RICE

Some Idiots Are Trying to Document Singapore’s Fish Before They Disappear. I’m One of Them. By Andriel Cheong The upcoming Greater Southern Waterfront and Long Island developments are climate resilience projects. Ironically, it’s at the cost of destroying habitats that harbour Singapore’s unique marine biodiversity. Despite knowing they probably won’t catch ‘em all, a tiny band of young recreational fishers is trying to document as many fish species as possible before that happens. Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85889

🗣 We're looking for profiles! 🗣 Were you ever told by an adult figure that you wouldn't make it because of your school grades? Or because you didn't fit a conventional metric? Following the viral Harvard PhD graduation speech by Singaporean Joel Tan—who was once told by his school teacher that his dreams were unrealistic due to his grades —he is now carving out his own path to academia and proving them wrong! Now we want to hear from you! RICE is exploring how people navigate a system built for the masses. While standardised benchmarks are necessary at scale, they don't capture every talent. We want to share the journeys of those who redefined success on their own terms, both in school and beyond. We’re looking for people who: 👉 Were told by teachers, parents, or adult figures that they “couldn’t make it” based on a single metric (grades, traditional milestones, or conventional expectations) 👉 Navigated these setbacks (whether in school or in beyond) and discovered their own version of fulfilment and success Note: Your story can be kept strictly anonymous if preferred! If you or anyone you know is keen on contributing: 1. Comment below 2. DM us on IG (http://www.instagram.com/ricemedia.co) 3. Join our WhatsApp Community Chat and DM us personally (https://chat.whatsapp.com/BlwHzX7bZUp6BWKZH2LTfA?mode=gi_t)

The Singapore We Commute Through Without Really Noticing By Danial Sim I started making public transport collectibles as a preservation effort—anchors of memory long after the real thing disappears. What I’ve come to realise that I’m not just serving bus and train enthusiasts. When everyday folks pick up my collectibles and pause, I see them looking at a version of the Singaporean life they didn’t… Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85836

With so much riding on commission, property agents in Singapore often face a choice: protect the deal or stand up for what’s right. Some take the easier path, while others lead with fairness and professionalism—even when their efforts often go unseen. ⁠ ⁠ But every so often, they get their due. As part of the PropertyGuru Agent Awards 2026, the ‘Everyone Welcome Award’ recognises the agents who are doing their part to create a more inclusive Singapore.⁠ Learn more about the PropertyGuru Agent Awards: pgru.co/AgentAwards

14 foreign-origin videos were recently flagged under the Online Criminal Harms Act for spreading false narratives that sought to divide Singaporeans on grounds of race and identity. While we’ve spent decades trying to build a society where different communities can live together, it’s also a reminder of how easy it is for outsiders to exploit our vulnerabilities for ragebait content. Read more https://www.instagram.com/p/DZcQTSAkkYS/?igsh=YTB0c2I1N2Uxa3R6

Did Your CCA Actually Develop You, Or Just Keep You Busy? By Angela Cheong CCAs are mandatory, and they’re meant to help secondary school students discover their interests and talents. But at what point do they stop serving students and start serving something else? Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85786

Shian Bang Ngoh, a 32-year-old photojournalist, spent nearly 20 hours cooking chicken soup and creamy pumpkin stew—just to give it all away for free at a void deck in Tampines.⁠ ⁠ But all the effort that went into his first-ever Kampung Soup Kitchen event was worth it to see strangers connecting over bowls of hearty soup. It's a DIY project that makes you wonder: What's stopping anyone from doing the same?⁠ ⁠ Read more: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZW_zwPkrzB/?igsh=MXJzdzN3OGE0dmV5eA==

An original $388 VIP ticket of BTS’s ‘Arirang’ world tour was found reselling for $8,896 within hours of the presale. That’s a 23x markup. ⁠ ⁠ Maybe the real problem here isn’t just the greed of ticket scalpers. It’s that we’ve unknowingly been trapped in an AI arms race. ⁠ Read more: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZOoPrxFZfS/?igsh=MTV2bjFldmYzZ3VydQ==

