Hi, I'm Rachel Phua (潘恩琳)!

I'm a journalist interested in business and labor reporting. I'm currently a data journalism masters student at the Columbia Journalism School👩🏻‍💻. This summer, I'll be joining Moody's as a data journalist intern🔆.

Previously, I was a broadcast and digital reporter in Singapore, and covered the labor, tech, and real estate beats 📝. My stories have been published in The Nation, The American Prospect, Nikkei Asia, CNBC, and more.

I also love writing about food 🥡, and have produced stories for the likes of the BBC, CNN, Atlas Obscura, and SCMP's Goldthread.

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Data stories

"Something I Miss From Home": Going To Malaysia

Columbia Journalism School Project

I created a webpage that shows you the latest traffic images on the two causeways that connect Singapore and Malaysia, when the best times to go are based on the traffic, and how grocery prices compare between Singapore and Malaysia.

Datawrapper Javascript

Lawmakers that supported labor reforms got campaign money from anti-union tech giants

Columbia Journalism School project

I matched the names of lawmakers that signed the PRO Act in the 117th Congress and records that showed congressional candidates that got money from Amazon and Google PACs for the 2022 midterms.

Pandas

CEOs cut their own pay in sign of solidarity, but not after huge pay days

Columbia Journalism School project

I compiled and analyzed 14-A SEC filings, and company market capitalization data to plot pay ratios and layoffs using R/ggplot, and edited the charts using Adobe Illustrator, and published them using ai2html.

R/ggplot Adobe Illustrator

People with disabilities found work during the pandemic, but there's still a wide job chasm to close

Columbia Journalism School project

I collected and analyzed data on working adults with disabilities, their wages, and employment discrimination claims using R/ggplot, Datawrapper, and RawGraphs, and edited the charts using Adobe Illustrator, and published them using ai2html.

R/ggplot Adobe Illustrator

Private Equity is Everywhere. Should we be concerned?

Columbia Journalism School project

I collected SEC data about publicly traded private equity firms and pension fund data from the Equable Institute. Then I charted and visualized them using Adobe Illustrator. I created a blueprint of a game about spending money at private equity-owned businesses using Twine.

Adobe Illustrator Twine

Derailments Haven't Stopped Railway Companies From Reaping Huge Profits

Columbia Journalism School project

I collected data from the Federal Railroad Administration and SEC data about publicly traded railway companies, analyzed them with pandas, and visualized them with ggplot and Adobe Illustrator.

Pandas R/ggplot Adobe Illustrator

Why Steinway pianos are so expensive

Columbia Journalism School project

A fun scrollytelling piece explaining what makes Steinway pianos so sought after, using a 3D piano model from Sketchfab.

How and Where Did People Die On The Job in the U.S.?

Columbia Journalism School project

I scraped and analyzed workplace death cases recorded by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), charting them by year, state, how they died, and union status.

Pandas Datawrapper

News Stories

Supply-Chain Workers Have the Power—and They're Ready to Use It

The Nation

Rail, port, and parcel delivery workers are fighting for better contracts, and this time they have leverage.

Amazon Workers Are Fighting Back

The American Prospect

Ahead of a key vote at a warehouse in Albany, union drives and walkouts show that workers are unafraid of challenging the e-commerce giant.

How Gig Workers Are Bearing the Brunt of the Global Economic Crisis

The American Prospect

Higher prices, an imminent economic downturn, and the stock market turmoil have turned working conditions from bad to worse for on-demand workers.

Southeast Asia’s start-ups have fired hundreds of workers, and this may be just the beginning

CNBC

Tech investors say this is just the beginning of more job cuts in the region’s tech industry. As interest rates rise and economic uncertainty looms, companies are now being forced to focus on profitability instead of growing as quickly as possible.

Shares of Shopee-owner Sea surge 14% after stronger-than-expected revenue

CNBC

E-commerce and gaming revenue fell from the previous quarter, a sign business is slowing as countries emerge from the pandemic.

Singapore-based firms turn to remote hiring amid tech talent crunch

Nikkei Asia/DealStreetAsia

Zoom and Alibaba have opened new offices, jostling with Sea and Grab to expand.

Singapore alternative meat startup raises $100m in Series A round

Nikkei Asia/DealStreetAsia

Industry players here say while interest is growing, the lack of startups and a wait-and-see approach has kept the industry nascent. Southeast Asia’s tech system is steps behind global trends.

Climate tech deals in SE Asia still nascent with few startups, cautious investors

DealStreetAsia

Industry players here say while interest is growing, the lack of startups and a wait-and-see approach has kept the industry nascent. Southeast Asia’s tech system is steps behind global trends.

Is Grab's weak Nasdaq debut the cost of overvaluation, or just bad market timing?

DealStreetAsia

The tepid market debut of Singapore-based "superapp" Grab has raised several questions regarding the company’s plus-size valuation, the reliability of SPACs as a shortcut to the public market, the role of tech businesses after COVID, and the listing prospects of Southeast Asia’s many other tech companies.

Retrenchments and withdrawn job offers: Singapore's labour market shows signs of COVID-19 strain

Channel NewsAsia

A layoff is one possible outcome of the economic fallout on the jobs market. But the pandemic has resulted in other employment issues cropping up, such as furloughs, salary reductions and rescinded job offers.

They have the skills and qualifications. So why can't these disabled people find good jobs?

