Night School

The arts might seem like the least important thing on our minds during the current pandemic. Jo Kukathas joins us this week to argue against this assumption, assuring us that it is ok to feel lost, so that we can discover our collective responsibility creatively. You can read the article that was mentioned in the podcast here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we are joined by anthropology major and gamelan ensemble director, Adam Farhan to explore what can we learn from the music of gamelan about limits and possibilities in the adaptive power of tradition.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How is the movement control order changing the ways educators teach? Joining us this week to dwell on learning under the condition of the new normal are two educators from across the private and public sectors, Prof. Ruslan Abdul Rahim and Dr. Azril K Ismail.Image Source: writix.co.ukSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heading into week 6 of the Movement Control Order, Haniff Baharudin and Simon Soon check up on each other to ponder about how social distancing is changing the way we interact with one another.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can a set of photographs help us to ‘restore’ the identities of other lived experiences? Hoo Fan Chon joins us via Skype to discuss the different ways for us to retrieve alternative histories via photographs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In what ways have the coronavirus pandemic changed the ways we communicate? How have we been adapting to the current situation? Joining us this week over Skype is researcher in medical history Por Heong Hong from the Universiti Sains Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the age of social media celebrityhood, Korean wave, and middle-class ennui, three guys decided to create a printed quarterly journal to explore the many different literary and cultural voices in the Malay language. Hafiz Hamzah, Badrul Hisham Ismail and Nazir Harith Fadzilah join us this week to speak about why form and style matters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do histories repeat themselves? For independent researcher Ong Kar Jin, repetition does not so much describe a historical process as a pattern of thinking where your average person tries to make meaning out of the past when faced with an uncertain future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new generation of activists/intellectuals are holding power to account. Huda Ramli, founder of Journal Sang Pemula, and Azura Nasrun, assistant manager of Rekod Media, join us this week to explore the cost of thinking.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysian Chinese literature is undergoing a new renaissance. Postdoctoral fellow at the Australia National University, Show Ying Xin, joins us this week to discuss the recent global attention that Mahua literature has been receiving.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is it about the photographic image that makes it so magical? Photo-historian Azril Ismail joins us this week to discuss the wonder that is photography.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

R.AGE has come of age and gone digital. Ian Yee joins us from behind the editor’s desk, to reflect on the principles of journalism he holds dearly to. He also shares with us what it takes to build a team of woke investigative journalists of the 21st century.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Museums and galleries today are offering new ways of engaging with their exhibitions and collections, catering tailor-made programmes to different age groups. Rahel Joseph, director of Ilham Gallery, comes on the show to share with us why education is a priority for the privately funded public art institution she heads.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can design teach us about the work of bringing people together for a conversation? How does it differ from social work? Italian researcher on social innovation, Viola Petrella, discusses how design is more than just making things pretty and what it can contribute to addressing larger social issues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mwaffa’a Al-Hajjar helps us to buka panggung for the year 2020. We discuss poetry, translation and the staying power of words. Because nothing is more pertinent or urgent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we cross over the threshold into 2020, nostalgia often looms large in our imagination. Haniff and Simon turns to each other to wonder aloud why we wax lyrical about the past.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senario is a sketch comedy series that aired on public TV station, TV3 from June 1996 to 2013. Why take them seriously? Luqman Lee, a lecturer in screen studies from the University of Malaya, explores what television culture can tell us about state narratives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Researcher and community builder Rocky How visits us from Singapore and shares with us his long term interest to critically unpack social housing rhetoric through fostering inclusive conversations around issues of land justice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 How do we write a story about a colonial city from the perspective of the colonised? Scholar of Zamboanga’s visual culture, Felice Noelle Rodriguez, suggests we are required to place the city in its geographic context as it is part of events and changes of its neighbours and their relations as well with others. It is a story of borrowings and sharing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What changes the way we communicate with one another in the 19th century and how did it change the world of literature? Wan Azriq joins us this week to discuss Munshi Abdullah, a pioneer in modern Malay literature, as a social media influencer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kellie’s Castle has been a cornerstone of Batu Gajah's history, receiving around 200,000 visitors each year. These numbers saw an interesting spike recently since the castle opened its doors to the public at night for the first time, exclusively in the month of October. The national heritage is an architecture carved in culture and shrouded in mystery. Admittedly, there's something ominous about the mansion that keeps its antiquity alive. And more importantly, what lies ahead for Kellie’s Castle in the future. BFM News explores.