Shows
Sugar NutmegMiko Veldkamp on Multiplicity over HalfnessMiko talks to us about how the vast forests and wide, empty roads of Suriname give rise to ghost stories, the reasons the ghosts in his paintings take classical Greek poses or animalistic positions, the fantasy of prosperity and whitewashing of historical paintings, how cultural signifiers in his paintings carry double meanings, and feeling alienated from art as a child. Plus, we ponder the prevalence of white clothing on ghosts and discuss the specific locations of ghosts in Indonesian folklore. To be enjoyed with a bowl of steaming hot saoto soup!
--
2024-03-191h 01Sugar NutmegNasrikah and Okui Lala on Rasa & Asa of Domestic WorkersNasrikah and Okui Lala talk to us about their collaboration project, Rasa and Asa, a short film, shot during the height of pandemic via online video platform, capturing the activities and daily meetings of the PERTIMIG members.
--
Okui Lala (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is an artist and cultural worker. Her practice spans from video and performance to community engagement. Okui’s work explores themes of identities, diaspora and belonging through the performances of domestic acts or vocational labor. She also facilitates visual workshops with nonprofit organizations and social groups that...
2024-01-081h 13Sugar NutmegNapong Tao Rugkhapan on Urban Beautification and Psychological DisplacementTao talks to us about urban geography and morphology in Southeast Asia. We discuss historic preservation and patterns of heritage-making in Southeast Asia, touristification, image-making and nationalist architecture, the evolution of neighborhoods and their communities as cities get reinvented, and whether Chinatowns in Southeast Asia are "disappearing and dying" as they are in Western countries. To be enjoyed with extra spicy Indonesian food or super sour Thai food with lots & lots of lime!
--
Napong Tao Rugkhapan is a geographer of urban planning interested in the geographic implications of...
2023-12-211h 15Sugar NutmegJanette Suherli on Observing Supernova Remnants and Other Celestial WondersInspired by her grandfather, who followed the stars to navigate the seas and landscape of Bangka, Janette shares the colorful journey of her astrophysics career. She talks to us about black holes, massive stars, supernova explosions, and how reverse culture shock can almost derail you from your career.
Optional: episode to be enjoyed with a plate of pempek.
--
Janette Suherli is a PhD student at the University of Manitoba, Canada, working with Dr. Samar Safi-Harb in the eXtreme Astrophysics Group. Her doctoral research focuses on utilizing in...
2023-09-251h 11Sugar NutmegAndamar Pradipta on The Science of The SupernaturalDamar talks to us about his research on supernatural phenomena. We discuss different elements and even marketing methods used by dukun in Indonesia. Plus, paranormal sensitivities, indigo people, and Ruth's untapped powers. Everything is magic is Southeast Asia.
--
Andamar Pradipta obtained his bachelor’s degree in Social Anthropology from Universitas Indonesia. He then continued his studies at Central European University in Hungary, and graduated with an M.A. in Sociology and Social Anthropology in 2016. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan.
His re...
2023-08-0858 minSugar NutmegElliott Prasse-Freeman on The Role of Blockchain in Rohingya LivesElliott talks to us about the Rohingya political situation amidst dislocation and mass violence, especially after the coup in Myanmar, and how R-Coin is a new initiative helping stateless Rohingya diaspora in Malaysia.
---
Elliott Prasse-Freeman is a political anthropologist studying social movements, violence, and symbolic culture in Burma. As part of a related ongoing project on the Rohingya genocide, he is exploring novel forms of personhood and conceptions of the political as they are mediated by and generated through new technologies such as blockchain, biometric scanners, and AI.
2023-05-021h 42Sugar NutmegEmy Ruth Gianan on Digital Disinformation in The Philippines and Southeast AsiaEmy talks to us about disinformation challenges in Southeast Asia and its evolving relationship with democracy, civil society participation, and digital maturity. To be enjoyed with a hearty bowl of Sinigang!
Emy Ruth Gianan is a full-time professor teaching classes on public policy, governance, and development economics at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila. Alongside teaching, she work as Chief of Internal Relations Services of the university’s Communication Management Office to harmonize policies and processes centered on digital communications. She also undertakes research endeavors focused on disinformation trends across So...
