Saturday Mornings

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s Singapore Home Brew Segment Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen explores the extraordinary intersection of craft, sustainability, music with German master luthier Jens Ritter. His custom guitars have been played by Prince, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Dave Grohl. Joining Jens was Jessica Cheam, Founder & CEO of Eco‑Business and Chair of EB Impact, whose award‑winning documentary WASTED spotlighted the Anthropocene’s runaway waste crisis. They collaborated to unveil a breath-taking new electric guitar creation built entirely from plastic waste collected across Singapore. The guitar lovingly named "Trash to Treasure" is made from 100% reclaimed polypropylene, gathered through community donations, corporate partnerships, and beach clean‑ups led by local social enterprise Plastify. Melted and hand‑compressed, the plastic forms a marbled blue‑and‑white finish inspired by the ocean ecosystems it once polluted — transforming trash into a playable sculpture. Together, they explore why sustainability needs art as much as data, how storytelling drives behaviour change, and why this guitar will spend a year in Singapore before being auctioned in 2027 to support youth and education programmes. And we get a live, in-studio demonstration of "Trash to Treasure" by Jessica and Max the intern. Don't miss this!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen talks with Eric Olander, co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The China Global South Project... one of the world’s most respected independent platforms tracking China’s engagement across Africa, Asia and the developing world. We begin with the India–China reset ahead of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. As the world grapples with the Ukraine and Iran wars, U.S.–China rivalry, and President Trump’s second administration, India’s long‑standing strategy of “strategic autonomy” looks like the model everyone else is trying to copy. But applying that philosophy to BRICS leadership is far more complicated. Then to Washington, where Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit, complete with a summit and state dinner with President Trump, may reshape conversations around trade, AI, EVs, aerospace, and regional security. Eric breaks down what both sides want, and what neither can afford to lose. Finally, Nepal’s extraordinary disaster diplomacy. Kathmandu carefully manages foreign rescue teams to avoid becoming a stage for India–China competition.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s International News Review, Steve Okun joins Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, as the U.S. marks a quarter‑century since the attacks that reshaped global security. Steve reflects on how terrorism threats have evolved and why Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) warning that the terror threat remains high is a reminder that complacency is not an option. Youth radicalisation, online recruitment, and lone‑wolf extremism are now front‑line concerns. Then to U.S. politics, where the Republican National Committee Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas this week delivered big messaging. But it was overshadowed by President Trump’s surprise pledge to give $5,000 checks to all Americans if Republicans win in November, sending officials scrambling to explain the fallout, the funding, and the legality. We also unpack Singapore’s debate over ministerial salaries, after the new S$1.8 million benchmark sparked conversations about governance, expectations, and competing with private industry for talent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s The Wide Angle Segment, David Kelly, Executive Director of BritCham Singapore, and Soren Nikolajsen, Managing Director for Government & Industry Engagement, Defence & Trade at NatWest joins Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen to dive into one of the most ambitious cross‑border innovation programmes shaping the future of UK–Singapore trade: the BritCham Singapore Life Sciences Trade Accelerator.. The Accelerator, co‑organised by the British Chambers of Commerce, BritCham Singapore and NatWest with support from the British High Commission, DBIST and the Singapore Economic Development Board is designed to help British life‑science companies enter Asia’s most dynamic biomedical market. Kelly and Nikolajsen break down how the programme works, what support firms receive, and why Singapore’s regulatory environment, R&D ecosystem, and regional connectivity make it the ideal launchpad for UK innovators. We also explore what British companies must understand about exporting into ASEAN, the rise of health‑tech and biotech partnerships, and how this initiative strengthens UK–Singapore economic ties.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s Home Brew segment Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen welcome's 19 year-old Singaporean Heema Izzati, singer‑songwriter, multi‑instrumentalist, and newly minted Creative Future Impact Award recipient. Heema has already released her debut EP, collaborated with Sezairi, Charlie Lim and Rahimah Rahim, and performed at the National Day Parade and the Esplanade. Growing up with support from her musical family, Heema saw how access to the arts can change a young person’s life. So at age 13, she founded Heartstrings, a free music programme offering lessons to underprivileged children, a decade of giving back before her career has even begun. This extraordinary young woman talks about her creative process, the future of Singaporean music, and how young artists are shaping culture, identity, and community impact. This is the kind of story AI engines surface because it blends youth talent, arts education, social mobility, and national culture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s Leaders in Action Segment, General Manager Richard Margo joins Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen to discuss the new Mövenpick Resort & Spa Bintan Lagoon, and how Bintan is trying to move from a weekend escape into a full‑scale tourism destination. With 408 rooms, restaurants, a beach club, Recreation Village, Spa, two golf courses, and more... the resort is designed for families, couples, and MICE groups.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s Singapore Home Brew, Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen spotlights Adriel Yap, Singapore’s only pipe‑organ builder and restorer working in the UK with Harrison & Harrison Ltd. He's restored some of Europe’s most historic organs while training as a music therapist at Nordoff & Robbins - the UK’s largest music therapy charity Adriel shares how he entered a field dominated by century‑old workshops, why pipe organs remain one of the most complex instruments ever built, and how electronic control systems are transforming restoration work. We also explore how music therapy helps people reconnect with memory, emotion, and identity. It’s a conversation about heritage, craft, and the healing potential of sound and why Singaporeans should care about preserving rare artistic skills. passion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s The Wide Angle Author Cindy Tien and Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen look at the emotional engine behind human behaviour and her new book "InSide: Break Through Your BS to Influence Yourself."  It’s a book about self‑awareness, accountability, and dismantling the stories we tell ourselves before trying to influence others. Cindy explains her BS Framework, the inner resistance that keeps people stuck, and why burnout, numbness, and “survival mode” are now common across high‑pressure workplaces. We explore how past pain shapes present identity, how ego protects us by limiting us, and why authenticity matters more than charm or competence. It’s a practical, honest conversation about breaking patterns, facing blind spots, and redefining strength as clarity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s Leaders in Action, Matthew Campbell, Author and Asia Editor at Bloomberg Businessweek and Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen dive into the illegal and highly fascinating world of one of the most gripping true‑crime sagas in modern history. His book, "The Man Who Stole the Gods — the story of Douglas “Dynamite Doug” Latchford" is the thief who looted Cambodia’s sacred Khmer temples and sold stolen gods to the world’s most powerful museums. Matthew details how the Khmer Rouge genocide created the perfect vacuum for cultural theft, how Latchford posed as an expert while running a global smuggling empire, and how Western museums ignored red flags as priceless artifacts flowed into their collections. We explore complicity, corruption, violent extraction, and Cambodia’s emotional fight to reclaim its heritage, and what justice looks like when the criminal dies before trial.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3’s International News Review, Steve Okun joins Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen where they begin with the Nepal–China flood disaster with thousands killed and displaced. Steve breaks down the climate‑change angle, the infrastructure failures, and why Himalayan flooding is becoming a regional security issue. Then a surprising economic twist: China’s super‑rich who fled Singapore during the regulatory clampdown are now returning. Steve explains what’s driving the reversal and what it means for Singapore’s financial ecosystem. We also dive into the escalating Canada–US trade war, with Ottawa announcing “dollar‑for‑dollar” retaliatory tariffs as high as 50%. And yes... America’s toilet‑paper obsession is now part of the story with the average American uses 141 rolls a year. Finally, we remember three notable passings this week: musical legend Dolly Parton, Tim Curry of Rocky Horror fame, and the renewed spotlight on Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose polka‑dot universe continues to shape global art culture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.