Yah Lah But

A disputed study claims Singapore civil servants may have bought property near future MRT stations before announcements, prompting debate over evidence, insider trading and governance. Plus, a Hyrox athlete’s victory after a mid-race bowel accident sparks a global biohazard and sportsmanship controversy. Also: surreal comedy and the US-China AI race.

US Ambassador to ASEAN Kevin Kim defends Trump’s tariffs as a fight for lost American factory jobs and refuses to call ASEAN cooperation "Make ASEAN Great Again." His verdict? It's already great.𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 | https://www.gevme.com/Tech-Week-2026-visitor-registration/?promo=&source=partner_podcast_YahLahBut𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩 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.🔔 Enjoyed this one? Please 𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗘 to the channel so you don't miss our latest episodes. Every subscriber helps us grow, open doors to new guests, stories, formats or ideas!𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN Kevin Kim𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴Haresh: Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in WinterTerence: Christopher Nolan Receives the Stephen Hawking MedalKevin Kim: Roy Keane Goes Through All His Red Cards! | Stick to Football𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 – "𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁” https://yahlahbut.short.gy/subscribeGet a roundup of our One Shiok Things & first dibs on our latest launches delivered straight to your inbox!(00:00) Intro(03:36) How Kevin Kim Got His Start at the State Department(07:36) Growing Up in Texas and Getting Drawn to Politics(08:55) What's Stayed Consistent Across US Administrations(12:18) Explaining Trump's Tariff Policy(16:24) Singapore's Tariff Tensions With the US(20:01) NATO, Defense Spending, and Playing the Long Game(24:00) Brokering the Thailand-Cambodia Peace Deal(27:06) The Long-Term US Vision for Asean(31:16) Biggest Challenges Ahead for Asean(31:28) Tech Week Singapore(33:21) Does the US Still Understand Southeast Asia?(38:10) How His Role Overlaps With Bilateral Ambassadors(40:02) Managing 11 Different Countries at Once(43:16) Can Southeast Asia Still Depend on the US?(45:07) US Troop Numbers and Defense Deals in Asia(47:20) The American Approach to AI in Southeast Asia(50:03) Should Asean Diversify Away From American Tech?(52:13) Wrapping Up With Kevin Kim(52:56) One Shiok Thing(57:04) Post-Interview Reflections𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀ᴛɪᴋᴛᴏᴋ https://www.tiktok.com/@yahlahbutɪɴꜱᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ https://www.instagram.com/yahlahbutꜰᴀᴄᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ https://www.facebook.com/yahlahbutpod𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀ʀᴇᴅᴅɪᴛ https://www.reddit.com/r/YahLahBut/ᴛᴇʟᴇɢʀᴀᴍ https://t.me/yahlahbutpodcast𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀!Drop us an email at [email protected]! We’re always looking out for people to do cool stuff with, so let’s chat!𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗻 𝗭𝗥 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗞𝗢𝗥 𝗭 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 | https://www.nikon.com.sg𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 @𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘦 | https://www.instagram.com/shure/𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘬 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Singapore’s proposed ministerial pay increases spark debate over benchmarks, inequality, performance-linked compensation, transparency and whether leaders should be the nation’s highest earners. A prank that interrupted dancers during rehearsal also raises questions about consent, boundaries and creators’ responsibility when publishing uncomfortable moments online.

Sudhir Vadaketh, Singaporean journalist, author, and Jom co-founder, returns for a sharp conversation on Lawrence Wong’s political evolution and why he stayed silent on population planning. They explore Western Island reclamation, Orang Laut communities, forest loss, and the hidden ecological costs of imported clean energy. A probing look at Singapore’s growth model and its regional footprint.

A racism controversy erupts around Kenneth Tiong’s questions on SIA’s Air India investment, with debate over separating legitimate policy scrutiny from hateful online comments. An SMU survey finds cleanliness satisfaction slipping as volunteer numbers fall, prompting discussion of dirty toilets, public responsibility, enforcement and technology. Plus, recommendations for music, films and talk shows.

Franky Slates, a Singapore-based social commentator and writer, joins the conversation on Lev Panfilov’s acquittal after his conviction was overturned, public judgment, anonymity and the lasting damage of criminal labels. They also unpack a heated Yishun water-bottle dispute, hawker culture, filming confrontations, online outrage and why hospitality requires decency from everyone.

AI-generated images of missing Singaporeans amid Nepal’s floods spark outrage, confusion and concerns about rescue efforts. A viral clip showing an elderly cyclist kneeling before LTA officers raises questions about enforcement, empathy and sharing public spaces. Plus, reflections on Singapore cinema, Burning Man’s commercialization and M. Night Shyamalan’s return to simple storytelling.

Ervin Han, co-founder of Robot Playground and director of award-winning The Violinist, discusses his 11-year, nine-country journey to make the film. He explains grounding animation in real Singapore locations, choosing the risky historical subject, pitching across cultures, and his measured concerns about AI’s impact on animation and artistic craft.

A deep dive into a survey revealing worrying attitudes among Singaporean men, from victim blaming to sexual entitlement. A discussion on why younger men may hold conservative views and how loneliness, national service and social media shape masculinity. A viral kebaya dance in Chinatown sparks arguments about cultural respect, appropriation and where to draw the line between celebration and trivialisation.

Discussion about whether recent pro-family policies in Singapore unfairly single out non-parents and how workplaces might handle new childcare leave without breeding resentment. Exploration of AI-generated product ads on Shopee and TikTok that misrepresent books and sellers’ anger at misleading auto-made videos. Short segments on nightlife, caregiving pressures and a feel-good neighbourhood farewell.