Podcast Picks: Cultivating a car-sharing community; meet rising singer-songwriter Shazza
Tune in to the three newest episodes of the week, with conversations about a novel car rental service that has recently emerged in Singapore, a rising local singer-songwriter on having her music recognised by Coldplay’s Chris Martin and PM Wong, and expert insider insights into Donald Trump’s previous rocky presidency and what could happen in the run-up to the US presidential election in November.
COE Watch: Get into an ‘Airbnb’ for cars
Many may be familiar with the concept of car rental services, such as Hertz Singapore for long-term leasing and BlueSG for short-term rentals. But eyes are on the emerging Drive lah, a new - and rising - kid on the block.
Their aim is simple - to reduce the whopping amount of unused car hours by enabling people to share their cars when not in use and offer drivers access to a private vehicle without driving COE prices up, in the grand scheme of things.
(From left) Mr Dirk-Jan Ter Horst, co-founder of peer-to-peer car sharing platform Drive Lah, and host Lee Nian Tjoe in the podcast studio. ST PHOTO: ZACHARY LIM
In this latest episode of COE watch, ST’s senior transport correspondent and host Lee Nian Tjoe speaks with co-founder of Drive lah Dirk-Jan Ter Horst about the concerns over such a service and convincing the government to allow them to match private car owners to hirers.
On the latter, Mr Dirk-Jan shares how the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Ministry of Trade & Industry were optimistic that such an initiative would align with the move towards a “car-light” Singapore, despite current rules by LTA disallowing owners of private cars to profit off such rental practices.
“We’re not adding any cars to Singapore in that sense because we’re using cars that are being underutilised,” he adds.
The duo also explore the various policies set in place by the service provider to ensure that hosts enjoy a risk-free experience and hirers uphold etiquette in car sharing.
In operating such a service, Mr Dirk-Jan hopes to offer drivers an alternative to obtaining vehicles, reconsidering the need to renew their COE or purchase a brand new car.
“(We) want people to be aware that in Singapore right now... there are many ways you can get around and you don’t need to per se, own a car,” he stresses.
Music Lab: Meet Shazza, the Singaporean singer whose music has the attention of Coldplay’s Chris Martin and PM Wong
An appearance in a video by Canadian pop duo Crash Adams that went viral resulted in her career skyrocketing overnight, getting international acclaim.
In ST music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi’s latest episode of Music Lab, he speaks with rising local singer-songwriter Shazza on her growth as an artiste over recent years and having her music lauded by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Home-grown singer and songwriter Shazza is the 12th guest in ST’s Music Lab Podcast. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
The 22-year-old recounts getting a stamp of approval from Martin himself when he heard a demo of one of her originals at a meet-up he arranged with several local artistes like herself during his visit to Singapore.
The highlight however, was in earning an honourable mention by Martin at their final show in Singapore earlier this year.
More recently, she was invited to the swearing-in ceremony of PM Wong after they first crossed paths at a Minister Hari Raya get-together event where she performed an original and two Hari Raya songs.
She also details in the episode, the back story of her latest song, Rain in Manhattan, and getting featured on the Spotify billboard in Times Square, New York as part of their Equal Campaign launched in 2020.
When asked what the big dream was, she replied that she wishes to complete her undergraduate studies, travel with her music and in the long run, help other artistes grow.
“I think the reason why I’ve been doing this is to pave the way for other artists who want to do this; who need a path to follow,” she adds.
Asian Insider: Looking back at ‘pageantry’ of Trump Presidency: A ringside view
In light of the upcoming US presidential election in November this year, ST’s global contributor and host Nirmal Ghosh looks back at Donald Trump’s tumultuous presidency between 2017 and 2021 with former Voice of America (VOA) White House Bureau Chief Steven Herman, who covered his run.
A lot of history was made during Trump’s presidency, says Mr Herman, with one of the most significant ones being his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore and a sequel later in Vietnam, which ultimately resulted in little to no change in the relationship between both the US and North Korea.
Mr Herman noted that it was quickly apparent to various world leaders that Trump enjoyed being feted and was essentially franchising his name, such as with Trump wine and Trump University.
A few of them made certain to roll out the red carpet knowing that Trump’s mood heavily depended on how he was greeted and how his ego was massaged to a great degree by them.
In this podcast episode, Asian Insider host Nirmal Ghosh (left) speaks to Steve Herman (right), former Voice of America White House Bureau Chief. PHOTO: RIVERSIDE.FM/FA’IZAH SANI
On lessons learnt by the media covering Trump then and President Joe Biden now, Mr Herman says it is important to remember that all presidents are human beings too and have their fair share of off days.
“They have good days and bad days, and they may not always listen to their advisors, which is go out, read what’s written on the teleprompter for you and get the heck out of there and don’t blow it up,” he says.
There is unfortunately, a lot of focus especially by the conservative media in the United States, in not what Biden or Trump are saying, but how they are saying things.
“They’ll chop up a video to make it appear like he’s stumbling or sometimes physically stumbling as well. There’s a lot more emphasis on that. Of course, that also happened with Donald Trump as well. So it works both ways,” he says.
Once again, do also check out our True Crimes of Asia podcast series, which clinched the gold award for Best Podcast at the Digital Media Awards Asia 2024 in April, and third place for Best Podcast at the Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2024, both organised by the World Association of News Publishers (Wan-Ifra).
Discover our ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore’s War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times’ app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX