A Bit of Culture

What's your Mount Everest - the thing that feels impossibly out of reach but might just be more achievable than it looks? That's the question host Kam Raslan poses to documentary filmmaker Ahmad Yazid and economist Hafiz Noor Shams on this episode of A Bit of Culture, and the answers range from small daily battles to accomplishments already conquered. Hafiz then turns the conversation to queuing, and why something as mundane as waiting your turn might say more about a society than we realise. In the final part of the show, Yazid, fresh off an expedition that took him to Everest Base Camp for his latest documentary, talks about the challenges of capturing a story at altitude, and what he chose to focus on once the cameras started rolling. Three topics that climb higher than you'd expect from where they start, in another episode of A Bit of Culture that leaves you with plenty to think about.Image Source: Clairey Sunshine / Pexels.com

Dhanya Nair and Zan Azlee join Kam Raslan on this episode of A Bit of Culture to talk about doing things solo, chatting with your pets, and South Korea's growing cultural prominence. Dhanya starts the show by talking about certain people's reluctance to do things by themselves, and how that can be a missed opportunity for them. Zan then asks the group whether they talk to their pets, after observing his wife talking to their family pets and feeling bemused by it. In the second part of the show, Kam shares his fascination with South Korea's continuously growing cultural prominence across the globe and wonders when it started. Another episode of A Bit of Culture that has a bit of everything for everyone!Image Source: Oriol Segon Torra / Pexels.com

As the world moves deeper into technological integration and automation, would some people prefer to pay extra for that human touch? That's what Matt Armitage wonders in this week's episode of A Bit of Culture, as he analyses an experiment done by a company that charges a premium for your queries to be answered by a human instead of an AI chatbot. Then, our other guest Sheryll Paul talks about filler episodes in television series and asks why they've become a thing of the past in modern television. In the second part of the show, Kam talks about social media demographics on Facebook and other platforms. Three seemingly unrelated topics that flow together seamlessly for your listening pleasure.Image Source: Christina Morillo / Pexels.com

Bernice Chauly and Sharmilla Ganesan join Kam Raslan on this wonderful episode of A Bit of Culture to talk about magic, Swedish cake culture, and whether appreciating The Odyssey on 70mm IMAX is veering into snobbery. Kam starts the show with a chat on our relationship with the mystical and how there seems to be a reverence towards it, even if we do not necessarily believe in it. Then, Bernice regales the group with the story of how the Swedes love their cakes and desserts, and how they commemorate every special occasion with a cake. In the second part of the show, Sharmilla ponders whether Christopher Nolan's decision to shoot The Odyssey on 70mm IMAX has led some to be a bit snobbish about how it should be viewed. Three fantastic topics to get you thinking about the world that we live in.Image Source: Ann H / Pexels.com

Why do we sometimes have a strong yearning for a past that we've never experienced? According to Kam, that's a phenomenon called anemoia. He unpacks what it means and reflects on a past that he strongly yearns for. Our two guests, Vernon Adrian Emuang and Ong Kar Jin, chime in with their thoughts before sharing their own topics — rethinking literacy and identity politics. Kar Jin ponders the state of literacy, inspired by some alarming statistics among students in the US, while Vernon questions whether there are ways to grow beyond identity politics. Three distinct topics that get you thinking about life — past, present and future.Image Source: Suzy Hazelwood / Pexels.com