Ubud Writers & Readers Festival

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Southeast Asia's most celebrated literary and artistic event, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival brings together the world's leading authors, artists, thinkers and performers for five days of big ideas and extraordinary stories. In our podcast series, listen in to stories as told from the UWRF stage.

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival


    • Apr 9, 2021 LATEST EPISODE
    • every other week NEW EPISODES
    • 1h 5m AVG DURATION
    • 110 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Ubud Writers & Readers Festival

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | When the World Stopped Traveling

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2021 77:24


    As an island that relies heavily on tourism, the COVID-19 crisis has led to Bali’s most challenging period in recent memory. Our panelists have spent decades in Indonesia’s tourism industry … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | When the World Stopped Traveling appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | Made Janur Yasa: From Rubbish to Rice

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2021 54:54


    Pelatih somatik dan instruktur bela diri, Made Janur Yasa, menemukan cara yang praktis dan efektif untuk mendorong warga mengelola sampahnya. Bagaimana? Dengan menukarnya dengan beras sumbangan. Seperti inilah terobosan pengelolaan … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | Made Janur Yasa: From Rubbish to Rice appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | Christina Thompson: Sea People: the Puzzle of Polynesia

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2021 72:09


    In Sea People, Christina Thompson explores the fascinating story of Polynesia’s ancient voyagers, as well as the sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | Christina Thompson: Sea People: the Puzzle of Polynesia appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | Ben Bland: Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2021 70:59


    Man of Contradictions, the first English-language biography of Jokowi, argues that the president embodies the fundamental contradictions of modern Indonesia. He is caught between democracy and authoritarianism, openness and protectionism, … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | Ben Bland: Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | Tyson Yunkaporta: Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2021 60:46


    Tyson Yunkaporta looks at global systems from an Indigenous perspective. His new book Sand Talk provides a template for living. It’s about how lines, symbols, and shapes can help us … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | Tyson Yunkaporta: Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | Edwidge Danticat: Everything Inside

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2021 63:31


    Edwidge Danticat’s latest book of short stories, Everything Inside, is set in Port-au-Prince, Miami, and beyond. It reflects on community, family, and love, and how people come to terms with death, … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | Edwidge Danticat: Everything Inside appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | Febriana Firdaus: Investigative Reporting in Indonesia

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2021 60:57


    Independent investigative journalist, Febriana Firdaus, is a regular contributor to The Guardian, covering topics from COVID-19 to the Black Lives Matter movement in West Papua. Her works have appeared in … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | Febriana Firdaus: Investigative Reporting in Indonesia appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | Etgar Keret: Anything but Ordinary

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2021 53:37


    “My stories come from a very unconscious place. I don’t premeditate them, I don’t know what’s going to happen in them.” There’s no one like Etgar Keret. His stories take … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | Etgar Keret: Anything but Ordinary appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast | James Oseland: In Search of the Cradle of Flavor

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2021 59:09


    Join James Oseland to hear about his travels in search of the world’s best restaurants, street food stalls, and home cooks. James is the author and editor of World Food, … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast | James Oseland: In Search of the Cradle of Flavor appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    KEMBALI20 Podcast| Intan Paramaditha: The Wandering

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2021 59:59


    The Guardian called Intan Paramaditha’s debut novel The Wandering an “ingenious choose-your-own-adventure challenge, [which is] at least five books in one.” Originally published in Indonesian as Gentayangan and translated into English by Stephen J. … The post KEMBALI20 Podcast| Intan Paramaditha: The Wandering appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF Podcast Rewind | UWRF18 Twenty Years Later

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2020 39:30


    Indonesia, 1998. With the fall of Suharto’s 32-year autocratic regime following years of political turmoil and violence, the ‘Reformation Era’ was ushered in. Heaped upon it were promises of freedom, … The post UWRF Podcast Rewind | UWRF18 Twenty Years Later appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF Podcast Rewind | UWRF18 Susi Pudjiastuti: Sink It

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2020 79:48


    “Sink it” became a national catchphrase after Indonesia’s maverick (now former) Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries fulfilled her threat to sink any foreign boats found illegally fishing in Indonesian … The post UWRF Podcast Rewind | UWRF18 Susi Pudjiastuti: Sink It appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Indonesian Emerging Writers 2019

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2020 58:43


    Each year UWRF puts a call out to emerging writers across the archipelago: send us your stories. In 2019, we received 1,253 submissions, the highest number since the Emerging Writers … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Indonesian Emerging Writers 2019 appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Indonesian, Elsewhere

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2020 66:12


    Around 9 million Indonesians live and work overseas, along with countless descendants of Indonesian migrants. Our panel of orang Indonesia living in diaspora recounted their personal experiences of what it means to … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Indonesian, Elsewhere appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Homegrown Heroes

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2020 68:06


    Indonesian comic superheroes have long been in the stranglehold of foreign character translations. But the Marvel Cinematic Universe is creating demand for local superheroes, along with Gundala, a recent film based … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Homegrown Heroes appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Life After #MeToo

