TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


Talking Indonesia: 'kramat' and the politics of Indonesian history

In this week's episode, Tito Ambyo chats with Panggah Ardiansyah, a research associate at the University of Sheffield's Digital Humanities Institute, whose research challenges us to read Indonesian antiquities through Indonesian epistemologies.

Danantara and the return of the 'jago' economy

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The 'jago' economy is the mode of economic governance that the Prabowo Subianto administration seems to be institutionalising through Danantara, the huge sovereign wealth fund it established in 2025.

Indonesian prisons are going green. Here’s how to make it work.

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For the Correctional Services Roadmap 2025-2045 to have any real prospect of producing greener, safer and more effective prisons, an urgent rewrite is needed.

The president who cried wolf? Why Prabowo’s anti-foreign rhetoric is dangerous

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By crying ‘foreign interference’ at every challenge to his authority, Prabowo risks eroding the credibility his government needs to face real external threats. 

Talking Indonesia: Papua, development and politics from below

In this week’s episode, Dr Jemma Purdey chats with Rassela Malinda, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne who lived and worked with indigenous communities in Papua and whose research gives us rare insights into their struggles from below.

Can Indonesia survive energy crisis as Iran war sends oil prices through the roof?

This is the moment of truth for the Prabowo administration. Poor policymaking could turn the energy crisis into a severe cost-of-living crisis, triggering social unrest and political instability. The government urgently needs a robust strategy to cushion the economy from internal and external pressures

In ‘spiritual’ Bali, women are not getting mental health care

, ,
Bali is world-famous as a centre of cultural and spiritual tourism that offers visitors spiritual healing and inner/outer balance - the ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ phenomenon. But the mental health of the Balinese is rarely talked about, especially when women are afflicted.

Acid attack on KontraS activist signals resurgence of New Order-style fascism

, ,
The latest political developments in Indonesia indicate that a Soeharto-esque fascism is reemerging.

Talking Indonesia: gender transformation in rural Java

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In this episode, recorded in the spirit of International Women's Day, Dr Clara Siagian chats with Dr Linda Susilowati about generational shifts in rural Javanese women's lives, the enduring weight of 'kodrat' (predetermined nature) and 'kewajiban' (obligation), and how Julia Suryakusuma's concept of State Ibuism appears in contemporary Indonesia.

Talking Indonesia: 'kramat' and the politics of Indonesian history

In this week's episode, Tito Ambyo chats with Panggah Ardiansyah, a research associate at the University of Sheffield's Digital Humanities Institute, whose research challenges us to read Indonesian antiquities through Indonesian epistemologies.

Danantara and the return of the 'jago' economy

, ,
The 'jago' economy is the mode of economic governance that the Prabowo Subianto administration seems to be institutionalising through Danantara, the huge sovereign wealth fund it established in 2025.

Indonesian prisons are going green. Here’s how to make it work.

, ,
For the Correctional Services Roadmap 2025-2045 to have any real prospect of producing greener, safer and more effective prisons, an urgent rewrite is needed.

The president who cried wolf? Why Prabowo’s anti-foreign rhetoric is dangerous

, , ,
By crying ‘foreign interference’ at every challenge to his authority, Prabowo risks eroding the credibility his government needs to face real external threats. 

Talking Indonesia: Papua, development and politics from below

In this week’s episode, Dr Jemma Purdey chats with Rassela Malinda, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne who lived and worked with indigenous communities in Papua and whose research gives us rare insights into their struggles from below.

Can Indonesia survive energy crisis as Iran war sends oil prices through the roof?

This is the moment of truth for the Prabowo administration. Poor policymaking could turn the energy crisis into a severe cost-of-living crisis, triggering social unrest and political instability. The government urgently needs a robust strategy to cushion the economy from internal and external pressures

In ‘spiritual’ Bali, women are not getting mental health care

, ,
Bali is world-famous as a centre of cultural and spiritual tourism that offers visitors spiritual healing and inner/outer balance - the ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ phenomenon. But the mental health of the Balinese is rarely talked about, especially when women are afflicted.

Acid attack on KontraS activist signals resurgence of New Order-style fascism

, ,
The latest political developments in Indonesia indicate that a Soeharto-esque fascism is reemerging.

Talking Indonesia: gender transformation in rural Java

, ,
In this episode, recorded in the spirit of International Women's Day, Dr Clara Siagian chats with Dr Linda Susilowati about generational shifts in rural Javanese women's lives, the enduring weight of 'kodrat' (predetermined nature) and 'kewajiban' (obligation), and how Julia Suryakusuma's concept of State Ibuism appears in contemporary Indonesia.
NEWS & EVENTS

TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


EDITOR’S PICKSSee all

Prabowo’s foreign stooge myth: Are Indonesians buying it?

26 May 2026/by Djayadi Hanan, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/djayadi/, Yoes C Kenawas, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/yoes/

Indonesia’s social media ban for under-16s deprives many children of their only public space

19 May 2026/by Pradipa P. Rasidi, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/adip/

The new KUHAP: more kinds of evidence, fewer limits (Part 1 of 2)

12 May 2026/by Simon Butt, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/simon-butt/

Loyalty over expertise: The patronage problem at the heart of Prabowo’s foreign policy

21 April 2026/by Ahmad Syarif Syechbubakr, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/syarif/

Indonesia at Melbourne is supported by:

Melbourne Law School Asia Institute Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society Indonesia Forum Faculty of Arts Indonesia Democracy Hallmark Research Initiative

Indonesia at Melbourne

Room 726, Level 7, 185 Pelham St,
The University of Melbourne
Parkville 3010 VIC Australia

Phone: +61 3 83448581

Email:  indo-at-melb@unimelb.edu.au

Date created: 1 July 2015

Editor: Ary Hermawan

Editorial board: 
Professor Tim Lindsey
Dr Tim Mann
Aron Corbett

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campuses are situated.

Phone:13 MELB (13 6352) | International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
The University of Melbourne ABN:84 002 705 224
CRICOS Provider Code:00116K (visa information)

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