Breakfast with Ryan Huang, Emaad Akhtar and Audrey Siek

Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR) is down to a historic low of 1.05. But the good news is that a recent survey shows that young single Singaporeans want children. Eight in 10 aged between 21 and 35 polled  say they want to marry and 77 per cent want children. Dr. Gillian Koh, Deputy Director (Research) at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) which is part of the National University of Singapore shares her insights on the falling birth rate and what can be done about it.

Hilde Jenssen, Nordea Asset Management’s Head of Fundamental Equities discusses how to navigate the banking sector opportunities for investors in the wake of the SVB fallout and Credit Suisse takeover by UBS, as well as whether companies are in place to pass on rising costs to consumers.

What is on the checklist of small businesses when they think of going global? I guess one of their top priorities is payments. And partnering the right fintech company can probably help to save cost, save time and increase scalability.  On Mind Your Business, Lyn Lee Foo and Ryan Huang find out more about the collaboration between Low Cher Hao, Director, SME at Airwallex - a global payments and financial platform that helps businesses remove unnecessary friction and cost, inherent in the traditional financial system to expand globally, alongside one of their merchants Emily Chu, Co-Founder Hey! Chips.  This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Millions of people and companies worldwide will be switching off their lights when the clock strikes 8.30pm on the 25th of March. Yes, the annual Earth Hour is back!  Swati Mandloi, Assistant Market Transformation Manager, WWF-Singapore shares an insider perspective on the gaps faced in pushing the world towards net-zero and what needs to be done to better tackle competency greenwashing [Find Us on Podcast Platforms] Awedio | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | OmnyStudio [Contact Us] Presenters: Lynlee Foo Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

Is there liberal opposition to what is going on, even in a more diverse India with a raucous democratic tradition? Synopsis: Each fourth Friday of the month, The Straits Times' US bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh presents an Asian perspective of the biggest global talking points with expert guests.  In this episode, we discuss how and why, across the complex region of South Asia, majorities are convinced that minorities are a threat. South Asia is a region of some two billion, but right-wing politics and religious majoritarianism, the arms of the state and the media, are coming together to threaten democracy and the health and longevity of states. The politics of hate in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is fuelling, and feeds off, religious majoritarianism. Nirmal Ghosh hosts Farahnaz Ispahani, a former journalist, former member of Pakistan’s parliament, and currently a senior fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute in Washington DC, and Salil Tripathi, author, journalist and member of the Board of PEN International.   Highlights (click/tap above): 1:40 Why Pakistan is the worst among "religious majoritarian states" in South Asia; add to that a "nuclear-armed Pakistan with an economy in free fall" 3:40 On the history and similar trajectory in Bangladesh and also, how "the liberal Pakistani used to look up to India for its democratic roots and tradition, when now… if you're Muslim, you can't be safe in India." 9:05 How the religious right and the political right have come together to make the majority feel they're under threat from the minority 12:16 How this trend is happening, as our guest expert offers daily life examples in India 17:15 On how the media in these South Asia countries could amplify divisions Produced by: Nirmal Ghosh (nirmal@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Follow Asian Insider with Nirmal Ghosh every fourth Friday of the month: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Follow Nirmal Ghosh on Twitter: https://str.sg/JD7r Read Nirmal Ghosh's stories: https://str.sg/JbxG Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters Asian Insider videos: https://str.sg/wdcC --- Discover more ST podcast channels: In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (new): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsider

What can indie media production firms do to stay ahead of the game in a world dominated by streaming platforms and content creators? Award-winning Director and Founder of Giraffe Pictures, Anthony Chen shares his personal journey in putting Singapore on the international film stage and the challenges behind getting funding

According to the 2023 World Happiness Report, Singaporeans are happier this year compared to a year ago! But, how do we measure happiness? A number of factors including social support, income, health, freedom, generosity and absence of corruption - all evaluate the differences among peoples' happiness levels in different parts of the world. To give us a better understanding of the report Nick Powdthavee, Professor of Economics at Nanyang Technological University and Simon Leow, co-founder of Happiness Initiative share their insights on the matter.

Dwyfor Evans, Head of APAC Macro Strategy at State Street Global Markets discusses why the Federal Reserve seems confident to push on with further rate hikes, as it announced a widely expected 25 basis points rate hike.

It's a wrap to China President Xi Jinping's state visit to Moscow to meet with its President Vladimir Putin. But still no clear sign whether China's efforts to play the role of peacemaker is yielding results. Karen Alter, Norman Dwight Harris Professor of International Relations at Northwestern University weighs in with her perspectives on the Chinese leader’s peace mission to the Kremlin, and the optics of that meeting in the grand scheme of things. [Find Us on Podcast Platforms] Awedio | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | OmnyStudio [Contact Us] Presenters: Lynlee Foo Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)

With the global push for climate change, scientists and climate activists are pushing for more to be done, both on an individual and national level. But do you really know what's the link between the melting icebergs in Antarctica and what you're experiencing miles away from that end of the world?  Kong Man Jing - or better known as “Biogirl MJ” - the founder and host of online science channel Just Keep Thinking shares how science education is changing and the impact that has on effecting action. Highlights: 1:50 - That's your signature look right - how many yellow dresses do you have?  2:46 - What first sparked your love for nature? And how did you eventually you know, morph into this? 4:04 - Tell us about some of your most memorable shoots. How do you decide what facts to draw audiences?  4:54 - So on that topic, you were previously a private tuition teacher before branching out, so you kind of have your pulse on how things are interesting to some of your target audiences, right? So when you look at how education is evolving, what have you noticed? What really speaks to some of your audiences? 6:14 - Speaking of directions and exploratory experiences, you went on an expedition in Antarctica, with marine biologist Sylvia Earle recently, and that was a trip to better understand links between what's happening there and its effect on the rest of the world. Tell us about that experience - what were some of the observations there and could you give us a hint as to how much will be affected here in Singapore with what you found? 7:30 -  I'm curious, I've not been to Antarctica and I imagine it's your first time. For someone who's been there, did it live up to your expectations, what you imagined it would be? Is it as cold as the studio here? 8:23 - What did you have to do to prepare for this trip? 9:03 - In recent times, we've seen a rise in iceberg tourism as people flock to see the ice shelves before climate change kills all of that. What are your thoughts on that, now that you've actually been there? And can that be done sustainably? 10:11 - You mentioned iceberg stories - what stories? 11:09 -  Did being there with the marine biologist Sylvia Earle add to the experience? What did you learn from her? 12:07 -  MJ, talking about championing, one of the things you do back home in Singapore, you bring kids and actually adults as well, for all these educational trips to the intertidal zones, especially like Changi Beach. I'm sure you've come across many videos as well, a lot of people misbehaving, digging up stuff, putting in pails, bringing them home - what do you make of it? What's lacking here that we need to really address?  13:53 - Are there regulations in place to protect these things? Do we need stronger ones?   14:37 - Very quickly before we let you go, what is next for you? What's your next big project?  [Find Us on Podcast Platforms] Awedio | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | OmnyStudio [Contact Us] Presenters: Lynlee Foo and Ryan Huang Producer: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)