Live & Learn

Recently, the Supreme Court in the US announced that it will not hear the case of McKesson v. Doe. This decision leaves in place a lower court decision that effectively eliminated the right to organize a mass protest in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The implication is that a protest organizer faces potential financial consequences if a single attendee at a mass protest commits an illegal act.Many Americans are worried about what this means for freedom of assembly in the US. So on today’s episode we’re going to be talking a little bit about this case but also more broadly look at whether the US and The West is experiencing democratic backsliding.We speak to Peter Beattie, Political Economist & Political Psychologist, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).Image Credit: Shutterstock

Contemporary Malay gamelan group Gangsapura was first established back in October 2016, with the aim of promoting Malaysian culture, developing traditional arts, and instilling a love of the arts to the community at large. Founded by Teuku Umar Ilany and Nur Diyana Nadirah, the group is made up of musicians from various backgrounds, and they recently received six nominations for the upcoming 19th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards. We speak to Umar and Diyana to discuss the Gangsapura story, and to find out more about their brand new studio, which is set to open in late April.

The BOH Cameronian Arts Awards (BCAA) are back for its 19th edition, continuing with its aim to be Malaysia’s premier award for the performing arts, through recognising, rewarding and raising the bar of excellence for Malaysian performing arts practitioners. Organised by arts company Kakiseni since 2002, we catch up with Low Ngai Yuen, the President of Kakiseni, to discuss the efforts the company has taken to keep the awards going through the years, and to get a glimpse into the nominees for this edition, and what's in store at the upcoming awards ceremony.

In a world where news of war, natural disasters, acts of random violence, and more that happen anywhere in the world can reach us in a matter of minutes, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale of it all. Some of us have probably chosen to switch off from the news instead, to avoid the distressing feelings that accompany bad news. But is there a way for us to stay informed without feeling numb to what’s happening in the world? We speak to Dr Debbie Ling, compassion researcher and educator; she’s also a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Monash University. Image credit: Shutterstock

As the current war and genocide in Gaza by Israel continues, life in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult and impossible, as people struggle to even find food to survive. In fact, what we often see on social media is only a glimpse of the horrors that Palestinians are going through. For Palestinian refugees outside of Gaza, many are attempting to fundraise to help get their loved ones out of the country - one of them is Manal Adlouni. Having been in Malaysia since 2015, she shares her own journey of leaving Gaza and why she’s trying to get her mother and brother’s family out as well. You can contribute to Manal’s fundraiser here.

The Tunku Abdul Rahman Scholarship is open for application. The scholarship is an undergraduate degree scholarship open to high-potential, deserving students with a strong commitment to contribute to the development of Malaysia. What’s interesting is that this isn’t a merit-based scholarship but a holistic and equitable scholarship. We speak to Raenuga Indran and Celine Looi from Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman.Image credit: Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman

The Tuyang Initiative describe themselves as a community-led arts management company, with a dream. Established in 2017, this Miri-based award-winning social enterprise is focused on Dayak cultural heritage, and aims to generate meaningful livelihoods for cultural custodians, and lead efforts in its continuity. This is done by facilitating capacity building and participation into the creative and cultural industries through strategic industry partnerships. Founded by father -daughter team John Wan Usang and Juvita Tatan Wan, the team also want their culture and traditions to continue well into the future – and thrive. The team have been invited to perform at the World Music & Dance Festival in Japan in August 2024, and are currently raising funds to get there. We speak to Juvita to find out more about their work and plans. Image credit: The Tuyang Initiative

The Cipta Seni Incubator is a new artist development programme for performance artists based in Malaysia. It’s a three-month artist development programme in Malaysia in which participants will receive guidance and feedback on their work. There will be mentorship and workshops, culminating in a live event where participants will get to showcase their work-in-progress to an audience. The programme will be running from May to September this year.  We speak to Sharmilla Ganesan and Tom Curteis, Co-Founders, Cipta Seni Incubator.

A Malaysian filmmaker currently based in Chicago, Jean Ho has been working on directing and producing an animated docuseries called 'Invisible People', which highlights Malaysia's stateless and refugee communities. Set to be released sometime in May this year, the documentary explores why citizenship should be a fundamental right rather than a government-mandated privilege, and why stateless and refugee communities deserve access to basic rights like education, affordable healthcare, and a stable income, as other Malaysians do. We find out more about this animated documentary series, and how Jean hopes to enact big and small changes through the stories showcased in the film.Image credit: Invisible People

What does a gallery, museum, and cafe look like when all rolled into one space? That’s what Harta Space is, as an initiative by Habib Jewels to feature local artists as well as the unique heritage of Peranakan jewellery in its museum. Here to share more about what they do is Harta’s director, Mirsham Meer. Image credit: Habib Jewels

What is it like working with visual effects if you were colourblind? Some of us might think it’ll be extremely difficult, if not impossible but McLelun Lee has shown that it can be done. Currently the director of the R&D Studio, a creative content studio, he joins us to share more about his journey from a game developer to being a filmmaker and the work he and his team are doing.  

