Ubud Writers & Readers Festival Podcast
If you missed a moment of enlightenment or entertainment at this year’s Anniversary Festival, we’ve got you covered. Our 2023 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.
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 Blau, as they discuss how podcasts captivate audiences and transcend traditional media barriers.
This extraordinary panel, recorded live at our 2024 Festival and moderated by freelance journalist and Lecaturer Janak Rogers, lets you dive into the world of this revolutionized medium and provides context about the rise of podcasts. The full session is now available to watch at ubudwritersfestival.com/media, or tap the link in our bio t...
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 thousands more, and left the country in poverty. Even though the resistance has reached a turning point, leading to a particularly devastating year for the Myanmar military, there is still no resolution in sight.
Return to an extraordinary panel conversation recorded live from #UWRF24, featuring dissident writer and Burmese activist Ma Thida and Ben Bland, an e...
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, and bestselling Malaysian novelist Ong Chin Huat, as they discuss the art of balancing traits, desires, and fears to create relatable protagonists, formidable antagonists, and other memorable characters that bring fictional worlds to life and create rich, unforgettable stories.
This one-of-a-kind conversation, moderated by the arts and culture editor of Guardian Australia, Steph Harmon, is now available to watch at ubudwritersfestival.com/media, or...
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 Israel, we invite you to revisit our panel discussion with award-winning author and human rights lawyer Sara M. Saleh, prominent author and Palestine's former Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies at the Australian National University Amin Saikal, and lecturer at Reichman University Dr. Ori Goldberg. Together, they seek to...
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 Elizabeth Woollett, and Kylie Needham explored the emotional landscapes they create, the societal influences shaping romantic narratives, and fresh perspectives on love. What makes a love story resonate over time? How do novels reflect and challenge our understanding of love, passion, and connection?
To watch the full session, visit our website at ubudwritersfestival.com/media, or click the link in...
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 challenged the notion that history is settled and delved into how the legacies of colonialism continue to shape our social, political, and economic landscapes.
To watch the full session, visit our website at ubudwritersfestival.com/media, or click the link in our bio to listen to this session on podcast platforms Spotify and Simplecast.
Join us to shape Indonesia's lit...
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 Steele.
In an era of disinformation and heightened political tensions, Maria explains in this clip how lies spread faster than truths and how these platforms are being used on a grand scale as manipulation tools by authoritarian regimes.
To watch the full session, visit our website at ubudwritersfestival.com/media, or click the link in our bio to...
#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 discuss their journeys of self-discovery, and the rich diversity of queer poetics and the queer community, in conversation with fellow Adolfo Aranjuez.
In this short highlight moment, Indonesian writer Norman Erikson Pasaribu talks about using poetry to advocate for a world where queerness is not just tolerated but warmly embraced.
To watch the full session, visit our website at ubudwritersfestival.com...
#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 persistent in your craft, career, and life, with the Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Jenny Niven.
To listen to more of this insightful conversation, visit our website at ubudwritersfestival.com/media, or click the link in our bio to listen to this session on podcast platforms Spotify and Simplecast.
Join us to shape Indonesia's literary future! Instagram: https://www...
#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 Irawaty as they discuss opportunities, challenges, local solutions and best practices, as well as lessons learned in Bali’s journey to achieve net-zero emissions goal by 2045, with Wayan Juniarta.
To watch or listen to the full session, visit our website at ubudwritersfestival.com/media, or click the link in our bio to listen to this session on podcast platforms Spotify and Simplecast.
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