Building The Neighbourhood Boy

Jom Media's Co-founder and Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Vadaketh returns to discuss the podcast PM Wong declined to join, plus why Singapore's Western Island reclamation and clean-energy imports are quietly costing coral reefs and neighbouring islanders.

𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 2026

𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 2026 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘐, 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘖𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 29 𝘢𝘯𝘥 30 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 2026.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴-𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘯.

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The Neighbourhood Boy | Jom

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

• Haresh: How to Speak | Patrick Winston
• Terence: Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick Full Match | Exhibition | 2026 US Open
• Sudhir Vadaketh: Olivia Rodrigo has The Cure for sadness | Switched On Pop

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(00:00) Intro

(03:37) A Busy Year: Jomfest and Launching The Neighbourhood Boy

(05:23) The Idea Behind a Podcast on Singapore's Next PM

(09:12) Finding a Balanced Range of Interviewees

(10:15) Convincing Jean to Put Herself Into the Story

(14:23) Sticking With Scripted Podcasts; Next Up, Race and Migration

(16:04) Listener Feedback and the Limits of Access

(17:59) Would Lawrence Return, and Has He Become "PM Material"?

(19:27) Breaking Down Lawrence Wong's Financial Times Interview

(21:26) The Lawrence Wong Sudhir Knew From Grad School

(22:57) NDP's Rhetoric on the New Western Island

(25:09) Orang Laut, NDP, and the Cost of the Western Island

(28:35) Housing Needs and Singapore's Unanswered Population Question

(33:17) Other Land We're Not Considering, Including the SAF's

(35:34) The Hidden Cost of Singapore's Clean Energy Push

(38:08) Regional Responsibility and a 200-Year-Old Habit of Looking Away

(42:12) Is Singapore's Green, Garden City Reputation Deserved?

(44:21) Can Singapore Really Balance Growth and Nature?

(45:06) Breaking Singapore's Addiction to Population-Driven Growth

(46:24) Cutting Consumption and Learning From Finland's Circular Economy

(49:13) Shifting the Growth Mindset and Wealth Inequality's Role

(52:06) Where Does the Moral Obligation to Others Come From?

(57:02) Where to Find Jom and Support Independent Media

(58:37) One Shiok Thing

(1:04:53) Post-Interview Reflections

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀

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