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PODCAST

Reformasi Dispatch

On The Level Media

Independent and lucid analysis of Indonesian politics, policymaking, justice, and economics featuring Kevin O’Rourke and Erin Cook. The podcasts incorporate exclusive interviews with experts and draws on content from the Reformasi Weekly reports, produced for subscribers since 2003.

news politics

All Episodes

65:56

Season 6 Episode 5 (with Iqbal Kholidin of Perludem)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2026/02/10

Electoral changes and a possible move to amend the Constitution are topics that Iqbal Kholidin of the Center for Democracy (Perludem) discusses in this week's edition of the Reformasi Dispatch podcast on Indonesian politics. Erin and Kevin also discuss the stock market sell-off, the abrupt resignation of the chief financial regulator Mahendra Siregar, and the president's cancellation of Jardine Matheson's Martabe gold mine in North Sumatra. Also: a tragic youth suicide case has gr...

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66:14

Season 6 Episode 4 (with Uday Bakhshi)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2026/02/01

To examine Thailand's upcoming election, Uday Bakhshi of Apac Assistance joins the Reformasi Dispatch podcast and outlines the players, prospects and scenarios -- including the 8 February referendum on yet another Constitution. Also: Myanmar conducts a sham election; Indonesia joins Trump's Board of Peace -- generating backlash; rumors abound of an imminent change in the foreign affairs portfolio; and the tragedy of the collapse of a mountainside in Cisarua. It takes a lot of money to r...

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79:00

Season 6 Episode 3 (with Brandon Possin)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2026/01/26

Kevin and Erin talk to former US diplomat Brandon Possin on Trump's invasion of Venezuela and what to expect of the administration. Also: Stand up comic and government critic Pandji Pragiwaksono could face a blasphemy charge for his Netflix special Mens Rea after he was reported by a youth group. And Thomas Djiwandono, the President's nephew is named as a candidate for Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, a move that shows administration's reach on monetary policy. It takes a lot of...

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95:24

Season 6 Episode 2 (with Iskandarsyah Bakri)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2026/01/18

Joining the pod is Isanksarsyah Bakri, senior advisor to the Aceh governor, for a discussion of the livelihoods crisis facing the province after the 23 November Senyar Cyclone devastated half of Aceh's districts. Also: Erin and Kevin look at the Information Ministry's ban of the Grok AI nudify function on Elon Musk's X; Prabowo's travel plans; and Megawati's emphatic denunciation of Trump's neo-colonial folly. And a spelling correction for last week's blurb: our interview guest wa...

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87:31

Season 6 Episode 1 *with Burhanuddin Muhtadi and...

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2026/01/05

Burhanuddin Muhtadi of the polling firm Indikator politik, together with Monica Wihardja of ISEAS, join the pod to discuss their empirical analysis of disinformation mesaging in the 2024 Presidential contest. Spoiler: Beware of TikTok. Pak Burhan also comments on Presidential support ratings. Also; Kevin and Erin discuss disaster relief, a regional head election bill and KPK scrutiny of Ridwan Kamil. You can read Burhanuddin and Monica's research here: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcgl...

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72:27

Season 5 Episode 40 (with Dr. Chris Chaplin)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/12/22

Dr Chris Chaplin joins the pod to discuss the latest in politics, and the background to his new analytical endeavor, www.cearta.co. Also: police appointments, electoral law revisions and international cyclone aid. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us. You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and ...

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65:58

Season 5 Episode 39 (with Garda Ramadhito)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/12/08

Kevin and Erin talk with researcher Garda Ramadhito on Prabowo's Palestine peace-keeping plans and political Islam in his term. Also, the political and environmental reckoning in Sumatra's devastating flooding and the KPK takes a look at its own handling of a case involving Bobby Nasution. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcas...

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45:45

Season 5 Episode 38

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/12/02

A week of superlatives for Indonesia - the tragic Senyar cyclone is the largest on record to hit Indonesia; a tax bribery case is affecting a key owner of the most profitable bank, BCA; a leadership struggle has incapacitated the largest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), at a time when Indonesia prepares for its largest-ever deployment of peacekeepers to Gaza; and Danantara seeks a role in a long-awaited potential GoTo-Grab merger that would constitute an on-demand behemoth with 90%...

