Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

The content we ultimately consume when we "doom-scroll" is called brain rot, and it is often used to describe low-effort, hyper-addictive videos that flood our feeds and eat up hours of our attention spans.  While Gen Z and Alphas are usually called out for consuming this content, it seems like the older generation may have also fallen victim to this phenomenon. On The Agenda, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Dr David Teo, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist and Deputy Medical Director at Connections MindHealth to find out whether ‘brain rot’ is genuinely damaging our ability to focus, and the extent of the impact beyond just the youths.

Today we’re going to talk all about a leading hospitality player who began its business as not a property owner but an A&W Root Beer franchise!  Founded by J. Willard and Alice Sheets Marriott close to a century ago in 1927, our guest for today Marriott International got its start quenching people’s thirst during the hot muggy summers in Washington D.C.  The company then moved into serving food and becoming The Hot Shoppes, where it opened the first drive-in restaurant on the East Coast in 1928. The firm had also at one point dabbled in inflight catering as well as cafeteria management at government buildings and major institutions between the 1930s and the 1950s. But it was only thirty years after its founding in 1957 that the Hot Shoppes Inc. expanded into the lodging business with the Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Alington, Virginia, and the rest was history.  The Hot Shoppes was renamed Marriott Corporation in 1967, before splitting into Host Marriott Corporation and Marriott International Inc in 1993 as it grew in the hotel business.  More recently in 2016, Marriott International bought over Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide for US$13 billion, bringing in 11 new brands including St. Regis Hotels and Sheraton Hotels, making it the largest hotel chain operator in the world. In 2025, the region delivered its third straight year of record development performance with nearly 200 deals signed, adding over 28,000 rooms to its development pipeline. That’s a 32 per cent increase over the year, driven by growth markets including India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Japan. But what are the key trends supporting the development activity and which is the most important market for the firm?  Meanwhile, the firm is also laser focused on doubling down room signings for its luxury segment brands including JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton and Luxury Collection. It is also looking at expanding beyond traditional gateway cities to emerging destinations with rich cultural heritage. But what should we know about the moves, and how will they augment the firm’s top and bottom line numbers? On this Special episode of Under the Radar, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Neeraj Govil, Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC), Marriott International.

Singapore is taking a significant step in its long-term energy planning. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has announced that Singapore will undergo an assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2027. Now, this is not a decision to build a nuclear plant. Instead, it’s about determining whether Singapore has the expertise, institutions, regulations and safety systems needed to even make an informed decision on nuclear energy in the future. The assessment comes as countries around the world, and increasingly within ASEAN, revisit nuclear power as a low-carbon, reliable energy source amid rising electricity demand and climate pressures. On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Dr Alvin Chew, Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), to find out more. 

Singapore’s National Day Parade is heading back to the National Stadium in 2026, and while the bigger venue means nearly double the crowd capacity, it also means some iconic crowd favourites like the Red Lions, mobile column and aerial displays won’t be making an appearance. On What’s Trending, Hongbin Jeong unpacks the biggest changes coming to NDP 2026, from indoor drone shows and immersive performances to the launch of a three-song NDP album and a new micro-drama series. Plus, we ask listeners: what’s YOUR favourite part of NDP every year?

We often think of home as the place where our parents are most protected. But when you really think about it, the very spaces we’ve always known can slowly become more challenging as they grow older. And here in Singapore, as more families choose to have their ageing parents continue living at home, this is no longer something to worry about someday, it’s a very real concern right now. More renovation conversations are moving beyond style and design, toward a bigger question: how can a home continue to support the people living in it through every stage of life? On The Agenda, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Kean Woei, Co-Founder of Homescape, to find out what it truly means to create a home that’s not only beautiful, but also safe for ageing parents.

This time, finance presenter Chua Tian Tian got up bright and early to head down to global investor Temasek’s corporate headquarters located at The Atrium@Orchard to find out more about the key happenings at Ecosperity Week 2026. Organised by Temasek, Ecosperity is the firm’s key platform for sustainability and advocacy.  Themed ‘Asia’s Race Towards 2030: Powered by Innovation, Driven by Intent’, the event, which took place earlier this week, brought together leaders across government, business, finance and civil society to explore practical, scalable innovations, policies and partnerships that can help translate the region’s 2030 climate ambitions into real-world impact.  So where does Temasek see capital moving and how is it encouraging long term-investors to put money into the energy transition through a systems approach across renewables, infrastructure and other climate technologies?  How does Temasek see what makes a green project investable and how does it align the interests of innovators, policymakers and investors to get deals done?  And in terms of execution, how can policymakers and the business community come together to structure deals in such a way to de-risk projects while unlocking capital? Tian Tian posed these questions to Steve Howard, Vice Chairman, Sustainability, Temasek.

Within the span of just a few days, Xi Jinping welcomed both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to Beijing, two leaders whose countries remain deeply at odds globally. But while both visits received full state-visit treatment, the tone, optics and outcomes were very different. Trump left Beijing without a major joint statement or formal agreements. Putin, on the other hand, signed more than 20 cooperation deals with Xi, reaffirmed a “multipolar world,” and showcased what both sides called an “unbreakable friendship.” So what exactly is China trying to signal here? And how is Beijing managing relationships with both Washington and Moscow at the same time? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Dr Alexander Korolev, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, to find out more. 

For decades, aspiring actors sharpened their craft through drama schools, theatre workshops, and years of formal training. But today, a new generation is learning performance skills in a very different way — through TikTok skits, reaction videos, livestreams, and short-form storytelling.  On The Agenda, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Jai Kishan as they discuss 'Tiktok acting' and whether social media has opened the door for a new style of performance that values relatability and authenticity over classical technique.

On What's Trending, Hongbin Jeong and Nazirul Asrar dives into a sweet story where 28-year-old hawker Lim Hwee Yi from Botak Porridge had her pre-wedding photoshoot with her soon-to-be husband in front of her own hawker stall. On top of that, they also did it in front of a bakery, a HDB block and even a parcel locker. So the duo decided to find out where are some of the best wedding photoshoot locations in Singapore, and why curating a personal collection of photos makes the experience more meaningful when we're not focusing on aesthetics.  

The end of the 2025/26 Singapore Premier League season marks farewells across the league, but Geylang International will feel this one in particular - Vincent Bezecourt. Having arrived on our shores in 2021, the Frenchman went on to make more than a century of appearances in the famous green. Now, as he approaches 33, he steps away from the Eagles..and potentially the beautiful game, entirely. What led to this decision? We find out on Sports Minutes. Got a story to tell? Get in touch! raushan@sph.com.sg