Podcast
Home on the Dot
Hosted by Home on the Dot · EN
Welcome to Home on the Dot, the podcast that explores the meaning of home on the little red dot called Singapore.
We feature stories inspired and produced by students from the National University of Singapore, opening a door onto the everyday lives, hopes, fears, memories, and dreams of young people in this dynamic, fascinating country.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Relocating Home
Feb 7, 202200:40:49Tap to summarizeSingapore is a country on the move. Those who can afford to do so are moving up the housing ladder, from public housing flat, to private condo, to landed property. Those who cannot afford to climb the housing ladder – specifically residents of subsidized rental flats – may also be on the move, but not by choice. In this episode of Home on the Dot, we explore the relocation of rental flat residents. We tour Dakota Crescent, an HDB estate recently demolished, and talk with volunteers who helped residents move. We talk about Singapore’s largely invisible poor and their unique housing challenges, and we discuss how “befrienders” try to create a sense of community amid the changes that come with relocation.
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Homebody
Feb 28, 202100:28:04Tap to summarizeWhen Covid lockdowns began around a year ago, some people joked that homebodies didn't even notice. While many young people bristled at being stuck at home, it was thought that homebodies were glad to no longer attend class in person or pretend to have fun at parties. In this episode of Home on the Dot, we discuss how Covid-19 has impacted young people, particularly the experience of being under lockdown in the constant presence of family. As we mark our first year anniversary of living with Covid-19, we hear from NUS Geographer Tracey Skelton, who discusses the disruptions Covid has brought to children and young people, for whom spending much of the past year stuck at home has meant a loss of independence and a feeling that their lives are on hold. We also hear from Zack, a Japanese Studies major and self-proclaimed homebody, for whom lockdown brought on an existential crisis, as home spaces that were previously comforting became weird with his family around 24/7. What do we lose when we are all forced to be homebodies?
Transcribe →The Home Game
Feb 15, 202100:34:05Tap to summarizeBuying your first home can be a daunting experience. It requires a long-term commitment and a tolerance for risk, not to mention a willingness to compromise if you buy with a partner. Many young Singaporeans buy their first home through the Build-to-Order, or BTO, scheme. These are flats in towers that have not yet been built. Applicants must meet strict requirements and wait years between application and the handover of keys. This birth of a home requires planning and patience. Unfortunately, even the most organized couples may fail in their first or second attempt, thus delaying both a couple’s marriage and the moment they can step into their first home. In this episode of Home on the Dot, we hear from two young couples navigating the bureaucratic, social, and financial complexities of realizing the dream of their first home, and we learn how society’s expectations surrounding marriage and home ownership cause some young Singaporeans to feel left behind in the home game.
Transcribe →Home-Baked Business
Jan 31, 202100:26:41Tap to summarize2020 brought more than Covid-19. It also brought more time in the kitchen. More people than ever were baking bread, cakes, and cookies to satisfy their cravings for both a wholesome hobby and some sweet homemade treats. This was true in Singapore, where a home baking boom led to shortages of key items like flour and yeast. Of course, not everyone picked up baking during the pandemic. Singapore has a long history of bakers running Home-Based Businesses (HBB) and selling pineapple tarts, almond cookies, and other goodies to their neighbors, relatives, and colleagues. In this episode we hear from three different home-based bakers. We hear about how these businesses run by women provide an outlet for their inspiration and bring in much-needed income. We hear how they have operated amid the pandemic, including how two of the owners actually took advantage of the early lockdown period in Singapore to test recipes and launch their companies. Indeed, Covid-19 has provided an opportunity for these home-based bakers to move from hobby to business.
