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Pearlcasts

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

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Time and geography are on Iran’s side
Bob Bowker

Time and geography are on Iran’s side

A ground war in Iran would carry high costs with little strategic return. With oil flows vulnerable and escalation risks growing, the US faces limited options and no clear path to resolution.

Fiji faces fuel import bills three times its healthcare budget
Poppy Johnston

Fiji faces fuel import bills three times its healthcare budget

Surging oil prices are placing severe pressure on Pacific island economies heavily reliant on imported diesel. The crisis is accelerating the shift toward local renewable energy for security and stability.

High fuel prices are accelerating interest in electric vehicles
Tauel Harper

High fuel prices are accelerating interest in electric vehicles

Rising fuel prices are driving renewed interest in electric vehicles in Australia. While enthusiasm often spikes during crises, each surge leaves a lasting shift in consumer behaviour.

The US judiciary fights back
Mark S Pirie

The US judiciary fights back

The US system of checks and balances depends on good faith across all branches. When that breaks down, enforcement falls unevenly to courts and citizens.

Keir Starmer’s policy on the Iran war is a recipe for catastrophe
Jeremy Corbyn

Keir Starmer’s policy on the Iran war is a recipe for catastrophe

More than two decades after Iraq, the UK is again backing a US-led war without legal basis.

A new museum every 1.5 days: what’s driving China’s massive cultural expansion
Justine Poplin

A new museum every 1.5 days: what’s driving China’s massive cultural expansion

China’s rapid expansion of museums and galleries reflects a coordinated strategy to shape national identity, manage historical narratives and project cultural influence at home and abroad.

History’s biggest census: why India’s new population count is controversial
Priyanka Shankar

History’s biggest census: why India’s new population count is controversial

India’s long-delayed census is set to reshape policy, representation and public debate. The inclusion of caste data makes it a deeply political exercise.

John Menadue

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Takaichi revisits Japan’s prostitution debate
Yasuo Takao

Takaichi revisits Japan’s prostitution debate

Japan’s prostitution laws are under review, exposing a system that penalises women while leaving demand largely untouched. The direction of reform will shape whether policy shifts toward rights or reinforces moral control.

The game goes on: football in a time of war
John Frew

The game goes on: football in a time of war

As conflict escalates, FIFA insists the 2026 World Cup will proceed unchanged. The decision reflects a broader pattern – institutions continuing regardless of reality, even in the presence of war.

Why we avoid thinking about nuclear war – and why we shouldn’t
Connie Peck

Why we avoid thinking about nuclear war – and why we shouldn’t

Public denial and avoidance have dulled awareness of the nuclear threat. Annie Jacobsen’s book, Nuclear War: A Scenario confronts that reality directly, challenging readers to face what has long been ignored.

How Norman Lindsay wrote the The Magic Pudding to critique ‘Australian values’ – inspired by Nietzsche
John Uhr

How Norman Lindsay wrote the The Magic Pudding to critique ‘Australian values’ – inspired by Nietzsche

Often read as a celebration of national character, The Magic Pudding is better understood as a critique of Australian culture, exposing its shallowness and complacency.

Easter’s message in a time of war
George Browning

Easter’s message in a time of war

As global conflicts intensify, Easter offers a counterpoint – a call to reject violence and embrace light, mercy and transformation.

National Press Club under fire for ‘disgraceful’ invitation to Israeli envoy
Alex McKinnon - Deep Cut News

National Press Club under fire for ‘disgraceful’ invitation to Israeli envoy

The National Press Club is under fire for hosting Israel’s ambassador after cancelling other speakers and remaining largely silent on the killing of journalists in Gaza.

UN Human Rights chief urges repeal of Israeli execution law
Brett Wilkins

UN Human Rights chief urges repeal of Israeli execution law

A new Israeli law mandating the execution of Palestinians convicted of certain offences has drawn condemnation from the UN and human rights groups.

Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented
Alex Lo

Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented

By insisting on the superiority of its own standards of judgment and experience, western dominance distorts the realities of other societies.

