Reformasi Dispatch
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.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 52 minutes
- Episodes
- 179
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Re-Formatting Reform: The politics of court-mandated fixes for Widodo's Omnibus Law on Job Creation (with Lin Neumann)
American Chamber of Commerce head Lin Neumann joins the podcast to discuss the impacts of the Constitutional Court's ruling on the landmark economic reform package of the Widodo administration, the '…
Omicron Scenarios for Southeast Asia (with Peter Mumford)
The Eurasia Group’s South and Southeast Asia analyst joins Reformasi Dispatch to examine the preparations and reactions of regional governments to the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid 19. D…
Impunity Impugned? 'Mass Organizations' in The Late Widodo Era and The Outlook For Pemuda Pancasila (with Ian Wilson)
Justices demanded corrections to the Omnibus Law on Job Creation - but Jeff and Kevin discuss how this may actually be a win for President Widodo and conditions for investment in manufacturing. Also…
Indonesia’s Post-Glasgow Pledges (Also: Joe Cochrane, In Memoriam)
This episode of the Reformasi Dispatch Podcast honors the departed Jakarta-based journalist Joe Cochrane, who covered Indonesia with inimitable style for over 20 years. Also: will fisheries reform f…
Cassava in the Crosshairs: Forests Fall for Food Estate of Defense Ministry Firm
Gecko Project investigators Margareth Aritonang and Tom Johnson join Reformasi Dispatch to detail Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto’s policy to clear forest for cassava plantations in Gunung Mas Dist…
Democracy in Action: A Ganjar Endorsement Tests Mega
Former Solo Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo, a confidante of the president, brazenly defied PDI¬-Perjuangan Chair Megawati and openly endorsed Central Java Gov Ganjar Pranowo for president. Will this finally…
Case Declines, Tax Reform and Tied Poll Standings: Sudden Trends Boost Outlook
CrossAsean equity analyst Angus Mackintosh rejoins Reformasi Dispatch to review Grab's IPO preparations, machinations among tech giants and digital trends in the Indonesian market (including an e-gro…
At the Locus of Aukus: Indonesia's Alternatives (with Evan Laksmana)
Strategic rivalry finally engulfs ASEAN and Jakarta's policymakers must examine their choices. Joining the pod is the National University of Singapore scholar Evan Laksmana. Also: Jeff and Kevin di…
Lost in Transition: Indonesia's Solar Crossroad (with Fabby Tumiwa)
Policymakers seem exceedingly slow to embrace the mounting advantages of photo-voltaic technology for Indonesia's pressing energy needs. The head of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR…
Eye on Eijkman: National Vaccine Development and Bracing for What’s Next (with Prof Amin Soebandrio)
The head of Indonesia’s premier institute on infectious disease joins the pod to explain the Merah Putih Vaccine program and discuss prospects for subsequent waves of infections. Covid related topic…
Burden Sharing Redux: Monetizing Debt without Alienating Creditors (with Joseph Incalcaterra)
HSBC’s regional economist for Asean joins the pod to look at how Indonesia can preserve confidence and restore fiscal prudence despite having extended its extraordinary debt financing through 2022. …
Indonesia Has Class: Schools re-open as transmissions diminish
.Also: Prof Noor Ismail on domestic terror networks. Also discussed: PAN joins Widodo's alliance and the first of a two-part segment on extraordinary debt financing or 'burden sharing'.
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Preman at the Gate: Dubious Amendment(s) Narrowly Averted
A renewed push to open Pandora’s box of amendments – potentially scuppering direct presidential elections – narrowly failed, for now. Jeff and Kevin discuss the actors, aims, party stances, and ‘Tro…
Gonzo for Ganjar: Governor overtakes Prabowo in a credible new survey.
Jeff and Kevin discuss the new Charta Politika poll showing the Central Java head ahead of both other major potential contenders for president in 2024. Ganjar Pranowo is the figure with momentum at…
Education in Crisis (with Margaret Barry): Impoverished Children Hit Hardest
Margaret Barry, The Bali Children Foundation founder explains the struggles of schooling in disadvantaged communities amid the prolonged pandemic. Also: Jeff and Kevin discuss political machinations …
In the Wake of the Wave (with Anshika Singh): As cases begin subsiding, what comes next?
Breakthrough deaths underscore a need for Coronavac efficacy data. As cases tumble in Jakarta and western Java, most off Java provinces are spiking – Jeff and Kevin examine the trends. Also: how go…
West Java Speaks: Gov Ridwan Kamil on Emergency Measures in Indonesia's Largest Province
Jeff and Kevin conduct a 30-minute interview in English with the leader of West Java’s 50 million residents on 23 July. Gov Kamil provides a thorough overview of crisis conditions and describes meas…
Amok No More: Case Curve Starts Decline in Indonesia (with Erwan Teguh)
Case detections are declining on a moving-average basis in Jakarta and, more recently, nationwide. Jeff and Kevin discuss the trends and the restrictions outlook in light of a newly released study o…
Canary in a Covid Mine: Indonesia’s Harrowing Surge-Upon-a-Surge Poses Test for China’s Coronavac (with Bob Herrera-Lim)
Bob Herrera Lim, Southeast Asia risk analyst for the consultancy Teneo, places Indonesia’s precipitous, unabated case spike in a regional context. With the most vaccinated people per capita in the r…
Indo-Mayday: Delta Spike Impacts a Locked-Down Java
With Java in the grip of a long-dreaded case spike fuelled by the Delta variant, the government is attempting to impose the strictest curbs applied to date. Jeff and Kevin review the latest conditio…