Channel NewsAsia

Despite their years of experience, people with disabilities in Singapore face difficulties finding jobs that match their capabilities, and are often forced to take up low-paying jobs.

GE2020: PAP wins with 61.24% of vote; WP claims two GRCs including new Sengkang GRC

Channel NewsAsia

Singapore's 2020 national elections wrap story on how each of the parties performed and what candidates said.

The impact of workplace accidents: Victims struggle with debt and changed lives

Channel NewsAsia

As Singapore records a rising trend of workplace deaths and injuries, officials have expressed their concerns over the latest figures. Among low-wage foreign workers, many who took out loans to secure a job here, the repercussions are potentially devastating and long-lasting.

PropertyGuru in legal tussle with 99.co over copyright infringement

Channel NewsAsia

Scoop based on court documents attained on two real estate listing websites going head to head in court after PropertyGuru sued 99.co.

Will Grab’s flywheel strategy take off?

DealStreetAsia

The “flywheel effect” or “network effect” is a phrase oft-wielded by Southeast Asia’s tech investors and consumer internet bigwigs. But does it really work?

Truckers Face Double Whammy of High Fuel Prices, Low Freight Rates

Labor New York/Columbia News Service

U.S. diesel prices have remain elevated while freight rates have fallen as demand for goods fall.

Law enforcement in Texas still a man’s world

Dallas Morning News

An analysis finds that in the Lone Star State, where more than half of the population is female, only 11.5 percent of licensed peace officers are women. This story, done with fellow investigative journalism classmate at UT Austin, won the First Amendment Award from the Fort Worth chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2016.

Food Features

Southeast Asia's 600-year-old fusion cuisine

BBC Travel

Six hundred years ago, women created Peranakan cooking – a Southeast Asian cuisine with multicultural roots – and have been shaping it ever since.

Peranakan food: A guide to one of Southeast Asia’s most popular cuisines

CNN Travel

Bursting with flavors and colors, it’s distinct for its mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian ingredients and cooking methods.

Hawker food makes it big in New York

The Business Times

The Big Apple is seeing more F&B operators serving up Singapore street fare

Singapore’s Last Traditional Coffee Roasters May Soon Disappear

Atlas Obscura

The aging masters of kopi are desperate for the next generation to take up their craft.

COVID-19: Delivery and takeaway models unsustainable, say restaurant owners

Channel NewsAsia

Food supplies, staff and rental costs will outweigh whatever they make in deliveries and takeaways.

Disabled jobseekers turn to urban farming as COVID-19 affects employment opportunities

Channel NewsAsia

The pandemic affected the disabled community’s employment landscape, particularly those in the hospitality industry. Many of them found it difficult to pivot to remote work, because they lacked the technological know-how to use teleconferencing tools or the equipment to work from home.

Videos

Badly hit by COVID-19, when will Singapore's jobs market recover? An explainer

Channel NewsAsia

Latest job market figures showed that Singapore's unemployment rate climbed to a 16-year high. When will things pick up?

Fronted Scripted Produced

The end of the ride? Carnival operators left in limbo as COVID-19 keeps their businesses shut

Channel NewsAsia

Burning about S$100,000 a month and with no signs as to when they can reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, travelling carnival operators in Singapore like Uncle Ringo are stuck in limbo.

Produced

When your son is 40 and has autism - and you're getting on in age

Channel NewsAsia

Duane Goh has autism and is 40 years old. And while raising Duane has had its challenges, his parents, now 74, have bigger concerns about what will happen to him after they die.

Produced

Popiah: Tasty Seafood and Veggie Salad Wrapped Inside a Springy Thin Wrap

SCMP's Goldthread

How do you make the world’s thinnest pancake (just 1mm thick!) and stuff it with vegetables, seafood, fritters, nuts, and sauces, and then make sure it doesn’t break? This 84-year-old popiah shop in Singapore shows us exactly how.

Scripted Produced

“Put My Own Passion Inside”: Why This Couple in Singapore Love Cooking Laksa Noodles

SCMP's Goldthread

There are many variations to laksa, a type of spicy noodles found in Southeast Asia. Which one is the best? Our bet’s on this hawker stall in Singapore — a three-time Michelin Bib Gourmand winner run by an elderly couple for the past 22 years.

Scripted Produced

“On call: Taxi Drivers' Christian Fellowship's members' simple faith drives a profound impact

Salt&Light

The Taxi Drivers’ Christian Fellowship was started in 1989, formed so that Christian drivers could find fellow brothers and sisters and be equipped to be missionaries on the road.

Filmed Edited Scripted Produced

Photographs

Amazon workers reject union bid in upstate New York

Associated Press

Amazon workers and supporters march during a rally in Castleton-On-Hudson, about 15 miles south of Albany, N.Y., Monday, Oct. 10, 2022. The startup union that clinched a historic labor victory at Amazon earlier this year is slated to face the company yet again, aiming to rack up more wins that could force the reluctant retail behemoth to the negotiating table. Pictures were picked up by The Washington Post, Financial Times, and other publications.

Lessons From Fukushima

Salt&Light

An abandoned building in Tomioka Town, Fukushima. Although the evacuation notice for Tomioka was lifted in April 2017, less than 10% of the population have returned.

“God told us to stay”: They remained after the Fukushima triple-disaster to help the afflicted

Salt&Light

Pastor Eiji Sumiyoshi stayed in Fukushima to support the relief efforts.

© 2023 — Rachel Phua