General

Dorothy Parker once wrote: “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of 'The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they're happy.” In this episode of Bibliography, we talk about the book that's shaped generations of authors, and then dive into the works of E.B. White, whose career spanned articles for the New Yorker, as well as beloved childhood classics like Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web. And then in Footnotes, as always, we discuss adaptations of these works.

The Suicide Squad (2021) - not to be confused with Suicide Squad (2016), despite sharing some characters - is a soft reboot of sorts, repositioning DC's ragtag band of anti-heroes, and introducing some new players such as Idris Elba's Bloodsport, John Cena's Peacemaker and Sylvester Stallone's King Shark, all in a relentlessly chaotic, hyperviolent style. We talk about whether this film works to set up the DC Extended Universe and whether we're looking forward to future instalments.

Myanmar has refused to cooperate with ASEAN’s requests for their envoy to have access to Aung San Suu Kyi. And now, Malaysia and Indonesia are warning this might mean Myanmar will be excluded from the upcoming ASEAN summit. We look at the possible repercussions of this development. Image Source: railway fx, Shutterstock

We dissect the largest ever data leak on offshore dealings - the Pandora Papers. First, we look at what it was like to break the story. Then, we revisit a discussion from the Morning Run show earlier on the legality of the tax systems. Finally, what reforms do we need to ensure that financial loopholes don’t get exploited? Image Source: Giorgio Trovato, Unsplash

Last night, Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp all went down for six hours. We look at the lessons to be learnt from the unprecedented blackout.

Image Source: BigTunaOnline, Shutterstock

Highlights from the Dewan Rakyat today include discussions about a Bersatu member's derogatory remarks made against shuttler S. Kisona, and Tengku Zafrul Aziz's response about the Pandora Papers. Meanwhile, ministers began their winding-up speeches for the 12th Malaysia Plan, with MITI and the Defence Ministry among those under the spotlight.

Image Source: Wesley Tingey, Unsplash

We’ve all done it - experienced a persistent headache, a twinge in the knee, or some chest pains, and headed straight to Google for answers. From the millions of search results that are listed, how many of them would be an accurate explanation of our condition? Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh takes us on a virtual tour of the misinformation that is available online, especially in the realm of musculoskeletal and joint problems.

Image credit: flickr.com

Young people are suffering. Youth unemployment rate has been on the rise, salaries have stagnated for close to 20 years, despite the massive increase in cost of living. Cost of education is at an all time high and upon graduating, most people find themselves in massive debts. The average millennials and Gen Z cannot even afford adequate housing on a single paycheck, despite it being a basic necessity -- a human right! The COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse. 

What if these are all natural causes of capitalism? And could socialism be the solution?

Image credit: Shutterstock

Last week, Pengerang MP Azalina Othman raised the issue of the lack of special courts for sexual crimes against children across most states in Malaysia, after the first two of such courts were established in Putrajaya and Kuching back in 2017 and 2018. Cases of sexual abuse and exploitation of children need to be handled carefully, not only because of the nature of these crimes but to ensure that the child is not further harmed or traumatised. So what role do these special courts play, especially to protect the child? Why do we need these courts established in each state across the country? Sharmila Sekaran, chairperson of Voice of the Children joins us to share more.

Image credit: Shutterstock

We’re on the brink of a quarter packed with mega sales - 10.10, Singles Day, Black Friday… This at a time when global supply chain hiccups are starting to show warning signs that goods we buy online might not arrive on time.

In the midst of freight and inventory risks, what can businesses, especially those in ecommerce, do to address the challenges and bottlenecks of this period, mitigate negative impact, and reap the rewards? We discuss.

Image Credit: Avigator Fortuner | Shutterstock