Ubud Writers & Readers Festival Podcast
Books & Literature
About
If you missed a moment of enlightenment or entertainment at this year’s Anniversary Festival, we’ve got you covered. Our 2025 festival highlights program brings a collection of captivating conversations by local and international Festival guests directly to your home. With lively talks and reflections aimed at understanding the past, our present, and how our words and actions shape the future.
Episodes
- 2025 Festival Highlights | Rewriting Indonesian History
In a powerful conversation from the 2025 Festival, Indonesian journalist and Editor-in-Chief of IDN Times Uni Lubis and Indonesian historian and Founder of Historia.id Bonnie Triyana speak with host and American Professor of Journalism Jan…
- 2025 Festival Highlights | Navigating the Dynamics of China-U.S. Politics
In this next #UWRF25 highlight conversation, American writer, journalist and private diplomat Michael Vatikiotis invites New York Times Diplomatxic Correspondent Edward Wong and Chinese Senior Fellow Zhou Bo to examine the complexities of…
- 2025 Festival Highlight | Women and Creativity
Hear from an all-star line-up of women at the top of their fields as they explore creativity as a gift passed from mother to daughter—from the creation of life to the creation of art, community, and more. Appearing in one of our live recor…
- 2025 Festival Highlights | Sam Dalrymple: Shattered Lands
If you are after more conversations from #UWRF25, take this latest highlight session with you on your early commute or as you unwind after a busy day. In this illuminating conversation, Scottish historian and author Sam Dalrymple goes back…
- 2025 Festival Highlights | Seeking Discomfort
Listen back to highlight events from #UWRF25, with new episodes released every week. In this week’s episode, Australian Rewilding Facilitator and writer Gina Chick , British-born essayist and novelist Pico Iyer , and Indonesian travel writ…
- 2025 Festival Highlights | The War Women Must Wage
Beginning the year with one of the timeliest panels from our 2025 Festival, we hope you enjoy hearing Ingrid Rojas Contreras , Shiori Itō , and Virginia Haussegger in a provoking panel moderated by Kirsten Han . Hear from these incredible…
- 2025 Festival Highlights | Modern Identities
Hear from a panel of speakers brought together at #UWRF25 as they explore how, in an increasingly digital world where identity is reduced to labels, titles, and qualifications, we can begin to internalise that identity is greater than what…
- 2025 Festival Highlights | Gail Jones: The Name of the Sister
Hear highlight conversations from #UWRF25 as we release a new episode each week. For our second episode, listen to Australian award-winning author Gail Jones as she discusses her new book The Name of the Sister . In conversation with non-f…
- 2025 Festival Highlights | Writing Through Chaos
We are delighted to announce the release of the first podcast episode from #UWRF25. In our first episode, join moderator Petra Molnar as she talks with brilliant minds Omar El Akkad , Neal Hall and Shiori Itō about how they choose to confr…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | The Rise of Book Bloggers
In this week's #UWRF24 highlight conversation, the UK’s largest BookTuber and the Internet's Resident Librarian, Jack Edwards , along with digital creator and blogger Sintia Astarina and Bali-based book cover designer and industry expert N…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | Shifting Genres: Challenging Forms and Crossing Genres
Catch up on our latest #UWRF24 episode with award-winning authors Felix Cheong, Nam Le , and Omar Musa , alongside host Veronica Sullivan, as they explore the art of genre-shifting and how conventional forms in literature are being challen…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | Anton Hur: Toward Eternity - A Novel
This week, we are delighted to bring you an intimate conversation recorded live at #UWRF24. Listen in as New York Times bestselling translator and Korean-to-English writer Anton Hur discusses his debut novel, Toward Eternity , with Norman…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | The Rise of Audio Storytelling
Listen back to a stellar group of expert podcasters and journalists, including Maltese author Paul Caruana Galizia , award-winning Indonesian journalist and anthropologist Tito Ambyo , and Australian Walkley Award-winning reporter Annika B…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | Fighting for Democracy in Myanmar
In the past decade, liberal democracies around the world have been attacked from within, and Myanmar is no exception. The civil war in Myanmar, which began with a coup d'état exactly four years ago, has displaced millions, killed or maimed…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | Crafting Characters
The creative process of character development is one of the most crucial elements of storytelling. Revisit this one-of-a-kind meeting of literary minds between prolific Indonesian author Abi Ardianda , Irish fiction writer Alan Murrin , an…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | A Historical Perspective and the Future Outlook on the Israel-Gaza Conflict
We pride ourselves on being a platform where diverse perspectives on urgent issues in Bali, the region, and around the globe can be shared with clarity, nuance, and respect. With the latest ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas and Isra…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | Romantic Entanglements: Exploring Love in Novels
