As of July 2023, Indonesia had 139 million YouTube viewers giving it one of the biggest YouTube audiences in the world. But beyond the numbers, YouTube has also become an influential cultural force in Indonesia. 

YouTubers are shaping what we listen to and watch. YouTube food vloggers are changing the food we eat and the way we eat it. YouTube has even created a burgeoning career path for people who are finding new ways to produce and share their ideas - whether that be religious teachings, horror stories or new genres of music. 

And yet, the world of YouTube in Indonesia still remains under-researched on the international stage. 

In this podcast, Tito Ambyo chats with panelists at the Indonesia Council Open Conference at the University of Sydney in September 2023. Andina Dwifatma is a PhD candidate at Monash University who is researching Islamic web series in Indonesia. Erika Suwarno is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne who is looking at the early history of YouTube in Indonesia. Dr William Yanko is a researcher best known for his research on Indonesian Hip-Hop.

Together, they explore questions about YouTube in Indonesia: what is it, what does it look like, and what does it mean to be a YouTube researcher. 

In 2023, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Tito Ambyo from RMIT, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University.