In this episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, Pearl Lam speaks with Charles Li, author and professor of linguistics, in a conversation shaped by history, culture, and lived experience. Drawing on a transcription rich with significant historical dates and timelines, the discussion traces transformative periods in China’s political and cultural evolution, situating personal narrative within broader historical change.

The exchange reflects deeply rooted cultural values, examining how traditional Chinese icons such as Lord Guan and Confucius continue to influence personal ethics and collective identity. Li’s journey highlights personal resilience and academic achievement, revealing how education and cultural negotiation shaped his path across China, Hong Kong, and the United States.

Economic realities are woven throughout the conversation, from the cost of a modest meal in 1958 to the long-term significance of academic royalties, offering a vivid picture of past financial conditions and the support systems that sustained intellectual life.

The dialogue also addresses experiences of racial prejudice and institutional discrimination, underscoring a critical stance toward unfair cultural and political practices. Bridging Eastern and Western perspectives, the conversation invites reflection on how different cultures approach art, education, power, and individualism in an increasingly globalized world.

In this episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, Pearl Lam speaks with Dr. Eva Cwynar, an endocrinologist and metabolic specialist whose work focuses on hormones, metabolism, and longevity.

Their conversation explores contemporary thinking around anti-aging and the enduring search for a “fountain of youth,” examining how advances in hormonal science, metabolic health, and regenerative medicine are reshaping ideas of ageing. Dr. Cwynar discusses the role hormones play in energy, resilience, and overall vitality, alongside emerging interventions such as peptides and their potential impact on cellular repair and biological ageing.

Moving beyond surface-level aesthetics, the discussion considers anti-aging as a broader framework for sustaining health, function, and quality of life over time. Throughout the episode, medical insight is balanced with personal reflection, grounding complex science in lived experience and practical understanding of longevity in everyday life.

In this episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, cultural influencer Pearl Lam sits with art aficionado, lawyer and art magazine writer Daniel McClean who regularly writes and produces shows in the art world. To Pearl Lam’s delight, this is a man who wears many hats and who has also authored and edited several books while acting as an independent curator with commercial gallery experience. “I see the good, the bad and the ugly,” says Daniel McClean about his bird’s eye view of the ever-changing art business.

The duo discusses the importance of authentication as Pearl Lam draws viewers to the fact that despite the increasing digitalisation the art world is enduring, people’s interest in Old Masters is actually being revived instead of dwindling. This is where Daniel McClean shares his experience, using an example where AI authenticated a Caravaggio in an auction. The lawyer believes that artificial intelligence could provide valuable assistance in this process, with careful human guidance, since he doesn’t believe that AI-authentication could be entirely definitive.

This illuminating episode also delves into blockchain technology, the rising concerns of maintaining legacy through art, the changing role of art custodians and how art is currently being showcased and curated in exciting new ways.