2023-03-131h 14Sugar NutmegVeronika Kusumaryati and Ernst Karel on Expedition ContentErnst and Veronika talk to us about their process of composing Expedition Content, the augmented sound piece composed from 37 hours of recordings which document the encounter between members of the Harvard Peabody Expedition, particularly Michael Rockefeller of the Rockefeller family, and the Hubula people of West Papua, at the time Nederlands New Guinea. The piece reflects on visual anthropology, the lives of the Hubula and of Michael, and the ongoing history of colonialism and occupation in West Papua. “Expedition Content” premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival and has been screened at Cinéma du Réel at the Ce...
2022-12-191h 31Sugar NutmegFrederic Clapp on Finding Home in VietnamRuth and Alexandra often find themselves furious about foreigners coming to the "exotic" islands of Indonesia and using the archipelago as a pretty background for their Instagram photos or YouTube vlogs. With Fred Clapp, they share stories of treading responsibly on foreign lands, deromanticizing distant locales, and finding a home halfway across the world. Plus, feline hierarchies, protesting babi guling, practical forms of censorship in Vietnam, exporting culture, and the constant cycle of imperialism. Maybe make yourself some Mexican food to accompany this episode!
Frederic Clapp is a Vietnam-based game designer...
2022-11-121h 32Sugar NutmegSpecial Episode!Alexandra is in CDMX shooting a film and Ruth is off to Bali to reunite with her boyfriend. We recorded this episode last month to reflect on borders, passports, visas, Indonesian cartels, “forbidden areas” and the Forbidden Fruit. Is this the episode in which we get cancelled? As always, let’s feast and find out.
Don't forget to tip: https://anchor.fm/sugar-nutmeg/support
And leave us a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sugar-nutmeg/id1534635329
www.sugarnutmeg.com
---
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/s...
2022-10-1543 minSugar NutmegPailin Wedel on Death, Documentary Filmmaking, and Radical HopePailin Wedel talks to us about her Emmy-winning, Netflix-acquired film, Hope Frozen, and her work with Al Jazeera across Southeast Asia. We discuss death, the afterlife, the ecosystem of documentary filmmaking and journalistic work in Southeast Asia, and the power of radical hope.
--
Pailin Wedel is a journalist and filmmaker best known for directing and producing the documentary Hope Frozen, which started streaming on Netflix in 2020, and is first Thai film to win an International Emmy. It screened at more than twenty festivals worldwide and won Best International Feat...
2022-09-0359 min
Sugar NutmegThi My Lien Nguyen on Food for the Dead & Transforming Family Rituals into Communal FeastsThi My Lien Nguyen talks to us about Viet-Lao identity, the Vietnamese diaspora in Switzerland versus France, Germany, and the U.S., the types of dishes she cooks to honor the dead, working with folklore and foodways, and starting Mili's Supper Club. Plus, Swiss cheese, chocolate cake, the different funeral processions in Indonesia, and more!
Thi My Lien Nguyen is a Swiss-Vietnamese lens-based artist, supper club host, and food artist working and located in Winterthur, Switzerland. Her image-making practice, often using ethnographic methods, are focused on issues of identity, migration, diasporas...
2022-05-281h 16Sugar NutmegSim Chi Yin on Artistic Interventions to Reshape Public MemorySim Chi Yin walks us through her ongoing project "One Day We'll Remember": uncovering family secrets, visiting ancestral villages, collecting artefacts and archival materials, and making counter archives with family members and locals from her grandfather's neighborhood in Gaoshang after he was deported from British Malaya for his anti-colonial resistance against the British occupying forces.
She raises major topics such as what are the things we choose to remember and things we choose to forget in relation to trauma and malu, and the different ways wars have been documented in Southeast Asia. She also talks to us...
2022-05-211h 12
Sugar NutmegXingyun Shen on Performance, Greenwashing, and the Meaning of “Sustainability” in FashionWe talk about protest-dressing, dopamine-dressing, performance-dressing, all the subtle and unsubtle ways of sales associates, and more!
