Sound On

On our 17th episode of Sound On, we are touching on the topics of philosophy, ethics, moral issues. We’re delighted to have Dominic with us to share his take on this discussion. We discussed the difference between what we can do and what we should do, scientism, depths of the human mind, and good versus bad. We also briefly discuss abortion, religion, and stigma.

This week, we have Sam with us to discuss topics of leaving school and university, how much the circumstances around us have changed us as a person, outgrowing friends and taking control of our lives. We also touched on our career choices and goals. At this stage, do we already know what we want to do for the rest of our lives? Where do we see ourselves in five years? How much did our involvement in student societies affect our career decisions and goals? Tune in to find out more!

This week’s episode is a tough discussion on fast fashion. What are the hidden problems of this industry? Who is paying the actual price for our cheap clothing and endless purchases? Why do we fall into the trap of consumerism and capitalism? We discuss human exploitation, as well as other social and environmental impacts of the garment industry. This entire cycle of insane supply and demand has to be put to an end. The question is, how? Tune in to join our discussion on this issue.

On the 14th episode of Sound On, we’re dipping our feet into the world of biology and gene engineering. We have our friend Pei Cing to discuss this highly debated topic with us. Where do we draw the line between ethical and unethical? What will be the impacts of a genetically engineered society? Will designer babies be the norm soon? Is this really a far-fetched idea or is it actually closer than we imagine? Tune in to join our discussion!

After a short break, Sound On is back with our 13th episode! This week, we touch on vulnerabilities and leaving our comfort zones. We share about our most vulnerable moments such as leaving home for the first time, entering university, being in new environments and of course, starting this podcast channel. We also unpack the idea of why vulnerability is an essential part of life that should not be avoided.

This week, we’re back with a more pressing topic of university tuition fees. This issue has always been a controversial one as some may think that education should be free. From the point of view of international students studying in the UK, is it fair that we pay more than double the amount of tuition fees compared to home students for the exact same education and facilities? In light of the present circumstances (COVID-19 and UCU strikes), this issue has intensified because students are clearly disadvantaged as we are not able to make full use of university facilities. Some may even question the quality of virtual education. It is our pleasure to have Serena with us to discuss whether international students are entitled to tuition fee refunds.

This week, we had a conversation with our friend, Aliessa about social media and how it affects our daily lives. While there are many benefits to the use of social media, it is undeniable that there are also many negatives that come with its usage.  Is Facebook listening to our conversations? How much of our personal data does Facebook have access to? How does social media affect our mental health? Why is there a stigma against being a social media influencer? Tune in to find out our thoughts on these questions!

Addressing an Instagram post about scholarships that recently went viral, Chris and Melissa discuss whether scholarships really serve its purpose of helping those in need. Do these financial aids further increase the disparity between social classes? Touching on the myth of meritocracy, why does this overemphasis on academic achievements and co-curricular activities put the B40 community at a significant disadvantage? How can the Malaysian education system be transformed to make education more holistic? Tune in to find out our take on this topic!

For our 9th episode, we are happy to have Zhi Yin with us to discuss what it really means to be an introvert or an extrovert. Do introverts find it more difficult to climb the social ladder in society? Do extroverts really have it easy in life? What can we do to stand out despite being introverts? Tune in to our discussion to find out more about how we can maneuver in a society that has a clear bias towards extroverts.

This week on Sound On, we will be talking about our favourite movies, tv-series and kdramas such as Game of Thrones, Parasite, Avengers, Crash Landing On You, Descendants of the Sun and several others. We dissect each film and discuss their takeaway messages, relating them back to real-life issues and how it shapes our perception of society. A big thank you to everyone who has been supporting us since Day 1, keeping us motivated to continue doing what we enjoy. Sending love to all and see you next episode xx  Warning: Contains minor spoilers for Parasite, Harry Potter, Touch Your Heart and Avengers.

In the 7th episode of Sound On, we have co-founder of Kitarr.co, Sean with us to discuss the pressing issue of climate change. Is COVID-19 a permanent positive step towards climate change? What exactly is a sustainable lifestyle? How do we, as the younger generation, use our voice to make a difference in the environment? Why is it so difficult to live sustainably? What role does the government play in implementing sustainable systems in our daily life? Tune in to find out about our take on this topic.

The past week has been a difficult week for many people who are aware of the recent developments regarding race relations across the globe. Therefore, this week, Sound On confronts the issue of Racism and Disobedience with Nick and Dylan. We discuss our thoughts on racism in general alongside the debate between the use of civil and uncivil disobedience in tackling racism. We address difficult questions such as does violence betray the cause of anti-racist movements and what more can we do to end racism. We take an approach that addresses racism on all fronts, including in Malaysia and Indonesia, while also touching on whether vernacular schools contribute to the problem of racist stereotypes in Malaysia. A big thank you to Dylan, our first guest from outside of Sheffield, for joining our discussion!

Unrequited love, polygamy, flings - who are we to say that these aren’t love? Do we get into relationships for love or convenience? In this week’s episode, we have our friend, Khan with us to challenge the norms of love and typical relationships. Tune in to find out more about our take on love!

In this week's episode, Sound On welcomed Farhan to discuss what are our priorities as students. In this increasingly competitive world where students are expected to participate in various activities in and outside the university, is it enough for us to only focus on our studies? Will we lose out if we do not get involved in extracurricular activities? Why does our society normalise hustling and overworking? Do we tend to push ourselves too hard? Tune in to our discussion to find out!

This week's episode of Sound On revolves around the topic of self-love where we discussed with our friend Hui Yen why we often feel like we're never good enough. Hence, we decided to touch on the effects of peer pressure, social media and validation-seeking behaviours. We also shared our thoughts on physical alterations like plastic surgery and why self-love isn't very often discussed among men. Additionally, we shared our personal ways of discovering self-love and our identities with the hope that this may help anyone out there who needs ideas for their journey towards self-love

In the second episode of Sound On, Melissa and Chris led a detailed discussion on how the world is coping with COVID-19. Joining them were Ashvin and Nick who provided a student perspective of how the fields of engineering and politics have responded to the pandemic. Melissa also provided a student perspective on how the bioscience field has responded to the pandemic alongside explaining the development of a vaccine. Melissa, Chris, Nick and Ashvin then touched on whether the easing of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia is premature.

For the very first episode of Sound On, we have Melissa and Chris, the founders of this channel, to introduce themselves and talk about what inspired them to start podcasting. They also shared how they have been coping with COVID-19 and how this has changed their routine as university students.