The Friday Podcast

Losing someone doesn’t come with a manual, but a year later, Nehru’s found his own way through it. In this episode, Nehru talks about the hardest kind of loss: losing a partner, a friend, and the person who changed the direction of his career. There’s grief in the five stages he’s counted himself through, but there’s also Nehru’s particular gift for finding the absurd in the middle of it. These da...

Adriel Simorangkir traded a career in oil, gas, and renewable energy for something no engineering degree prepared him for: running Bimasena, one of Jakarta's most prestigious private members clubs, where world-altering conversations have happened quietly behind closed doors for almost 30 years."Exclusive and closed off is not our brand language anymore," he says, and that's exact...

Makna Talks Specials kali ini, Iyas mengajak Reza Chandika untuk berbincang santai tentang sebuah tema yang sampai kapan pun akan selalu relevan: persahabatan. Bagaimana sebuah hubungan yang #TerlanjurNyahhman bisa bertahan melewati berbagai fase hidup, tanpa harus selalu hadir di setiap percakapan, namun tetap ada saat dibutuhkan. Episode ini dipersembahkan oleh Grab. --------------- Thank you fo...

Pasrah itu sering disalahartikan sebagai menyerah. Bagi Kanjeng Gusti Mangkoenagoro X, pasrah adalah cara memahami proses, tentunya sambil tetap berjuang. Di usia 24 tahun, Kanjeng Gusti Mangkoenagoro X kehilangan ayahnya, lalu mewarisi tanggung jawab memimpin Mangkunegaran yang sudah berdiri 269 tahun. Bukan karena kompetensi, katanya, tapi karena garis keturunan, justru di situ, beban sekaligus...

Who doesn’t know Abah Pican by now? The man is everywhere on your feed, and IYKYK the same man who single-handedly took down the entire Makna Talks team in a battle of wits during Arisan. Today he’s here to talk candidly about the slow realization that ambition without boundaries is just burnout with better branding, and how walking away from a stable career (with zero savings, mind you) led him t...

What does it feel like carrying one of Indonesia’s most respected last names? Having a last name like Habibie means people usually have an opinion about you before you even walk into the room. This is not a talk about politics or history in the traditional sense. It’s a talk about finding a sense of self while honoring the responsibility of "giving back" a value passed down from her gran...

Saykoji has always been heavy on the mic, but he decided he didn’t want to be heavy in life. Witnessing an Indonesian hip-hop legend conquer morbid obesity is the kind of bars we love to see. He didn’t just change for the scale, he did it to be there for his family and to have the energy to enjoy the world he’s spent decades building. In this episode, we sit down to talk about not just his view an...

After a long hiatus, we are back for a brand new season! Starting with a conversation that reflects exactly why we do what we do. Laras Faizati joins us for a dialogue that goes far beyond the headlines. We unpack her personal journey, the immense weight of speaking up, and the raw realities she has navigated along the way. But as the conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that this isn’t just one...

Most spaces are built for transactions, GAFOY was built for transitions. We’re moving past the "mall" era and into the age of the lifestyle ecosystem. From immersive workshops to vibrant pop-ups, they're creating a space for the urbanites of Jakarta to gather, exchange ideas, and find inspiration. In this episode, we sit down with the minds behind Nika, Mamitoko, and Kirin Bar to discuss their jou...

Being 50 isn’t a bonus chapter, for Anton Ismael, it’s a whole new canvas. From capturing spontaneous frames to founding Kelas Pagi and building his creative compound Third Eye Space, Anton has always treated art not as a result, but as a record of life itself. In this special episode, we sit down with Anton to talk about what it means to create after decades of doing it. How does perspective shif...

Meet Tanya Gromenko, the woman behind SGB VA (Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Virtual Assistant), a platform that’s helping thousands take control of their careers and work from anywhere. More than just a course, SGB VA is a gateway to freedom, where anyone with a laptop and WiFi can learn to earn up to 18 million rupiah a month, connect with global clients, and redefine what a career looks like....

Long before social media turned everyone into a storyteller, one man made millions laugh with nothing but a keyboard and his truth. not through a video or a meme, but through his words. His book Kambing Jantan, born from a humble blog, became a phenomenon that redefined how Indonesians saw storytelling. Raditya Dika, writer, comedian, and filmmaker became a household name not because he chased fam...

