The Merlion: The Myth That Became Legend

Did you know Singapore’s most famous creature wasn’t born from myth, but a government-led marketing effort? Over the years, it’s been loved, mocked, and endlessly reimagined, but it remains as one of Singapore’s national icons. In this episode, we uncover the story behind the creature that was engi…

Chope-d With Tissues: Singapore’s Most Polite Power Move

A packet of tissues on a table means one thing in Singapore: it’s reserved. But how did this strange system of trust and order evolve in a city obsessed with efficiency? We explore how “chope culture” has stirred debates about kindness and convenience… and even becoming avant-garde artwork in Paris…

Singapore’s Famous Dragon Playground Has A Secret

In a quiet corner of Toa Payoh lies a dragon that has seen presidents, queens and generations of children. Once a symbol of modern design and national pride, it now guards memories of sand-filled adventures and scraped knees. We awaken the legend of how this mosaic creature came to define an era of…

Singapore’s War on Sex, Drugs, and Rock ’n’ Roll

From banning Playboy and pinball to cutting the hair of foreign pop stars, Singapore once waged a full-blown crusade on what it called “yellow culture.” This episode dives into the secret morality purge that started with tabloid scandals in the 1950s and spiralled into raids, bans, and a nationwide…

One Man, One Wife, Banning Polygamy in Singapore

Legally recognised under British colonial rule, polygamy was rife in the early days of Singapore. Many men chose not to register their marriages, using this loophole to avoid financial or legal responsibility. In this episode, we discover how Singapore’s first generation of women activists set out …

The NKF Scandal: Peanuts, Gold Taps, and a $600,000 Salary

It started in April 2004 with a newspaper article about a bathroom tap. By the time it ended, the National Kidney Foundation’s (NKF) CEO was in jail, its board resigned, and the majority of Singaporeans had cancelled their donations to NKF. In this episode we break down the scandal that stunned Sin…

From Power Plant to Party Central: The Story of St James Power Station

Originally Singapore’s first coal-fired power station, St James has been many things, a warehouse, a nightclub, and now Dyson’s global headquarters. We follow its 100-year journey from fuelling the island’s first lights to powering late-night discos and high-tech innovation, and how it became a sym…

The Street Where People Went To Die

For a few dollars, you could rent a bed beside coffins and wait for death. This was life on Sago Lane, once known as the “street of the dead.” In this episode, we trace the dark history of these death houses, from their origins in 19th-century Chinatown to their eventual ban in 1961, and ask what t…

The Dark Story Behind the Tiger Balm Brothers and Haw Par Villa

Many know Haw Par Villa for its surreal statues portraying themes from Chinese folklore, or maybe even its water splash ride taking visitors through the 10 Courts of Hell. But few know the loss and misfortune that the park and its Hong Kong counterpart share. In this episode, we take you beyond the…

Why Can’t We Stop Seeing Ghosts In Singapore?

Singapore has more than a hundred mapped haunted sites, a best-selling ghost book series, and a ghost festival that turns entire streets into altars. But our spirits are more than superstition. In this episode, we explore how Singapore’s ghost stories carry hidden histories of migration, trauma, an…