Episode Details

From MFA diplomat to Workers' Party NCMP in five months, Eileen Chong is asking Parliament the questions most leave untouched - about Singapore's loneliness epidemic, arts funding gaps, AI's real costs, and the price of one generation's relentless success.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

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(00:00) Intro
(00:00:22) Introducing Eileen Chong, WP NCMP

(00:02:09) From Spotlight To Short Runway: Joining WP Before GE2025

(00:03:42) Was Politics Always On Her Radar?

(00:04:52) Scholar, Diplomat, Then Opposition: The Reasoning

(00:07:10) Singapore's Treadmill Culture And The Hidden Wellbeing Cost

(00:09:20) What She Observed In The Diplomatic Corps: Beijing And Seoul

(00:12:25) Does She Even Have Time To Disconnect Now?

(00:13:54) Her Parliament Speech: Time, Presence And Space

(00:16:01) Singapore Exceptionalism: Why Self-Defeating Thinking Holds Us Back

(00:18:33) TFR At 0.87 And What Korea's Reversal Means For S'pore

(00:20:39) How Singapore Is Perceived In Diplomatic Circles

(00:23:35) Why She Pushed For IR Education In Schools

(00:25:02) What Diplomats Actually Do

(00:27:49) S'poreans Spend $1.8B On Tuition: Can The Mindset Change?

(00:32:04) The Culinary School Dream She Never Pursued

(00:33:44) Speaking Up For Small Arts Practitioners In Parliament

(00:35:15) Making The Case For Arts: Beyond Entertainment, Beyond ROI

(00:39:10) Hallyu And What Singapore Can Learn From Korean Soft Power

(00:41:52) 1 In 10 S'poreans Have No Close Friends: Her Response

(00:44:32) Growing Up In Jurong West And West Vs East Singapore

(00:47:05) What's It Really Like Being In WP And Inside Parliament?

(00:50:39) Is There Really A Chinese Faction In WP? And Pritam Singh's Title

(00:53:28) Being An Opposition MP At Official Events: Treated Differently?

(00:55:11) AI In Parliament: Cautious Optimism And The Darker Side

(00:59:31) How She Has Changed And Defining Success As A Millennial NCMP

(01:02:50) What Gives Her Hope About Singapore's Future

(01:03:46) One Shiok Things

(01:11:06) Post-Interview Reflection

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