What makes someone leave the comfort of home, travel thousands of kilometers, and discover a new life in a land he never expected to love so deeply? In this episode, we sit down with Kristian Hansen, a Danish traveler who has spent years exploring Indonesia, not as a tourist, but as someone who wants to understand its heart. Through his journey, Kristian has captured raw stories of people, culture...

It’s no secret that we’ve leveled up our set (and we know you guys love it too). Well, today we’re sitting down with the man behind this beautiful space, the mind and maker himself, Eko Priharseno, the creative force behind Sawdust and a driving figure in Indonesia’s evolving design scene. We talked about how Indonesian design has finally found its momentum, what it means to keep pushing the indus...

In this episode, we sit down with Ray Janson, a chef, entrepreneur, and storyteller to talk about the world that shaped him. From dreaming of becoming a chef as a kid to surviving the “tough” era of kitchen life, Ray opens up about what it really takes to thrive in the culinary world. He shares lessons from working alongside some of the best chefs in the world, including his time at Noma, often du...

If you play padel, you’ve probably heard his name across the courts. But if you don’t, let us introduce you to Zar Lasahido, Indonesia’s no. 1 ranked padel player and one of the driving forces behind the rise of padel in Indonesia. Padel may be relatively new to Indonesia, but in just a few short years, it has grown from being a curiosity into a lifestyle movement, with more and more people pickin...

What happens when someone with no political background steps into government, but carries a lifelong passion for the creative economy? In this episode, we sit down with Irene Umar, Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Creative Economy, to explore how her perspectives can help shape the nation’s newest and most vibrant sector. From FMCG to fine arts, Irene sees the creative economy as more than just cultur...

Before we got "lo-fi girl" who became the go-to soundtrack for late-night overthinkers and AM thoughts, we had Adhitia Sofyan where his songs sat with you in silence, helping you process love, longing, and everything in between. In this episode, we sit down with Adhitia to talk about his journey as a musician who started recording in his bedroom, the stories behind how he writes music, and a sneak...

From viral beginnings to global stages, Rich Brian has redefined what it means to be a self-made artist in the digital age. Bursting onto the scene at just 16 the Indonesian rapper, singer, and producer quickly proved he was more than a one-hit wonder. With every release, Brian shows he’s not just riding the wave, he’s building his own.-----------------If you've watched the video until the end you...

Ask and you shall receive, finally the day has come where we have the one and only Nicholas Saputra on the podcast! Who doesn't know him? From the boy who stole the nation’s heart as Rangga in Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? to a filmmaker, traveler, and storyteller with purpose, Nicholas Saputra has lived a life both in the spotlight and behind the lens. In this episode, we dive into how he first fell in l...

In this episode, we sit down with Ildo Hasman, the drummer of Perunggu, as he tells us about the early days of releasing music with zero expectations, simply putting songs out into the world without worrying about where it would take them and the time when he felt that spark of “wow, this band is the real deal” for the first time. At the heart of our conversation we see Ildo’s perspective on what...

Ever wondered what really happens in the final 24 hours before a massive music festival? In this special episode, we’re going behind the scenes with Gerhana “Ghana” Banyubiru, the mastermind behind The Sounds Project, as he takes us through the whirlwind of preparations at the venue just one day before the big show. magic that happens offstage, this is your all-access pass to the world of The Soun...

Where do we even begin with this one? Omara Esteghlal dropped by, and what started as a casual conversation about his new upcoming film "Tinggal Meninggal", a movie with a fresh out of the norm format, quickly turned into one of our most introspective conversations yet. We talked about philosophy, not just as an academic subject (although, he studied it for real), but also as a way he na...

What does it take to leave everything familiar behind, start over in a city that never sleeps, and share it all with the world one vlog at a time? In this episode we sit down with Edward Halim, an Indonesian vlogger who's been living in New York and turning his day-to-day experiences into engaging stories through his lens bringing a unique perspective to life in the Big Apple as someone far from h...

Some people pick up music. Endah let it pick her. Long before "Endah N Rhesa,” she was already deepening her knowledge and skills in music, going to competitions and finding her own feet as what kind of musician she wants to be. In this conversation, she tells us about growing up with in a household where music was always playing in the background. But this episode isn’t about nostalgia. It’s abou...