Gene Eu is a Malaysian artist whose interests and dedication lie with sustainability and conservation. His artistic journey has taken him from Santa Monica to rural North Carolina in the US, to back home here in Malaysia, where he is currently focusing on new art techniques and sustainable farming methods to promote harmony between agriculture and wildlife in the region. He joins us to share more about how these different environments have influenced his work and perspective, and we also discuss his body of works featured in Things That Move, which is an art exhibition happening at The Godown KL, that celebrates Malaysia's rich biodiversity, and which features a series of paintings of wildlife mammals. Image credit: The Godown

Taylor Swift became the latest high-profile woman to become the target of AI-generated online sexual abuse, when explicit deepfake photos of her were created and went viral across social media platforms. In her case, it was quickly taken down but what about other women who don’t have the kind of publicity and influence that she has? We speak to Dr Dyah Pitaloka, a senior lecturer in communications & media studies to find out how emerging technologies, especially generative AI, is disproportionately harming women and whether there is a solution to this growing problem. Image credit: Shutterstock

Can children's literature spark conversations around sustainability, health, and social issues? These were the questions posed for the Jom Kita Bincang! (Let’s talk about it!) project, which was spearheaded by the Embassy of Sweden in Malaysia, together with the Raja Tun Uda Library, and the Malaysia Board on Books for Young People. The impact of Swedish children's literature on global kids' books has been significant, and over time has moved from "watered-down” or “preachy" to instead encourage children to be thinkers, to dream and to ask questions about the world, with a focus on the “child’s perspective.” We speak to His Excellency Dr Joachim Bergström, the Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia, and Ingrid Källström, a pedagogue and librarian, to discuss the importance and profound impact of Swedish tales on young readers worldwide, and also to find out more about the events offered for Malaysians through the Jom Kita Bincang! project.

Junior Achievement (JA) Asia Pacific - an arm of JA Worldwide – is an Non-Profit focused on empowering youth through education, financial literacy and entrepreneurship programmes to get young people ready for the future. We speak to Maziar Sabet, President and CEO of JA Asia Pacific on the NGO and their upcoming Company of the Year competition.Image credit: JA Asia Pacific

In April 2023, Malaysia passed the bill for the mandatory death penalty to be repealed, marking a significant step forward for human rights advocates. But that is only the first step towards the complete abolishment of the death penalty in Malaysia, which can still be handed down for several crimes. We speak to Katrina Jorene Maliamauv of Amnesty International Malaysia on the need to push for a complete abolition of the death penalty. Image credit: Shutterstock

Ho Yewweng and Gordon Lewis are long-time collaborators who have worked on several films together. They first formed Lewis and Ho Productions to make the film Secret Child: The Bridge in 2017, which was based on Gordon's bestselling book, Secret Child, and which went on to win many international awards. This led to even more film collaborations between the two including Mical, Dream of the Return and The Maverick, which cover various topics such as dealing with dyslexia and overcoming loneliness. We speak to both Yewweng and Gordon to find out more about their careers, collaborations and current projects, and why they want to make films that are impactful and which shine a light on lesser-discussed topics.

Bersih has released their Election Observations Report of the 6 state elections that took place in 2023. The report details various violations and misconduct that took place during the elections and also provides suggestions to make elections fairer and more accessible. We speak to Asraf Sharafi, Senior Manager, Bersih.Image credit: Shutterstock Inc.

Earlier this month (February 2024), we heard of yet another tragic incident where a young child died after being left in the back of the car, following several other similar incidents late last year. Often described as forgotten baby syndrome, it’s every parents’ nightmare. So why does this happen and how can we collectively prevent it from happening? We find out from consultant paediatrician, Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS.  

Navigating the art world is tricky - being creative and producing art is one thing, but navigating the business side of being a successful artist requires one to also be an entrepreneur, marketer, accountant, sales expert, inventory manager, social media strategist, and so much more. It can be quite overwhelming. So that's where an artist coach comes in, bringing their expertise to the intersection of creativity and personal growth. We speak to Melor Mokhtar, an artist coach who helps artists achieve their career goals and guide them through their challenges, to discuss why she believes in unleashing the business potential within every artist, and how she goes about doing that. Image credit: Melor Mokhtar