Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
The Crisped, the Baked, the Spiralled: Curry Puffs and Their History
Episode 50
Award-winning writer Christopher Tan talks how the Indian samosa led to the curry puffs we know today, as well as the different types of curry puffs …
9 hours ago
Putting Together a Family Recipe of Abacus Seeds
Episode 49
When chef, filmmaker and writer Sarah Huang Benjamin wanted to make Hakka abacus seeds for Chinese New Year, her relatives were of little help. The e…
1 week ago
The Untold Negotiations Behind Singapore's Independence in 1965
Episode 48
For decades, the conventional wisdom was that Singapore was “kicked out” of Malaysia. However, newly released documents in Dr Goh Keng Swee's Albatro…
1 week, 5 days ago
A Tang Dynasty City in Singapore: Flying Swordsmen, Terracotta Warriors and Pagodas
Episode 47
A film studio and theme park in Jurong opened to grand fanfare in 1992. Named Tang Dynasty City, it was modelled after the ancient city of Chang’an. …
1 month, 1 week ago
The Italian Merchant and Lexicographer Who Once Owned Pulau Bukom
Episode 46
Giovanni Gaggino came to Singapore around 1874 and lived here for more than 40 years. During that time, he set up a successful business providing sup…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Changing Times: Time Zone Changes in Singapore since 1905
Episode 45
Singapore's time zone has been changed at least seven times since 1905, including during the Japanese Occupation when it was synchronised to Tokyo ti…
4 months, 4 weeks ago
The First Local to Head the National Library: Hedwig Anuar
Episode 44
Hedwig Anuar was the first Malayan to head the National Library, a position she held for 23 years until 1988. She was also involved in the setting up…
5 months, 4 weeks ago
The Civil Servant in Charge of Clean and Green Singapore, Lee Ek Tieng
Episode 43
Lee Ek Tieng (1933–2025) was the civil servant who headed the clean-up of the Singapore River, had the foresight to modernise the sanitation system, …
7 months ago
The Days Before Air Conditioning
Episode 42
Before air conditioning was introduced in Singapore in the 1920s, temperature control was a matter of architectural design. Environmental historian F…
8 months ago
Searching for Family in the Shadows of War
Episode 41
Jan Beránek sets out to find out what happened to his granduncle, Silvestr Němec, who left his Czech village for Singapore in 1938 and died as a volu…
8 months, 4 weeks ago