Widya Boerma retraces some of her earliest memories in Indonesia as she searches for her biological mother. Widya was adopted with forged documents, one of the thousands of Indonesians taken in by well-meaning Dutch parents in the 1970s. Never feeling at home in her adopted Netherlands or in Indonesia, Widya has struggled to answer a question that many take for granted: ‘Where do you come from.’ Instead, she must define her own identity and what it means to have a home for herself. Read...

Coming out stories are the unifying thread for LGBT people everywhere. On the anniversary of Stonewall, LGBT Indonesians share their moments of self-realization and their struggle for acceptance in a country that still overwhelmingly rejects them. You are never truly alone. Happy Pride.

Jeff visits an NGO and animal shelter called Jakarta Animal Aid Network, otherwise known as JAAN on the outskirts of Bogor. Talking with JAAN's founder Karin Franken and Dr. Merry. Dr. Merry gives a profoundly personal reason for her advocacy for animal welfare and Karin takes aim at the very concept of zoos.

When Melin and Tera are ready to move into their new enclosure a staff misstep spooks the lions and delays the process for days. The incident illustrates challenges that come with turning around a zoo, which is increasingly important as habit loss pushes many species to the brink of extinction. Tony discusses a lifetime of rescuing animals from traps set by villagers. For Tony, a sixth extinction event is almost inevitable as humans clear forests for plantations and housing. Zoo animals are...

The Dutch colonial era Bandung Zoological Garden made international headlines last year for all the wrong reasons. With its doors shut because of the pandemic, officials said it may need to slaughter its deer to feed its big cats. Neglected for decades and reviled by activists, the news seemed grimly plausible. But a closer look revealed a community rallying to save their zoo and a turnaround effort that is reshaping how Indonesians see animals.

Kevin O’Rourke of Reformasi Weekly returns to help sort through the country’s regional elections that are taking place against the backdrop of Covid-19 and the return of hardline cleric Rizieq Shihab from self-imposed exile. Never a dull moment in Indonesia.

Joko Widodo: a reformer who allies himself with Suharto era generals, an entrepreneur who expanded the state-owned sector. Ben Bland joins the pod to discuss the bundle of contradictions that make up Indonesia's seventh president.

Trump cabinet officials were no strangers to the region but their boss undermined them and gutted US credibility with his tantrums, trade tiffs and by flouncing out of the Trans Pacific Partnership -- originally a US brainchild. AmCham's managing director, Lin Neumann, says President-Elect Joe Biden will have his work cut out for him repairing his country's reputation.

As Thailand’s king seeks to expand his authority, Malaysia sidesteps a parliamentary tussle for power. Erin Cook of 'Dari Mulut ke Mulut' returns for a look at Southeast Asia politics.

Tens of thousands of people around the world with real and perceived mental illnesses are unwillingly caged or chained in confined spaces sometimes for years. Covid 19 is making matters worse as families re-confine relatives, once freed owing to life changing medication, because the pandemic has disrupted supplies. Human Rights Watch's Kriti Sharma joins to discuss the awful practice.

Indonesia's former finance minister Chatib Basri weighs in on the country's controversial labour law reforms, the challenges he faced wooing investors and the scourge of underemployment.

Indonesian police are deputising hardline groups like the Betawi Rempug Front (FBR) to enforce social distancing rules amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. The move has sparked controversy because the groups are linked to violent street thugs known as 'preman'. Kyai Luthfi Hakim the chairman of the FBR, Jakarta's biggest so called mass organisation, argues why his group makes good allies in the fight against COVID. 

The pod talks with Kevin O'Rourke from Reformasi Weekly about the surge in coronavirus cases and then heads to Sydney to talk with Australian Financial Review's Mike Smith about his narrow escape from China amid a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Indonesia's street thugs, known as preman, have a long and colourful history of doing the dirty work of police and the military during the time of the New Order. The arrest in June of one of Jakarta's most notorious preman, John Kei, has reminded the capital that its thugs haven't gone away. Ian Wilson of Murdoch University in Western Australia says that in democratic Indonesia street gangs are as active as ever - just less visible.

Journalist Krithika Varagur, author of "The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project" discusses how Saudi money helped conservative Islam take root in Indonesia, Nigeria and Kosovo and how governments are trying to weed it out.

As Indonesia marks its 75th birthday, Papua remains a sore point. This week Steven Handoko takes the mic to tell us a story of two flags: one sacred one profane and how they distract from Indonesia ongoing struggle to bridge its racial divides. An incident in Surabaya last August sparked a mass protest around the country in addressing racism against Papuans. During the protest, the conversation abruptly shifted to talks of treason and secession after one flag was seen on display: The Morning...

Rizky Fauzan recounts his ordeal while aboard the Chinese fishing vessel Long Xing 629 where four Indonesians lost their lives from mysterious illnesses allegedly owing to harsh working conditions

Hendri Yulius Wijaya talks on how LGBT becomes a four letter word in Indonesia after the 2015 landmark US Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage. And Kevin O’Rourke of Reformasi Weekly tells us a star is born in Central Java

Novel Baswedan joins On The Level to discuss how police handling of the 2017 acid attack that left him partially blind shows that the government of President Joko Widodo has lost its reforming zeal

Eventually the pandemic will end, but city living will change forever as monolith office districts break up and maybe - just maybe - consumers discover they can live without so much stuff. We talk to Tony Matthews, urban planning expert from Griffith University in Queensland on how the pandemic shaped the changing landscape of urban living.

Dede Oetomo is probably Indonesia's best known LGBT rights advocate and scholar. He's the go-to guy for comments on gay and trans issues for foreign correspondents. Despite hardening attitude toward sexual minorities, the enduring open mindedness of his students makes him optimistic better days are ahead for gay and trans rights.

Governor Ridwan Kamil of West Java, Indonesia's most populous province, returns to the Pod and says that the COVID-19 pandemic is "under control" thanks to widespread testing. His province's experience is an example of the "stories of inspiration" that offers some hope during Indonesia's escalating crisis.

YouTuber Acep Gates went public with his HIV diagnosis in October 2018, two weeks after testing positive. The video and follow up segments on his relationship with his family, sexual health and sexuality have attracted millions of views. Acep has lost friends and family but his straight talk has found an audience hungry for the facts on HIV and sexuality in a country where both are taboo.

To understand how cities may deal with pandemics in the future we check in with Sibarani Sofian, a designer of Indonesia's planned capital -- a city that is still very much in the future.