

The Front Row Podcast
Keith Yap
Front Row Interviews with experts to expand your mental map of the world.
Made in Singapore.
For Asia and the World.
Made in Singapore.
For Asia and the World.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 16, 2024 • 1h 4min
#9- Tan Siok Sun- The Legacy of Goh Keng Swee, The Man Behind Singapore's Economic Miracle
Tan Siok Sun is the biographer of Dr. Goh Keng Swee, Singapore's founding Defence and Finance Minister. The biography she authored is entitled "Goh Keng Swee: A Portrait"
Dr. Goh was a founding member of Singapore’s ruling political party, The People's Action Party, and was known as the architect of Singapore's economic miracle.
Siok Sun is also the daughter-in-law of Dr Goh Keng Swee.
In this podcast, we discuss the man behind Singapore's growth miracle, his approach towards politics and his relationship with Lee Kuan Yew.
Timestamps:
00:24 - Introduction
00:50 - Why Dr Goh Was Averse to Publicity
04:50 - The Process of Writing A Biography
08:02 - Insights Into Dr Goh's Thinking
13:07 - Dr Goh's Approach Towards Politics & Policy
17:33 - Dr Goh's Intellect
20:04 - Dr Goh and PAP in the Early Days
25:07 - How Dr Goh Tested For Critical Thinking
31:07 - Genesis of the SAF
40:21 - Singapore's Early Industrialization
46:53 - Dr Goh and LKY's Dynamics
52:53 - The Origins of GIC
59:22 - Dr Goh's Commandments

Oct 1, 2024 • 56min
#8- Jeremy Tan- The Future of Venture Capital in Singapore and Southeast Asia
Jeremy is a Co-Founder of Tin Men Capital, a Venture Capital firm that invests primarily in B2B technology startups focused on the Southeast Asia market.
In this episode we discuss:
- Why He Left Trafigura To Start His Own Fund
- First Principles Thinking in Venture Investing within Southeast Asia
- What VCs Looks For In Founders
- The Future of Startups & Venture Investing in Southeast Asia

Sep 23, 2024 • 55min
#7- Dr. Dean Ho- Building The Future of Healthcare With AI in Singapore
Dr. Dean Ho is currently Provost’s Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering, Director of The Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and Director of The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1) at the National University of Singapore.
In this interview, we discuss:
- Why He Moved From The US to Singapore
- How Innovation Can Happen in R&D
- How AI Can Help Cure Cancer
- How To Pursue Longevity and Adhere to Healthy Habits
- How To Build Health Literacy
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Teaser & Introduction
01:29- The Benefits of Singapore's Health Ecosystem
05:25 -Team Building and Interdisciplinary Approaches
08:31- Dynamic Personalization in Medicine
14:08 - The Role of Big Data vs. Small Data
17:26- Agility in Clinical Trials and Regulatory Interactions
20:07 - Dean's Personal Health Experiments and Fasting
22:50- Behavioral Changes and Health Optimization
25:53 - Gamification in Health and Fitness
31:17 - Why Fasting
39:51- Recommendations for Beginners
49:51- Building Digital Literacy for Health Today
Feel free to mingle in the comments below or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithyap65/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-yap/
Website: www.ykeith.com
Email: keith@frontrow65.co

Sep 16, 2024 • 1h 11min
#6- Irene Ng - The Legacy of Singapore's Founding Foreign Minister, S Rajaratnam
Irene Ng is the authorised biographer of S. Rajaratnam. She was formerly an award-winning senior political correspondent and a Member of Parliament in Singapore.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why Lee Kuan Yew Needed S. Rajaratnam
- What made Rajaratnam unique
- His legacy and contribution to Singapore's Foreign Policy

Sep 10, 2024 • 49min
#5- CNA Founder, Woon Tai Ho- The Humble Origin Story of CNA
Woon Tai Ho is a producer, art collector and writer.
He is the founding Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The founding story of ChannelNewsAsia
- The Changing Media Environment today
- Why Lee Kuan Yew was a brilliant orator
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Teaser & Intro
0:59- Singapore's Early Media Landscape & Tai Ho's Break into Media
11:43 - The Humble Origins of CNA
19:03- CNA in the Next Decade
22:35- The Difference between CNA and Western Media
27:36- Lee Kuan Yew and Mastering Media
37:50- Lim Tze Peng and Soul of Ink
42:58- Embracing the Concept of Breakthroughs
46:44- Reinventing Yourself
47:00- Closing Questions
Feel free to reach out here!
Instagram: keithyap65
Linkedin: keith-yap
Website: www.ykeith.com
Email: keith@frontrow65.co

Aug 28, 2024 • 1h 8min
#4- Andrew Bailey on Working In Singapore , The Philosophy of Money and Bitcoin
Andrew Bailey is Professor and a founding faculty member at Singapore's Yale-NUS College and is an incoming Professor of Philosophy at the new Bitcoin Research Institute at the University of Wyoming.
His research mostly is primarily focused on money, people, and God. He is a co-author of the book, Resistance Money, A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin.
We spoke about:
- Why He moved to Singapore to teach
- How he helps his students navigate their careers
- The questions one ought to ask about money
- Why Bitcoin is resistance money
- How Academia can unwittingly create misinformation
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Teaser
00:32- The Value of Studying Philosophy
09:45- Money as a Medium of Revelation
18:36- Advice for Navigating Careers
24:25- Cultural Differences between the US and Singapore in Conversations About Money
30:51- Karl Marx's Perspective on Money and how Money Impacts Relationships
36:46- Bitcoin: A Digital Native Money
40:25- Bitcoin's Benefits for the Financially Disenfranchised
42:46- Engaging with Policymakers to Protect Bitcoin
55:28- How Academia Can Facilitate Misinformation
01:01:30- Closing Questions

Aug 28, 2024 • 54min
#3- Terence Ho on Tharman's Policy Contributions, The Evolution of Singapore and Good Governance
Terence Ho is an Associate Professor in Practice at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, with extensive experience in Singapore's public service. He has held senior positions in various government ministries and statutory boards, including Division Director at the Ministry of Manpower and Director at the Ministry of Finance.
We spoke about:
- Why Tharman Shanmugaratnam was a great policy leader.
- How Singapore got (and stayed) rich
- Why Singapore refreshes its governance instead of launching revolutions
- How the Singaporean government spends money

Aug 14, 2024 • 1h 11min
#2- Professor Mark Metcalf: Decoding The Art of War and US-China Relations
Professor Mark Metcalf is a Lecturer in Global Commerce from the University of Virginia's McIntire School. Prior to that, he taught courses on traditional Chinese literature, primarily focusing on The Art of War.In this conversation, we discuss: how to understand the Art of War Key Concepts in the Art of War how he seeks to understand the Chinese Military US-China business relations Intricacies of Chinese Culture The Advice he gives his students

Jul 15, 2024 • 42min
#1- Chan Heng Chee: Lessons from Singapore's Longest-Serving Ambassador to the US
Ambassador Chan Heng Chee is Ambassador-at-Large with Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She holds the appointment of Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities in the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
She was also Singapore's longest-serving ambassador to the US, serving in Washington from 1996 to 2012.
We talked about
- her experience in the US as an ambassador
- politics in the US and the intricacies of diplomacy
- working with Lee Kuan Yew


