Despite being bullied and ostracized when she was young, Vicki had managed to overcome those early struggles to carve out an exciting career in the video effects industry in the United States. However, things would start to take a turn when she was invited to join a VR startup in Hollywood. Sources: Vicki Lau website Music: Theme music for the Scre…

In this episode, we speak with Si Hui from Glyph, an organization that runs subsidized programs for lower-income children. Here she shares more about the roots of the social enterprise, what sets them apart from a regular charity, why they value community so strongly, and last but not least, why she dropped out of university to work at Glyph full-t…

At the age of just 28 years old, Winifred Ling started to experience terrifying episodes of numbness, slurred speech, and minor bouts of stroke. As the symptoms progressed, she began to feel like a walking time-bomb, unsure of when the next attack would come, and would later be diagnosed with the rare cerebrovascular disorder known as Moyamoya dise…

When Johnson was arrested for drug use several years ago, things looked bleak, with the former fitness trainer’s jet-setting lifestyle now replaced with a life behind bars. However, things would take a turn when he met with Bryan of Yellow Ribbon, who handed him the second chance he needed to get back on his feet again. Sources: Yellow Ribbon Websi…

Murphy’s Law states that “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. But what happens when things go wrong and never seems to stop? In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we share just such a story with our guest Vivek, who recounts his journey launching his first book, and the various hurdles he faced along the way. Sources: The Truth…

The simplest mistakes can sometimes lead to the most devastating of consequences. In the first episode of Screwed Up Moments Podcast Season 3, we share the story of Rumini, whose mistake with an expired bottle of eyewash led to a lifetime of complications. Sources: 9 in family die after eating homemade corn noodles Toxic Corn Noodles Kill 8 in Nort…

Brand new season of Screwed Up Moments coming soon in Jan 2021 New guests. New stories. New Screwed Up Moments. Tune in to hear more about their pains and failures, but also about the incredible journeys that got them back on their feet again

The True Crime genre is a cultural juggernaut for a variety of reasons, but despite its popularity, their focus is often far from the whole truth. From the perspective of the victims, grief and trauma often linger on, and the suffering doesn’t end when the detective cracks the case and puts the criminal behind bars. In this Season 2 Finale episode …

Home is comfort. Home is security. Home is where our sense of belonging is fulfilled. But for some, home can be dysfunctional and terrifying. A place that brings up resentment rather than love, and which creates traumas instead of rosy memories. In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we explore this perspective of home with the story of…

When Clarence was younger, he had difficulty concentrating and studying due to his condition with ADHD. He scored poorly in exams, was teased and stigmatized and school, and his parents sacrificed and tried everything they could to help him succeed. Today however, he is the founder of Access, a non-profit organization that aims to combat inequality…

Several years ago, Tony found himself in a precarious position. He was an executive for a Fortune 500 company, he had worked hard and delivered project after project, but found that his values didn’t align with the environment that he was working in. Eventually, he left the corporate world to venture on his own path, except he would soon notice tha…

In this special episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we speak with Chong Ning Qian from AWARE to discuss their latest report on migrant wives. Here she shares more about what AWARE does as an organization, her own motivations for doing advocacy work, and the various issues and policies that plague the migrant wife population in Singapore. You…

In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we speak with Kim Whitmore, an assistant professor who suffered the devastating loss of her child through stillbirth. Here she shares more about the painful experience, how the trauma has impacted her and her family, and how she is trying to live on and adjust to this new normal. You can find more …

In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we speak with Angela Ng, a former top ranking corporate exec who dealt with the simultaneous losses of her mother and her marriage within the span of a year. She shares more about the contrast between her personal and professional lives, the state of emotional numbness she was in, and the turnaroun…

In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we speak with Bruce Mathieu, an ex-convict and former drug addict who went through a whirlwind journey spanning multiple crimes and prison sentences over the course of 30 years. Here he shares how his addiction began, how it impacted his life, and the remarkable turnaround that swore him off drugs …

In one of our heaviest episodes of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we speak with award-winning author Melony Hill, a survivor of many traumas and hardships who would go on to lead the mission-based organization Stronger Than My Struggles and the Crazy Like a Fox Tour. Here she shares her experience with domestic violence and abuse, mental illness, …

In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we share the story of Vincent Ng, someone who went through bouts of anxiety and depression to the point of near suicide. He shares his realization with the idea of internal scripts and how they impacted his life, as well as his incredible “self-help junkie” journey to find a solution to his problem…

In the first episode of Screwed Up Moments Season 2, we share the incredible story of Anne Mekalian, a grade school teacher who went through a sudden and difficult ordeal that led her to become a quad amputee. The typically cheerful Anne shares what that experience was like physically and mentally, how she learned to cope with her new conditions, a…

The Screwed Up Moments podcast is coming back with it's second season! More incredible guests, heart-breaking screw ups, and amazing stories. Subscribe wherever you listen! The Screwed Up Moments podcast is a joint production of Happiness Initiative and Fabl Productions. Production and editing by Danny Koordi of Fabl Productions. You can reach out …

Hello guys, hope you are doing well, here is another episode of our bonus series, Screwed Up Moments Plus. In today's episode I am really excited to be speaking to Stephen Lew, who runs The School of Positive Psychology here in Singapore. His school promotes many of the same values that underlie many of our Screwed Up Moments stories including grat…

Hello guys, hope you are doing well, here is another episode of our bonus series, Screwed Up Moments Plus. In today's episode I am really excited to be presenting something different. Over the course of producing Screwed Up Moments I've always wondered if there were other shows like this around, and thankfully, I found one called Grief Out Loud pro…

