Pearlcast episode

Pearlcasts

As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.

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Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US
John Menadue

Foreign Policy Rethink

Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US

P&I today begins a major new series - rethinking Australia's foreign policy. The United States is becoming more erratic and less reliable, and Australia must respond by insulating itself – strengthening regional ties, rethinking defence settings, and reducing strategic dependence, according to John Menadue.

AUKUS and the sunk cost trap beneath the surface
Stewart Sweeney

AUKUS and the sunk cost trap beneath the surface

As warfare shifts decisively toward autonomous and distributed systems, Australia’s massive investment in nuclear submarines risks locking in a costly and inflexible strategy.

Albanese and Anwar align behind Pope’s call for peace
Zia Ahmad

Albanese and Anwar align behind Pope’s call for peace

Australia and Malaysia have signalled support for a diplomatic path through escalating global tensions, backing Pope Leo’s call for peace and restraint.

Can the US public service survive the Trump era?
Andrew Podger

Can the US public service survive the Trump era?

Public administrators in the United States are exploring how to reshape the civil service as a pillar of American democracy.

How China really works – rules from above, reality from below
John Hopkins

How China really works – rules from above, reality from below

The Chinese Government is often described as ruling with an iron fist, but the way rules and policy are interpreted on the ground can be quite different.

Australia’s school system is driving inequality – not fixing it
Chris Bonnor

Australia’s school system is driving inequality – not fixing it

Australia’s school system has become a self-reinforcing cycle of inequality, and without structural reform, the divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students will continue to widen.

Women are reshaping the workforce – but power hasn’t followed
Don Edgar,  Patricia Edgar

Women are reshaping the workforce – but power hasn’t followed

Women are increasingly dominant across education and the workforce, but leadership, workplace structures and social attitudes have failed to keep pace.

John Menadue

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Cricket has survived every crisis – but this one may be different
Chas Keys

Cricket has survived every crisis – but this one may be different

Cricket has adapted and survived for centuries, but a new struggle over control – combined with climate pressures – may test the game in ways it has not faced before.

Environment: Class and race fuel climate collapse in Northern Territory
Peter Sainsbury

Environment: Class and race fuel climate collapse in Northern Territory

From devastating floods in the Northern Territory to the global failure to curb fossil fuels and the human cost of shipbreaking, environmental damage is accelerating – and hitting the most vulnerable hardest.

Friendship, honey and the simple life: 100 years of Winnie‑the‑Pooh
Elizabeth Hale

Friendship, honey and the simple life: 100 years of Winnie‑the‑Pooh

A century after its creation, Winnie-the-Pooh endures not just as a children’s classic, but as a gentle meditation on friendship, community and how to live well.

From feminism to the manosphere – where to now?
Patricia Edgar

From feminism to the manosphere – where to now?

Patricia Edgar reflects on a lifetime shaped by feminism – and asks why, despite its gains, relationships between men and women now feel more fractured than ever.

The Middle East conflict is driven by competing theocracies
George Browning

The Middle East conflict is driven by competing theocracies

The Middle East conflict reflects competing theocratic mindsets in Iran, Israel and the US, where religious conviction is being used to justify violence.

The bad, the worse, and the need for glee – Message from the Editor
Catriona Jackson

The bad, the worse, and the need for glee – Message from the Editor

It has been a week where a number of world ‘leaders’ have exceeded even the lowest of expectations. Clearly the lion in this fight is Donald Trump as Jesus, but there are some other really notable, local contenders.

Chasing ghosts, losing votes
Kos Samaras

Chasing ghosts, losing votes

New research shows immigration is not driving voter anger, yet the Coalition is targeting it anyway – risking further losses in the diverse, urban seats it must win back.

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have
Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

A sharp fall in confidence and rising fuel prices point to a potential downturn, but traditional policy responses risk making the situation worse.

Read our series

A Year in Review 10 Anti China Media Watch 20 Australia in Our Region 14
Best of 2025 134 Foreign Policy Rethink 1 Gourley on Government 14
History 1 Review 11 The Dismissal at 50 28
The UN at 80 4 Year in Review 2 Young Global Leaders 6

Latest on Palestine and Israel

The Middle East conflict is driven by competing theocracies
George Browning

The Middle East conflict is driven by competing theocracies

The Middle East conflict reflects competing theocratic mindsets in Iran, Israel and the US, where religious conviction is being used to justify violence.

Italy breaks with Israel as public anger forces a political shift
Stephen Prager

Italy breaks with Israel as public anger forces a political shift

Italy has suspended military cooperation with Israel after months of mounting public anger.

The UAE’s shadow network of power and war
Eugene Doyle

The UAE’s shadow network of power and war

Behind multiple conflicts across the Middle East and Africa sits a powerful but often overlooked actor – the UAE’s network of finance, logistics and proxy forces shaping outcomes on the ground.

The world acts for oil – but not for human life
Refaat Ibrahim

The world acts for oil – but not for human life

Global powers moved quickly to end a war that threatened energy supplies, while years of mass civilian suffering in Gaza has failed to prompt meaningful action.

