Pearlcasts
As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.
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9 February 2026
The Zionist lobby, antisemitism and Herzog
Australia’s political and media response to Gaza, including the invitation to Israel’s president, reflects the influence of pro-Israel lobbying and the shrinking space for lawful criticism.
9 February 2026
Authoritarianism is undermining climate action – and time is running out
The global rise of authoritarianism is weakening climate governance just as warming accelerates and tipping points draw near. This failure now poses a direct threat to our future.
9 February 2026
Why building again on the Hawkesbury floodplain risks disaster
The NSW government’s decision to revive development on the Hawkesbury floodplain ignores long-established flood risks, evacuation limits and the growing impact of climate change.
9 February 2026
Why sanctions have entrenched conflict with North Korea, not resolved it
Sanctions on North Korea have neither halted its nuclear program nor produced stability, while imposing heavy costs on civilians and regional security.
9 February 2026
Climate sceptics dominate the noise, not the numbers
Despite political denial and media distortion, majorities in Australia and the United States accept climate change is real, human-caused and demands action.
9 February 2026
Confucianism, not coercion – China’s long export of a governance philosophy
Claims that China is exporting authoritarianism rest on a shallow reading of both Chinese political tradition and how governance ideas actually travel. A longer historical view points instead to Confucianism – a philosophy that has shaped governance across East Asia for centuries.
9 February 2026
Fairness, not just growth, is the key to productivity
As the federal government sharpens its focus on productivity, the question is not whether growth matters, but who it is for, and at what cost to justice, dignity and social cohesion.
8 February 2026
From Les Misérables to Trump – what happens when moral certainty hardens
Polarisation is often described as ideological. But its deeper cause may be moral – a loss of the capacity to recognise goodness in those who disagree with us, and the consequences that follow.
8 February 2026
What Australia’s past might teach Israel about its future
President Herzog’s visit might be useful if he could be persuaded to ponder the lessons Australia might offer.
8 February 2026
Environment: Small-bodied and short-lived, tiny freshwater fish play big roles in ecosystems
A threatened Aussie tiddler flashes a fin for tiny freshwater fish worldwide, toxic PFAS chemicals are all around us and deep inside us and never go away, and illegal gold mining in Congo destroys the environment and communities.
8 February 2026
On the emails between Jeffrey Epstein and Noam Chomsky
Vijay Prashad reflects on the Jeffrey Epstein revelations, his personal history, and the profound sense of betrayal and moral shock they have provoked.
Read our series
Latest on Palestine and Israel
9 February 2026
The Zionist lobby, antisemitism and Herzog
Australia’s political and media response to Gaza, including the invitation to Israel’s president, reflects the influence of pro-Israel lobbying and the shrinking space for lawful criticism.
8 February 2026
What Australia’s past might teach Israel about its future
President Herzog’s visit might be useful if he could be persuaded to ponder the lessons Australia might offer.
7 February 2026
Isaac Herzog is accused of inciting genocide in Gaza. He shouldn’t be welcomed to Australia
Writing in the Guardian on Thursday UN Commissioner Chris Sidoti laid out the reasons Isaac Herzog should not be welcome in Australia, and urged the Prime Minister to correct his terrible mistake in inviting him.
7 February 2026
Australian doctors protest Israel’s destruction of health rights in Gaza
Israel’s deregistration of international health providers in Gaza makes legally mandated care increasingly impossible, raising serious questions about compliance with international law.
6 February 2026
Don't mention the war
Australia is struggling to respond proportionately to violence, fear and political pressure in the wake of the Bondi attacks, October 7 and Israel’s war in Gaza. The result has been a contraction of democratic debate, heavy-handed political responses and an unwillingness to confront the scale of civilian suffering now unfolding in Gaza.
5 February 2026
Like a gambler who lost his fortune, Israel wants another war
Despite a declared ceasefire and the return of hostages, large-scale killing has continued in Gaza. The war has become self-perpetuating, leaving Israel morally, politically and strategically diminished.
5 February 2026
The meteoric rise of UpScrolled (and the Australian media’s silence about it)
An Australian social media platform surged to millions of users amid global concern over censorship and Gaza. Yet its rise has been largely ignored by Australia’s media.
5 February 2026
Herzog’s visit "a terrible cruelty"
For Palestinian Australians who have lost entire families in Gaza, the decision to welcome Israel’s president to Australia is not diplomatic neutrality but an act of profound cruelty. As deaths continue despite a ceasefire, questions of grief, justice and political accountability can no longer be avoided.
Israel's war against Gaza
Media coverage of the war in Gaza since October 2023 has spread a series of lies propagated by Israel and the United States. This publication presents information, analysis, clarification, views and perspectives largely unavailable in mainstream media in Australia and elsewhere.
Download the PDFLatest on China
9 February 2026
Confucianism, not coercion – China’s long export of a governance philosophy
Claims that China is exporting authoritarianism rest on a shallow reading of both Chinese political tradition and how governance ideas actually travel. A longer historical view points instead to Confucianism – a philosophy that has shaped governance across East Asia for centuries.
7 February 2026
Australia unlikely to follow US downgrade on China threat
The US National Defense Strategy signals a softer, more pragmatic approach to China. Australia’s silence on the shift exposes how detached its defence posture has become from both reality and its own national interests.
6 February 2026
The China AI panic misses what history keeps teaching us
Warnings that China must be cut off from advanced AI chips echo a familiar pattern. History suggests technology bans rarely slow China down – and often do the opposite.
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Latest letters to the editor
Cheers for Chandran Nair
Wendy Hoy — Brisbane, Queensland
Herzog visit a monstrous misjudgement of policy
Richard Llewellyn — Colo Vale
A National Day to unite, not divide
Mary Edwards — KILSYTH
Tactical voting by Labor voters
Gilbert Elliott — Canterbury NSW