Hello guys, hope you are doing well, here is another episode of our bonus series, Screwed Up Moments Plus. This interview takes place during a Happiness Initiative event last year, where I was invited to talk to several people on the topic of Happiness. For this episode we are speaking with Ryan, an intern at Happiness Initiative at the time, as he…

Hello guys, hope you are doing well, here is another episode of our bonus series, Screwed Up Moments Plus. This interview takes place during a Happiness Initiative event last year, where I was invited to talk to several people on the topic of Happiness. In this episode we talk with Columbine Lord, who shares how she and her mum spent 3 months runni…

Hello guys, hope you are doing well, here is another episode of our bonus series, Screwed Up Moments Plus. This interview takes place during a Happiness Initiative event last year, where I was invited to talk to several people on the topic of Happiness. We will be sharing some of these conversations, beginning with Sheryl Koh, a homecare nurse who …

Hello guys, here is another episode of Screwed Up Moments Plus, hope you all are doing well. So, as we all know and as I keep reiterating from the Screwed Up Moments episodes, this show is brought to you by a Singaporean Social Enterprise called Happiness Initiative. Social enterprises in my view, have always been fascinating to me, they are halfwa…

Hello! Hope you guys are doing well, and welcome to another episode of Screwed Up Moments Plus. In this episode we talk with the creator of the piano-based theme song for Screwed Up Moments, Rico Lo. Rico is a music producer at Melodise, and throughout this interview you can hear his thoughts on the creative process and how he came up with the fina…

Hello guys! Happy New Year and New Decade! Over the course of recording these Screwed Up Moments Podcast interviews, we come across guests who were so captivating that we struggle to wrap up their story in one neat 30 minute episode. One of those guests happens to be Cheryl Tay, from episode 2 of this podcast, who shared her story of incredible str…

Hello guys! Hope you had a lovely Christmas with your friends and loved ones. In this next episode of Screwed Up Moments Plus, we talk with the co-founders of Happiness Initiative, Simon Leow and Sherman Ho, the people behind the original Screwed Up Moments project. It was an insightful conversation where they shared the reason for starting Screwed…

Hello guys happy holidays! Hope you guys are enjoying your break and spending time with your loved ones. While we are busy behind the scenes working on new material for season 2, we are happy to present a bonus series called Screwed Up Moments Plus that will feature some behind the scenes material from this first season! In the first episode we tal…

In the second part of our season finale special, we present the conclusion to Chia Xun An’s story. Following his earlier battles with depression, Xun An worked hard through polytechnic to improve his grades and overcome his condition. However, things would soon take a dark turn when he started to hallucinate and hear voices, ultimately resulting in…

In part 1 of a special 2-part season finale of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we present to you the story of Chia Xun An, someone who has been battling depression since the age of 10. For a short period in Xun An’s formative years he was growing up just like any regular kid, but things changed during the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, when his dad’s…

A love story, a 140 mile race, and a series of misfortunes. In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments Podcast, we present the incredible story of Lauren Moye. From overcoming cultural distances and sacrificing everything you know for love, to pulling through 4 miscarriages to complete an Ironman race, this episode will have you think about life, lo…

In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments Podcast, we cover the story of one of the living legends of Singapore’s fitness scene, Kevin Chiak. A late bloomer in life, Kevin spent most of his life hiding his true self until he chanced upon Manhunt International on TV, and found his calling. He would develop this newfound passion, win multiple competi…

Have you ever felt completely detached to the world around you? Where you lose control over your senses and your thoughts and your actions? Where your mind is so impaired that you break away from external reality? What would that feel like? How would you react? And how would the external world treat you? With kindness, empathy, and understanding? O…

Have you ever accomplished something but felt like you didn’t deserve it? Perhaps you didn’t work as hard as your colleagues or produced something that wasn’t up to your standards? How would you feel about that success? Would you be proud, or would you feel like a fraud? In this episode of Screwed Up Moments, we explore the issue of Imposter Syndro…

If you were to come across a life-changing event, perhaps a near brush with death or the passing of a loved one, how would you react? Would you take a moment from your busy life to reflect and deal with your own problems? Or would you stick to the same old routine? In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we explore these questions with t…

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work at that high paying, lucrative, dream job that everyone else talks about? Would you be better off with all that extra income? What kind of person would you be in that environment? And finally, would you be actually be fulfilled and happy? In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we expl…

What would you do to achieve your “ideal figure”? What lengths are you willing to go to just to hit some number on a weighing scale? In this episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we deal with the topics of body image issues and eating disorders with the remarkable story of Cheryl Tay. While Cheryl leads a vibrant life today donning the various…

In the pilot episode of the Screwed Up Moments podcast, we tell the tragic and painful story of Danny Raven Tan, a former project manager for a property developer turned artist, who survived cancer only to witness the debilitating effects of dementia on his mother. Sources: - Julie Yip Williams blog entry - Danny's Mother: A love-hate-love story of…

We are often drawn to stories of success and triumph, and for good reason, they make us feel good or they inspire us to be better. But the other side is also equally important. For these are the harsh realities behind the veneer of success. Such as, failing to realize a dream, or simply incurring some tragic misfortune. In other words, these are Sc…

Have you ever screwed up? What did you do? How did you feel? What was going on in your head? Everyone encounters screwed up moments in their lives; from failures, disappointments, misfortunes. They are tragic, heartbreaking, painful, but they also provide glimpses into the darkest moments of the human condition, and as listeners, we can then use th…