On The Level with Jeff Hutton

Widya Boerma retraces some of her earliest memories in Indonesia as she searches for her biological mother. Widya was adopted with forged documents, one of the thousands of Indonesians taken in by well-meaning Dutch parents in the 1970s. Never feeling at home in her adopted Netherlands or in Indonesia, Widya has struggled to answer a question that many take for granted: ‘Where do you come from.’ Instead, she must define her own identity and what it means to have a home for herself.

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Coming out stories are the unifying thread for LGBT people everywhere. On the anniversary of Stonewall, LGBT Indonesians share their moments of self-realization and their struggle for acceptance in a country that still overwhelmingly rejects them. You are never truly alone. Happy Pride.

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Jeff visits an NGO and animal shelter called Jakarta Animal Aid Network, otherwise known as JAAN on the outskirts of Bogor. Talking with JAAN's founder Karin Franken and Dr. Merry. Dr. Merry gives a profoundly personal reason for her advocacy for animal welfare and Karin takes aim at the very concept of zoos.

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When Melin and Tera are ready to move into their new enclosure a staff misstep spooks the lions and delays the process for days. The incident illustrates challenges that come with turning around a zoo, which is increasingly important as habit loss pushes many species to the brink of extinction. Tony discusses a lifetime of rescuing animals from traps set by villagers. For Tony, a sixth extinction event is almost inevitable as humans clear forests for plantations and housing. Zoo animals are “ambassadors” to a public that may never see them.

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The Dutch colonial era Bandung Zoological Garden made international headlines last year for all the wrong reasons. With its doors shut because of the pandemic, officials said it may need to slaughter its deer to feed its big cats. Neglected for decades and reviled by activists, the news seemed grimly plausible. But a closer look revealed a community rallying to save their zoo and a turnaround effort that is reshaping how Indonesians see animals.

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Kevin O’Rourke of Reformasi Weekly returns to help sort through the country’s regional elections that are taking place against the backdrop of Covid-19 and the return of hardline cleric Rizieq Shihab from self-imposed exile. Never a dull moment in Indonesia.

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Joko Widodo: a reformer who allies himself with Suharto era generals, an entrepreneur who expanded the state-owned sector. Ben Bland joins the pod to discuss the bundle of contradictions that make up Indonesia's seventh president.

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Trump cabinet officials were no strangers to the region but their boss undermined them and gutted US credibility with his tantrums, trade tiffs and by flouncing out of the Trans Pacific Partnership -- originally a US brainchild. AmCham's managing director, Lin Neumann, says President-Elect Joe Biden will have his work cut out for him repairing his country's reputation.

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As Thailand’s king seeks to expand his authority, Malaysia sidesteps a parliamentary tussle for power. Erin Cook of 'Dari Mulut ke Mulut' returns for a look at Southeast Asia politics.

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Tens of thousands of people around the world with real and perceived mental illnesses are unwillingly caged or chained in confined spaces sometimes for years. Covid 19 is making matters worse as families re-confine relatives, once freed owing to life changing medication, because the pandemic has disrupted supplies. Human Rights Watch's Kriti Sharma joins to discuss the awful practice.

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