How My Mother’s Cancer Taught My Family to Talk About Dying Well By Koh Jun Peng To speak of death is to invite it; to show fear is to burden the people you love. So nobody speaks. Then cancer arrives—and suddenly, the hardest conversations become the only ones left to have. Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85703

Big thanks to everyone who dropped by and spent time engaging with us in our first RICE To Meet You of 2026!⁠ ⁠ It truly meant a lot to see so many of you show up and say your piece. As we head into this next chapter, one thing's clear: the conversation doesn't stop here. Your voices belong in the work we do, and we'll keep it that way. ⁠ ⁠ Submit your story here if you’d like to share: https://bit.ly/4flllRY ⁠ [A very special shoutout to @leeweebrothers for keeping everyone fed!]⁠

Singapore’s Covid-19 cases surged to 12,700 in a single week earlier this month. For those who miss WFH flexibility and the quieter days of the Circuit Breaker, some secretly hoped it might mean a return to those times. But then again, why do we need another potential pandemic outbreak to give ourselves permission to slow down? Read more: https://www.instagram.com/p/DY8mrd-ILac/?igsh=bXprcmxzdjJ6dzhw

On Not Being Ang Moh Enough, Not Chinese Enough, Not Eurasian Enough By Isabelle Stables To be “never enough” of one thing is to be more than one thing can hold—not even the racial label they assign you on your IC. Most people spend their lives trying to fit the box, but some never felt like they had that option. And in the end, that might be the greater freedom. Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85630

Singapore Tells Us To Stay Competitive. But What Are We Really Competing For? By Julian Wong In this open letter to our audience, RICE Media co-founder Julian Wong reflects on building a publication rooted in the feeling of never quite fitting the Singaporean script—and why that yearning for something different should never go away. Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85571

Tinc and the Long Game of Making It as a DJ in Singapore By Andre Frois Kate Yong—the DJ and singer-songwriter known as Tinc—is not a global or regional superstar. But neither is she a cautionary tale about what happens when you drop everything in pursuit of passion. She’s just someone who figured out how to make a business out of beats—someone who channelled a very Singaporean hustle mindset into… Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85518

Finalising the plans for tomorrow’s community event! We’ve been talking about the new direction RICE, that wanting to move from just stories to a space where you can share your own. To make sure we’re on the right track, we would like to know: What would you like to see RICE dive deeper into? Join us to talk about how we can build this together: 🗓️ Tuesday, May 26 ⏰ 7 PM - 10 PM 📍 Hustle Singapore - 111 Somerset Rd, #02-12/13, Singapore 238164⁠ 🎟️ bit.ly/RTMY2026 Vote for your top pick below👇

How much meaning should we realistically expect from work? With layoffs making headlines again, staying put feels different lately. But what if this is also our chance to stop tying work to our entire identity? Is your current job your purpose, or just your anchor? Read more: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYqofQFH6VB/?igsh=MTBpbDU2Mno1ZGRmYg==

Remember When Amos Yee Used to Be a Cute Kid? (2017) Knowing what we know now, this headline from a 2017 Amos Yee story reads differently. But it’s a capsule of a time when the convicted child sex offender was simply known for his obnoxious antics. ⁠ ⁠ As a cosplayer attends a pre-trial conference today in relation to assault charges at an anime convention, we look at older times when Amos Yee's name was synonymous with loudmouth, not predator.⁠ ⁠ Read more: https://www.ricemedia.co/remember-when-amos-yee-used-to-be-cute/

Headquarters Raised Me. My Farewell Came Long Before Its Closure. By Natalia Tan Scenes get discovered and then consumed. Cities evolve, money moves in, and capital eventually pulls the soul apart. It’s not personal. But I didn’t have to stay and watch. I bade farewell to Headquarters years before the lights go out for good on May 30th. Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85457

Tuned In, Checked Out: The Television Deaths of Singapore’s Seniors By Triston Tay This senior demise will not be televised. We police screen time for kids, but what about the elderly spending their last years on a couch, watching TV until the final episode of their lives airs? Read more https://www.ricemedia.co/?p=85408