The Third Substantive
The Third Substantive
Deon Kiew
Deon sits down with his friends to talk about their debate experiences, common mistakes at the secondary school level and the lessons they have learnt along the way.
Episode 21: Shaun can't get up
Welcome to Season 3! The first half of this season features Shaun and Sher May (WUDC 2021 Quarterfinalists), who join me in discussing the Singapore Debate Circuit at length, in two marathon recordings that we will release across several episodes. This first episode features their debate experiences in NUS, takeaways from university debating, and the differences between pre-tertiary and university debating. Next up: Listener questions and coaching philosophies! Have a question? Email [email protected] under the heading "Listener Question: TTS" and we may answer it in a subsequent episode!
Jul 10, 2022
1 hr 4 min
20-- Suneeti Sreekumar: "Breaking was a bonus, but it was never the final objective..."
The finale of Season 2 is very much a "lost" episode-- it was supposed to be released in September of 2021, but it stayed in the vault for a good 9 months beyond that due to my other commitments. I spoke to Suneeti Sreekumar, ex-President of NJC Debate and current Oxford Law undergraduate, back in August to talk about her experiences in NJC Debate across 6 years. She talked about the challenges of keeping afloat a debate club with little access to resources, the surprises and turmoils along her journey, and what current batches of NJC-ians and other debaters can take away about how to run a debate society at the pre-university level. (P.S Many apologies to Suneeti, who had to wait many months for this episode to be released!)  Also coming up-- Season 3! The first episode of the new format (a serialized conversation with two stalwarts of the SG circuit across multiple episodes) will be released in only a matter of weeks. Till then, stay tuned!
Jun 14, 2022
1 hr 5 min
19-- Balachander Prashanthi: "We play too many board games... after training at NTU"
The outgoing President of NTU Debates, Bala, joins Deon on the podcast to talk about her time at NTU, her best memories, and how NTU has changed across 4 years.
Jun 30, 2021
53 min
18-- Ariel Lim: "Debating has been one of the biggest things to help me speak up"
Ariel Lim pops by the podcast to talk about her (as-yet-unfinished) journey in Debate! She talks to Deon about debating for over a decade, the joys she has had on the journey, and how to sustain an interest and passion in debate.
Jun 2, 2021
56 min
17-- Wisha Jamal: "When our coaches said the WSDC lineup might change, we thought they were joking..."
Wisha Jamal, an incredible debater from Yale-NUS, stops by to recount her experiences in debating, including as a member of the Pakistani WSDC team in 2017 and 2018. She talks about how it was like being thrown into the WSDC squad last minute, the difficulties of travelling to debates, and her experiences in the Singapore circuit.
Jan 23, 2021
59 min
16-- Chen Beiqi: "Treat others with kindness... you'll become a better debater"
Chen Beiqi was one of only 14 judges to judge the open semi-finals at WUDC 2019. An accomplished CA and debater, she drops by the podcast to talk about her experiences as a judge, Chinese debating and how to engage better as a whip speaker. 
Jan 3, 2021
57 min
15--Tan Yao Kun: "I would count my blessings when it comes to SIM Open Trainings..."
Yao Kun, the ex-President of SIM Debate Club and a well-known Chief Adjudicator of Singapore tournaments, drops by to share his long journey to get to where he is today, as well as misconceptions around social welfare and poverty. 
Nov 15, 2020
58 min
14-- Nadya Tan: "Debating is 50% about being a better speaker, and 50% about having a strong community..."
Nadya Tan is the architect behind the Lasellian Debate League, an extremely successful charity debate tournaments at the pre-tertiary level. She has retired from competitive debating, but continues to pen down her thoughts about the sport at https://amateuranalysisblog.wordpress.com/  
Oct 29, 2020
59 min
13-- Farhan Musa: "Don't take life too seriously... learn how to be comfortable with yourself"
Farhan Musa is an accomplished debater, coach and CA of multiple schools' tournaments in the debate circuit. He swings by the podcast to reflect on his debating journey, his experiences with racial issues in Singapore, and how he learnt to be authentic when navigating the debate community. 
Oct 10, 2020
1 hr 3 min
12-- Joel Law: "I've taken away a lot of patience and compassion when it comes to handling people..."
Joel Law swings by to discuss his path to the DA(S) Presidency, what is next for the DA, his experiences as a coach and knowledge gaps most debaters have about the LGBTQ+ community. 
Sep 13, 2020
59 min
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