Hosted by the duo Ken and Kylie, Bailingguo News is a bilingual international news podcast that ranked as the second most popular podcast in Taiwan last year. To achieve the long-term goal of letting Taiwan be heard by the international community, Bailingguo News has created the English-language show “Tough Bobas: Taiwan Uncensored.” Combining talk show with hilarious parodies that satirize world political events, the sketch-comedy show has four episodes in store. The cast includes singer Kimberley Chen, Youtuber David Huang, comedian Kurt Hsiao, DJ Marc Orange and Internet celebrity Holger Chen.
Finding the cast was no easy business: not only do the actors have to speak in English, the show also deals with sensitive political issues, such as the Taiwan-US-China relationship and China’s crackdown on “sissy” men, said Ken. In the end, only one-fifth of the invited actors agreed to come on board.
“Tough Bobas: Taiwan Uncensored” is scheduled to launch at 9pm on Feb. 19, Feb. 28, March 7 and March 14 on Bailingguo News’s YouTube channel. As for whether there will be new episodes in the future, Kylie, who admitted the NT$ 2.5 million (US$89,000) production cost is quite a sum, said wryly that the show will go on if they receive more funds.
Photo courtesy of Bailingguo News 照片︰《百靈果NEWS》提供
(Translated by Rita Wang, Taipei Times)
由Ken與王晴蒂雙人搭檔主持的雙語國際新聞《百靈果News》，是去年台灣收聽率第二名的Podcast節目。為達成將台灣聲音推廣至國際的長程目標，百靈果打造純英語節目《反共波霸：無碼台灣》，透過英文脫口秀搭配搞笑短劇的詼諧方式詮釋國際議題。節目更邀到歌手陳芳語、YouTuber黃大謙、喜劇演員蕭東意、電台DJ歐馬克、網紅陳之漢助陣，目前已完成四集。
Ken坦言尋找演員過程相當困難，除了得全程使用英文，也因涉及敏感政治題材，如台美中關係、中國禁娘令等，人選邀約成功答應機率只有五分之一。
《反共波霸：無碼台灣》將於二月十九日、二月二十八日、三月七日、三月十四日晚上九時，在百靈果的YouTube頻道分集播出。至於未來還會不會再拍新集數，王晴蒂苦笑表示，希望有拿到錢再拍，坦言兩百五十萬台幣（約八萬九千美元）製作費真的不是小數目。
(中央社)
If you think you’re cool and know all the latest trends, then here’s a question for you: What does the word “brat” mean? If you said something like, “a child who behaves badly or is annoying or rude,” you might not be as hip as you think. This four-letter word now has a new definition that has become quite popular. Its popularity caught the eye of Collins Dictionary, which crowned it as “Word of the Year 2024.” According to this new meaning of brat, it is used as an adjective to describe someone who has a confident, independent, and hedonistic
A: Seeing as the 2025 Michelin Guide extended to New Taipei City and Hsinchu City and County, it’s hard to believe that none of the restaurants won a Michelin star. B: Some fine establishments — like Hsinchu’s A Cut steakhouse — surely deserve the honor. A: Michelin-starred restaurants have good quality food, but some of them are so pricey. B: I once had barbeque pork at a starred restaurant that set me back NT$4,800. That’s even higher than my weekly food budget. A: No wonder several of them have closed down recently, as high prices and the tariff war are scaring off
A: The Michelin Guide Taiwan announced the 2025 Bib Gourmand eateries and starred restaurants last week. B: What were the highlights this year? A: In addition to Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, New Taipei City and Hsinchu City and County were included for the first time. B: As a New Taipei resident, I can’t wait to try all the awarded local delicacies. Should we start from the more affordable Bib Gourmand selection? A: Sure, New Taipei and Hsinchu each boast 15 Bib Gourmand eateries now, including some famous establishments such as San Tung restaurant. A: 2025《米其林指南》近日公布「必比登推介」和星級餐廳。 B: 今年的名單有哪些亮點？ A: 除了台北、台中、台南、高雄，今年加入新北、新竹縣市！ B: 身為新北人，我真想吃遍當地的美食，我們要不要從平價的必比登先開始？ A: 好啊新北、新竹各有15家入選必比登，像山東小館等知名餐廳都有上榜唷。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Interestingly, one of the words Collins Dictionary discarded was selected by Oxford University Press (OUP) for its own Word of the Year. On its Web site, the publishing house of the University of Oxford stated it had conducted a public poll in which over 37,000 people participated. The voters, along with OUP’s language experts, settled on the term “brain rot.” One main reason for the decision was the vast amount of interest in the noun during 2023 and 2024, with its usage increasing by 230 percent. In fact, brain rot is not a new term by any
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