Xingyun is a freelance researcher and writer who advocates for a more humane fashion system through her work. She studied Fashion Sustainability and Digital Fashion Management at the London College of Fashion and is now the country coordinator for Fashion Revolution Singapore. Seeking to address the importance of intersectionality when analysing fashion sustainability, she runs @noordinaryprotest as a platform to call for a shift in mindset. Her favourite time of the day is 5pm, and her go-to...
2022-04-071h 07
Sugar NutmegJuliette Yu-Ming Lizeray on Connecting the Thread Between Different DialoguesWe talk to Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray about her adventures with the Cariocas of Brazil, making films with tsunami survivors in Aceh, working with repatriated migrants in Buenos Aires, syncretism between Afro-Cuban religions and Taoism & Buddhism in Cuba, and interviewing the Southeast Asian restauranteurs of New York City. Plus, surprising similarities that Juliette found between Rio de Janeiro and Singapore, Ruth’s take on “food wars” in Southeast Asia, and a little story about the time Barack Obama’s mother first came to Indonesia, as told by Hadipurnomo to Alexandra!
What is “carne de rã” codeword for?
Why is a ca...
2022-01-151h 23
Sugar NutmegNorman Erikson Pasaribu & Tiffany Tsao on Almosts, Discontinued Futures, and the Misconception about “Magical Realism”Special Holiday Episode! Coinciding with the release of "Happy Stories, Mostly", we talk to Norman Erikson Pasaribu and Tiffany Tsao about their work as translators of each others work and as individual writers themselves. Between Sydney, Bekasi, Bogor and New York, we discuss cultural untranslatability, creating new languages, building new memories through language, and why it’s difficult for readers to appreciate Indonesian literature. Plus, K-Dramas, fanfics, sinetron, past-less and futureless characters, and whether Dia, Ia, and Nya will be extinct in the future. Whether it's turkey, sate, noodles, nastar, or roll cake, may this Two-Hour Holiday Special accompany you...
2021-12-091h 48
Sugar NutmegNay Saysourinho on Folktales, Fables, Fairy Tales, and the Power of "Passivity"Nay Saysourinho talks to us about heterotopia, folktales and fairy tales, passive resistance and "passive" choices, motherhood, domesticity, and how she learned to find her voice as a writer from listening to her aunties gossip at home. Plus, the impact of the French language, the bond of la Francophonie, the nonchalance of Laotians, and all the things that get lost in translation....
Nay Saysourinho is a writer, literary critic and visual artist. She was the first recipient of the Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship from One Story Magazine, and has received fellowships and scholarships from Kundiman...
2021-10-291h 17Sugar NutmegNurdiyansah Dalidjo on Food as Proof of Hybridity, Resistance, and ResilienceNurdiyansah tells us about his trips across Indonesia to explore how spices from the region hold a multitude of stories that transcend the epochal eras: Dutch colonization, Japanese occupation, the national revolution era, New Order era, Reformasi, and the new digital age. The aroma and flavor of traditional dishes and culinary delights offered him personal and political reflections on the hybridity of identity and the convoluted meaning of "home." What does it really mean to be "Indonesian"? What are all the influences that shaped "Indonesian" cuisine? Is there really a pure "Indonesian" dish? How was pempek related to a...
2021-05-271h 32Sugar NutmegDaniel Lie on Family, Heritage, and the Myth of OriginBrazilian-Indonesian artist Daniel Lie talks to us about the commonalities and distinctiveness between Brazil and Indonesia, two countries that share latitude lines, equatorial climate, lush rainforests enduring rampant deforestation, emerging market economies, class systems, and a long history of US-backed authoritarian regimes.
We discuss the ideas explored in Daniel's trilingual project Toko Buku Liong, titled after their grandparent's successful comic book store in Semarang: coloniality of power, retracing migration routes, reconnecting with ancient roots, acquiring and embodying new languages, the myth of origin, and the perception of time.
They s...
