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For generations, internships have been seen as a stepping stone for university students entering the workforce. But increasingly, teenagers as young as 15 or 16 are seeking out internships to gain experience and build their portfolios. So, what’s changed? Are Gen Alpha students simply more career-conscious than previous generations, or are they feeling pressure to get ahead? On The Agenda, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Pedro Aguirre, Co-Founder, Make the Change to find out more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MOE will begin a pilot in January 2027 to explore smaller classes in six schools, with the aim of giving teachers more opportunity to provide individual attention and timely feedback. But will having fewer students in a classroom actually lead to better learning? And with teachers already facing significant workloads, could smaller classes simply mean more classes to teach? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Dr Jason Tan, Associate Professor in Policy, Curriculum and Leadership at the National Institute of Education to discuss what MOE is testing, how smaller classes could change the classroom experience, and what needs to happen for the pilot to work for both students and teachers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you build a great football stadium? Singapore may soon get another chance to find out, with plans for a new South Stand at Jalan Besar. But could The Kallang be doing more? Zia-ul Raushan went behind the scenes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and sat down with Spurs commercial director Alex Scotcher to explore what makes a modern football venue, one that is regarded as Europe's finest, tick - and what lessons Singapore can take home.READ MORE: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/jalan-besar-stadium-could-get-a-new-south-stand-additional-1500-seats?ref=latest-headlinesGot a story to tell? Get in touch!raushan@sph.com.sgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if you could pay someone else to take out your rubbish, pick up your parcels or deal with other annoying little tasks? A growing 'lazy economy' in China is seeing people pay for exactly that, including rubbish collection from their doorstep. But is it really about being lazy, or are people simply willing to pay a little to save time and hassle? On What’s Trending, Hongbin Jeong, Nadiah Koh and Nazirul Asrar discuss the things we’d happily outsource and ask: what are Singaporeans willing to pay someone else to do because we just can’t be bothered?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore’s haze situation appears to be easing, with four of the five regions returning to the moderate range after all five recorded unhealthy PSI levels yesterday, the first time that has happened since 2019. But does that mean the air quality is genuinely improving, or could conditions worsen again in the days ahead? And why has the Central region consistently recorded the highest PSI readings this season? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Professor Rajasekhar Balasubramanian, Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Design and Engineering, NUS, to find out what’s behind the latest readings, what could happen next, and what the changing PSI levels tell us about Singapore’s haze situation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we talk about retirement, the question is usually pretty straightforward: have you saved enough? But the reality is a little more complicated. There are clearly Singaporeans entering retirement with significant assets, but having money and knowing how to use it in retirement are two very different things. At this year's National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the government is looking at giving seniors with healthy MediSave balances more flexibility in how they use those funds, while also making it easier for seniors to unlock the value of their homes while continuing to live in them. So how do you bring together CPF, property, investments and cash into a retirement strategy? And when should you start thinking about turning your wealth into an income? On The Agenda, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Zac Ng, Senior Financial Services Director, PhillipCapital, to find out more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the best way to deal with school stress was to literally eat your homework? Students in China are going viral for buying edible workbooks made from rice paper, with the snacks designed to look like textbooks, dictionaries, certificates and even scholarship cards. On What's Trending, Hongbin Jeong, Nadiah Koh and Nazirul Asrar look into why this bizarre trend has taken off, whether it could catch on in Singapore, and what piece of homework they would have happily eaten back in school. And because homework doesn't exactly disappear when you grow up, we also ask: if you could eat one stressful thing from your adult life, what would it be?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A student in the US was suspended after bringing a cup of coffee to class and refusing to throw it away. Both student and parent argue that this new rule was not properly communicated to them as there was no 'official' announcement. On What's Trending, Nadiah Koh and Nazirul Asrar discuss the incident, which has sparked a debate over strict school rules, discipline, and whether some rules go too far. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oil prices have surged back above US$100 a barrel as attacks disrupt key energy and shipping routes across the Middle East. A drone strike has shut down part of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, threatening a route that can move Saudi crude without passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, vessels have come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, with tensions also rising around the Bab el-Mandeb, two critical chokepoints for global energy shipments. So how serious is the threat to global oil supplies? And if higher oil and shipping costs persist, how could this ripple through to Singapore? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Mukesh Sahdev, Founder and CEO of XAnalysts, to find out more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore is ageing fast, with seniors aged 65 and above now making up more than one in five residents. But while much of the conversation around an ageing population focuses on who will care for our seniors, what if we also asked what our seniors can contribute? Seniors at Lucky Haven are teaching carrom, running AI workshops and connecting with younger generations, showing that growing older doesn't mean stepping away from society. Could Singapore start seeing seniors not just as recipients of care, but as people with skills, experience and plenty to give back? Hongbin Jeong speaks with Dr Tan Cheng Kok, a senior volunteer and AI trainer at Lucky Haven, and Dixon Lim, Executive Director of Antica Community Development and Services, to find out more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.