Every fortnight, the team behind Talking Indonesia interview experts about Indonesian politics, language, society and culture.

Hosts Dr Dave McRae, Dr Jemma Purdey, Dr Charlotte Setijadi and Dr Dirk Tomsa take turns covering stories you might have heard of briefly on the news, but never fully understood – Ahok’s blasphemy trial, the South China Sea dispute, extremism. They’re fleshed out in conversation, and explained in a way that’s accessible and engaging.

The podcast is hosted by Indonesia at Melbourne, a blog populated by the Indonesia experts from universities throughout Asia, so both interviewer and interviewee always know their stuff. Less news-centric episodes turn their eye to disability, literature, fake news and religion in Indonesia.

Most revealing, upon listening, is how little most Australians actually hear or know about the almost-250 million people living in the nation of islands to our north-west. Talking Indonesia is delivered in the no-frills production style of many academic podcasts, but audio is clear and the interviews compelling.