Love is as complex in literature as it is in reality, capturing the essence of our deepest emotions and weaving stories of passion, heartbreak, and connection. In this discussion, recorded live at #UWRF24 , authors Dee Lestari, Laura Eliza…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | Amitav, Isna and Sathnam: Reframing Colonial Histories
Listen to an urgent conversation from this year’s festival featuring renowned best-selling authors Amitav Ghosh, Sathnam Sanghera, and Isna Marifa as they explored the history of European colonialism and its outcomes. Their dialogue challe…
- 2024 Festival Highlights | Maria Ressa: How to Stand Up to a Dictator
In this first episode, Nobel Prize–winning author and journalist Maria Ressa explores the impact of social media on journalism, the fight for press freedom, and the need for ethical storytelling in a fractured world, moderated by Janet Ste…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Exploring Queerness in Poetry
For our 2023 Festival Highlights finale, listen to unexpected stories of pride and resilience from four incredible queer poets and writers. Hear from Virginia Helzainka, Chris Tse, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, and Broede Carmody as they discus…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Bernardine Evaristo's Writing Journey
This week, get inspired by our in-depth conversation with 2019 Booker Prize–winning author Bernardine Evaristo, who discusses her radically honest memoir, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up, serving as an inspiring guide for how to be persisten…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Reviving Bali: A Path to Net Zero by 2045
For our next live-recorded highlight session from our 2023 Festival, listen to urban experts in sustainable development and local Balinese figures Cok Putra, I Nyoman Satya Kumara, Putu Yindy Kurniawan, and Gungtik Rismayanti, and Dian Tri…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Unsettling Colonial Structures
Revisit our 2023 Festival highlight conversation recorded live at Indus Restaurant. Listen as Professors Aaron Corn, Marcia Langton, and Todung Mulya Lubis join Katie Carr to discuss their personal approaches on how indigenous traditions a…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | High Tea Book Club
On this week's 2023 highlight conversation program, watch the Festival High Tea Book Club recorded live at Ubud's most iconic hotel Amandari with host Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana and dazzling female guests Tracey Lien, Claudia Bellante, Megan…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Geetanjali Shree's Literary Reflections
In an extraordinary conversation, eminent Indian author and Hindi language novelist Geetanjali Shree takes the stage to reflect on her literary journey. Winner of the International Booker Prize for her recently translated Tomb of Sand, she…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Exploring Islam with Muhammad Quraish Shihab: Insights into Diversity
Dengan kebijaksanaan dan kejujuran yang mengagumkan, penulis, cendekiawan akademis, dan mantan Menteri Agama Indonesia di Kabinet Pembangunan Keempat pada 1998 silam, M. Quraish Shihab yang memimpin Pusat Studi Al-Qur'an membagikan penafsi…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Geraldine Brooks – Horse
For our next 2023 Festival Live-Recorded highlight conversation, listen to Geraldine Brooks, an American Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, as she discusses her recent novel 'Horse' with Australian journalist Leigh Sales. Casting fresh light…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Journey to Freedom
In a compassionate conversation, Cuban American artist Edel Rodriguez, Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani, and Indonesian artist Agus Nur Amal (PM Toh) speak of their personal experience as refugees. Appearing in our short clip, E…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Women Shaping Indonesian Literature
Listen to another of the highlight conversation recorded live from the 2023 Festival featuring Intan Paramaditha, Dee Lestari, and Lala Bohang. These three Indonesian literary powerhouses spearhead the Indonesian literary era, breaking bar…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Vandana Shiva and 50 Years of Environmental Justice
For our upcoming 2023 Festival live-recorded highlight sessions, hear the highly regarded Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva discuss her five-decade-long fight for environmental justice in India. In conversation with Indonesian forest c…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Unveiling 'Tri Samaya': Exploring the Essence of Time
This week, listen to Dr. Ravinjay Kuckreja, Darma Putra, and Sugi Lanus in an extraordinary conversation as they reflect on the 2023 Festival theme. The theme draws inspiration from the profound Balinese concept of ‘Tri Semaya,’ a philosop…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | Clashes and Hope: Unpacking the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Join us for our second highlighted conversation recorded live from our 20th Anniversary, where our speakers provide an analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Hear from Middle East experts Michael Vatikiotis and Antony Loewenstein as…
- #UWRF23 Festival Highlights | 20 Years of UWRF: A Reflective Celebration
The time has come, and we'll be bringing you conversations recorded live from our 20th Anniversary. Start your highlight program journey with Festival Founder and Director Janet DeNeefe and some old Festival friends - Toni Pollard, Kadek P…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Climate Change in the Austral-Asian Region
