I Love KL – Details, episodes & analysis

Ahead of its fourth iteration since its inception in 2021, the folks behind KL Art Book Fair 2024, Driv Loo (Creative Director) and Brendan Chew (Program Director) join us to share the process of conceptualising a fair that’s meant to celebrate the world of printed matter and its many different disciplines, as well as foster collaboration between its community members across boundaries. What are the types of conversations happening at this festival, and what else can it do to help facilitate the growth of the local creative community here? Tune in and hear their thoughts.

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Welcome, weary traveller, to the magical world of TTRPGs! Tabletop role-playing games have experienced a resurgence worldwide for their collaborative storytelling, creative exploration, and limitless possibilities that go beyond the boundaries of traditional gaming. Located in TTDI, board game store Here Be Dragons has made it their mission to create an inclusive environment where enthusiasts and newcomers alike can discover the wide and wonderful world of all things tabletop, with its neverending library of board, card, tabletop, and role-playing games. We speak to founder Sharifah Hanna to explore the intricacies and endless appeal of TTRPGs, how the hobby has exploded locally, drawing in a fast-growing community of all ages and backgrounds, and the store's role in making tabletop gaming accessible for everyone.

Photo credit: dodotone / Shutterstock.com

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Kembara Stories and Food Trail returns for the second year, after a successful outing last year. Project coordinators Kevin Bathman, David Tneh, and Swagata Roy, together with Bangladeshi storyteller Nadia join us on I Love KL to share the journey of bringing this walking tour to life, and the importance of sharing the stories of these migrant communities to the larger public. They also speak about the collaboration process with these communities, and the blindspots that we might have missed or overlooked when it comes to interacting with the migrant communities. Oh, there’s also a quick chat on food from these communities and their role in uniting us!

Photo Credit: FMT

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The recent sinkhole incident at Jalan Masjid India has raised concerns about urban safety here in Kuala Lumpur - Dr. Lim Choun Sian, Chief Research officer at UKM joins us to share his insights on the situation, discussing our capital city’s topography along with its susceptibility to sinkholes. From the geological factors such as limestones potentially being the cause, to the complexity of our underground piping system and the preventive measures we can take as citizens to mitigate future risks, today’s episode not only addresses the concern regarding the Jalan Masjid India situation, but also the wider implications of KL’s urban planning and geological safety.

Photo Credit: The Star

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Stadium Merdeka opened its doors to the public again recently, marking the stadium’s next chapter in its life serving the nation. In conjunction with Malaysia’s National Day, I Love KL goes back to the beginning to chart the stadium’s explosive beginning as that iconic location where the country marked and celebrated its independence, as well as the journey it went through afterwards, including hosting a plethora of sporting events, concerts and even grassroots-level activities. Heritage conservation expert Elizabeth Cardosa walks us through these moments, and shares the story of her involvement in the restoration of Stadium Merdeka in the mid 2000s.

Photo credit: BaniHasyim / Shutterstock.com

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Filled with loads of tradition, Petaling Street has been regarded as a heritage site with its historical buildings, traditional trades and rich history. Taking note of the clash of modernisation and inhibitors maintaining their traditional practices, arts-and-culture initiative Project Future Malaysia (PFM) introduced its latest project - “Traditions in Transition”, a book and video series featuring the stories of these traders. Joined by project manager Kevin Bathman, local author Francis Nantha and the producer of its video series Daniel Lim, we’ll be exploring all aspects regarding this project, as it gears up for its launch this weekend.

Photo credit: Unsplash

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The Forest Learning Centre, the latest addition in Perdana Botanical Garden, was set up recently to make learning about our forest more accessible and approachable. They do that by offering guided tours, focusing on our local plants, trees and fruits, as well as exhibitions that are meant to bridge the gap between art and creativity with technical knowledge and jargon. Joining us to talk more about The Forest Learning Centre and what they plan to achieve to make our forest more accessible for all are its curator, Syarifah Nadhirah and its project manager, Ain Umairah.

Photo Credit: The Star

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Human Edition is Shi Han’s attempt at deconstructing people and peeling away that veneer that we sometimes simplistically latch on to when it comes to perceiving others. Human Edition came to be amidst Shi Han’s struggles with her own career and life, and using her own experience as a reference point, she aims to tell the stories of others from a more empathetic point of view. She joins us on the show to share the behind-the-scenes challenges of running Human Edition, her thoughts on the technicalities of storytelling on social media, and her grand plan for Human Edition and her own life moving forward.

Photo Credit: studio hu.ed.

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Popa Nota is David Ho’s attempt at expressing his creativity and love for design in multiple shapes and forms. Combining typography, origami and paper engineering, he produces pop-up art that looks at alphabets and letters from a perspective that’s not only three dimensional, but also very tactile. David joins us on the show to share the story behind Popa Nota, his experience with multidisciplinary design, and the mathematics and intricate artistic processes behind pop-up art, as well as his future plans to spread this form of art to more like-minded individuals.

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Documentary filmmakers UNI Gallery are committed to capturing the stories and people behind Malaysia's traditional trades. Also known as 有你, or "Together With You", the team have created a vast library of documentaries, shining a spotlight on over 150 businesses and traditional practitioners - many of whom are "uncles and aunties" keeping generations-long traditions alive. UNI Gallery producer Daniel Lim shares the editorial and production process behind documenting these untold stories and their quest to uncover the uniqueness of every individual.

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