Conspiracy theories about the Princess of Wales swirl online after she sat out of public events due to health issues.  Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. Where is the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, the wife of Prince William? That is the question on much of the Internet’s mind over the past weeks, after the Princess was last seen in official capacity on Christmas Day, 2023.  In January 2024, Kensington Palace - the official residence of Prince William and Princess Kate - announced that th ..read more

One of our guests also shows us the brilliance of her lyrics by reading them out to us. What are your faves? Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. American superstar Taylor Swift has dominated pop culture with her mega-successful Eras Tour, her historic fourth Grammy win for Album of the Year in 2024 and her fairytale-like romance with American football star Travis Kelce.  And she will soon be bringing her tour for a sold-out six-night show at National Stadium in Singapore from March 2-9. Ahead of h ..read more

Revisiting the legacy of a 1990s Singaporean icon Synopsis: Can I Tell You Something Crazy is a new scripted series under the #PopVultures banner, which examines with fresh eyes, events that shook Asian media and entertainment. In 1990, Singaporean model Bonny Hicks, just 22 at the time, published her first book Excuse Me, Are You A Model? The book was meant to be a tell-all about the modelling industry. How does one become a model, what are the perks of the job and are there any secrets to success? But instead of writing about modelling, Hicks ended up writing about her own life. She shared a ..read more

Host Jan Lee recaps everything from Barbieheimer to K-pop boyband BTS entering the military Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. As 2023 comes to an end, #PopVultures host recap and give updates on some of the biggest happenings in entertainment across the world, from the revenge concert-going and ticket-buying mania that gripped Singapore to the writers and actors strike in Hollywood and the fall of idol management agency Johnny & Associates in Japan. She also runs down her list of favourite t ..read more

Three Swifties discuss the pop star’s romance, music and how she has changed and matured Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. #PopVultures host and recent Swiftie convert Jan Lee invites The Straits Times lifestyle journalists Yamini Chinnuswamy and Charmaine Lim, both fellow Swifties, to talk about superstar Taylor Swift’s new relationship with American football player Travis Kelce.  They discuss the masterful rollout of the Taylor-Travis romance and how well Swift uses the media and pop culture z ..read more

How they "mass-reported" to Chinese authorities, a fan fiction about him and fellow actor Wang Yibo. Synopsis: Can I Tell You Something Crazy is a new scripted series under the #PopVultures banner, which examines with fresh eyes, events that shook Asian media and entertainment. In 2019, Chinese actor Xiao Zhan was easily one of the hottest stars in China. The previously little-known star had broken out that year in China and across the world with the mega-hit Chinese fantasy period series The Untamed, where he acted opposite fellow Chinese star Wang Yibo. Adapted from a hugely popular boys' lo ..read more

Each follow on the audio apps below and a rating really helps us! Happy listening! Synopsis: A brand new feature is within The Straits Times app, which you can download from the Apple app store or the Google Play store. For those of you who already have it, the latest version update now has a dedicated Podcast Section, where you can listen to our latest incoming show episodes and check out back episodes too. You can also choose to follow our podcast RSS feeds, or the shows on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, or via the Google voice assistant and Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. If you ..read more

It can be traced back to his daughter's lifelong fixation with the Hong Kong movie star. Synopsis: Can I Tell You Something Crazy is a new scripted series under the #PopVultures banner, which examines with fresh eyes, events that shook Asian media and entertainment. In March 2007, Hong Kong movie star Andy Lau attended a joyous event organised by Andy World Club, his official fan club. There, he played games, chatted with fans and took photos - including one with Yang Lijuan, a Chinese fan who had travelled from her hometown of Gansu province in China to meet her lifelong idol. Everything seem ..read more

This marks the first time since 1960, that both labour unions representing writers and actors, are on strike together. Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. Despite the double summer blockbuster of Barbieheimer - which brought in the fourth largest weekend box office of all time - Hollywood is currently at a standstill. Amid deteriorating working conditions and salaries that have failed to keep pace with rising inflation, the writers and actors of America are on strike. The Writers Guild of America (WGA ..read more

Explore the emergence of an unprecedented #MeToo movement in the Taiwanese entertainment industry. Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times examines the ins and outs of pop culture in the Asian entertainment and Hollywood scene. The Taiwanese entertainment industry has been rocked by an unprecedented #MeToo wave, where sexual assault and harassment allegations have been levelled at several prominent celebrities, including hosts Mickey Huang and Blackie Chen as well as boy band Fahrenheit member Aaron Yan. In this episode, #PopVultures host Jan Lee discusses how and why this reckoning on sexual ..read more