A Masterpiece from Prison
Pramoedya Ananta Toer and the Enduring Memory of a Nation The history of Indonesian literature is filled with remarkable writers, yet few lives are as deeply intertwined with the political history of their country as that of Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Over more than five decades, he wrote about colonialism, independence,…
Chasing the Deep
Why the ultra-wealthy are still betting on the mysteries—and treasures—beneath the ocean. After the OceanGate Titan disaster exposed the risks of turning the Titanic into an adventure playground, deep-sea exploration is once again attracting billionaires, private companies and ambitious entrepreneurs. The technology may be better. The question is whether our…
Heritage, Women, and the Future
At Jakarta’s Roepa Merdeka exhibition, fiber and thread become a way to celebrate women, preserve cultural heritage, and create social impact. There is something quietly powerful about working with thread. A single strand can appear fragile, almost insignificant. But woven together, thousands of strands can create something resilient, intricate, and…
Indonesian Cinema for a Cause
A Piece of Indonesian Cinema History Was Just Auctioned for a Cause Twenty years after Berbagi Suami first challenged Indonesian audiences to confront the complicated realities of polygamy, an original piece of the film’s history has found a new purpose. The handwritten history may be gone from the filmmaker’s archive,…
The Beatles at Work
A Rare ‘Day Tripper’ Demo Captures Lennon and McCartney at Work Some of the most revealing moments in music history are not the finished recordings, but the moments before them. Before the perfect riff, before the polished arrangement, before a song becomes part of the cultural canon, there is often…
Bardstown’s New Whiskeys
Bardstown Bourbon Company Goes Further With Two New Cask-Finished Whiskeys The Kentucky distillery turns to Isle of Jura single malt casks and rare Pacific Northwest oak for two limited releases that push its blending program into more experimental territory. There is a particular pleasure in watching a whiskey maker become…
Firstlady for Every Man
After seven years of studying automotive history, Tuksedo Studio is ready to create a car of its own. Designed and handcrafted in Bali, Firstlady marks the beginning of a new chapter in Indonesian automotive artistry. There is a particular kind of confidence required to build a car from scratch. Not…
Taking L.A. Skyward
Is Los Angeles Finally Ready to Take Its Commute to the Sky? For a city built around the automobile, Los Angeles has spent decades trying to escape its own traffic. Freeways became wider, helicopters became a luxury shortcut and ride-hailing promised to make getting around easier. Yet the fundamental problem…
Bali’s Sacred Water
Beyond the beaches, Bali’s lakes reveal an older relationship with water, one rooted in spirituality, agriculture, landscape and the belief that water is life. Bali is usually imagined through its coastline: temples perched above crashing waves, white sand beaches, sunset cocktails and the endless blue of the Indian Ocean. But…
The Skin Remembers
Long before machines and studios, ink already lived on Southeast Asian skin — tapped in with thorns, poked in with bamboo, whispered over with prayer. It was never decoration. It was armor, identity, and passage. When the Spanish landed in the Philippines in 1521, they found communities so thoroughly inked…
A Gatsby Evening
At the Long Table with Sababay & Tuksedo Studio On Saturday, 18 July 2026, Tuksedo Studio joined House of Sababay for an evening inspired by the glamour and exuberance of the 1930s, bringing together fine gastronomy, Indonesian wine culture, and automotive artistry in one memorable celebration. Set against the elegant…
