General

Thailand has been one of the slower ASEAN economies to recover from the pandemic slump. In a further blow to the economy, Thailand is facing its worst flooding in years, impacting its tourism and agricultural sector. What policy levers does Bangkok have to stimulate economic growth? We discuss the outlook for the Thai economy with Krystal Tan of ANZ Bank.

Image credit: teera.noisakran / Shutterstock

OPEC+'s decision to cut production at 2 million barrels, the highest since 2020 has caused oil prices to surge. What are the repercussions to the fragile economic recovery and markets? Vishnu Varathan, Head of Economics & Strategy at Mizuho Bank, tells us.

With World Dementia Week not too long ago (19-25 Sept), this week we explore how powerful music can be in treating patients with declining cognitive abilities. Music can stimulate almost every area of the brain - areas that are most affected are those that handle emotion, speech, language, memory, and more. But can music be the tool that ultimately prevents dementia? Dr Indra Selvarajah, medical music therapist and founding president of the Malaysian Music Therapy Association (MMTA), gives us the low-down.

By The Way is a rapid-fire segment that gives you a snapshot of developing stories in the music world. This week, stories on the state of California banning rap lyrics as evidence in court, Apple Music boasting the largest music collection for streaming platforms, Teenage Engineering's new vinyl record cutter and player, and the passing of the queen of country, Loretta Lynn.

This week on Cruise Control, our petrolheads discuss the latest in the automotive industry complete with an impressive test drive of an all-new compact SUV.

Kicking off with a preview of Kia's flagship seven-seater, the Sorento, which will be locally assembled starting next year; we also look forward to Audi building up its fleet of the performance-based RS line, welcoming the sporty RS3 Sedan to their Malaysian catalog. China's BYD are also looking to introduce an electric MPV, its family-friendly BYD e6 set to land on our shores in the coming months.

We also ponder the future of second-hand dealers Carsome, after the outfit confirmed a 10% retrenchment on their workforce; and finish off the show with a round trip to Kuala Terengganu on the new and improved Honda HR-V 1.5L Turbo V.

Based on Joyce Carol Oates' bestselling fictional take on Marilyn Monroe's life, Blonde is a psychological biopic drama that garnered a lot of controversy even before it came out for a variety of reasons: the casting of Ana de Armas in the central role, its graphic content, and the central question - did we need another film about this tragic film icon? We try to answer that in this review. 

Does Malaysia have some of the worst roads in the world? Specifically, 12th worst, according to a survey by Zutobi, a driver education platform. We look into these findings and how accurate they might be. Then, how can we plan and build roads that are future-proof?

Image source: MGN57, Shutterstock

A tweet has gone viral, all about how comfortable people are doing things alone. We get into it.

Image source: Sinitta Leunen, Pixabay

In today's Dewan Rakyat round-up, we hear from policymakers on the issue of child sexual exploitation and allowing students to pursue TVET after Form 3. Then, we ponder with pantuns over whether or not parliament will be dissolved.

Image sourece: Datuk Seri M Saravanan, Facebook

最近一个星期，市场都在围绕着一个话题，那就是瑞士信贷到底是否会破产，并成为下一个雷曼兄弟，我们是否会重演2008年金融危机？这家公司的股票价格今年以来已经下跌超过60%，五年期信用违约掉期指数（CDS）价格更是不断飙升，远远超过今年初的水平。到底这家百年大行能不能够渡过危机？域锋环球董事林卓锋将在节目中跟我们深入地探讨这个话题。