Skip to main content
Advertisement
Advertisement

Deep Dive - GE2025: PAP's Dinesh Vasu Dash on how a pivotal turning point in his career led him to politics

He took a significant pay cut and declined a private sector job to join the Health Ministry to fight the pandemic. Now Dinesh Vasu Dash is running on the PAP ticket as the new face contesting in East Coast GRC in what he describes as a journey with "too many points of twists and turns". He tells Otelli Edwards on this special series of the Deep Dive podcast what he has learnt from working with seniors and lessons on raising resilient children.

Steven Chia

Steven Chia

Otelli Edwards

Otelli Edwards

Resume Pause 20 min

Deep Dive - Why MRT disruptions feel extra frustrating and what can a new task force do?

In just the last few months, Singapore has seen at least 15 disruptions to the rail network. At the same time, rail reliability according to a key measure is at its lowest point since 2020. Is it time for the authorities to rethink the way they measure our network's reliability and find new connectivity solutions when the when train services are down? In this week’s Deep Dive, Steven Chia speaks with transport economist Walter Theseira and Tin Pei Ling, chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, on what needs to be done to get our trains back on track.

Resume Pause 32 mins

Deep Dive - Are incels a growing concern for Singapore?

A 14-year-old student was recently issued a restriction order after being self-radicalised by a “salad bar” of extremist ideologies. The boy also identified as an incel, short for "involuntary celibate" - a subculture of mostly men who believe that they are unable to find a romantic partner. How did the incel culture take root and what conversations should we have with youths before they turn to extremist ideologies? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards discuss with Yasmine Wong, associate research fellow at the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies and Devendra Bisaria, counsellor from Incontact Counselling.

Resume Pause 28 mins

Deep Dive - Is there a space and noise solution for the pickleball boom?

Pickleball is catching on fast in Singapore, but complaints over noise and space are growing just as quickly. In land-scarce Singapore, how much room is there for a new sport? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Ganesh Ramalingam, founder of the Pickleball Social Crew and Assistant Professor Tan Shin Bin from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Resume Pause 22 mins

Deep Dive - Licensing live shows and navigating comedy in Singapore

US comedian Sammy Obeid says his show in Singapore was cancelled because of censorship. Authorities say it was because of a late licence application. How does arts entertainment licensing really work, especially for unscripted formats like stand-up comedy? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak with local veteran entertainer Kumar and Heazry Salim, co-founder of The Comedy Club Asia, about the rules, the risks and how much freedom performers actually have on stage.

Resume Pause 20 mins

Deep Dive - How to have real conversations with young people about vaping

With authorities cracking down on vaping and drug-laced Kpods, parents are struggling to have conversations with children who may think that vaping is not a big deal. How can families navigate this when young people are coping with message fatigue and peer pressure? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards get insights from Cherie Tseng, a mother of three, and Alvin Seng, a counsellor from We Care.

Resume Pause 28 mins