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Deep Dive - How can teachers help kids understand controversial topics?

Deep Dive

Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) lessons in Singapore schools came under public scrutiny recently because of discussions on the Israel-Hamas war. How can contentious issues be discussed in classrooms and what skills do teachers need to navigate children in an increasingly polarised world? Steven Chia explores this with Dr Thavam Kanagaratnam, master specialist at the CCE branch of the Education Ministry, Philibert Leow, principal of Jurongville Secondary School and clinical psychologist Dr Annabelle Chow.

Steven Chia

Steven Chia

Otelli Edwards

Otelli Edwards

Resume Pause 22 min

Deep Dive - Bank outages: Are there gaps in the system?

The recent DBS and Citibank outage in October left many people unable to pay for their transactions and draw money from the ATMs. What goes on when critical banking infrastructure goes black? How are data centres part of this and should we really revert to carrying cash again? Steven Chia gets answers from Dr Patrick Thng, director of the Master's programme for financial technology and analytics at the Singapore Management University and Ashish Kakar, research director for IDC Financial Insights, Asia Pacific.

Resume Pause 27 mins

Deep Dive - Why people struggle with mental health issues in Singapore

Young people aged 18 to 29 and the elderly over 70 are two groups who are showing the greatest signs of mental health distress in Singapore. What are the triggers, and what is the journey to seek help like? Steven Chia speaks to 23-year-old university student "Rae", 44-year-old father of teenagers Mak Kean Loong and senior clinical psychologist Chris Wong. This episode of Heart of the Matter discusses suicide ideation. Listener discretion is advised. Where to get help: Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1767 Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222 Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019 You can also find a list of international helplines here. If someone you know is at immediate risk, call 24-hour emergency medical services.

Resume Pause 27 mins

Deep Dive - Can Singapore kick its addiction to delicious but unhealthy food?

Nine in 10 Singapore residents exceeded the recommended salt intake and daily calorie intake is also up, according to the latest National Nutrition survey. The findings also show that more people are at risk of obesity and hypertension. Can a food paradise like Singapore deliver delicious food which is less salty? Or are busy lifestyles making it harder for people to eat better? Steven Chia speaks to Dr Kalpana Bhaskaran, president of Singapore Nutrition and Dietetics Association, clinical dietitian at Parkway MediCentre Candy Goh and Terence Koh, a father who lost 35kg in 8 months for his then newborn son.

Resume Pause 26 mins

Deep Dive - Child abuse deaths: Are there gaps in the system?

In the last decade, child abuse cases involving neglect and physical or sexual abuse have gone up from around 300 in 2012 to 2,141 in 2021. Several high profile cases before the court involved the death of young children. Steven Chia gets answers on how the system works and why some cases slip through with Soh Ying Si, deputy manager at the Melrose Home, Yogeswari Munisamy, senior principal social worker at the Ministry of Social and Family Development and C Amutha, deputy head of Punggol Family Service Centre.

Resume Pause 30 mins

Deep Dive - High COEs: Can families do without a car?

With premiums on Certificate of Entitlement (COE) soaring to over $140,000 for larger cars, should people simply give up on the idea of owning cars? What about those who need the convenience of having a vehicle to ferry their children and the elderly? What other options do they have? Steven Chia gets answers from Julian Kho, general manager of Sgcarmart, Toh Ting Feng, CEO and founder of GetGo, and Lim Chong Tee, co-founder of a start-up and father of a four-month old baby.

Resume Pause 23 mins