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2020 59:41


    The dust has far from settled on #MeToo, “a movement that represents probably the greatest and most conspicuous collaboration of women since the suffragettes”, according to Sam George-Allen. With the … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Life After #MeToo appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Lucy Inglis: Milk of Paradise

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2020 56:35


    Poppy tears, opium, heroin, fentanyl: poppy latex is a commodity without rival. Acclaimed cultural historian Lucy Inglis took us on an epic journey from ancient Mesopotamia to modern America and … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Lucy Inglis: Milk of Paradise appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Andreas Harsono: Race, Islam and Power

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2020 59:02


    Andreas Harsono has covered Indonesia for Human Rights Watch since 2008. His new book Race, Islam and Power: Ethnic and Religious Violence in Post-Suharto Indonesia is the result of his 15-year project … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Andreas Harsono: Race, Islam and Power appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | The Role of the Arts in Cultural Diplomacy

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2020 61:40


    “We’re fractured nations because we’re not reading or translating each other,” said Malaysian author Bernice Chauly during the UWRF17 panel on the 50th anniversary of ASEAN. Join our group of … The post UWRF19 Podcast | The Role of the Arts in Cultural Diplomacy appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Domestic Spaces

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2020 71:10


    The domestic, the interior and the personal have traditionally been relegated to the realm of women’s writing, which in recent years has been dismissed as too small to attract significant … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Domestic Spaces appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Yotam Ottolenghi: Simple

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2020 75:01


    “In this day and age recipes are abundant… I love that I can learn a little bit more, whether it’s political, philosophical, historical, or personal.” For Yotam Ottolenghi, food is … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Yotam Ottolenghi: Simple appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Reza Aslan: God: A Human History

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2020 64:05


    Born into a Shia Muslim family that migrated to the US after fleeing the Iranian Revolution, Reza Aslan converted to Christianity as a teen and then returned to Islam. He … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Reza Aslan: God: A Human History appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Moving Pictures

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2020 51:38


    The way we consume stories is rapidly changing, and the popularity of graphic novels, memoirs and other types of visual storytelling for adult audiences proves images can capture enthralling narratives. … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Moving Pictures appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Weapons of Mass Distortion

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2020 58:50


    Indonesia has 150 million internet users and 800,000 hoax-distributing websites, according to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. In a system swimming with fake news, what is the relationship … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Weapons of Mass Distortion appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | The Karma of Comedy

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 64:45


    From gentle mockery to caustic sarcasm, there’s a victim at the butt of most good laughs. Must comedy be cruel to work, and does that mean comedians have a free … The post UWRF19 Podcast | The Karma of Comedy appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Irvine Welsh: Choose Life

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 61:47


    It’s been 26 years since Irvine Welsh gave the world Trainspotting, the book deemed by Rebel Inc. “the best book ever written by man or woman” that went on to define a … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Irvine Welsh: Choose Life appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Akala: Natives

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 61:16


    Award-winning hip-hop artist Akala’s bestselling Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire is a searing polemic on race and class in the British Empire. With a life and outlook shaped … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Akala: Natives appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Millennial Memoir

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 61:39


    Memoirs are no longer seen as the self-indulgent domain of those at the end of long and accomplished lives: millennials around the world are writing fresh and compelling stories, tackling … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Millennial Memoir appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Multilingual Wordsmiths

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 73:18


    Crafting the perfect sentence in one’s mother tongue is hard enough, without the complications that working in a second language brings. But that hasn’t stopped this panel. Not content to … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Multilingual Wordsmiths appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Indonesian Cinema as Soft Power

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2019 59:33


    With a vast domestic market and burgeoning production power, Indonesia’s film industry has huge potential. In recent times, Indonesian films and industry professionals have enjoyed rising international prominence. Could Indonesian … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Indonesian Cinema as Soft Power appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Lemn Sissay: My Name is Why

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2019 79:30


    After a childhood in care, 17-year-old Norman Greenwood saw his birth certificate for the first time: his name was Lemn Sissay, he was British-Ethiopian, and his mother had never stopped … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Lemn Sissay: My Name is Why appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Is All Contemporary Fiction Speculative Fiction?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2019 62:48


    Speculative fiction has lurked in the shadows of the literary scene for years while realism hogged the limelight. Now, as the natural and political spheres crumble around us, speculative fiction’s … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Is All Contemporary Fiction Speculative Fiction? appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF19 Podcast | Asia Pacific Futures on the Page, Stage and Screen

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2019 72:42


    In a 2019 Entertainment Weekly interview, Amy Tan reflected on the 30 years since her groundbreaking novel The Joy Luck Club was published, commenting on the remarkable difference in Asian representation in literature and … The post UWRF19 Podcast | Asia Pacific Futures on the Page, Stage and Screen appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF18 The World We Create | In Praise of Slow

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2019 78:33


    Faster! Better! More! Productivity and personal achievement are dominant cultural values in 2018, but do we have to buy in? Our panel asks you to put down your phone, put … The post UWRF18 The World We Create | In Praise of Slow appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF18 In Their Own Words | Higher Self