Identity, influence and division – Australia’s Jewish community in a time of tension
John Warhurst

Identity, influence and division – Australia’s Jewish community in a time of tension

Amid rising tensions and a national inquiry into antisemitism, understanding the complexity of Australia’s Jewish community is essential to any serious conversation about social cohesion.

Pope 1, Trump 0 – Message from the Editor
Catriona Jackson

Pope 1, Trump 0 – Message from the Editor

You think things can’t get any worse and then they do!

Ending Israel’s war on peace
Jeffrey D. Sachs,  Sybil Fares

Ending Israel’s war on peace

To make lasting peace in the Middle East, the US must end its blank cheque to Israel’s perpetual wars and join with the rest of the world to force Israel to live within its internationally recognised borders of 4 June, 1967.

US disapproval of Israel hits an all-time high
Julia Conley

US disapproval of Israel hits an all-time high

Public support for Israel in the United States has dropped sharply, with younger voters driving a significant shift that could reshape future politics.

John Menadue's book on Israel's war against Gaza

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 PDF

Latest on China

Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US
John Menadue

Foreign Policy Rethink

Plan B: insulating ourselves from the US

P&I today begins a major new series - rethinking Australia's foreign policy. The United States is becoming more erratic and less reliable, and Australia must respond by insulating itself – strengthening regional ties, rethinking defence settings, and reducing strategic dependence, according to John Menadue.

How China really works – rules from above, reality from below
John Hopkins

How China really works – rules from above, reality from below

The Chinese Government is often described as ruling with an iron fist, but the way rules and policy are interpreted on the ground can be quite different.

China doubles down on state-led tech – and delays reform
Anthony Saich

China doubles down on state-led tech – and delays reform

China’s latest Five-Year Plan doubles down on state-led investment in high-tech sectors, strengthening national power while sidelining structural reform and consumption-led growth.

More from Pearls and Irritations

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have
Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

Shock, horror! An effective parliament in our time?
Andrew Fraser

Shock, horror! An effective parliament in our time?

What is the 25th Amendment and could it be used to remove Trump from office?
John Hart

What is the 25th Amendment and could it be used to remove Trump from office?

Insider confirms US worked with Al Qaeda to fight the Syrian government
Paul Malone

Insider confirms US worked with Al Qaeda to fight the Syrian government

On asylum, the Coalition is offering old fixes to problems of its own making
Abul Rizvi

On asylum, the Coalition is offering old fixes to problems of its own making

Electoral laws versus free political speech
David Solomon

Electoral laws versus free political speech

Angus Taylor and the Liberal Party’s moral decline
Paul Keating

Angus Taylor and the Liberal Party’s moral decline

Trump has turned the pope into an adversary – and exposed himself
Antonio Spadaro

Trump has turned the pope into an adversary – and exposed himself

The war on renewables is really about protecting fossil fuel profits
Giles Parkinson

The war on renewables is really about protecting fossil fuel profits

Italy breaks with Israel as public anger forces a political shift
Stephen Prager

Italy breaks with Israel as public anger forces a political shift

Iran war: rights and wrongs
Paul Heywood-Smith

Iran war: rights and wrongs

We're soaking in it
Julian Cribb

We're soaking in it

Latest letters to the editor

Improving the Greens vote

Byron Comninos — Waverley, NSW

Drew Hutton's article on how the Greens could significantly improve their vote is insightful, sympathetic and in my view spot-on. As a relatively longstanding member of the NSW Greens, a veteran of decades of dissent and an exile from the Labor Party, I have also been concerned with what I consider an arrogance, intolerance and narrow mindedness on the part of some Greens – these very same attributes that are sometimes levelled at their adversaries. There are numerous voters in the broader electorate that have a range of opinions that mix what might be considered Left and Right wing views...
Impeachment and the end of insanity

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

This article along with many others in P&I and others from informed commentators have demonstrated far more clearly than is necessary that the peace and stability of the whole world are under monumental challenge by the insanity and psychopathy of two individuals and their equally deranged and erratic satraps. Thankfully for human and planetary survival, such a conjunction of unhinged parties in two militarily powerful nations working together to retain a primacy at the expense of humanity, is rare. But that current conjunction, unlike any other in human history, is occurring in the context of a world where stupidity...
Jeffrey as a supreme analyst of power unbound

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

Jeffrey has again proven himself, if that were ever necessary, to be an analyst par excellence of the psychopathy of power. The forensic way in which he goes about the task reflects an outstanding intellect and a vast experience in power unhinged from any rationality and humanity. This article should be required reading for anyone who presumes to advising the powerful. He reminds me so powerfully of the Auriga in ancient Rome who advised the Emperor or military leader frequently of the drug of power. Momento Mori was what he whispered into the ear of the powerful. Remember you...
Beyond three degrees

Geoff Davies — Braidwood NSW

In response to David Spratt's legitimate scepticism about Australia's climate policy, there is really only one point to make. The world will not spend very long at 3°C of warming because by then it will be heading rapidly for 4 or 6 or higher. Many components of the climate system will have tipped and be reinforcing warming. The runaway will be far beyond humans to control. A policy for 3 degrees is a policy for apocalypse.

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