Today I Learned

We tend to picture the plague as a medieval horror confined to history books, until a lab worker's death in Russia put the word back in headlines and had everyone wondering if it was back. So what exactly is the plague, and should a case popping up today worry us the way COVID once did? To unpack this, we sat down with Prof Tikki Pangestu, Visiting Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.

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Every October, we're told to wear pink and go for breast screening, but that message skips over something more basic. Many women have spent their whole lives feeling uneasy even talking about their own breasts, let alone examining them. So before we ask women to be proactive about breast health, how do we first help them feel comfortable with their bodies and confident enough to speak up? To unpack this, we sat down with Dr Karen Christelle, Family Medicine Specialist, who walks us through the fears, family dynamics and healthcare blind spots standing in the way.

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Every child learns differently. But does every classroom make room for that? At The Alice Smith School, inclusive learning is built into the curriculum, from play-based learning that lets children explore and discover, to translanguaging, which treats every language a child speaks as a strength.

But what does that look like day-to-day? And how can a curriculum be designed to help every child thrive? In the second instalment of our three-part series marking the Alice Smith School's 80th anniversary, we put that question to Alan McCarthy, Primary Principal, and Helen Jones, Vice Principal and Head of Juniors, both at the Alice Smith School.

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What should access to adequate housing look like for Malaysians? We’re covering this in conjunction with World Habitat Day, but it is also a time where owning a house or renting a place that is affordable and isn’t the size of a shoebox is becoming increasingly out of reach for many people. So, what is the ideal situation and how can Malaysia get there? That’s what we’ll unpack with our guest Theebalakshmi Kunasekaran, research associate at Khazanah Research Institute.


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From its early beginnings to its 80th anniversary, The Alice Smith School has remained committed to the not-for-profit model, and is the oldest and only British international school in Malaysia to operate this way. But what does that actually mean in practice? How does it shape the way a school is run day to day, and where does the money go when there’s a surplus? With our guests from The Alice Smith School, we’ll unpack how the not-for-profit model works, and how it allows the school to invest in an environment that prioritises inclusion, diversity and opportunity

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How do you turn an ordinary tree into a bonsai? And at what point does a small tree become a work of art? We get a beginner’s guide to bonsai, from shaping and caring for these miniature trees to the patience and artistry behind them. We also find out what suiseki is, and look back at Malaysia’s first time hosting the World Bonsai Convention.



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When we talk about September 16, 1963, our standard history textbooks often refer to the formation of Malaysia to a simple timeline of diplomatic handshakes between Kuala Lumpur and London. But if we take a closer look at Sabah, and the broader regional landscape, we get to uncover a far richer and higher-stakes narrative. It’s a story shaped by fierce debates over state autonomy, wartime resistance movements and complex cross-border ties across Southeast Asia that existed long before our modern borders were drawn. We sit down with historian Professor Datuk Dr Danny Wong Tze Ken to delve into the untold stories of this momentous day. 

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Sport is often seen as something that brings people together, but it can also be a powerful tool of international politics. From hosting the Olympics and World Cup to sending athletes abroad and using sporting exchanges to build relationships, countries have long used sport to project their image, build influence and pursue diplomatic goals. But how exactly does sports diplomacy work? In this episode, we speak to Haresh Deol, a sports journalist and the founder of the news platform TwentyTwo13. He is also one of the co-editors of a new book called Routledge Handbook of Sports Diplomacy, and the only editor from Asia to work on the book.

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Before that unforgettable "Merdeka!" cry rang out seven times at Dataran Merdeka, Malaya's path to independence was littered with false starts, stalled negotiations, and moments that almost changed history's course. We take a look into the road not taken with Eddin Khoo.


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As Merdeka approaches, the Malaysian Coat of Arms and Jalur Gemilang become familiar symbols of national pride and unity. But behind these instantly recognisable designs are stories, meanings and details that reveal how thoughtfully they were created. In this episode, we take a closer look at the design of these national symbols and what they tell us about Malaysia.

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