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2019 67:28


    “Writing poetry is like having a conversation with our higher self,” says American poet Jericho Brown. They hail from different generations but the lives of these four writers are shaped … The post UWRF18 In Their Own Words | Higher Self appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF18 This Indonesian Moment | Evolving Islam

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2019 71:44


    No religion has received as many headlines or as much misunderstanding in recent years as Islam. Our panelists study the faith in its many manifestations, from everyday lives in Indonesia … The post UWRF18 This Indonesian Moment | Evolving Islam appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    UWRF18 In Conversation | Reni Eddo-Lodge

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2019 69:10


    Award-winning author and journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race sparked a new and frank conversation about systemic racism. From eradicated black history to the inextricable … The post UWRF18 In Conversation | Reni Eddo-Lodge appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In Their Own Words // Dazzling Debuts

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2018 59:29


    You get one chance to make a first impression, and these authors did so with a splash! They’ll take us on the journey from unpublished hopeful to bestseller lists, film … The post In Their Own Words // Dazzling Debuts appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    Tanah Airku // Breaking Boundaries

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2018 72:20


    It’s often remarked that Balinese women are among the hardest working in the world. A patriarchal society and a seemingly endless cycle of temple rituals and communal obligations have imposed … The post Tanah Airku // Breaking Boundaries appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    Tanah Airku // An Archipelago of Art

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2018 69:05


    In an archipelago of 17,000 islands, artistic expression takes a breathtaking array of forms. Join us for a taste of some of the most exciting dance, literature and visual art … The post Tanah Airku // An Archipelago of Art appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2018 58:40


    Sophal Ear escaped the Khmer Rouge due to his mother’s unflinching determination and moved to the US at the age of ten. He has overcome both genocide and poverty to … The post In-Conversation // Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation: Kate Cole-Adams: Anesthesia

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2018 56:18


    Anaesthesia is a modern miracle. But how much do we really know about what happens to us on the operating table? Is pain still pain if we are not awake … The post In-Conversation: Kate Cole-Adams: Anesthesia appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Pierre Coffin: Movies and Minions

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2018 60:32


    Did that Minion just say terima kasih? French-Indonesian animated film director and voice actor Pierre Coffin is the man behind the little yellow characters from the Despicable Me franchise, emblazoned … The post In-Conversation // Pierre Coffin: Movies and Minions appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Simon Armitage: From Punk to Poet

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2018 58:44


    “I’ve always tried to think of poetry as an active ingredient in the language…” From a life-long passion for rock music to his post as Oxford Professor of Poetry, poet, … The post In-Conversation // Simon Armitage: From Punk to Poet appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Fuchsia Dunlop: Land of Plenty

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2018 56:08


    Described by the Observer Food Monthly as “a happy mix of scholarly and gluttonous”, Fuchsia Dunlop’s stories and recipes take us deep into the culinary heart of China. Join a … The post In-Conversation // Fuchsia Dunlop: Land of Plenty appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Jung Chang: Writing Modern China

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2018 77:04


    With Wild Swans, Jung Chang illuminated the lives of three generations of women in China. Former rocket factory worker Lijia Zhang’s Lotus, inspired by her grandmother’s experiences, tells the story … The post In-Conversation // Jung Chang: Writing Modern China appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Sutardji Calzoum Bachri: The Chanting Poet

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2018 59:48


    Iconic literary figure Sutardji once turned Indonesia’s time-worn poetry traditions upside down after proclaiming the liberation of words from their shackles of socially-enforced meanings. In an age of Twitwars and … The post In-Conversation // Sutardji Calzoum Bachri: The Chanting Poet appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Robert Dessaix: The Pleasures of Leisure

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 25, 2017 56:58


    “Nowadays everyone’s got to appear to be doing something,” notes Robert Dessaix. We’re working longer hours, consuming more than ever, and treat being busy as a status symbol. In a … The post In-Conversation // Robert Dessaix: The Pleasures of Leisure appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Michael Vatikiotis: Blood & Silk

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2017 62:09


    Having studied, worked and traveled in Southeast Asia as a journalist and peace mediator for more than three decades, Michael Vatikiotis peers beyond brand new shopping malls and shiny glass … The post In-Conversation // Michael Vatikiotis: Blood & Silk appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Héctor Abad: First Person

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2017 57:27


    Héctor Abad’s depictions of contemporary Colombian society have won readers around the world. In Oblivion, the memoir of his father’s life and murder by Colombian paramilitaries, personal events are the … The post In-Conversation // Héctor Abad: First Person appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

    In-Conversation // Ian Rankin: A Life of Crime

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2017 57:40


    He’s the wit and wickedness behind the beloved Inspector Rebus and Detective Malcolm Fox, read in 22 languages around the world. Celebrating 30 years of Rebus, Ian Rankin brought a … The post In-Conversation // Ian Rankin: A Life of Crime appeared first on Ubud Writers & Readers Festival.

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