In this episode, we discuss the recently trending news of a "miracle cure" purported by self-proclaimed microbiologist, doctor, and professor Hadi Pranoto after he appeared in a video with YouTuber Anji and made these claims of cure to COVID-19. In the 30-minute interview that has now been removed by YouTube, Hadi discusses his miracle cure as the answer to the pandemic. We talk about how dangerous these kind of misleading information can be, and especially if they come from or are backed by public figures with great followings. We also talk about the recent story of Dr. Stella Immanuel, a doctor in America who herself proclaims hydroxychloroquine as the miracle cure to COVID-19, even though research has proved otherwise. President Trump's backing of her message also sends a dangerous message to his supporters and further complicates the search for a vaccine to COVID-19. We observe and analyze the lack of strong political leadership during this time of pandemic that has led to other kinds of figures taking over the space and sending their particularly misguided message across to audiences that are more than happy to find a quick answer to the difficult situation today. It is important that we keep our head straight and focus on the facts, before we readily accept any answer as the answer to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we discuss the recent verdict that sentenced two police officers to light prison terms over the acid attack on Novel Baswedan, a chief investigator in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), on April 11, 2017, closing the case on a story that has generated a lot of news over the years. We recap the acid attack itself and the context of which it happened, which was when Novel and his team were doing great work in catching high profile corruption officials, including the Setya Novanto e-KTP case. We share our thoughts and disappointment about the verdict and how, for us, it seems like the death knell to the KPK, especially after the recent law that greatly diminished the power of the independent body.

We're out this week, so we are repeating our lovely chat with Sakdiyah Ma'ruf—hope you enjoy our conversation!  ------------------------- In this episode, we have a special interview and conversation with one of Indonesia's fiercest female Muslim hijabi stand-up comedians, Sakdiyah Ma'ruf! Hailed as one of the first female Muslim comics in Indonesia (a "technicality," as she said), Sakdiyah has been doing stand-up comedy in both English and Indonesian for several years now. Her comedy touches on sensitive topics such as sexuality, Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism, and domestic violence, but she always finds a way to cut through the tension of such heavy topics without blunting her message of free speech and women's rights. We hope you'll enjoy our conversation as much as we enjoyed having it!

In this second of a two-part episode, we picked up where we left off with Amir Jones, an African-American Indonesian-American who's living in Washington, D.C. and involved in electoral politics. We continue talking about structural racism in America and the Black Lives Matter protests as a response to the murders of black Americans like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others — this time talking about the #DefundThePolice movement as well as racism in the criminal justice system. As media attention starts to die down, it is important we continue having these difficult but incredibly important conversations in order to make meaningful change happen for everyone. If you haven't listened to Part 1 of this conversation, you can take a listen on our track list — it's Episode 93.

In this first of a two-part episode, we have a very special guest — Amir Jones, an African-American Indonesian-American who’s living in Washington, D.C. and involved in electoral politics. We dive right into the topics around structural racism in America with Amir, in light of the recent weeks of Black Lives Matter protests as a response to the murders of black Americans like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others. We talk about racism in the Indonesian community and break down the elements of structural racism, such as class divide and systemic racism. We also talk about microaggressions in the context of racism and discrimination and discuss how to be actively anti-racist, especially within the circles of families and friends whom you can have the most impact on.   Join us next week for the 2nd part of our conversation with Amir, where we will continue our conversation and also talk about the #DefundThePolice movement.

In this episode, we talk to Levana Sani, co-founder and CEO of Nalagenetics, a meditech company based in Indonesia and Singapore that focuses on genetic testing for drug responses, but has now partially shifted focus to helping set up labs for COVID-19 testing. We dive into the basics of genetic testing, in particular human genotyping, which is what Nalagenetics as a company does in order to help doctors develop personalized medicine for their patients, tailored to their specific genetic profile. We talk to Levi about how her company has pivoted from genetic testing to COVID-19 testing, in particular qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) testing and comparing this particular method to the more widely known rapid testing method, which has had its critics. We also discuss how Nalagenetics have helped private companies — specifically huge corporations that employ thousands of people — test their workforce and keep their community safe, which goes into the conversation about private and public sector responses to COVID-19 and the democratization of testing. We discuss the ethics behind testing when there are limited test kits and how we can ensure the accessibility of testing to those who really need it.

