PODCAST · society
A Life Less Ordinary
by Udhara de Silva
This is the interview series that looks at the little steps taken to make ordinary people extraordinary. Udhara de Silva and his co-hosts have fascinating conversations with artists, adventurers, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, misfits and rebels to show that there's something to learn from every journey.
Episodes
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Taking Batik to New Places: Fern Chua, Malaysia
Fern Chua is the award-winning founder of FERN, a Malaysian sustainable and high-end fashion label rediscovering the elegance of the ancient Asian fabric art form, Batik. Fern and I chatted earlier this year on the unexpected path that led her to Batik, the challenges building and growing her…
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Creating Australia's First Anti-Racist Comedy Club: Tina Zaman, Australia
Tina Zaman is a comedian, writer, teacher and founder of Tight5Comedy a unique platform in Sydney's comedy scene. Tight5's comedians of colour and allies have entertained thousands of fans, handpicked for their originality and social impact. Acts are empowered to explore both their comedic and...
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The Relentless Optimist: Matthew Chapman, Singapore & New Zealand
Matthew Chapman is an entrepreneur and investor who has mastered the art of relationship building. His company ChapmanCG finds HR leaders for the world's leading companies. He's an investor in Bawah Reserve, a luxurious and sustainable tropical island retreat that's a Condé Nast Traveler Top 10...
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On writing her first book, rejection, and diversity: T.P. Tovenaar, Sri Lanka
T.P. Tovenaar is a writer from London, born to Sri Lankan parents. For the last decade, she's called Colombo home. Her book, 'Mum's the Word', is a collection of hilarious and heartwarming stories about the relationship between a Sri Lankan mother and her British-born daughter, both trying to…
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The Warrior of Singapore's Kranji Countryside: Ivy Singh-Lim, Singapore
Ivy Singh-Lim founded Bollywood Veggies Organic Farm with her husband in Kranji, a northwestern suburb about 22 kilometres from the towering skyline of Singapore, showing an alternative, greener side to the country. Visitors can explore the village-like tropical farm, eat a mouth-watering,...
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Becoming MoneySmart: Vinod Nair, Singapore
Vinod Nair used the last of his life savings to set up a website and hire an intern. Today, that website, MoneySmart.sg, is Southeast Asia's leading personal finance portal, helping people compare loans, insurance, and credit cards. There's been a lot of press coverage in Singapore about the big...
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Irreverence is an Asset: Rosalyn Lee (Rozz), Singapore
Rosalyn Lee, or Rozz, is a Singaporean radio DJ and TV host with an incredibly adventurous career. She has featured in Elle and Esquire magazines, hosted Singapore's hottest radio shows, and interviewed everyone from Lana del Ray to Gene Simmons. She has not one but two travel shows. The first is...
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How to Make Things Cool: Andrew Ing, Singapore
Andrew Ing creates culture for a living, whose career is based on combining the cool with the commercial. In the early 90s he promoted concerts in Hong Kong for artists likes Diana Ross, Simply Red and Public Enemy. He then moved to Singapore to turn the nightclub Zouk into one of the top 10…
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The King of the Jacket: Thomas Wee, Singapore
Thomas Wee is a Singaporean fashion designer who has worked in the industry for over 4 decades. He is known for his masterful workmanship, cutting edge 3D forms and perfectly tailored suits. After building several high-end fashion labels serving South-East Asia's elite, the "King of the Jacket"...
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Breaking World Records & Breaking Taboos: Theresa Goh, Singapore
Theresa Goh is the first female Singaporean swimmer to qualify for the Paralympics. Vanessa and Udhara met the world-record breaker to talk about her childhood, how athletes compete over milliseconds to win races, being an openly gay public figure, and why accessibility should be a given in any...
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From Creative Public Servant to Tech Exec: Nic Foo, Singapore
Nicolas Foo has had a successful career with the Singapore Tourism Board, is a photographer whose experiences living in India inspired an exhibition, 'For Your Approval, Please', and has also been the head of business development for South-East Asia's largest tech startup and ride-hailing…
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Helping the Underdog: Adrian Sim, Singapore
Adrian Sim is a volunteer with Singapore's Workers' Party, the only opposition party to have elected members in parliament in a political system led since 1959 by the People's Action Party. Vanessa and Udhara sat down with Adrian at an 'HDB' apartment complex in Lorong Ah Soo, a Workers' Party...
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The Sibling Co-Founders of The Working Capitol: Ben & Saranta Gattie, Singapore
Ben and Saranta Gattie built The Working Capitol, a co-working space set up in a renovated former biscuit factory on Keong Saik Road. Since opening in 2015, it has become one of Asia's leading co-working spaces. Hosts Vanessa & Udhara spoke to them at The Working Capitol about: Growing up as…
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Redefining Success by Embracing Individuality: Dr. Vanessa Von Auer, Singapore
Dr. Vanessa Von Auer is one of Asia's leading child experts and founded Singapore's one-of-a-kind Integrated International School, where students get the complete opposite of a "one-size-fits-all" education. Dr. Von Auer invited Udhara and Vanessa to her school to talk about psychology and...
