Hi there, I'm Kai!
Journalist, Researcher, Storyteller
I write about issues at the intersection of technology, culture, and society.
As a journalist at the Straits Times, my stories delve into oddball interests, unusual subcultures, alternative ways of living, and emerging trends. Some examples of my longform journalism include features on lo-fi music, craft beer, digital mourning, school dropouts, TikTok historians, and places to eat when you have a food allergy in Singapore.
Beyond ST, some of my past work include roles in journalism (Business Insider, Yahoo Singapore) and communications (International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, LITMUS Public Relations).
I studied sociology and political science – graduating at the top of my class from the University of Cambridge as a postgraduate Chevening Scholar, and completing my undergraduate studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Always happy to be a listening ear, especially if you have a story to share.
I can be reached at teokaixiang [at] protonmail [dot] com, or at kaixiang.01 on Signal.
Selected Work
Journalism
I am currently a journalist at The Straits Times, covering lifestyle news with a focus on design and digital culture. Most of my stories are features examining a lesser-known aspect of life in Singapore.
Previously, I was a reporter for Business Insider, with a focus on digital culture, career journeys, and first-person "as told to" profiles. To give a sense of my reporting, some highlights include:
The GPT college classroom is almost here, but professors say AI isn't the real threat.
The real reason you're using 'Girl Math' isn't as funny as the TikTok trend would make you think.
TikTok's tinned fish obsession isn't just about affordable luxury in a can.
Skills and competencies: interviews, digital journalism, aggregation, tech news, lifestyle news, digital culture and social media
Highlights
The Straits Times (full-time journalist)
2024 — Primarily lifestyle news, with a focus on bringing to light lesser-known aspects of life and culture in Singapore.
Business Insider (full-time junior reporter)
2023 — Primarily business and tech stories, with a focus on turning interviews into first-person narratives about relocation, career change, and digital culture.
Singapore Samizdat (newsletter)
2021 - present — A newsletter on Singapore's press, internet, and government.
Poet rejects arts funding in Singapore amid censorship debate (journalism)
2015, Yahoo Singapore
Sean Lee's The Garden (art writing)
2013, Today Singapore
Research
My research interests focus on the social implications of data, and how it influences how we think about fairness, marginalisation and sustainability.
I graduated at the top of my cohort from the University of Cambridge, with a MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture, as a Chevening and Cambridge Trust Scholar.
My dissertation focused on data governance and civic engagement in Singapore, and was awarded the Hart-Marshall Arts and Humanities Prize.
Working with data analytics and visualisation has been a core component of my past work. Excel, SPSS and Tableau have been my primary tools, and I am well-versed in working with large datasets and data communication.
Beyond effective data analysis, I love finding creative and innovative ways to use data in storytelling (see highlights).
I was a 2022 fellow of the European Summer School on Internet Governance and part of the Fall 2021 cohort of the Atlantic Council's Digital Sherlocks open-source intelligence programme.
Skills and competencies: open-source intelligence (OSINT), data visualisation, data journalism, web analytics, quantitative and qualitative research, ethnography, computational social science
Highlights
Civil Society Responses to Singapore’s Online “Fake News” Law (journal article)
2021, International Journal of Communication — This journal article marks the first piece of primary and interview-based research on Singapore's controversial law against "fake news".
POFMA'ed Dataset (dataset)
2020-2022, Singapore Internet Watch — This dataset compiles every electronic communication subject to Singapore's law against "fake news", and has been cited by Freedom House, ASEAN Parliamentarians For Human Rights, and the International Commission of Jurists, among others. Here's my breakdown of the law's usage.
7 Ways Singapore Has Changed Because of Covid-19, Explained Through Charts (data journalism)
2021, Kopi.co
SGForumBot (twitter bot)
2020-2022 — This experiment in procedural generation exclusively uses words found in Straits Times Forum letters to generate parody forum letters.
Choose Your Own Singapore (game)
2020, Heritage Game Jam / Singapore Heritage Festival
Communications
I was previously an associate consultant at LITMUS, a leading boutique PR agency in Singapore for B2B tech clients.
Prior to that, I was the Communications Officer of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), one of Europe's leading security think tanks, where I led the organisation's public engagement and digital strategy.
I have presented my research at the Oxford Internet Institute, the Institute of Policy Studies, SOAS University of London, and the European Summer School of Internet Governance.
I have also facilitated workshops on a variety of topics, including public speaking, debate, and personal branding. As a competitive debater, I won numerous awards while representing Singapore Polytechnic and Leiden University.
Skills and competencies: content development, communication strategies, media relations, SEO and SEM, newsletters, podcasts, thought leadership, multimedia design, game design, stakeholder management, event management
Highlights
Bridging the Gap Between Counterterrorism Research and Practice Through Game-Based Learning (thought leadership)
2021, Global Network on Extremism and Technology
Flashpoints: an Interactive Game on Counter-Terrorism (game)
2020, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism — Flashpoints is a first-of-its-kind educational game aimed at conveying counter-terrorism research findings to policy-makers and practitioners.
Counter-Terrorism after 9/11 (podcast)
2021, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism
ICCT Newsletter (newsletter)
2020-2021, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism — Among other editorial responsibilities, curating and developing the ICCT newsletter was one of my duties as communications officer.
10 Years of ICCT (conference/event)
2020, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism
Resume
Business Insider
Junior Business Reporter
Singapore
2023
Journalism, Tech and Business Reporting
LITMUS PR
Associate Consultant
Singapore
2022-2023
Public Relations, Content Development, Media Relations, Campaign Strategy
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT)
Communication Officer and Research Assistant
The Hague, Netherlands
2021-2022
Digital Strategy, Public Policy, Security Studies, Data Analytics, Public Affairs
Internships
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism; Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict; and Yahoo Singapore
University of Cambridge
MPhil in Sociology of Media and Culture (Distinction)
Cambridge, United Kingdom
2021-2022
Computational Social Science, Critical Data Studies, Ethics of Data/AI, Public Policy
University of Leiden
BSc (Honours) in Political Science
The Hague, Netherlands
2018-2021
International Relations, Public Policy, Statistics, Economics, Security Studies
Singapore Polytechnic
Diploma in Creative Writing for TV and New Media
Singapore
2013-2016
Journalism, Filmmaking, Multimedia Design
Personal Works
Untitled Train Story, my first ever published short story and one of 11 winners of the 2022 Storytel Epigram Horror Prize.
Paper Trails, a satirical pen and paper game published in the final issue of Mynah Magazine.
How a Reddit Post Sparked a National Conversation on Trans Rights, an article in my newsletter on Singapore's media and politics.
We, the City, a pen-and-paper game about belonging outside belonging, where players define the soul of a city.