Night School

We welcome Yap Sau Bin and Au Sow Yee, two of the key people behind “Escape From The SEA” to Night School! We ponder how to envision borders and identities in an increasingly contested region with a complex history as Southeast Asia, and the unique intervention art brings to the discourse.

We welcome musician, author and lawyer Saidah Rastam to the show. She shares her thoughts on the intersections of music and politics through her work on the history of Negaraku and the rich legacy of our arts. We also reflect on the importance of popular culture as an alternative lens into our past and the promise and challenges of encouraging historical discourse beyond the limitations of our institutions.

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We welcome Yuva Balan back to the show, this time for a quick lesson on the major arguments of a key text in Marxist thought by Friedrich Engels. We look at how the family is tied to the emergence of property to take on the role of a quasi-state in managing the production of workers for an unequal world.

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This week, we critically indulge in the meaning of fantasies. We upset its binary division from 'reality' to see how they serve as the alienated space where our political, social and intimate frustrations play out. Not for the faint of heart but necessary for those in need of some 'woke af'. Pang Khee Teik, activist and curator, leads the way.

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This week, we welcome Thomas Barker to the show! The lecturer in film studies at University of Nottingham in Malaysia gives us an overview of Indonesian film history and the key socio-political trends that shaped it.

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Having more possessions does not assure your well being. This is the key point of departure for capabilities theory, pioneered by Nobel-winning economist, Amartya Sen. Dr. Niaz Asadullah of Universiti Malaya joins us this week to explain its key assumptions and implications.

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We welcome 2017 by reflecting on change: What goes away? What stays the same? How are humans so incorrigible? And how do we cope? We look at some of the major questions from the 20th century, and the lessons we could consider as we march further into the 21st.

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This week, we go beyond the pleasure principle to explore the concept of jouissance, made famous by iconic French psychoanalyst, Jacques Lacan. It reveals the paradox of indulgence, revealing the human propensity for risk, hurt and excess, going against common, taken for granted assumptions that we are only motivated towards pleasure and well being.

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This week, we welcome legendary scholar, Shaharuddin Maaruf to the show. He recounts his intellectual journey and the questions that compelled him to produce his two classic works. He also offers valuable ways to understand the compelling hold of feudalism on Malay culture, despite all of its supposed modernisations.

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This week, Sharaad and Fuad explore the brooding contours of Malay masculinity. How does it articulate its aggression and power? How comparable is it to Western hegemonic masculinity? Examples from politics and pop culture abound.

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