Ho Ho Hong Kong

The homegrown music festival Clockenflap, with co-founder Justin Sweeting

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Clockenflap is HK's legendary musical festival that consistently 'punches well above its weight' landing huge acts, and brings in over 75,000 punters in a normal year.

Having lost a year to protests and now another to covid, Justin talked about the resilience and commitment to live music from the brains behind the fest.

The team also founded and run Ticketflap, and are a force of nature behind the city's events.

Join us on Patreon, this week's bonus ep is about the real messy story behind the opening of the Riff: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Co-hosted by the wonderful Seth Waters (@seththinksthoughts)

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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The seedy ultra-wealthy dancing ring behind HK's current outbreak

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Ballroom dancing is super popular with the wives of Hong Kong's tycoons. After the Starlight dance club became the biggest covid super-spreader site in the city to date, viral videos revealed the young toy-boy dance instructors offering more than just salsa instructions.

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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HK's darling retailer Bookazine, with director Shonee Mirchandani

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Shonee's dad came to Hong Kong in the 70s with $50 in his pocket, and built a bookstore empire that gained a monopoly on the city's reading.

She talked about his journey, and her own, after taking over the chain with her sister Arti and the SARS epidemic as the backdrop.

Check out their new website: https://bookazine.com.hk/

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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The Wanch closes, with co-owner Keith Goodman

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The Wanch aka Hong Kong's #1 Live Music Venue has shut its doors. The live house opened in 1987 and for over thirty years has been an institution in the city's music scene.

Owner Keith Goodman is on this week talking about what made it great, their success with the H2 Music Festival, and his hopes for the future of the Wanch.

Rock at RIO Live Music Festival details here: https://bit.ly/36FBEUq

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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Protesting in Hong Kong, with Antony Dapiran

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Antony Dapiran is a Hong Kong-based writer and lawyer, and wrote two HK books City on Fire and City of Protest. He's appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Quartz, the whole shebang.

We talked about the protests, the national security law, the current state of affairs what lays in store for the city.

Here's Antony's site: https://www.antonydapiran.com/

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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Virtual Reality in HK, with Sandbox VR creative director Michael Hampden

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 22:00:00 GMT

We are in the era of virtual reality making leaps and bounds in technology, and HK's own Sandbox VR is leading the charge. With the backing of Alibaba and they have a plan to open a holodeck in every neighbourhood on the planet.

Creative director Michael Hampden gave us the inside of scoop on how it all works, what makes games great and why people keep puking.

Check out Sandbox here: https://sandboxvr.com/

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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Can comedians be spiritual?

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Are all comedians depressed? It is possible to be funny without being broken? We take a deep dive into the spirituality of the clowns on stage.

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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HK's homeless problem, with Maitreyi Karanth

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Maitreyi's a standup comedian, actress and an absolute force of nature helping feed the homeless in Hong Kong.

She talked about her life from India to China, working in film and helping people out.

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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Hong Kong's queen of bagels, with Rebecca Schrage

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Rebecca is the genius behind Schragels, the only place in Hong Kong to get the real-deal NYC-level bagels. The former banker was discovered by a chef after making bagels for a buddy, and is taking the city by storm.

Get your bagels right here: https://schragels.com/

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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Organised crime on the streets, with Mohammed Magdi

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 22:00:00 GMT

A drive by shooting outside Mohammed's apartment took out the windows of a restaurant last week. He also saw machete wielding gangsters running from police in a nearby park, and a little further away a Triad was shot in his car sitting in traffic.

The presence of organised crime in the streets is real and can be seen on a weekly basis, we talked about how some of it works.

Andy's blog: http://andycurtain.com/

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The restaurant biz, with head chef Fabio Nicotra

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Fabio's the head chef of Soho Italian fancy restaurant 121BC. He told us about life in the kitchen, how the food & beverage industry is surviving the protests and covid, what is the worst thing to order in a restaurant.

Fabio's restaurant 121BC: https://121bc.hk/

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The reopening of Hong Kong II

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Bars have reopened, restaurants are open late, groups of four can mingle, even yoga studios are open! YOGA STUDIOS PEOPLE! Has normal returned?

We go live 11am every Sunday morning HK time. Link is always here: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

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Hong Kong's professional dance scene, with Katie Hill

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Katie's a DJ, a pro dancer and part of the city's whacky and wonderful dance scene that is full of insane stories of events here and across the border in mainland China, including working with Christina Aguilera and Kylie Minogue.

We go live 11am every Sunday morning HK time. Link is always here: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

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The future of us, with Mohammed Magdi

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Andy and Mohammed were let go from the comedy club last week. They walk through their long history of destroying comedy clubs and scenes and what's in store for them next.

We go live 11am every Sunday morning HK time. Link is always here: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

Chaotic HK IG: https://www.instagram.com/chaoshongkong/

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Colonial Kids, who are they? With Cassi Thomas

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Cassi Thomas was born in Hong Kong, her mum was born here, and she's a staunch defender of all things she loves about the city. She joined the pod to talk about HK's colonial kids and her insane online army of followers, Chaotic HK.

