Things That We Talk About

Selamat Hari Kebangsaan! It's been a little gloom and doom in Malaysia lately, but this shouldn't stop us from celebrating our Malaysian pride! In the spirit of our country's independence in 1957 and formation in 1963, we look back at some of our best memories being Malaysian, from our childhood days to adulthood now.

What do you love most about Malaysia? We want to hear from you! Share with us your best Malaysian stories and let us know what makes you Malaysian.

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

Last week, the government finally announced some new SOPs for those in Malaysia who are fully vaccinated. Most of these loosened restrictions only apply to states that are in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), including the freedom to dine in at restaurants, non-contact sports and recreational activities, go for staycations within the state, and so on. Unfortunately, those of us in the Klang Valley don't fall into this category for now.

It has also been announced today that some businesses will be allowed to operate beginning 16 August in states under Phase 1, like car wash, electrical shops, hair and beauty salons, furniture shops, fashion and retail stores, etc. But again, only those who are fully vaccinated (and have surpassed the 14-day grace period) can enter with their digital certificates as proof.

With that being said, we can't help but wonder if this is happening too soon because our daily cases are still dangerously high and our healthcare system remains under tremendous pressure. In this week's episode, we weigh the pros and cons of this added "freedom" and discuss what we hope to expect in the coming months.

If you have some thoughts on our Hotcake this week, we would love to hear from you!

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

The Olympic fever is still high and running! This week, we’re here to discuss what’s been happening in the Olympic events, how different the Olympics look this year, the opening ceremony that we can’t stop talking about, what we love about our national athletes, and why keyboard warriors should keep their comments to themselves.

Since we recorded this episode, a number of Malaysian players have been doing very well! Our badminton men’s doubles Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik grabbed the bronze medal, beating former world champions in their first ever Olympic! (If only we all witnessed their win together at the mamak) Our badminton men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia also made it all the way to round of 16. This young man has certainly got a bright future ahead! Our national diver Nur Dhabitah Sabri is through to the finals in the 3m springboard event. We’re rooting for her today!

We also want to give honourable mentions to our amazing badminton pair Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying, women’s doubles Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean, women’s singles player Soniia Cheah, swimmers Welson Sim and Phee Jinq En, women’s diver Ng Yan Yee, track athletes Azreen Nabila Alias and Lee Hup Wei, golfer Gavin Green, the sailing team Nuraisyah Jamil, Juni Noor Jamali, Nur Syazrin Latif and Khairulnizam Afendy, female shooter Noor Suryani Taibi, and our national cyclist coming soon Azizulhasni Awang. You have all done incredibly well to represent Malaysia and bring a sense of hope to our country during these trying times.

Thank you #TeamMalaysia for your passion, dedication and hard work!

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

We turned 1 year old today! We totally didn't expect that we'd come this far when we first decided to start a podcast on a whim. We learned a lot a long the way and we know that we have a lot to improve as well. Nevertheless, we're also very proud of ourselves for keeping this consistent despite the short breaks in between because of this (perpetual) MCO!  

To our friends, family and listeners who have followed us on this little journey, we are grateful for your continuous support and we appreciate your feedback. We hope that you'll keep tuning in because we've got a lot more things to talk about in the coming episodes!

We would also love to hear from you because we don't want this to be a one-way street. So if you have any thought, opinion, comment or feedback on the topics we've covered so far and how we can make our podcast better, please do share with us in the comments below! You can also write in to us privately via our social media platforms or email if you're shy.  

Thank you again for listening. And Happy 1st Anniversary, TTWTA fam!

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

We’re finally back on the mics with another guest! This week on #KetchupSessions, we caught up with our good friend, John Tan Jiun Wuu, about his decade-long journey working in the media industry, an opportunity he grabbed by chance. He tells his story about his early days running around on the field as a news cameraman, the horror stories he witnessed, and how he had to tune out his emotions to do the job. Today, he is a skilled new media professional and podcast producer who is still very passionate about the state of Malaysian media.

In this episode, we also talk about how we really feel about working from home now that we’ve been forced to work remotely for over a year. We weigh the pros and cons about this new work situation that we’re in now, and debate whether Malaysian companies can actually handle imposing remote work permanently.

We also want to hear from you, so share with us your thoughts about WFH! Do you love it? Do you hate it? Write to us and let us know.

Disclaimer: This is our first virtual recording so we apologise for the difference in visual and audio quality.

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

Buy one free one, get 50% off when you spend RM100 and above, 11.11 sale, 12.12 sale... we're constantly bombarded by social media ads and convinced by friends to buy the best, newest, latest, cheapest hot new item in town. Is this consumer culture making us spend more money than ever before? Have we bought things that we now regret? Does retail therapy really help? We discuss more about shopping and the different types of consumers in this week's episode.

What kind of shopper are you? How often do you buy things that aren't necessary? Share your thoughts with us!

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

Let's face it, gossiping is a big part of our society, whether we like to admit it or not. We love talking about other people, dissecting the lives of family members, friends, and sometimes, strangers! Most of the time, these gossip or membawang sessions start from a single piece of rumour. In this episode, we try to analyse why people love to participate in gossiping and rumours, especially when we're not the subject of it. We also talk about the 'holier than thou' mindset, keyboard warriors, being extra judgemental towards celebrities, and cyberbullying.

Are we all part of the problem? What can we do as a community to change this damaging habit? Share your thoughts with us! 

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

Introducing our new podcast segment, Ketchup Sessions, where we invite guests on to catch up (hence the "ketchup", geddit?) and talk about various topics. This week, we have Eugene Seng as our very first guest! Eugene is a good friend and avid supporter of the podcast, so we're very excited to speak to him about his experience dabbling into different businesses throughout his career.   

In this episode, we're highlighting the grit attitude, which is defined as having the passion and perseverance to achieve your goals without giving up, no matter how long it takes to get there. We sometimes wonder if millennials and Gen Z have grit because we're often seen as "snowflakes" or the "strawberry generation" by our elders. We agree and disagree at the same time, so let's talk about it!   

If you have some thoughts on this topic, we'd love to hear from you too!  

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

Early this year, the whole topic of sugar daddies and sugar babies took over Malaysian news headlines again. A website called Sugarbook released a list of 'Top 10 Sugar Baby Universities in Malaysia' which was faced with a lot of backlash, no surprises there. In this episode, we talk about how this whole debacle started here, share some of the stereotypes that surround this very grey area, and lay down what we feel about the idea of sugar relationships a.k.a. sugaring. If you have some opinions about this topic, please do share with us! We would love to hear your thoughts.

Disclaimer: This discussion is based on our own opinions and observations without reflecting or representing any particular organisation that was mentioned in the episode.

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms! Email us at [email protected].

Two movie reviews in a row ‘cause why not? This week, we talk about the greatest titans around, Godzilla and Kong. *spoiler alert* We also share some of our favourite Godzilla and Kong movies from the past, comparing them to their Japanese counterparts. What did you think of the latest titans film? Whose side are you on? Let us know in the comments!

We're also on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, so make sure you follow us on all platforms!