Coming from two generations of high ranking military leaders, Dimas grew up wanting nothing else than to become a soldier too. But it was only when Dimas moved to Hawaii in the late 1990s that he unexpectedly found a way to channel his patriotic side. In this episode, we follow a story of the first Indonesian to become a pro wrestler in the U.S. Donning an army character from Indonesia, Dimas recounts the serendipitous events that led him to become a wrestler, coming to terms with his family who...
Sep 09, 2021•36 min
Election is a contest with a winner, but what if the only way to "win" is to make sure "nobody" wins? Since Indonesia began the process to hold election concurrently in 2015, there have been more and more cases of empty ballot/empty box, only a single candidate race. For some, the empty box is the expression of choice. In this episode, we follow the story of a man who felt cheated in an election process and his intricate tactics and calculated strategies which eventually resulted in a first for ...
Jun 14, 2021•26 min
Though Indomie is one of Indonesian's most iconic brands, its true origin is largely misunderstood. As Indonesians began to accept wheat-based products as part of their daily diet, instant noodles manufacturers flourished--beginning with Supermi. But it was Soeharto's masterplan with establishing Bogasari, a flour milling facility, that paved the way for Liem Sioe Liong (a.k.a Soedono Salim) to come onto the instant noodle scene. With the help of Soeharto and his institutions, Salim wrestled con...
May 24, 2021•30 min
How did instant noodles become a staple food for Indonesians? How did Indomie become Indonesia’s most iconic brand? Through the lens of two generations, we trace back the series of accidental events; from historic famine, a move for political and national stability, nepotism, geopolitics, the letters of desperation, to the legal battle over Indonesia’s most iconic brand and a forgotten founder that history should acknowledge. | Stay connected with us through our Instagram and Twitter: @Indepthcr...
May 03, 2021•29 min
Our podcast feeds has been a bit quiet recently, but that's because we have been hard at work pitching, interviewing, editing and building stories. Indonesia In-depth has evolved into a seasonal podcast, fully committed to long-form narrative series. We hope you will enjoy it! | |Stay connected with us through our Instagram and Twitter: @Indepthcreates or write to us at [email protected] | This episode is produced by In-depth Creative | All music licensed | Visit : www.indepthcreative.com...
May 03, 2021•2 min
We’ve got some big news! We’ve been off the grid for a while but that’s for a good reason. Indonesia In-depth is evolving into a seasonal podcast and fully committed to long-form narrative series. Our debut will be released soon! In the meantime, stay connected with us through our Instagram and Twitter: @Indepthcreates or write to us at [email protected] | This episode is produced by In-depth Creative | All music licensed | Visit : www.indepthcreative.com or Shawn’s LinkedIn page: http://...
Feb 19, 2021•3 min
2020 is coming to an end, and to be honest, we can’t wait! Through musical instruments, sounds, and melodies, Tanita and Rizki paint a picture of what the team went through in this unprecedented year. In this episode of Indonesia In-Studio (and last episode of Indonesia In-depth in 2020!), we take you back to all the works, surprises, the highs and the lows of production that took place in our studio. Featuring some of our most candid conversations and thoughts, this episode is a ride behind the...
Dec 30, 2020•10 min
One of the major changes to Indonesia following the fall of Soeharto and Reformasi was decentralization and a shift to a direct ballot election system. The aim? To ensure that local legislatures were not simply a rubber stamp of Jakarta. In recent years though, we have seen a strong push to return to a similar system used under the New Order and ultimately return more power to the central government. Leading this movement are the key political parties: PDIP, Golkar and Gerindra and with the bigg...
Nov 10, 2020•40 min
Between May - July 1945, members of the Investigative Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPKI) deliberated on what territories should be included in a future Republic of Indonesia, if Japan granted independence. Should the new state stretch from Southern Thailand to Papua New Guinea? Should it extend only to the borders of the former Dutch colony? Or, should it mirror the territory of the former Majapahit Kingdom from the 14th and 15th Century? In this audio documentary, we revis...
Sep 22, 2020•43 min
President Widodo promised to return Indonesia to a maritime power when he first took office in 2014. It was one of Widodo’s major platform policies and there was a lot talk about it in his presidential campaign that year and during the early part of his first term. Intrigued by history, we often wondered, if Widodo hoped to bring back this maritime power, what did this power look like before? Where the kingdoms that controlled this region maritime powers themselves? As part of our Independence M...