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we examine the fascinating life of Luso-Malay mestiço cosmographer Manuel Godinho de Erédia, who lived and worked in the Portuguese Estado da Índia (including Malacca) around the turn of the seventeenth century. Chase Caldwell Smith, co-producer of the Global History Podcast, crosses over from the intern desk here at BFM to join us in exploring hybrid identities that empire and cultural exchange helped to shape in the early years of globalisation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Museums in our part of the world used to be called the Ajaib-khana, or the wonder house. It was a place that inspired through the collection and display of artefacts to tell a story about belonging to a place and also in the world. Joining us this week is Qaleeda Talib, a history graduate with a passion for public history. We explore the big question - what are museums established for? Are they still relevant today? How has it changed over time?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What value can Islam bring to a state that prides itself for upholding laïcité (or secularism) as its founding principles? This week we are joined by Abdennour Bidar, a French philosopher on Islamic culture, who insists that understanding religion in our increasingly multicultural society can only happen if we are willing to engage in a conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is renewed interest in history amongst the younger generation today and they are thinking about the value of history differently. One of them is Nadine Azalea Faisal, who joins us in our conversation this week. She has just returned from the University of Chicago from her undergraduate studies, where she read Indian Ocean history as well as South Asian languages and civilisations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The measure of democracy is not always defined by a process of consensus-building. The majority is not always right. Helping us understand the rights of migrants and refugees in this light, and her process of learning how to care is Elise Arya Chen, programme officer at Tenaganita.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Media reportage on social movements can sometimes verge on the sensational. The story of a protest is often more than the confrontations one sees in the news. Joining us this week is creative hubs researcher and urbanist, Clarissa Lim, to explore what is at stake and the community building work that is seldom reported when a protest is not a one day street party but a marathon in search of one's identity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Punk is more than the music one listens to or the fashion one spots. Joining us this week is Joe Kidd, guitarist of punk rock band Carburetor Dung and historian of Southeast Asian rock and roll, to explore the moral universe of punks in Malaysia. We talk about his coming of age in Dungun Terengganu, the many different art worlds that punk would grant him access into, and also what it means to grow old as a punk - which is also a story about class, race, power, community, agency, and being true to oneself.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We spend so much of our time living in a space that takes on various degrees in semblance to reality - the digital world. What do we make of this world? How is it compelling us to rethink our commonplace notion of self and identity? Ong Kar Jin, full-time tech policy analyst, and amateur internet ethnographer introduces us to different facets of virtuality. He considers how this social form of consciousness-extension is both changing and reinforcing our understanding of what makes us human.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The circulation and appeal of Western operatic groups from the early 19th century across Asia marked the emergence of a shared Western imperial culture that transcended national and colonial borders of Portuguese, Dutch, British and Spanish settlements. Joining us this week is historian Akiko Sugiyama from the history department at the University of Malaya, to discuss how music and performance - concerning unrequited love, courtly intrigues, murderous rage - became a shared cultural reference amongst a new generation of transnational political elite in the colonies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Malaysians celebrate and reflect over what it means to live together as an imagined community in such fractious times, we thought that perhaps it is worth revisiting a particular ideal, planted almost thirty years ago by our then and current Prime Minister, that once offered a roadmap towards unity, prosperity, happiness and peace - Wawasan 2020. Joining us in the studio is Lim Sheau Yun, a researcher who is currently developing an archival project next year on this futurist ideal. We assess its legacies and explore what was it like growing up with this vision at the most formative periods of our lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Night School is embarking on a new journey, and before we make that next step, we’ll reflect on what we’ve done so far, and ponder the importance of discussing ideas and theories within the context of contemporary society.