To celebrate the birthday of female Indonesian heroine, Raden Adjeng Kartini (1879-1904), who fought for gender equality and the right to education for all, our #UWRF22 Highlight Session will bring you a panel discussion on Women in Fictio…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | The Causes and Consequences of Disinformation and Misinformation
It is no secret that politicians wield disinformation as a political tool, to drive people apart and control them. For example, the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar was partly incited by Facebook posts. There were even conspiracy theorists who…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | In Conversation with Michael Vatikiotis
Enjoy another one of our #UWRF22 highlight episode sessions with one of the finest Southeast Asian correspondents and private diplomats of our time, Michael Vatikiotis. In a conversation moderated by Janet Steele, Vatikiotis will talk abou…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | From Book to Screen
Today, Indonesia celebrates its National Film Day. On March 30, 1950, legendary Indonesian filmmaker Usmar Ismail directed the country’s first full-length feature film produced by a national company. To mark this special occasion, this wee…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Connecting Life With Words: The Women Powering Poetry
In this week’s #UWRF22 Highlight Sessions episode, indulge yourself in an emotional journey alongside three international female poets who share their stories about their creative lives with a celebrated Balinese poet. In the conversation…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Speculative Fiction: Exploring Our Future
Speculative fiction immerses us in a vision of the world that could become true from a plethora of latent possibilities. Speculative fiction uses storytelling as a tool to educate and influence people's perspectives by creating a world tha…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Representing Women in Cinema and Popular Culture
This week’s #UWRF22Highlights episode seeks to mark International Women’s Day by featuring a discussion on Women Representation in Cinema and Popular Culture. You can listen to Indonesia’s two prominent female film directors, Nia Dinata an…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Where is Indonesian Art Going
In the week’s #UWRF22 highlight episode, the Indonesian artist, Saras Dewi, and the Director of Museum MACAN, Aaron Seeto, come together to discuss the journey in tracing the development of contemporary art in Indonesia. Join the Social Af…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Combatting Racism through Creative Practice
In this #UWRF22Highlights episode, join Miles Merrill in an important and critical conversation with the Australian Poetry Slam Champion, Huda Fadlelmawla, as well as West Timor-based writer, Felix K. Nesi, and the broadcaster/comedian, Sa…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Rekindling Dormant Languages
The 21st of February is International #MotherLanguageDay! To celebrate the power of mother languages, we are presenting another #UWRF22 highlight session. This time, featuring Irish Novelist, Audrey Magee, who’s ‘The Colony’ novel got shor…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Music That Defines Us
Join music editor Lauren Ziegler for a special in-conversation with Meita Kasim, Sally Breen, and Gede Robi. It’ll be a powerful and accessible exploration about music, and its key role in social activism and human rights movements. In thi…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | Intellectual Journeys with Brigid Delaney and Eric Weiner
The third highlight episode features Australian author and columnist, Brigid Delaney, as well as American former foreign correspondent and travel writer, Eric Weiner. In this special meeting of minds, the duo discusses with Gill Westaway t…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | The Two Sides of the Wellness Industry
Listen to an engaging conversation with Huda Fadlelmawla, Bandana Tewari, and Fariha Roisin who share their unique perspectives with Eva Fernandes, on the wellness industry—which has become a multi-billion-dollar business that claims to im…
- #UWRF22 Festival Highlights | In Conversation with Kylie Moore-Gilbert
In this session, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a scholar of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, who shares her incredible story of survival after being accused of espionage and sentenced to an Iranian jail for 804 days. You can listen to this #UWRF…
- UWRF21 Podcast | Cities of the People
Passionate about sustainable development, urban spaces and the well-being of his community, Ridwan Kamil is one of Indonesia’s most visionary Governors. With a background in architecture, he believes that cities are for the people to enjoy…
- UWRF21 Podcast | The Mind of the Children
Cyntha Hariadi’s Kokokan Mencari Arumbawangi and Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie’s Di Tanah Lada both focus on the behaviour and thoughts of children. However, they actually touch on a wider issues, including the chaotic relationship betwee…
- UWRF21 Podcast | Indonesian Women Storytellers
Muna Masyari, Ramayda Akmal, and Tias Yuliana present the dark reality of women in traditional customs and modern utopias. Their novels show the multiple layers of female characters as well as their efforts to address the local socio-cultu…