BFM :: The Bigger Picture

Water is a human right. We need water to drink, cook and clean ourselves. Yet millions of people worldwide still do not have access to clean drinking water. In Malaysia, we may take it for granted since water flows generously from our taps – except for that 2014 water crisis. In light of the recent dry spell and heat wave, Dr Vasuki Rajalingam explains the importance of drinking water for our health. We also speak to Amin Lin Abdullah from Syabas to learn about the water treatment and quality control standards in Klang Valley.

Art For Grabs and the KL Alternative Bookfest are two events that have been staples in our local literary scene for close to a decade now. They have been absolutely crucial in pushing forward the discourse surrounding literature and the arts. This week, on Afterwords, Uma speaks to Pang Khee Teik and Amir Muhammad about the indie publishing scene, about , and about what we can expect from the latest edition of KLAB and Art for Grabs.

Show Notes:

i. For more information on KLAB and Art for Grabs, check out their Facebook page here.

ii. We spoke about the popular web series Komik Ronyok. Check out his work here. Buy the Maplé Comics collection here.

In India, there's a saying: "A goat is an asset, a girl is a liability." Parents don't want to invest in a daughter's education because she'll eventually be married off and live with her husband, so they see no point in her being educated. Safeena Hussain knew she had to fight this mindset, so the London School of Economics grad set up Educate Girls, an NGO which mobilises communities to tackle gender inequality in some of the worst affected areas in India. A speaker at this year's World Economic Forum in KL, Safeena joins us to discuss her life and work.

It's World Environment Day this coming Sunday, and the theme for this year is “Go Wild for Life”, and it sees international communities making a strong statement against illegal wildlife trade. To give us a broader idea of how we can all approach and celebrate World Environment Day is Andrew Sebastian, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at the Ecotourism and Conservation Society of Malaysia.

Working with the British and Lee Kuan Yew, Lim Yew Hock had successfully crushed the left-wing anticolonial movement. But this was strictly temporary. Eventually an election would have to be called, and the left-wing would be able to contest the election. In this episode, PJ Thum explains how British Colonial Secretary Alan Lennox-Boyd, Lim, and Lee, used secret collusion and legal manoeuvres to fix up the 1959 election. Please send questions, comments, and feedback to [email protected] or visit thehistoryofsingapore.com. Support the show at patreon.com/pjthum.

 
For all the previous episodes in this series, search for "History of Singapore" on bfm.my.

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Today he is joined by Dr Trinity Bivalacqua, Director of Urologic Oncology from Johns Hopkins Hospital to discuss the outcome of a survey by Prostate Cancer UK that showed that prostate awareness is dangerously low in British men.

The artist and director of the upcoming exhibition "Making" explain the impulse to discover new techniques, materials and media. Beyond  the Why’s, they throw light on some processes, like what is entailed in making decisions and choices, what influence these choices and how these in turn enable a different kind of inquiry. 

Dr Bubble and Milkshake use bubbles born of magical art to tell stories and at the same time offer a visual metaphor for overcoming fears. We talk to them about the science of bubbles and how bubbles fit into this metaphor.  With the weekend almost here, they blow in humor and laughter and blow away the work week.

An eight-year-old boy was stripped naked and chained at the stairway for about five hours by his father for being naughty. What do you do when your child does not cooperate? How do you instill discipline?

After watching the latest offering in this year's Shakespeare lineup at klpac, Soon Heng tells you his thoughts on "Shakespeare's Women". Hear what he thinks about the all-women performers, their multi-tiered set, and the strength of Shakepeare's female characters.

Listen to the interview with the director, executive director, and one of the actors of "Shakespeare's Women".