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So, we ran out of honey. In the delicate balance of my mother’s household, this constituted a major crisis. Specifically, a failure of leadership by yours truly. You see, my mother’s household in Bali operates like a benign dictatorship. A power pyramid with a clear chain of command, decades of smooth running. Then she got…
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I returned to Indonesia on the 1st of June. A phone call brought me back. No, a text message with prayer hands and sad face emoji. I’ll copy and paste it here. Bu’ kalau boleh jujur, untuk sa’at ini ibu yuli lagi memerlukan semua keluarga 😔🙏 (oh the inadequacy of translation, but I shall do…
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Yesterday, my mother and I were watching her new favorite show since coming home from the hospital: Lacak Kriminal, CNN Indonesia’s true-crime news magazine. For weeks, while recovering in her hospital bed, she’s watched stories of motorcycle thefts, scams, violent assaults, and other cases on the news show. It’s grim viewing, but perhaps there’s comfort…
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Last week, I had the privilege of witnessing a truly historic moment: the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost to Pope Leo XIV. The announcement came as a surprise to many (an American?!), and quickly turned into a celebration. I played only a small role in CNN’s coverage of the papal conclave, but what a thrill…
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Last week, we had a blackout. Not just a blown fuse—this was the real thing. No lights, no wifi, no way to communicate. So, I popped out onto my balcony to find out more. My neighbors were all leaning over their railings, passing information faster than a telegram service. The auntie downstairs shouted up to…
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Watching the fires engulf Los Angeles, I’ve been reflecting on natural disasters, preparedness, and how often we fail to heed warnings. I posted this on LinkedIn. This piece draws on my experience covering the 2004 South Asian tsunami in Aceh and the devastating floods that struck Valencia last year.
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A few days in Berlin for a gentle reset. Which may sound surprising given the ferocious use of fireworks by Berliners on New Year’s Eve. I arrived on the big night. Passengers on the U-bahn boarded with wooden sticks of fireworks jutting up out of their backpacks, grinning and jostling each other in anticipation. Later,…
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Super happy to post this news: Fiction Kitchen Berlin has a great new podcast showcasing fiction writing from one of my favorite cities in the world. Each episode highlights an original flash-fiction piece by a Berlin-based writer. I’m excited to share that my story was featuredi n Episode 6: The Fox Outside Her Door. If…
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Sometimes, you just need a reset. So here’s mine—a fresh start to close out 2024 and kick off 2025 with a shiny new website! My digital shingle is officially hung out for all to see. Expect more updates, bite-sized posts, and plenty of new photos (yes, mostly of my cats—but I’ll try to expand my…
Atika Shubert 