Transcribe →Hawker Centers: Singapore’s Living Heritage
Dec 31, 202000:35:36Tap to summarize2020 ended with some exciting news for Singapore: in mid-December UNESCO added Singapore’s hawker culture to its list of intangible cultural heritage. In honor of this unique designation, we return to one of the first episodes of Home on the Dot, which explored Singapore’s rich hawker center culture and shared the stories of young “hawkerpreneurs” bringing new life to what is often perceived as a dying art. We also get a hot take on the UNESCO designation from Dr. Hamzah Muzaini, an expert on heritage and remembrance, who shares his pride and excitement for hawker culture and reflects on his own daily hawker routine. Close out 2020 and ring in the new year with this celebration of Singapore’s open-air dining room: the hawker center.
Transcribe →Long-Distance Love
Dec 22, 202000:28:06Tap to summarizeLove knows no boundaries, but in 2020 some boundaries have become more impervious than ever. Covid-19 has hit couples in long-distance relationships hard. Long-distance love has always been difficult, but frequent international flights and relatively open global borders made it possible. The global pandemic has left many long-distance relationships in a holding pattern, unsure when they will physically hold each other again. In this episode of our special Covid-19 series, Samantha, a recent NUS graduate, shares her experience maintaining a long-distance relationship with her partner in Australia. She explains how they use technologies to share their lives and reveals her frustrations with their unknowable future.
Transcribe →Unwelcome Guests
Aug 28, 202000:17:06Tap to summarizeCovid-19 has closed the door on house guests. When home is a shelter from the virus, we must limit visitors. This restriction becomes particularly painful during major holidays, when people normally open their homes to family and friends and use the home as a space of celebration. As we await a vaccine, holidays centered on the home must be abandoned or radically altered. In this episode of Home on the Dot, we learn how Covid-19 impacted Hari Raya Puasa, the ‘Day of Rejoicing’ at the end of Ramadan. This year the Muslim holiday fell on May 24th, during Singapore’s strictest period of lockdown--the Circuit Breaker--when home visits were not allowed. What was Hari Raya like without the spring cleaning, the open-air bazaars selling delicious holiday foods and fairy lights, the home visits, and the all-important tradition of asking forgiveness from one’s elders in person? Tune in to hear what was lost, and what was gained, in this holiday impacted by Covid-19.
Transcribe →Isolated Far From Home
Aug 8, 202000:23:46Tap to summarizeThe Covid-19 global pandemic forced young people on exchange around the world to abandon their plans and return home. Their language immersion, cultural exposure, and social outings with new friends came to a sudden halt. A small group, however, chose to remain abroad. Why did they stay, and what was it like to experience the pandemic outbreak in a foreign country? How has Covid-19 altered their studies, their social lives, and their explorations of the host country? In this episode of our Covid-19 mini-series, Ching May and Dana, NUS students who remained in Japan to complete their year-long study abroad programs, share how they decided to stay and how they have coped with the isolation of sheltering in place and learning online in another country. In this episode, we hear what happens when you stay.
Transcribe →Putting University on ICE
Jul 30, 202000:21:08Tap to summarizeWith the new school year just around the corner, universities are struggling to open safely. In the third of our ongoing Covid-19 episodes, we hear from Jared, a Singaporean and rising Sophomore at Brown University. He shares his evacuation from the U.S. last March, his uncertainty regarding the upcoming semester, and his concerns over a recent announcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which threatened the education of international students like Jared. Jared also discusses “Healthy Brown,” the University’s flexible plan designed to protect students in this time of crisis, and he wonders how long he will need to stay home in response to rising coronavirus cases and lingering anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S.
Transcribe →Home in a Rot
Jul 26, 202000:23:12Tap to summarizeWhat is the value of study abroad? It is a rare opportunity to live and learn overseas. In the life of a Singaporean student, it is a narrow window of ultimate freedom, when educational success can take a back seat to exploration: exploration of the culture, flavors, landscapes, and people of another country, as well as oneself. But first one has to leave home. In this episode of our Covid-19 mini-series, Chris talks with student-producer Shaun and his classmates Tiffany and Zack about their anticipation and preparation for exchange to Japan, which was abruptly canceled in March 2020. Beyond the lost study abroad experience, the students share their loss of an entire semester of their studies, and in some ways, their lives, as they have rotted at home.
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