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The Business of Design & the Design of Businesses: Jonathan Bonsey & John Palmer, Singapore
Jonathan Bonsey and John Palmer have called Singapore home for the last 3 decades. Jonathan Bonsey runs Bonsey Design, a design agency which has built iconic Asian brands in entertainment, media, retail, and much more. John Palmer is a serial entrepreneur who's built e-commerce, social media and...
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The Magic of Acting: Tan Kheng Hua, Singapore
Tan Kheng Hua is an award-winning actress and producer who has worked on projects in theatre, TV and film since the early 90s. She was the Empress Dowager on Netflix's Marco Polo, has produced a critically acclaimed cabaret act, The Dim Sum Dollies, and most recently, played the role of Kerry Chu...
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Everything with Soul: Vanessa Fernandez, Singapore
Show creator Udhara de Silva chats with co-host Vanessa Fernandez, who's been plugged into Singapore's culture for the past 20 years. In this episode Vanessa gives us an overview on Singapore, enlightens us on its music history, talks about her career in radio, and gives us a sneak peak of our...
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Starting Up in Sri Lanka: Indi Samarajiva, Sri Lanka
Outspoken. Irreverent. No bullshit. These are rare qualities in Sri Lankan society, and even rarer for Sri Lankan influencers who run their own companies. Indi Samarajiva started YAMU, the digital guide to Colombo and Sri Lanka 5 years ago, and the way the company operates says a lot about its...
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Jaffna Boy: Danu Innasithamby, Sri Lanka
Colombo is a city with many personalities – you have personalities and then you have Personalities with a capital P. The first lot are people that everybody knows because Sri Lanka is a small island, and Colombo is somewhat of a tiny bubble within the small island. These people are related to…
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Anonymous Creator: The Sooriya Village, Sri Lanka
This episode's guest has a life deeply rooted in music. His grandfather was a pioneering Sri Lankan pop music entrepreneur. And today, at just 25 years old, our guest is turning the Sri Lankan music industry on its head through the creative haven he founded, The Sooriya Village. The Sooriya…
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Political Provocateur: Venuri Perera, Sri Lanka
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone who seems to say things just to provoke a reaction? No matter what the topic is about? Often we just go with the flow and keep our cool. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we react, in varying degrees of emotion. And sometimes, those...
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Adopted by an island: Alice Luker, Sri Lanka
Travel opens our eyes to so many different ways of living, different perspectives, different cultures, and of course, different kinds of cuisine. You could fall so deeply in love with a country, that you dream of one day living there and adopting it as your second home. Well that's exactly what...
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Failed builder, indifferent mathematician, personal trainer to the rich and infamous (and writer): Ashok Ferrey, Sri Lanka
Hosts Tanya & Udhara talk to author of 'Serendipity', Ashok Ferrey, about his colourful life across many continents. He's one of Sri Lanka's best-selling authors in English and his latest book is 'The Ceaseless Chatter of Demons'. This episode will show you how an interest in many different…
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Photographing a 3000-year old martial art while working three jobs: Reza Akram, Sri Lanka
Hosts Tanya & Udhara talk to Reza Akram, a Sri Lankan photographer who's worked with the British Council, Al Jazeera, and the UN. He proves that everyone has a real chance to pursue their wildest dreams. And not just one chance, but many, many chances. But wildest dreams don't come true…
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Sex, Drugs...and HIV: Hans Billimoria, Sri Lanka
Every country has its taboos, and Sri Lanka is no different. 'Sex', 'drugs', and 'HIV' are all words that are uttered in hushed tones. To find out more, hosts Tanya & Udhara talked to Hans Billimoria from the Grassrooted Trust. He works with people living with HIV, people who use drugs, who sell...
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Four Years to Everest: Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala & Johann Peiris, Sri Lanka
When you think of a womens rights advocate and a hair-designer from the tropical isle of Sri Lanka, do you instantly jump to picture them conquering Mount Everest, one of the coldest and harshest places on earth? Well these are two people who did just that: one shines a light on gender equality,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This is the interview series that looks at the little steps taken to make ordinary people extraordinary. Udhara de Silva and his co-hosts have fascinating conversations with artists, adventurers, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, misfits and rebels to show that there's something to learn from every journey.
HOSTED BY
Udhara de Silva
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does A Life Less Ordinary have?
A Life Less Ordinary currently has 26 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is A Life Less Ordinary about?
This is the interview series that looks at the little steps taken to make ordinary people extraordinary. Udhara de Silva and his co-hosts have fascinating conversations with artists, adventurers, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, misfits and rebels to show that there's something to learn from every...
How often does A Life Less Ordinary release new episodes?
A Life Less Ordinary has 26 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to A Life Less Ordinary?
You can listen to A Life Less Ordinary on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts A Life Less Ordinary?
A Life Less Ordinary is created and hosted by Udhara de Silva.
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