In this episode, we have a very special guest — a long-time friend of ours, Dr. Vania, who is a second-year clinical nutrition resident currently based in Jakarta. We wanted to talk to her about the experience doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals have as the COVID-19 outbreak started to spread in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta. We talk through the early days of the pandemic and how stressful it was for doctors and nurses, especially with the shortage in PPE (personal protective equipment) at the time. Vania shares some of her personal insights and experiences about what a lot of doctors were going through as they were trying to deal with the virus — and the sense of danger and fear many felt during this time. We also talk about some of the improvements that have happened since then, with shorter shifts and free frequent testing. Finally, we talk about how we as a society need to not only thank our amazing medical professionals for fighting on the front lines, but also do our part in making the situation better for them — instead of just valorizing their work (and for some, their sacrifice). It is during these times that we need to be fighting for our doctors and nurses and medical professionals — just like how they are fighting for us! Also, we want to note that these are all Vania’s personal views and do not represent the views of the hospitals or organizations she’s worked at or is currently working at.

In this episode, we talk about… nothing in particular, other than how tired we are. We have an honest and sincere conversation about the pressures of working from home coupled with the guilt that comes from not being as productive as we always say we would be, if we had more time. We share our struggles about keeping a healthy work-life balance, and how we’re trying to navigate our own unique situations with work, life, and relationships. This is a shorter episode because, like we said in the beginning, we are quite burnt out from the current circumstances right now — and that’s fine. We hope that our honest chat would encourage folks to be okay with being unproductive, to be okay with unwinding, and to do what you need to do to destress and relax in these strange and weird times. Stay safe and stay healthy at home, everyone! Also, to our listeners all over the world who are listening, have a blessed Ramadan!

In this episode, we’re [insert number of days] into the lockdown situation in most parts of the world right now and we wanted to have a lighthearted but also sincere conversation about what living in the world is like at the moment. We share bits and pieces about our lives in quarantine, with Swedian in Jakarta undergoing large-scale social distancing and Stephanie in the Bay Area living under stay-at-home orders. We reflect on how our respective local authorities are responding to the pandemic and the impact that has across all of society and various communities — especially those who are most vulnerable and are not privileged enough to protect themselves or work from home. We discuss about the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the damaging effect of hoarding in terms of allocating resources for those who really need it. When we come out of this pandemic, we have a choice as a species — whether we will be completely Darwinian about ourselves and see who survives, or we will support one another and make choices that may be difficult and uncomfortable, but is better for your community, your society, and the human race.

Swedian is out sick at the moment (luckily, not because of COVID-19) so in the mean time, and in light of the current situation, we want to repeat our mental health episode, to support those who might be having trouble staying mentally healthy during this pandemic. We hope to be back as soon as we can! Please stay safe and healthy at home. ------- In this episode, we're discussing the topic of mental health! This issue has been in the news lately because Sandi, Prabowo's running mate in the upcoming presidential elections, have said that if elected, the Prabowo-Sandi administration will dedicate greater efforts into addressing mental health in Indonesia — an issue that is seldom talked about and incredibly stigmatized in the country. We talk a lot about self-care, how to be a good friend in supporting those with mental illness and mental health issues, and discuss how to destigmatize the topic in Indonesian society and conversation. Stephanie shares a little bit about her history with mental health, and we hope this dialogue will encourage our listeners to open up about their own stories and reach out to others who may be suffering from similar situations. Neither of us are mental health professionals in any way, shape, or form, but we hope our discussion will be helpful in getting people to talk more openly and emphatically about mental health.

In this episode, we’re reacting to the latest news of 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia. We break down the sequence of events that led to these confirmed cases. We reiterate some of the basic knowledge about COVID-19 and back it up with scientific data from the latest reports from the WHO, in order to dispel some common misconceptions and/or misinformation about COVID-19. We also want to address the panic buying that has occurred not only in Indonesia but all over the world, since it doesn’t address the real issue and only serves to jack up prices, deplete resources, and increase paranoia and fear. We urge our listeners to be calm and rational and practice good safe personal hygiene, and also to be empathetic to health care professionals and those who are in greater need of protection and be responsible about yourself and your actions.