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72:19

Season 5 Episode 37 (with Matt Busch)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/11/25

Kevin talks to Matt Busch on his new book "The Contested State: The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency during the Asian Financial Crisis." It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us. You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

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55:43

Season 5 Episode 36

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/11/18

Joining the pod is Dr Seth Soderborg to discuss polling trends in Indonesia. Also discussed: Soeharto's annointment as hero, the outlook for the new Police Reform Commission, improved BI foreign reserves, an Australian Defence Treaty and a bombing by a youth at a school in Kelapa Gading. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch po...

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42:40

Season 5 Episode 35

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/11/08

In this episode: plans for bestowing hero status on Soeharto, exonerating parliamentarians for August excesses, the president's message to police, and Myanmar's junta poses for polls. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

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39:11

Season 5 Episode 34

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/11/01

In this episode: the Golkar chair seeks criminal defamation charges for social-media users who distribute disagreeable memes; Prabowo proffers Gaza engagement, but with political pitfalls - as seen at Asean's summit attended by Trump; and Sjafrie seriously considers a purchase of yet more fighter jets, from China. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of ...

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71:18

Acid Reign - Season 5 Episode 33 (with Krista Shennum)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/10/23

Our pod guest Krista Shennum from Climate Rights International discussed CRI's extensive field research on nickel sector impacts on communities across a swathe of Eastern Indonesia -- from pollution such as acid rain, health adversities such as skin afflictions, disasters such as dam breaks and disputes over land rights and compensation. An interviewee asked, 'Does anyone care?', which is CRI's report title. Also in this episode: Erin & Kevin discuss the "Hari" referred to by ...

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51:10

Season 5 Episode 32

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/10/12

This week: Prabowo and Widodo together again; signs of sensitivity on free lunches; the new finance minister makes a rocky start; and the Al-Khoziny disaster in Sidoarjo. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music licensing. Luckily, you, estemeed listeners of Reformasi Dispatch podcast can help us.You can donate to us on buymeacoffee.com/reformasi and help us grow!

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47:50

Season 5 Episode 31

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/09/28

This week: Prabowo's address to the UN General Assembly and the signing of trade agreements (CEPAs) with both Canada and the EU. Prabowo's signature program, free school lunches, faces criticism with almost 6,000 children having suffered food poisoning. Almost 1,000 people remain in custody for the August demonstrations and riots. And radioactive Cesium-137 turned up in tons of exported shrimp. It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, ...

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49:05

Season 5 Episode 30

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/09/15

In this episode: A new finance minister, a cabinet reshuffle, the Nation's Conscience Movement, Thaksin detained, Anti-elite movements from Kathmandu to Manila, deadly floods in Bali and Freeport workers trapped For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformasi.info Read Erin's newsletter Dari Mulut Ke Mulut here: https://darimulut.substack.com/ It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary ...

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45:12

Season 5 Episode 29 (with Ian Wilson)

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/09/07

Joining us to consider recent developments -- namely, unrest, economic frustrations and democratic hopes -- is Prof Ian Wilson, principal fellow of the Indo-Pacific Research Centre at Murdoch University. Read Ian Wilson's article here: https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/who-speaks-for-the-riot-youth-agency-and-the-contest-over-protest-narratives/ It takes a lot of money to run a podcast. You need subscription fees for hosting, audio recording services, editor's salary and music...

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34:41

Season 5 Episode 28: Update on Protest in Indonesia

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/09/02

'Let them eat kue!' Kevin and Erin update the escalation of protests over the weekend throughout Indonesia, surrounding the death of 21-year-old delivery-bike driver Affan Kurniawan, crushed by an armored police vehicle. The ensuing frenzy witnessed the looting of houses of several parliamentarians as well as that of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (she was away). Who is the orchestrator? Who is the dastardly criminal mastermind? Is it "foreign actors"? (...

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41:35

Season 5 Episode 27

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/08/31

This week, protests Monday set the scene for a chaotic week. Elsewhere, Immanuel Ebenezer's arrest marks the first cabinet alleged corruption case and a new addition to the Constitutional Court shores up government support on the bench. Please note this podcast was recorded Thursday afternoon Jakarta time and there will be more to come. For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformasi.info Read Erin's newsletter Dari Mulut Ke Mulut here: https://darimulut.substack.com/ It takes a lo...

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37:08

Season 5 Episode 26

Reformasi Dispatch ·

2025/08/19

Prabowo celebrated Indonesia"s 80th anniversary of Independence at the Palace. Residents of Pati protested against their district chief, backed by a nationwide online campaign. And Setya Novanto, disgraced former Speaker of the House who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, won release. For a free trial of Reformasi newsletter, go to reformasi.info Read Erin's newsletter Dari Mulut Ke Mulut here: https://darimulut.substack.com/

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