Hello. My name is PJ Thum. I research and teach Southeast Asian history at the University of Oxford, UK, and I also run its Southeast Asia programme. You might have seen my work from my books, articles, or videos on youtube.
This is a really exciting time! There are so many new sources of Singapore history. Every year, as new sources of history emerge, we find that we keep having to rewrite Singapore history in response to new information.
We need to learn from our past! For example, the best government that Singapore ever had was the PAP government between 1965 and 1975. Why? What did they do well? What did they do poorly? We need to know.
And so, to make my own contribution to our understanding, I have created the History of Singapore podcast, a weekly podcast series about Singapore, our history and our people. I want Singaporeans to have access to more perspectives on our history of our country and our people, and to understand how we got to where we are today.
This podcast is free. It will always be free. But creating and recording this podcast takes time and money. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting the podcast at Patreon. In exchange, I offer a range of cool reward packages. For example, all supporters get to hear each episode a day early and receive a copy of the script for the show! If we reach certain thresholds, I will use the funds to upgrade the podcast. Everything you pledge will go to improve the podcast!
Want to find out more about Patreon? Click here.
I want to hear from you. Please, if you have any ideas, questions, or feedback, please email me at thehistoryofsingapore@gmail.com.
This will be history as I see it. I cannot tell all perspectives of Singapore history – that’s simply not possible – but I will do my best to do so, and incorporate as many different views as I can. But the most important thing is that I want it to be fun and educational! I hope you will enjoy it.
Thank you!