Aug 30, 2020•14 min
There are more and more Nigerians fleeing to Indonesia. Why is this the case? Though the local media may have portrayed them more as online scammers and drug dealers, the reality is most of them are just trying to find a better life outside Nigeria doing ordinary jobs. The situation in Nigeria has pushed many youths to emigrate, or attempted to emigrate, abroad. We follow the story of one Nigerian man who hoped to find a better life in Indonesia. Now held in a detention center in West Jakarta, h...
Jul 29, 2020•32 min
To flee to a foreign country you barely know and not knowing the language can be scary. But for many Nigerians youths, like Lucas (not his real name), going anywhere but home is necessary. The situation in Nigeria has pushed many youths to emigrate, or attempted to emigrate. We venture along with Lucas in this journey to Indonesia. What followed his arrival in Jakarta in 2017 was nothing close to what he expected. Fast forward to today, Lucas is one of the detainees at the West Jakarta Detention...
Jul 25, 2020•1 min
Prior to the pandemic there was push by major parties, such as PDI-P, Golkar and Gerindra, to bring more power back to the central government. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw some local leaders taking the initiative with battling the virus while the central government moved slowly. How might these events impact the country’s trend towards a more top-down approach by the central government? West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, is responsible for over 50 million people in the country’s largest pr...
Jul 22, 2020•42 min
The Central Government has prevented provincial leaders, such as Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, from implementing a lockdown, despite the fact that Jakarta is the country’s epicentre for the Covid-19 virus. The president says that a lockdown would cripple the country’s economy and lead to social unrest. Does the government have the capacity to successfully implement a lockdown as some have hoped for? Indonesia's Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), was already facing a US$2...
May 15, 2020•43 min
The Indonesian public has been fixated on the official number for Covid-19 cases and deaths during the pandemic. Indonesia’s numbers appear to be far lower than other countries given its 270 million people, but we wondered, how accurate is this number? Especially, when data has yet to be fully compiled at the regional and district levels and when there are at least five confusing categories when it comes to classifying Covid-19 cases in the country. When we traced the origins of these numbers, w...
Apr 28, 2020•49 min
When we ask ourselves how people would even begin to conceive and believe in conspiracy theories and hoaxes during a critical time such as this pandemic, we find that it is so much more than just an issue of how we access and process information, as many would believe. Evidently, world leaders around the world are also engaging in wild narratives surrounding COVID-19. In this episode, we attempt to go to the root of it, by asking how our reasoning works to find truth. We venture into a discussio...
Apr 25, 2020•40 min
During his first term in office, President Widodo promised to return Indonesia to its maritime roots and establish the country as a maritime power. Some may wonder though, how did the world’s largest archipelagic state loose its maritime roots to begin with? Widodo is now into his second term and he appears to have abandoned his maritime vision. What does this mean for Indonesia and what does it mean for the region? This comes at a time where we continue to see encroachment by Chinese vessels in...
Mar 30, 2020•48 min
When the international community condemned the arbitrary detention, mass surveillance, political indoctrination and restrictions on religious activity of the Muslim minority Uyghur ethnic group in 2019, most of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members instead endorsed China’s treatment of Uyghurs in an official statement. The OIC stated that Beijing has undertaken deradicalization and counter-terrorism measures in the province of Xinjiang. Indonesia also failed to speak out on the i...
Feb 24, 2020•49 min
The drama over who will fill Jakarta's empty deputy governor seat is less about local politics and more about Gerindra's desire to rebuild its old relationship with PDIP at the national level. Nothing is permanent when it comes to relationships among political parties in Indonesia. As parties lack strong ideologies, most relationships are established when it’s deemed beneficial rather than based on issues to stances. It’s now beneficial for Gerindra to move from its old partnership with long tim...
Feb 11, 2020•7 min
Anies Baswedan eyed the Jakarta governor's seat as a stepping stone to the presidential palace, but he will likely be politically "neutralized" before the next presidential election. Although Anies may have high name recognition, ambitions for the presidency will likely be difficult to fulfil as he will be prevented from running for reelection in 2022. His controversial divisive campaign, which led to victory in 2017, will also come back to haunt him. |Read text version of this episode: www.indo...