2021-04-021h 37Sugar NutmegRagil Huda on Queer Migration Trajectories and Bridging Academia and ActivismRagil Huda talks to us about his unconventional journey: growing up in a small village in South Sumatra, working with the transgender community in Yogyakarta, attending Islamic boarding schools in both Java and Sumatra, finding the right support system in Penang, his current work as an academic-activist, methods of knowledge production, community building, grassroots organizing, and how he stays motivated amid everything he does. Plus, Raminten, CIA exploits, and the burden of social media influencers. You'll want some thick, teeming, hot sop kambing while you listen to this.
Ragil Huda is...
2021-03-251h 07Sugar NutmegSarnt Utamachote on the Diaspora ↔ War ↔ Tourism Complex*Note: At 24:00, what Sarnt meant here is a contemporary ethnic segregation amongst Southeast Asians in middle-class milieus, which happens less in the Berlin environment, in comparison to Bangkok. Historically, however, in West/East Germany there had been huge racial segregation imposed by both states, for example, between migrant "contract" workers who weren't allowed to live or interact with regular citizens through out the 1970/80s — another complex topic of another in-depth conversation.
Sarnt Utamachote talks to us about postcoloniality, migrant movements and migrant spaces, internationalism, forms of survival for artists and queer and queer artists, th...
2021-03-121h 23Sugar NutmegCynthia Dewi Oka on Migration, Imagination and the Right to MemoryBorn in Denpasar, Cynthia Dewi Oka grew up as an ethnic minority and religious minority in Bali and Java. These experiences pushed her family to migrate to Vancouver, Canada, where Cynthia faced a whole other beast of diasporic experiences. Now a poet with three Pushcart Prize nominations, she lives in Philadelphia, where she partnered with Asian Arts Initiative to offer Sanctuary: A Migrant Poetry Workshop for Philly-based immigrant poets. Cynthia shares with us her journey across many borders, working as an organizer, a poet, a teacher, and a mother. We talk about martabak, motherhood, medok accents, imagination, imperialism, and...
2021-02-221h 20Sugar NutmegMitzi Jonelle Tan on the Ethics and Economics of Climate Change in the PhilippinesIn the most dangerous part of the world for activists, Mitzi Jonelle Tan continues to mobilize and organize movements for climate justice. She chairs the Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) and works with indigenous leaders in most affected areas.
Mitzi talks to us about Duterte's infamous anti-terror bill and war of drugs, the right to freedom of speech and the human rights crisis in the Philippines, the dependency of the country's economy on tourism and export of their natural resources, the interconnectedness of public policy, economics, education and climate change, as well...
2021-02-101h 16Sugar NutmegVincent Bevins on The Jakarta Method Across the WorldIn his first interview with a Southeast Asian podcast since the launch of his book, Vincent Bevins answers questions about the topics in "The Jakarta Method," which he wrote after extensive research and interviews with survivors throughout Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the U.S. We talk about everything from specific tactics & operations in Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brazil, and Chile, to why narratives around these events have been so skewed, to the shrinking internationalist exchange between post-colonial countries, to developing a palate for real spicy food.
The Jakarta Method
The hidden story...
2021-01-291h 26
Sugar NutmegWensi Fatubun on the Papuan Perspective and Why the World Turns a Blind EyePapua. A secret heaven of natural beauty. And a secret haven of natural resources. Gold. Copper. Uranium. Silver. Oil. Gas. How are these treasures related to the Wamena massacre, Biak massacre, Wasior massacre, or Paniai massacre? How did it all start? Which countries are involved?
We unpack some of these with Wensi Fatubun, a filmmaker, photographer, and indigenous rights advisor to numerous international organizations. Wensi is also a part of Papuan Archives and Papuan Voices, two initiatives dedicated to telling stories from Papua by Papuans.
Wensislaus "...
2021-01-201h 21Sugar NutmegAndreas Harsono on the Complexities and Intricacies of Indonesia's Multi-Ethnic, -Religious, and -Cultural MakeupA travelogue exploring the dynamics of ethnic and religious tension throughout the many islands in the Indonesian archipelago, "Race, Islam and Power: Ethnic and Religious Violence in Post-Suharto Indonesia" is a book by Andreas Harsono that summarizes the reality of Indonesia. He talks to us about why this country is so complex to comprehend and so obscure to the rest of the world, despite being the 4th most populous country and one of the top economies in the world.
