General

The opening ceremony for Tokyo 2021 is less than two months away, but the question still remains - is it even happening? When the games was postponed in March last year, there were a little more than a 1,000 active covid-19 cases in Japan. Today, Japan is experiencing a fourth wave that's bringing their numbers up drastically - to the tune of 70,000 active cases. The IOC remains adamant that the "Biggest Show on Earth" will go ahead as planned, but is this the right move? Olympic hurdler and President of the Malaysian Olympians Association Noraseela Khalid join us this week.

IMAGE SOURCE: Indus News 

Monique Truong’s latest novel, The Sweetest Fruits, takes a unique approach to telling the story of Lafcadio Hearn, celebrated Japanese writer of Greek-Irish descent: the book is narrated by three different women in his life, from three different times and places. We speak with Monique about her process of researching and writing this story, and more generally, on the question of, who gets to tell a story? We wrap up the show with a review of the book, and our experiences reading it.

Based on Stephen King's novella, Stand By Me is many things: a classic coming-of-age adventure story, a look at childhood friendships and how they shift and change, and even a study on the weight of grief. Anchored in a group of friends hiking in the woods to find a dead body, this Rob Reiner-helmed film stars 80s icons Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell and Kiefer Sutherland. It's also one of Stephen King's favourites of the many, many adaptations that have been made of his work - in this episode of Throwback Tuesday, we talk about the enduring appeal of Stand By Me.

The family of a passenger who was critically injured in the LRT collision last week is now taking Prasarana to court for negligence. We speak with the lawyer representing the family, Jazzmine Khoo, to find out more.

Image Source: Sora Shimazaki, Pexels

The PEMERKASA+ aid package was announced by the Prime Minister last night, ahead of the two-week lockdown. We take a look at the key aspects of the RM40 billion-worth package, and how effective it is in addressing the current concerns of the people. Next, we discuss how businesses will fare with the additional aid. Finally, we examine the three-month pay cut for ministers and their deputies.

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Several vending machines selling Covid-19 PCR test kits have been set up around Tokyo as a part of Japan's efforts to improve accessibility. Dhanya Nair gives us the details.

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Many experts are questioning the efficacy of large-scale sanitisation of public areas and urging government officials to not waste time and resources proceeding with this move. This comes following an announcement made by Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin that large-scale disinfections are planned to continue in Selangor. We speak with a professor to understand the rationale behind these experts' call.

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For many women, dealing with menstrual cramps and the pain that comes with it is all too familiar, and they might even be used to it happening every month. But what if the pain is so severe that it is debilitating? One of the medical conditions that could cause this is endometriosis, and to help us understand how common this condition is are consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist Dr Hoo Mei Lin, as well as Surita Mogan & Ghanthimathi  Subramaniam, two members of MyEndosis, a patient support group for endometriosis.

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It is commonly said that extroverts are great at communication, while introverts are simply anti-social. But is this actually true? Are one's social skills directly tied to introversion and extroversion, or is that an oversimplification? Assistant Prof in Psychology, Dr Eugene Tee, joins us to bust the myth of the boring introvert.

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Grief is something that many, if not all of us, would like to avoid, but likely have experienced or will experience at some point in our lives. But the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a surge of people all around the world grieving for the loss of their loved ones due to the pandemic. Worldwide, more than 3.5 million deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded, and here in Malaysia: more than 2,000 deaths and many fear this number will continue to climb. As we follow the daily number of people who have passed away because of COVID-19, it’s important for us to remember that behind every number is a human being, and that person leaves behind family and friends who grieve over their passing. Are we doing enough to help people understand what they’re feeling? Is there a grief crisis looming over us? We find out from Dr Anasuya Jegathevi Jegathesan, counsellor and lecturer in psychology. 

If you need emotional support or just want to talk to someone anonymously, you can call Befrienders KL at 03 7627 2929.

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