We go live 11am every Sunday morning HK time. Link is always here: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

Chaotic HK IG: https://www.instagram.com/chaoshongkong/

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Adventuring in HK, with Ryan Hynek

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 23:58:57 GMT

Canyoning, off-road motorbiking, rock climbing, sea kayaking, coasteering, mountain-bike riding, hiking and capturing it all with a drone, there is so much stuff you can do outdoors in HK. Ryan Hynek's done it all, find out the best, the worst, and just how dangerous it gets.

Here's the link for the live streams: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

Ryan's Mundane Travels: https://bit.ly/2YsyDUn

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Which city is better, Shanghai or Hong Kong?

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Who's got the funkiest nightlife? Coolest things to do? Wildest stories? Craziest travelling? Vivek and Andy are dissecting two of the best cities in Asia and only one will survive the surgery.

Here's the link for the live streams: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

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Live stream: What would it take for you to leave HK?

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 22:00:00 GMT

We're streaming live every Sunday 11am Hong Kong time. This week we talked about what we think is going to happen, and where the line is for each of us that would make us leave the city.

Here's the link for the live streams: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

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Scuba in HK

Sun, 05 Jul 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Hong Kong is a world-class place to dive, according to special guest scuba instructor Alun Harford from Splash HK. Find out what it's like, where to go, how not to freak out and where Hong Kong's incredible underwater shipwreck diving is.

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Having kids in HK

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Find out if Hong Kong's a good city for kids, what it's like for children healthcare, pollution, the schools and where's a good place to live.

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Worklife for women with Belinda Esterhammer

Sun, 21 Jun 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Belinda Esterhammer is a force of nature with some big projects rocking along. She co-hosts the #Impact podcast, hosts the Belinda Esterhammer show, created Fem Founded a community for females to get the nudge to get started on everything they’re passionate about, and co-founded Women in Tech HK.

We talked about the challenges female entrepreneurs face, what it's like for women in HK workplaces, the cultural impacts on gender and about her projects.

Belinda's website: https://www.belindaesterhammer.com/

#Impact podcast: https://www.hashtagimpact.com/

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Hong Kong's healthcare system

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Should we believe Hong Kong's covid numbers? We give the lowdown on the city's healthcare system, compared public with private, shared a few hospital horror stories and talked about the various terrible things a doctor an do to you. Find out if this city's a good place to get sick.

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What's the best neighbourhood in Hong Kong?

Sun, 07 Jun 2020 22:00:00 GMT

We decide what is the coolest part of town, where do you wanna live, the best islands, the racism through different places, and the area that represents the true heart of Hong Kong.

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Catfishing and creating, with Jules Hannaford

Sun, 31 May 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Jules Hannaford joins the pod to talk about a terrifying online-dating catfishing ordeal she went through. Jules wrote the Webby-nominated book Fool Me Twice, stars in the eponymous podcast, and hosts the awesome interview podcast Hong Kong Confidential.

And Vivek makes a hilariously inappropriate joke...

Fool Me Twice book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XKcTCh

Fool Me Twice podcast: https://bit.ly/2MhSzTA

Hong Kong Confidential: https://www.hongkongconfidential.net/

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Should you learn Cantonese?

Sun, 24 May 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The question of learning Canto used to only apply to expats, but these days the future of the dialect is under threat. We talked about its origins, who's speaking it, how to learn it, what it means politically, and about Hong Kong's minority languages.

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The reopening of Hong Kong

Sun, 17 May 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The city is reopening again after almost no covid cases in 3 weeks. Find out how the situation compares to SARs, what has the 'non-lockdown' looked like and what are the crazy measures taken by businesses to stay safe, which may soon be taken on around the world.

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The storytelling community, with Rachel Smith

Sun, 10 May 2020 22:00:00 GMT

The city has a killer storytelling scene, and at the heart of it is the group Hong Kong Stories. The group head honcho Rachel Smith joins us this week, who also hosts a huge podcast of the same name, and organises both the Spoken Word and HK Podcast festivals.

We talked about how the scene started, what makes a good story, when people are lying, why they don't want any morals on stage and they handle people sneaking in their politics.

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Helpers: the backbone of Hong Kong

Sun, 03 May 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Who are the city's domestic workers? Why are they almost all women? We take a dive into the history of the city's helping hands, their relationship with their employers, the abuse and their fight for recognition.

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Working out in HK

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 22:00:00 GMT

How do you stay fit in Hong Kong? We talk about the best at home, indoors and outdoors exercises, different types of meditation, yoga, the statistics on exercising, and the most popular regime in Hong Kong.

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Canto Comedy: How'd it start and where's it going

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 22:00:00 GMT

Cantonese standup is big and it's going to be huge. Find out how where its roots lie, how it came to be, where it's going around the world, what lays in store and where can you see it.

Vivek is the best-known comic in Hong Kong and tells the story how it all began from the inside.

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