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. Do…

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 th…

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 w…

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 Indones…

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: @Indepthcre…

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 info@indept…

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…

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 ul…

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 forme…

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…

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 emi…

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 hi…

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 mo…

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 su…

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 t…

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 s…

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. Wh…

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 state…

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 establish…

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 2…

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 re…

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. Wha…

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 ter…

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…

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 co…

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 comp…

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 Indonesini…

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 rein…

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 busine…

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…

On this “Special International Edition” of Indonesia In-depth - A wave of optimism flowed over Myanmar in 2010 when the military leadership began the slow process of opening up the country and implementing both economic and democratic reforms. At the same time, the government began new efforts to establish peace with more than a dozen armed ethnic …

Presidential contender, Prabowo Subianto and his political coalition, rejected the official presidential election results announced by the General Election Commission (KPU) and filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court citing that “structural, systematic and massive electoral fraud” had occurred. His challenge received quite a bit of attention in…

We start with this question: Are there any alternatives for borrowers to take loans safely without resorting to predatory loan sharks? But our quest to seek answers reveal how complicated Indonesians’ relationship with loans are. The obstacles with financial inclusivity in the conventional system and the growing online loan services clearly complic…

Jusuf Kalla is known as prominent businessman turned veteran politician, serving two five-year terms as vice president for two different presidents. He was the critical figure in mediating peace in Aceh along with conflicts in Poso and Ambon and has been called “the peacemaker”. He was also tasked with running the country’s economy during Yudhoyono…

Some people, primarily among the international community, question whether the 2019 Indonesian elections will be free and fair, void of voter irregularities and/or violence. But are these concerns well-grounded? Do we need to be worried? Shawn believes that these concerns are reasonable but unfounded. We take a look at Indonesia’s recent history in…

Although ASEAN has been under fire for its powerlessness in the face of several human rights atrocities such as attacks on Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar, internal ASEAN officials, some of whom have lengthy human rights activism experience, remain optimistic that the association can be a force for good. What do they actually see in ASEAN’s non…

What is wrong with foreign media’s portrayal to a Muslim figure who calls out other Muslims? How could it be harmful? Join us with Sakdiyah Ma’ruf, a brilliant stand-up comedian who gained international recognition for her stand against Islamic fundamentalism and extremism. In this episode, she reflects on her fear of misrepresentation, the actual …

Despite its significance, not much has been discussed about the upcoming legislative and presidential election that will be held concurrently for the first time. The legislative election this year is going to be tougher as changes in various laws influence how political parties behave. What’s the relationship between the presidential candidates and…

As part of the upcoming 2019 legislative and presidential elections in April, the Indonesian Election Committee (KPU) will conduct the first official presidential debate on 17 January. The themes for this first debate are some of the most strategic and pressing subjects, which are legal affairs, human rights, corruption, and terrorism. How impa…

How do everyday Indonesian youths express their nationalism and how do they reconcile it with their interests? This episode is transporting you to the mind and works of Alffy Rev, the man behind the electronic remixes of Indonesian national songs and even the national anthem. Like many Indonesian youths, he is ambitious and creative, out of the …

Indonesian officials hope new policies can expedite growth for its digital economy. After years of deliberations, the government is preparing to finalize the revision to a controversial regulation (GR82/2012) that has prevented the county’s e-commerce and online businesses from living up to their fullest potential due to a overprotective and inflex…

After talking with key lawmakers overseeing the information and communications sector about data privacy and security, we are back with a follow up episode on this topic but this time from the government's perspective. We sat down with the Director General of Information & Applications, Mr. Semuel Abrijani, a key official behind two major legal fra…

After 20 years as a senior executive with multinational corporations across Southeast Asia, Miss Shanti Shamdasani is running for seat in parliament. She hopes to bring her values and lessons learned to the Lower House. She talks to us about the difficulties of staying “clean” and not “paying to play” on the campaign trail, her thoughts on how to i…

The 2019 presidential race has officially started. With two months into the campaign, we are joined by our colleague at LEXICO Indonesia, Arief Budiman, who shares valuable insights on what’s different from this year’s campaign from the one in 2014, analysis on both campaign teams, and the trajectory for the coming general election next April. We w…

We discuss important issues involving Indonesia’s technology sector, namely data privacy, data centers and streaming services with senior Golkar lawmaker Satya Yudha. The government will soon submit a new data privacy bill to the House. This is an important bill. We provide you the details and talk about how it will impact both consumers and tech c…

We sit down Dr. Mohammad Mova Al’Afghani to discuss the 2018 Water Bill being deliberated by the House. This is a crucial bill and as the current draft stands, it would have a wide impact on the businesses as well as on local communities. This bill involves a lot more than just water and we break down all the key aspects that you need to know. Host…

I respond to feedback from listeners and answer some of their questions about bills in parliament such as the Data Privacy Protection Bill, Water Bill and Food and Drug Bill. I also talk about what happens if one of the candidates withdraws from the 2019 presidential election. Host: Shawn Corrigan https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-corrigan/ Email u…

In recent episodes, we have covered the run up to the 2019 presidential campaign and the political negotiations that have been involved, particularly the coalition building between political parties. We also discussed how parties are scrambling to form coalitions to meet presidential thresholds. Some listeners have requested that I provide backgrou…