In the ten months since the Free Nutritious Meals (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) program was launched, more than 11,000 students and school staff have suffered food poisoning, including many severe cases. In this episode of Talking Indonesia, the host speaks with Dr. Irma Hidayana, a public health consultant and co-initiator of MBG Watch, an advocacy network promoting accountability in the Free Nutritious Meals program.

In the ten months since the Free Nutritious Meals (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) program was launched, more than 11,000 students and school staff have suffered food poisoning, including many severe cases. In this episode of Talking Indonesia, the host speaks with Dr. Irma Hidayana, a public health consultant and co-initiator of MBG Watch, an advocacy network promoting accountability in the Free Nutritious Meals program.

In this episode of Southeast Asia Radio, produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Gregory B. Poling and Andreyka Natalegawa are joined by Susannah Patton to discuss the Southeast Asia Program’s upcoming Global Alignment Index report. The podcast also covers the latest from Southeast Asia, from updates on U.S.-Cambodia ties to the Philippines assuming the ASEAN chairmanship.

In an article for Al Jazeera, Erin Hale gives an overview of the upgraded ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, which will broaden collaboration on infrastructure, digital and green transitions, trade facilitation, and people to people exchanges, as trade between both parties grow under Trump's trade wars.

In an article for the Fulcrum, Burhanuddin Muhtadi discusses challenges faced by Prabowo's administration, despite recovering  public approval, as the administration must tackle public demands for deeper structural reforms.

In an article for UC Berkeley News, Lila Thulin discusses Long Le-Khac's 1,900-entry long database of Asian American literary canon. By gathering publications featuring the keyword “Asian American” or taking media from journals dedicated to Asian American studies, Le-Khac frames it as a chance for academics to audit what's considered the Asian American canon and see who might be missing or underrepresented.

Chiara Formichi discusses her new book, Domestic Nationalism (Stanford University Press, 2025), asserting that Muslim women in Java and Sumatra in the early to mid-20th century were central to Indonesia’s progress as guardians and promoters of health and piety through gendered activities of care work. While sidelined in the Dutch colonial project of hygienic modernity, women’s labor of social reproduction became increasingly visible during the Japanese Occupation and early years of independence. Women from all walks of life were called upon to fulfill domestic and motherly roles for the production and socialization of laborers, soldiers, and citizens.

This discussion was moderated by Sidney Jones and was hosted by NYSEAN.