This is the first episode of the Spring Series 2026, and we’re kicking things off with one of our more popular guests, journalist Erin Cook, who covers South-East Asia. Today we’re talking about the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and more.
Erin produces the excellent newsletter Dari Mulut ke Mulut, an English-language summary of what’s happening in the region, and an occasional newsletter specifically on the Australia-Indonesia relationship, Flat White, Kopi Susu. She also cohosts the Reformasi Dispatch podcast on Indonesian politics, policymaking, justice, and economics.
In this episode we discuss the ongoing political dramas in the Philippines, the economics of durian, why Thailand is getting sick of tourists and especially tourists from Israel, the volcanoes and land-clearing smoke haze coming from Indonesia. We even have some solid life advice.
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Episode Links
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Following Southeast Asia and Timor-Leste, mostly elections, FP and Instagram posts. Don't complain to me that I don't cover business enough, I do not know of such things.
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Erin Cook's newsletter covering South-East Asia, this being its new home from June 2025.
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Erin Cook's other newsletter, specifically about the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
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[8 September 2026] More than 340,000 passengers have been stranded in Indonesia after flights were cancelled or delayed after the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau. Anak Krakatau is on a small island halfway between Java and Sumatra. Clouds of ash have made air travel dangerous, disrupting thousands of flights for a second day.
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[8 September 2026] Five airports reopen after authorities cleared volcanic ash from critical infrastructure.
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[0 September 2026] The dry conditions over the last few months caused a rapid increase in fire activity in Indonesia and other parts of the Maritime Continent. Some of the fires in Indonesia in recent weeks are likely burning through tropical peatlands that have been drying out in the last few months. Peat fires can be difficult to extinguish because they smoulder slowly underground, creating large volumes of smoke for prolonged periods.
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Independent and lucid analysis of Indonesian politics, policymaking, justice, and economics featuring Kevin O’Rourke and Erin Cook. The podcasts incorporate exclusive interviews with experts and draws on content from the Reformasi Weekly reports, produced for subscribers since 2003.
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[10 September 2026] From spewing ash to spewing garbage, here comes Sara Duterte. The Vice President posted bail over the weekend, a day after she was charged for making threats on the life of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and his cousin Martin Romualdez, speaker of the House of Reps at the time the threat was made.
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[17 May 2026] In this episode we talk about those high-level political dramas in the Philippines. But we also chat about the oil crisis and its affect on the region, scam compounds in Myanmar, the history of physics for some reason, Thaksin Shinawatra out on parole, the exciting world of Memorandum of Understanding 44, and much more.
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Imelda Romualdez Marco (born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under martial law in September 1972. She is the mother of current president Bongbong Marcos... The subject of dozens of court cases around the world, she was eventually convicted of corruption charges in 2018 for her activities during her term as governor of Metro Manila; the case is under appeal. She and her husband hold the Guinness World Record for the "Greatest Robbery of a Government", putting Suharto of neighboring Indonesia at second.
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The Beatles, on what would be their final world tour, arrived in a place unlike any other. The Philippines was home to America’s biggest military bases in the region at a time when Vietnam was ramping up to its height. The Marcoses were photogenic, and on the surface at least, poster children for democracy: Ferdinand and Imelda were dubbed the ‘Jackie and JFK’ of Asia, by Life Magazine. The Beatles management saw the tour as a lucrative opportunity to open up new markets.
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Capital punishment in Australia has been abolished in all jurisdictions since 1985. Queensland abolished the death penalty in 1922. Tasmania did the same in 1968. The Commonwealth abolished the death penalty in 1973, with application also in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Victoria did so in 1975, South Australia in 1976, and Western Australia in 1984. New South Wales abolished the death penalty for murder in 1955, and for all crimes in 1985. In 2010, the Commonwealth Parliament passed legislation prohibiting the re-establishment of capital punishment by any state or territory. Australian law prohibits the extradition or deportation of a prisoner to another jurisdiction if they could be sentenced to death for any crime.
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The Rupert Max Stuart case is regarded as launching Rupert Murdoch's rise to international fame and prominence. It was significant in having Murdoch in the role of anti-establishment campaigner against the death sentence and helping to make Aboriginal rights an issue.
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The Division of Bean is an electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Norfolk Island.
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Sonic Youth was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981 [and] disbanded in 2011.`
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The Death of Stalin is a 2017 British-French-Belgian political satire black comedy film directed by Armando Iannucci and written by Iannucci, David Schneider and Ian Martin with Peter Fellows. Based on the French graphic novel La Mort de Staline (2010–2012), the film depicts the internal social and political power struggle among the members of the Soviet Politburo following the death of leader Joseph Stalin in 1953.
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The Personal History of David Copperfield is a 2019 historical comedy-drama film written and directed by Armando Iannucci, based on the 1850 novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
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Dev Patel (/?d?v p??t?l/ DEV p?-TEL; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor and filmmaker. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Patel was included in Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
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[6 May 2026] Anutin calls for stricter enforcement after series of unsavoury incident.
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[2 June 2026] Government cites crime and drunken antics of foreigners as it shortens their stays – with ordinary Thais welcoming the crackdown.
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[8 September 2026] Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow held a blunt meeting with Israel's ambassador after a string of incidents in Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Samui.
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[19 August 2026] Thai police have revealed to the ABC in an exclusive interview that Thai teenager Tunchanok Donhomla died from suffocation. Australian citizen Simon Carman, 45, has been accused of her murder.
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[3 September 2026] Far from hitting the bars and fleshpots of the Thai beach resort of Pattaya, in their first hours onshore most of the nearly 5,000 sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln seemed determined to go shopping.
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[1 September 2026] Police have increased patrols around Pattaya's beachfront and nightlife areas and conducted raids over the weekend. Officials said between 40 and 50 people were detained for suspected prostitution.
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[7 September 2026] Farewell Pattaya! USS Abraham Lincoln sails after 5,000 sailors bring a ?100m spending bonanza. Huge tips delight Thai workers, shops boom and bars fill as the Americans surprise locals with generosity, discipline and spending far beyond nightlife.
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[13 July 2026] “Malaysia’s durian price plunge sparks a boom in durian parties” #NotAEuphemism
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[13 July 2026] An oversupply of durians, dubbed a "durian tsunami," has caused prices to plummet, with the Musang King variety dropping from approximately RM60 to as low as RM10 per kilogram.
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[18 December 2019] Zona Tan-Sheppard from The Thorny Fruit Company, started hosting durian parties in Sydney this year after watching their popularity grow overseas.
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[30 August 2026] Vietnam only officially entered the Chinese durian market after a 2022 trade protocol but last year became the country's biggest supplier by volume.
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This is where I'll add a link about aloe vera in Tanzania if I can find something.
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This is a list of composers of 20th-century classical music, sortable by name, year of birth, year of death, nationality, notable works, and remarks. It includes only composers of significant fame and importance. The style of the composer's music is given where possible, bearing in mind that some defy simple classification.
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Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (French: [?d?a? vikt?? a?il ?a?l va??z]; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American avant-garde composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States... Varèse thought that "to stubbornly conditioned ears, anything new in music has always been called noise", and he posed the question, "what is music but organized noises?"
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Tristram Ogilvie Cary, OAM (14 May 1925 – 24 April 2008), was a pioneering English-Australian composer. He was also active as a teacher and music critic.
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Series Credits
- The 9pm Edict theme by mansardian via The Freesound Project.
- Edict fanfare by neonaeon, via The Freesound Project.
- Elephant Stamp theme by Joshua Mehlman.