Andreas Harsono is an international human rights activist, journalist, and book author...
2020-12-271h 07Sugar NutmegMaryam Lee on Malaysian Identity and Spirituality in the NusantaraMost people from Nusantara know the competition between Indonesia and Malaysia, but how many know how this competition even came to be? Maryam Lee breaks it down for us in this episode! With her wisdom, she unpacks the complexities of ethnicity and religion in Malaysian national identity, how political structures today are inherited from colonial ways, and the many layers of liberalism. Plus, we talk ghost stories, folk tales, and spiritual healing.
Maryam Lee is a program manager at various non-profit organisations. She looks at political and economic policies that affect people’s lives, fr...
2020-12-061h 50Sugar NutmegAbdul Samad Haidari on Seeking Refuge in IndonesiaAbdul Samad Haidari is a Hazara-Afghan journalist turned refugee poet, currently in Indonesia waiting for resettlement. Besides volunteering as a humanitarian-aid worker and teacher, Abdul is the author of the poetry collection “The Red Ribbon,” which is the 3rd best-selling book in Indonesia.
Abdul talks to us about his background, his family, his book, his activities with the refugee community as well as the literary circles in Indonesia, coping with trauma, religion and censorship in Indonesia versus Afghanistan, and his views on life in Indonesia as a refugee.
Abdu...
2020-11-011h 17Sugar NutmegRuth Ogetay on West Papua and the Effects of Historical Negationism (Bilingual Episode)In this special bilingual episode, Ruth Ogetay gets candid about the history of West Papua, the current plight of Papuans and other ethnic minorities in Indonesia, multilateral relations with other countries, as well as how and why a series of events involving transnational corporate deals led to the current situation concerning West Papua.
Originally from Paniai, Ruth Ogetay attended university in Yogyakarta, then moved to the capital city to work as a nurse in a major Jakarta hospital, and is currently at Pantau Foundation, focusing specifically on political prisoners.
---
Support this podcast...
2020-10-311h 12Sugar NutmegEugenio "Ego" Lemos on Timor Lorosa'e and Legacies of Occupation Seen Through Food SystemsEugenio "Ego" Lemos talks to us about permaculture practices, legacies of occupation, reconciliation and resilience, the dilemma of post-conflict countries, common problems with aid and charity, Indonesian influence versus Australian presence in Timor, East Timor then versus West Papua now, ricenization as a form of cultural destruction, and how sociopolitical events at large affect personal lives on the micro scale through food during the Portuguese colonization, Indonesian occupation and in present day.
Ego Lemos is the founder of the Sustainable Agriculture Network and Organic Agriculture Movement in Timor-Leste. He is also the Founder of P...
2020-10-221h 08Sugar NutmegSilong Chhun on Cambodia and How Distance Brings Clarity & CourageSilong Chuun talks to us about how distance brings clarity and awareness, reclaiming narratives through his clothing brand "Red Scarf Revolution", creative ways to spark conversations and recontextualize history, parallels between the communist regime in Cambodia then and the capitalist administration in the US today, memoranda of understanding for Cambodian, Lao, and Vietnamese refugees, colonialism, imperialism, displacement, community, and how Southeast Asian immigrants struggle, hustle, shine, and thrive.
Silong Chhun was born in Cambodia at the end of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. He and his family arrived to the U.S. as refugees...
2020-10-101h 05Sugar NutmegYu Yu Myint Than on the Dynamics of Power: Camera, Conflict, Collaboration, and Creating Amid Censorship in MyanmarBurmese photographer Yu Yu Myint Than talks to us about education before the Saffron Revolution, Burmanization, the conflict in Shan state, dynamics between ethnic minorities, between the camera and the captured, how artists in Myanmar deal with censorship, the ethical dilemmas she faced as a documentary photographer, transnational collaborations, and how the personal is political.
Yu Yu Myint Than is Myanmar photographer based in Yangon. Previously a staff photographer at The Myanmar Times, she now focuses on personal photo documentaries. Yu Yu manages Myanmar Deitta, a non-profit organisation which develops resources for photographers and filmmakers in Myanmar, a...
2020-10-041h 06