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You can smell it before you see it. The haze is back in Singapore, and this year is the worst since 2015.
Schools have moved children indoors. Parents are buying air purifiers, and wondering whether they’re doing it right. The group chats are full of advice, and nobody agrees.
We sit down with two guests who each know half the story. Journalist Robin Hicks has spent more than 20 years following palm oil and deforestation, and he has names, some of them Singaporean. Dr Cheryl Kam is a family physician with firm views on what is already floating around inside your home, haze or no haze.
Who is really responsible? Is your supermarket trolley part of the problem? And why would a doctor worry more about the air inside your house than the air outside?
Press play once the kids are asleep.
What You’ll Take Away
- Why the person who lit the match may not be the one who left the land ready to burn
- Which Singapore-listed companies are under scrutiny this year, and which banks are now being asked questions
- The ingredient in about half your supermarket trolley, and why swapping it out could make things worse
- What a doctor says is sitting in your living room right now (and has been for years)
- The daily routine one doctor does with her windows, and why keeping everything shut may backfire
- The food rule a nutrition-obsessed doctor refuses to enforce with her own kids
- Why Robin says we should stop pointing at Indonesia
About the guests
Robin Hicks is the former Associate Editor of Eco-Business, with more than 20 years in sustainability journalism across Asia Pacific. He specialises in palm oil, deforestation and Southeast Asia’s energy transition, and he has a zoology degree from the University of Bristol. He also volunteers as a wildlife rescuer with ACRES Singapore.
Connect with Robin on Linkedin
Dr Cheryl Kam is a family physician with a special interest in using nutrients to heal women in various stages of burnout. She is the founder and formulator of the clean supplement company Matrē. In this episode, she explains what the haze does to our bodies and what to do about it at home.
Connect with Dr Cheryl Kam:
Website: https://www.drcherylkam.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/drcherylkam/
Matrē Supplements: https://www.wearematre.com/
Growing Pains is HoneyKids Asia’s podcast for the conversations you want to have after the kids go to bed.
If this one moved you, share it with a parent who needs to hear it. Or send your feedback and topic suggestions to podcast@honeykidsasia.com — we’d love to hear what you’d like us to talk about next.
Growing Pains is produced in partnership with Poddster, Singapore’s podcast studio.