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two BFM-type Malays try their best to translate some words from their own language. It turned out to be more complicated than they thought. Tune in to find out what they learned along the way. This episode is brought to you by pasrah, beria-ia, selamba, lantak, berkecimpung, leka, menyendeng, and lepa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We welcome Jamaluddin Aziz to the show to talk about the power of horror films. What makes this genre so compelling? Is it universal? What sort of entertainment does it provide? Tune in!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vipassana is a ten-day silent meditational retreat that aims to help you see things the way they are. How does it work? How does it feel? Stretch therapist and financial analyst Teh Chi Chang explains the fundamentals to us.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This time we venture into the curious emphasis on "passivity" that is taken for granted in everyday Malay expressions. What does this say about our distinct appreciation of tact? Is there more to it than just an aversion to confrontation or straight-talking? More importantly, is it even properly "passive?"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cheah Yi Ting gives us an introduction on the psychology of music: its main questions, trajectories and upcoming developments.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We stumble into the fascinating terrain of “hati” to appreciate its capacity to articulate the rich messiness of human attachments. Please be advised that this episode contains positive appraisals of interpersonal dependency and entanglements.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sivarajan Arumugam tempts you to join Parti Sosialis Malaysia's annual socialism conference. What do they offer for 2018? Tune in to find out!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is liberating to know your limits, or so we learn from Aiman Abu Bakar's journey as a boxer. There is no way to discover what you're made of until you're put to the test. But this requires methodically placing yourself at the heart of discomfort and injury. We reflect on how professional fighting is a window into refining the distinct textures of your growth, as much as it is a sport.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have a brief discussion about what to do with the self. How does one balance an openness to risk and the unknown, while also nourishing the right emotional and moral resources to remain resilient through the painful demands of growth? Where do values come into play? Sandy Clarke offers his perspectives, again.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special live edition features special guest Jean-Christophe Rufin, notable author, historian, doctor and diplomat, as he shares his thoughts on the state of world politics today. We discuss his unique career trajectory and general outlook on life and politics, including the shifting terrain of empire. The event was jointly organised by BFM 89.9 and Alliance Francaise.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The era of the ego creeps up to you in different ways: self-obsession, hypersensitivity and inadequacy, among other things. Sandy Clarke offers some insights on how to think through this circumstance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two BFM-type Malays try their best to translate some words from their own language. It turned out to be more complicated than they thought. Tune in to find out what they learned along the way. This episode is brought to you by peduli, tak kuasa, buang tabiat, tersengih-sengih, and terima kasih.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have a light chat this week with German journalist Cora Knoblauch on the ironies of globalisation. With so much of the world levelled to become 'similar' how do we envision 'difference' and 'uniqueness' that do not fall into the trappings of reactionary politics? What other models of modernity are there other than the European one?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take a brief tour into the psychology of ageing with Karuna Sarah Thomas. What sets this apart from other psychological fields? And more curiously, why is it a growing field?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aka Post-Coital Tristesse, Aka Post-Nut Syndrome. However you call it, it refers to a distinct form of sadness that emerges after sex. Clinical psychologist Vizla Kumaresan explains its psychological and social dimensions for us.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We get to the bottom of emotional gaslighting and blackmail with Eugene Tee. How does enmeshment become an emotional tug of war and worse, a form of manipulation?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three BFM-type Malays try their best to translate some words from their own language. It turned out to be more complicated than they thought. Tune in to find out what they learned along the way. This episode is brought to you by masyuk, merapu, membawang and many more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Filmmaker, scholar and skater Dag Yngvesson takes us through his observations on Indonesian pop culture and its grapplings with modernisation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.