Feb 05, 2020•6 min
From unknown gadgets to the vice president's table, what do some of our team members believe is the most important object/equipment when recording our podcast episodes? Apparently, it's not as obvious as you think! In this Indonesia In-Studio episode, Tanita and Veronica share their experiences in learning what object/equipment matters most when recording our podcast. One about a flustering discovery about an unknown gadget and the other about a special table and the vice president. // This epis...
Jan 24, 2020•21 min
Indonesia’s political liberties have progressed since the reformation era began in 1998. However, in recent years, civil liberties in the country appear to be eroding with laws and regulations that limit freedom of expression, freedom of the press and instances where the government has restricted access and even shut off access to the internet. What’s driving this trend and what does this say about President Jokowi as he embarks on his second term? There’s no better person to discuss this with t...
Jan 17, 2020•35 min
President Jokowi has been in office since 2014 and was just re-elected for a second term last October. He’s a member of the PDIP party, but is not as influential in the party as some might expect. In fact, most of his first term was spent convincing his own party on his policies and direction for the country. Will this be the case in his second term, and what’s the driving the force inside PDIP? |Read text version of this episode: www.indonesiaindepth.com or through Shawn’s LinkedIn page: http:/...
Jan 06, 2020•7 min
Ever wonder what it takes to produce our episodes? There is an entire process that goes into each and every one and often times they are not as simple as record and publish! The process includes brainstorming, research, finding the guests, conducting the interview, crafting a story, collecting extra clips and editing all of that raw audio. All that before we even get to publish! This holiday season, we bring you a special sneak peek behind the production process of our own most memorable episode...
Dec 26, 2019•26 min
Launched in 2014, Indonesia’s Healthcare and Social Security Agency, locally known as BPJS Health, administers universal health care to millions of Indonesians through a heavily subsidized scheme. Although policy makers have good intentions, it's running an approximately US$1.49 billion deficit causing some health providers to be on the brink of collapse after being owed millions of dollars. Covering the program’s cost is not the only thing out of reach, BPJS services remain unattainable for man...
Nov 18, 2019•24 min
President Widodo set lofty goals when he took office in 2014 and many have yet to be achieved. Hoping to achieve them in his second term, Widodo’s newly-formed cabinet has raised serious questions as to whether those goals are attainable. The government coalition is super-sized and the make-up of cabinet is full of political accommodations and compromises. How might Widodo grab opportunities from this situation? Could Prabowo be a reliable equalizer to help Widodo gain political influence over h...
Nov 04, 2019•1 hr 5 min
This is a special live event edition of Indonesia In-depth. Indonesia began its transition to democracy in 1998 amid a simultaneous political, social and economic crisis. While the country has made tremendous progress with important economic and political reforms, Indonesia continues to remain in that democratic transition today. At this Indonesinist event held by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs October 14-16, 2019, (Ret.) Army Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, Dr. Michael Vatikiotis, Dr. Siswo ...
Oct 29, 2019•1 hr 20 min
The Indonesian parliament has delayed passing the controversial new amendments to the criminal code, which dates back to the Dutch Colonial Era. Widodo backtracked his support at the last minute after public protests against the bill which is viewed as overcriminalization and draconian. One article in the bill that garnered attention is on the reintroduction of the defamation clause against the President and Vice President. We dive deep into that defamation article to explore why the government ...
Oct 15, 2019•30 min
Technology has changed the way we consume our food and beverages, and consequently, the way business players run their businesses. The rapidly penetrating online food delivery services and the rise of virtual kitchens along with traffic jams and a busy lifestyle, have paved ways for less brick-and-mortars establishments. However, not all F&B businesses have followed suit. One of them is Kopi Kenangan, the grab-and-go coffee chain that has experienced explosive growth in Jakarta’s metro area ...
Aug 26, 2019•39 min
The 2019 election has ended but the discourse of “election fraud” in Indonesia remains foggy and tends to shun away from the statistical elements that makes up the election itself. The Constitutional Court rejected Prabowo’s challenge to the 2019 presidential election results when he complained of “structural, systematic and massive electoral fraud”, but what does that standard even mean? Why does It matter in a large-scale election like Indonesia’s? How do you actually manipulate the voter list...
Aug 12, 2019•55 min
