Listen to the preview;
• The episode on migrant worker communities (this episode); and
• On low-income communities.

This episode is part of the "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Co-operative A Good Space, a good friend to this podcast, ran two Listening Living Labs and produced two corresponding Listening Reports to document the experiences and insights of migrant worker communities and low-income communities in Singapore. Even though the issues and insights are not necessarily new, representatives Nurulhuda Hassan and Vandhana Jeyaram provide a preview in this first episode. In the next two episodes, we take deeper dives into each report.

• Listen to the preview (this episode);
• The episode on migrant worker communities; and
• On low-income communities.

This episode is part of the "Making Research Sense" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

Member of parliament Louis Ng has been a leading legislative voice on the work and welfare of the Singaporean social worker. We touch on four themes in this episode - pay and compensation, burnout and retention, case management and caseload ratio, as well as community work - before sharing his ongoing public consultation for social workers.

This episode is part of the "The Work of Social Work" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

• Intersectional climate justice, climate change and its unequal effects, and aspirations for a low-carbon Singapore
• Contested framings of climate change and climate governance in Singapore: PhD student Belicia Teo
• Matthew Schneider-Mayerson and Michele Chong’s “Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene: Environmental Perspectives on Life in Singapore” (Book Club, April 2021)

This episode is part of the "Civic Engagement and Action" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

A transcript is also available.

This episode is part of the "The Work of Social Work" series of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.

A transcript is also available.

This episode is part of the podcast's fifth season (https://socialservice.sg/podcast/). The feature photo is by Ng Shi Wen.