{"podcast":{"title":"Yah Lah But","slug":"yah-lah-but-1019349","podcast_index_feed_id":1019349,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6a31164c2603763bbffb56e3","website_url":"https://www.yahlahbut.com/","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6a31164c2603763bbffb56e3/show-cover.jpg","author":"Ministry of Funny","episode_count":852,"summary":"A thrice weekly podcast on conversations Singaporeans are having but not saying out loud – politics, culture, identity. Haresh Tilani and Terence Chia consider every side, never quite agree, and never play it safe. Honest, informed, always worth arguing about. Subscribe so you don’t miss new episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-27T20:19:37.901888+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/yah-lah-but-1019349"},"episode":{"title":"#799: WP's Eileen Chong on Leaving MFA for the Opposition & the Hidden Cost of Singapore’s Success","slug":"799-wp-s-eileen-chong-on-leaving-mfa-for-the-opposition-the-hidden-cost-of-singapore-s-success","published_at":"2026-04-03T06:54:16+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/yah-lah-but-1019349/799-wp-s-eileen-chong-on-leaving-mfa-for-the-opposition-the-hidden-cost-of-singapore-s-success","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/yah-lah-but-1019349","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/8da16d43","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/8da16d43/aab40a2f.mp3","summary":"From MFA diplomat to Workers' Party NCMP in five months, Eileen Chong is asking Parliament the questions most leave untouched - about Singapore's loneliness epidemic, arts funding gaps, AI's real costs, and the price of one generation's relentless success. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 Terence: Full interview: Anthropic CEO responds to Trump order, Pentagon clash Haresh: The Boys – Final Season Trailer Eileen: Reasons to be Cheerful 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀! We’re looking for people to join our team! Click on the links below to find out more about the roles. If you’re interested, send your CV & cover letter to contact@ministryoffunny.com! Creative Producer Folklory Growth Hacking Internship 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 – \"𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝘁” Get a roundup of our One Shiok Things & first dibs on our latest launches delivered straight to your inbox! Subscribe Here (00:00) Intro (00:00:22) Introducing Eileen Chong, WP NCMP (00:02:09) From Spotlight To Short Runway: Joining WP Before GE2025 (00:03:42) Was Politics Always On Her Radar? (00:04:52) Scholar, Diplomat, Then Opposition: The Reasoning (00:07:10) Singapore's Treadmill Culture And The Hidden Wellbeing Cost (00:09:20) What She Observed In The Diplomatic Corps: Beijing And Seoul (00:12:25) Does She Even Have Time To Disconnect Now? (00:13:54) Her Parliament Speech: Time, Presence And Space (00:16:01) Singapore Exceptionalism: Why Self-Defeating Thinking Holds Us Back (00:18:33) TFR At 0.87 And What Korea's Reversal Means For S'pore (00:20:39) How Singapore Is Perceived In Diplomatic Circles (00:23:35) Why She Pushed For IR Education In Schools (00:25:02) What Diplomats Actually Do (00:27:49) S'poreans Spend $1.8B On Tuition: Can The Mindset Change? (00:32:04) The Culinary School Dream She Never Pursued (00:33:44) Speaking Up For Sm…","meta_description":"From MFA diplomat to Workers' Party NCMP in five months, Eileen Chong is asking Parliament the questions most leave untouched - about Singapore's loneline…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4495,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/yah-lah-but-1019349/episodes/799-wp-s-eileen-chong-on-leaving-mfa-for-the-opposition-the-hidden-cost-of-singapore-s-success/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/yah-lah-but-1019349/799-wp-s-eileen-chong-on-leaving-mfa-for-the-opposition-the-hidden-cost-of-singapore-s-success.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}