As people around the world become more mobile and prefer to get their information and entertainment from their personal portable devices at the time they want and where they want, traditional television has been forced to change. Television viewership in the United States has constantly declined since 2011, as well as in other countries and Thailand. As the number of viewers dropped, so did advertising spending on television. On the other hand, streaming services rise to its competition. Netflix, the subscription-based streaming giant of the United States, has seen a considerable growth in its audience in Thailand ever since its debut in early 2016. It was reported to have attracted around 546,000 subscribers in Thailand as of 2020, which accounted for over half of the total subscribers of all video streaming services in Thailand. Discussing the future of television in this episode are Dr. Jessada Salathong of Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Communication Arts, Chulalongkorn University, and Pipope Panitchpakdi, deputy director general at Thai Public Broadcasting Service, or Thai PBS.

Genomic medicine is a new revolutionary medical trend, which – according to researchers - is going to fundamentally change the ways conventional medicine diagnoses and treats patients. It is an emerging medical discipline that involves using genomic information of an individual person as part of their clinical care, which includes diagnosing the sickness and selecting choices of medical treatment. As each individual person has his own unique genes and genetic traits, these traits are closely linked with the state of our health. This medical technology is also being applied to treat rare diseases. Currently, there are over 6,000 known rare diseases, and 8 in 10 of these rare diseases are linked to a genetic cause. The serious disease that led to gradual paralyzing of the entire body that Stephen Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist, suffered and died of later is one prominent example of rare genetic diseases. The disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, or commonly referred to in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease. In this episode, Prof.Dr.Vorasuk Shotelersuk, head of the Molecular Genetics in Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, explains what genomic medicine is and its application to treat rare genetic diseases.

EP19 Thai Indie Filmmakers: What Awaits Them by Chula Radio Plus

The World Happiness Report of 2021 ranks Finland as the happiest country in the world. Nine of the top 10 happiest countries in this report are all in Europe. New Zealand, which ranks No. 9, is the only country among the top 10 that is not located in Europe. The report bases its happiness ranking on three indicators – life evaluations, positive emotions and negative emotions. For life evaluations, the data comes from survey by the Gallup World Poll, which asks respondents to evaluate their own current life. The survey ranks people’s well-being based on six factors - income, health, someone to count on, freedom, generosity and trust. It can be seen from this survey that economic status and social security considerably contribute to a person’s happiness. This episode looks at happiness in a more micro level – psychologically and philosophically, by talking to Dr. Patanon Kwansanit, a psychiatrist at Somdet Chaopraya Institute of Psychiatry under Department of Mental Health, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, and Prof. Dr. Soraj Hongladarom from Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sureeporn Thanasilp Director of Asian Wisdom Care Research Unit Faculty of Nursing Chulalongkorn University Teaching of the Buddha revolves around the fact that life is suffering and impermanent, and how to liberate oneself from such sufferings. It sees the cycle of life - birth, death, and rebirth - as a universal truth. According to Buddhist perspective, good death is the condition of mind at the time of death; dying in peace, without fear or mental suffering. For final-stage patients, whom nowadays are more preferably referred to as patients in palliative care, spiritual care can help them spend the rest of their time with positive mindset. It can supplement their physical wellbeing to a certain extent as well. Most of all, spiritual care helps prepare them to have a good death. At Chulalongkorn University, a group of nurses have been working and researching on how to better take care of the spiritual wellbeing of patients with terminal cancer, based on Buddhist principles. The team is known as Asian Wisdom Care Research Unit. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sureeporn Thanasilp of Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University, is the head of this team and the guest of this episode.

Convention on Biological Diversity, which is the multilateral environmental agreement in conserving and promoting sustainable use of biodiversity, defines biodiversity as the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. So far, it was estimated that around 1.75 million species have been identified. However, scientists have estimated that there are actually about 13 million species on earth, while some sources see the number as large as 100 million species. But right now, global biodiversity is under threats as over one million species are facing the danger of extinction. In investing its study on biodiversity, Chulalongkorn University has set up a research center on this issue. Prof. Dr. Somsak Panha is the director of the Center of Excellence on Biodiversity, and he will discuss the vital role of biodiversity and his study on snail taxonomy. Prof. Dr. Anchalee Tassankajon, a biochemist of Faculty of Science, talks about the project of using natural extracts from the mucus of Siamese snail to make skincare products. Both are from Chulalongkorn University.

E-sports, or electronic sports, is a form of video gaming where different players and teams compete against each other for a championship and prizes. This industry and its competitions have kept on rising now that over 500 video games are included in e-sports tournaments around the world. The industry’s revenue is estimated to reach one billion U.S. dollars in 2021. While China is currently the largest market, Asean is the fastest growing region. With all these, would e-sports become a prospective career path for young Thai adults? Chulalongkorn University itself has set up a Chula eSports Club to promote this activity among its students and personnel. Asst. Prof. Dr. Vishnu Kotrajaras, who teaches computer engineering and is an advisor to the club, Pattrawut Rattanawiboon, who is studying nuclear engineering and an ex-president of the club, and Borwornsak Eiumtrakul, who has just completed his industrial engineering study and is an e-sports gamer, discuss various aspects of the industry and about its prospects as a career for young adults. All the three are from Chulalongkorn University.

Microplastics are defined as fragments of any types of plastic that are less than five millimeters in length, or about the size of a sesame seed. Despite of its extremely small size, the current volume of microplastics in the environment, especially in the oceans, is worrisome, as they can endanger the ecosystems and contaminate our food chain. Many studies show that microplastics in the oceans are being consumed by some 700 aquatic species. Ingesting this tiny plastic waste can be very harmful to animals as well as humans, due to its physical and chemical toxicity. In this episode, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suchana Chavanich, marine biologist at Faculty of Science, talks about the dangers of microplastic, while Dr. Sujitra Vassanadumrongdee, senior researcher at Environmental Research Institute, discusses how to better manage plastic waste. Both are from Chulalongkorn University.

Recent years have seen a rise in activities and campaigns calling for a fairer and safer society that are led by young people. They want to play a more active role in solving problems that affect them and their society. However, in spite of their great potential and enthusiasm, there are not many adults who actually acknowledge positive energy of the youth. The United Nations has reported that this lack of acknowledgment was due to adults’ beliefs that young people were inexperienced and short on resources and that they tend to challenge established institutions. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, head of Department of Government, discusses how young people could better utilize their energy, while Artima Sompoh, president of Young Asean Leaders Policy Initiative 2021 and a fourth-year student in international relations, talks about the role and activities of this youth forum. Both are from Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.

Obesity is on the rise globally in both adults and children, both male and female, both rich and poor countries. World Health Organization has said that the issue of overweight and obesity has already grown to epidemic proportions, with over four million people dying as a result of being overweight or obese in 2017. In Thailand, the number of obese children, and obese adult men and women have also steadily risen and will continue to surge. In this episode, Asst. Prof. Dr. Sathaporn Ngamukote from Faculty of Allied Health Sciences talks about the causes of obesity, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattasuda Taephant from Faculty of Psychology discusses the psychological effects of obesity. Both are from Chulalongkorn University.