This is Episode 10.

Our guest for this episode is Dr Emelia Thiran, PhD, who is an artist, art writer, art educator and designer based in Kuala Lumpur. Emelia received her BFA from the University of Bridgeport (USA), and later her PhD in Art History from University Sains Malaysia. She has been teaching design, visual art studies and art history in numerous art colleges while freelancing as a graphic designer. She is the author of Living Art: The Inspired Lives of 14 Malaysian Artists & their Art Practice (2020). She quit full-time teaching to pursue painting in 2019.

Emelia shares her personal journey of being an art educator who worked her way to earn her PhD only to change the course of her career by embarking on becoming a full-time professional artist--following a health scare and some soul-searching--and feeling a lot more contented and fulfilled today.

You can follow, view and even purchase Dr Thiran's work at https://www.emythiran.com and www.instagram.com/emythiran

This is Episode 9.

Winston hosts Daniel Mok, a freelance advertising copywriter and scriptwriter by day, and comic artist by night. In his work, he has written for award-winning ads, short films, web series, a feature film and more.

Daniel shares his story with Winston on how he went from studying to be a graphic designer only to realise his flair for words and storytelling which enabled him to dabble into copywriting, which brought him into collaboration with JinnyboyTV to produce award-winning advertisements and more recently revisiting his storytelling through his own Malaysian-flavoured web comics, Mokumentary.

You can view his works on www.instagram.com/themokumentary or at www.facebook.com/themokumentary 

This is Episode 8.

Winston hosts Britney Pang, a young singer/performer who has performed on China's Dragon TV's all-girls singing knockout competition 'Girls Fighting' in 2016 when she was only fifteen years old and had shared the stage with BIGBANG's Seungri.  

More recently, Britney was a finalist on ASTRO AEC's 'Classic Alive' (2020) belting out classic Chinese and English songs in that competition.

Britney shares her story on singing and training in China, being away from home and school at a young age, and her plans for the next stage of her life following the completion of her diploma in the field of marketing and advertising.

You can follow Britney on the following social media:

This is Episode 7.

My guest is Noelle Kan, who is a fashion designer and the founder of local homegrown tropical wear brand KANOE.

Noelle studied fashion design at Sydney, Australia, before obtaining a scholarship to do a Masters in Fashion as Art in Florence, Italy.

After teaching art for two years at a high school, followed by a stint doing social work at Boracay, the Philippines, she returned to Malaysia to start her fashion label, KANOE.

Noelle shares her story with our host Winston on how she went from a young girl who had fought her way to gain her parents' approval to do fashion design, but took a detour for self-development before realising her calling back into fashion.

This is Episode 6.

My guest is Dr Joliana Yee, PhD.

Dr Joliana Yee is the Assistant Dean of Yale College and Director of the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC) at Yale University.

Prior to joining Yale, Dr Yee served as a Residence Hall Director at the University of Connecticut for four years where she worked closely with campus partners to create an inclusive and equitable living and learning environment.

Dr Yee’s dedication to serving Asian/Asian American students and striving for social justice stems from her own re-racialization experiences as an Asian international undergraduate student at Miami University over a decade ago.

She recently completed her term as Co-Chair for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators' (NASPA) Asian Pacific Islander Knowledge Community (APIKC).

In this episode, Dr Yee discusses with Winston on her role representing the Asian and Asian American community in one of America's most prestigious universities and also on the recent alarming abuses and attacks on the Asian communities in the US and the emergence of the #stopasianhate campaigns which has far-reaching resonance across the world.

This is Episode 5.

For the month of August, in conjunction with our Merdeka National Day celebrations, my guest is someone who has served our country at the highest level in the sports arena having competed at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics. 

My guest is Khoo Cai Lin, who is a former Malaysian swimmer with five gold medals at the SEA Games to her name. She holds four individual national records, and previously was part of the team that holds three relay national record.

Cai Lin is currently in client servicing with Havas Immerse.

In this episode, Cai Lin shares with host Winston on growing up with scoliosis despite her career as a national swimmer, coming out to the world about her condition, the surgery and rehabilitation that followed, retirement from swimming, and life in advertising post-swimming career.

This is Episode 4.

My guest is Dr Antoon de Rycker, PhD, who is an Associate Professor at the School of Media and Communication at Taylor's University, Subang Jaya. A linguist and discourse analyst by training, Dr de Rycker has branched out into areas such as creativity, professional development and business communication. He has conducted training sessions and workshops for a wide range of audiences. His motto is “learn and build”. 

A Belgian national, he has lived and worked in Malaysia since 2009.

Host Winston discusses with Dr de Rycker on his twelve years in Malaysia, teaching in higher education, how the teaching philosophy in Belgium is different from Malaysia, and how the Covid-19 pandemic has been an opportunity to re-look and re-assess his priorities in life.

Kopitiam Conversations X/Presso (KCX) is an audio-only podcast series from Kopitiam Conversations.

This series will feature shorter and more concentrated sound bites, so that you're able to listen to shorter, condensed and more "kaw-kaw" inspirational stories featuring our little everyday wins while you're on the go.

Malaysia has been under a nationwide lockdown since 1 June 2021 to rein in a surge of Covid-19 infections. Stores and businesses remain closed except for those providing for basic necessities such as groceries, restaurants for takeaway meals, and pharmacies.

With the prolonged lockdown, Malaysians have suffered severe economic consequences which has affected livelihood in general.

Since early July 2021, The #benderaputih - or white flag - campaign gained momentum on social media, to help lower income families signal distress. Malaysians struggling within a strict MCO lockdown are flying white flags outside their homes as a plea for help.

We caught up with Timothy Chan, a photographer, lecturer and an Academic Head with a local private education institution IACT College. Timothy is one such individual who, moved by the disconcerting news and growing sense of desperation amongst those from the lower socioeconomic group also known as the B40, has decided to organise a food bank at Bukit Jalil, a suburb within Kuala Lumpur.

This is the story of how an individual, amongst so many other Malaysians, had responded to the white flags, and did their part in helping make Malaysia a better place.

If you or someone you know need help, log on to: https://kitajaga.co/

This is Episode 3.

My guest is Daniel Lee Kwan Leong, Co-Founder of FirstJoy, an organisation that specialises in management & leadership programs and employee engagement solution in Malaysia. Together with his wife Angeline, he leads FirstJoy as its Principal Consultant, Trainer, Coach & Author.

Daniel specialises in leadership and thinking subjects that brought him to seven countries in Asia, namely, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. He has recently pivoted and trained many online sessions. Amongst them, a session with more than 1,200 logins across Asia, Middle East and Africa. Before his 14 years in the learning and development industry, Daniel was a lawyer for seven years specialising in commercial and corporate litigation.

In 2020, Daniel also started a Youtube Channel with “18 Personal Development Tips” that summarises  two published books he authored, namely, “Success, Money and Passion” and “8 Success Qualities of Outstanding People”.

This is Episode 2.

My guest is Rachel Tan.

Rachel Tan serves as the Business Development Manager (Malaysia) at Peatix, a global event discovery platform that connects people to communities. 

She works closely with event organisers and community builders across various industries from Arts & Culture to Business & Technology in managing events and growing communities. She aims to empower organisers to create enriching event experiences for their communities.

Rachel also hosts her own podcast on YouTube and you can follow her on "Rachel's Chatroom".