Read our series

A Year in Review 10 Anti China Media Watch 20 Australia in Our Region 14
Best of 2025 134 Gourley on Government 13 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

National Press Club under fire for ‘disgraceful’ invitation to Israeli envoy
Alex McKinnon - Deep Cut News

National Press Club under fire for ‘disgraceful’ invitation to Israeli envoy

The National Press Club is under fire for hosting Israel’s ambassador after cancelling other speakers and remaining largely silent on the killing of journalists in Gaza.

UN Human Rights chief urges repeal of Israeli execution law
Brett Wilkins

UN Human Rights chief urges repeal of Israeli execution law

A new Israeli law mandating the execution of Palestinians convicted of certain offences has drawn condemnation from the UN and human rights groups.

We dug up medics in Gaza. A year later, international law remains buried
Jonathan Whittall

We dug up medics in Gaza. A year later, international law remains buried

Israeli attacks on healthcare workers and infrastructure in Gaza reflect a broader erosion of legal and moral constraints, with consequences extending beyond the conflict.

The legal logic behind Israel and Iran’s nuclear divide
Catherine Maia

The legal logic behind Israel and Iran’s nuclear divide

The difference between Israel and Iran on nuclear weapons is not a legal contradiction – but a result of how international law is structured around state consent.

Why Israel wants a war with Iran
Chris Hedges,  Gideon Levy

Why Israel wants a war with Iran

In a conversation with Chris Hedges, Gideon Levy says Israel’s deep-rooted militarism – reinforced by media silence – is driving an endless cycle of war.

Israel faces a grim future of endless wars unless it comes to terms with Palestinians
John Menadue

Israel faces a grim future of endless wars unless it comes to terms with Palestinians

Israeli influence has shaped US foreign policy for decades – with profound consequences for war and peace in the Middle East.

Life in Iran illustrates shifting realities amid US-Israel war
Peiman Salehi

Life in Iran illustrates shifting realities amid US-Israel war

From Tehran, the conflict is less about missiles and more about endurance – as daily life adjusts to disruption, uncertainty and economic strain.

“Terrorism” may be the most powerful word in modern politics
Meg Schwarz

“Terrorism” may be the most powerful word in modern politics

The term “terrorism” simplifies complex conflicts, often obscuring history, perspective and the motivations behind violence.

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

A new museum every 1.5 days: what’s driving China’s massive cultural expansion
Justine Poplin

A new museum every 1.5 days: what’s driving China’s massive cultural expansion

China’s rapid expansion of museums and galleries reflects a coordinated strategy to shape national identity, manage historical narratives and project cultural influence at home and abroad.

Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented
Alex Lo

Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented

By insisting on the superiority of its own standards of judgment and experience, western dominance distorts the realities of other societies.

Why delaying the Trump-Xi Summit could anchor global stability
Mark S Pirie,  Christopher Tang

Why delaying the Trump-Xi Summit could anchor global stability

The postponement of a US–China summit reflects domestic constraints and shifting global leverage – not just competing priorities – and may open space for recalibration with China.

More from Pearls and Irritations

Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented
Alex Lo

Why China is always misunderstood and misrepresented

Does AI mean more uni students are plagiarising their work?
Guy Curtis

Does AI mean more uni students are plagiarising their work?

Allies are learning the cost of relying on the US
Paul Malone

Allies are learning the cost of relying on the US

School funding is undermining equality and cohesion
Lyndsay Connors,  Jim McMorrow

School funding is undermining equality and cohesion

Productivity, inequality and the rise of populism
Michael Keating

Productivity, inequality and the rise of populism

What Good Friday and the Book of Job reveal about a world in crisis
Adrian Rosenfeldt

What Good Friday and the Book of Job reveal about a world in crisis

Australia’s under-16 social media ban is facing early limits
Lisa M. Given

Australia’s under-16 social media ban is facing early limits

Building beyond ‘No Kings’
Christopher D. Cook

Building beyond ‘No Kings’

Support first, questions later: Australia and the Iran war
Mike Gilligan

Support first, questions later: Australia and the Iran war

A ‘small’ nuclear war would still be global catastrophe
Julian Cribb

A ‘small’ nuclear war would still be global catastrophe

The fuel crisis won’t save the Coalition. It might finish them
Kos Samaras

The fuel crisis won’t save the Coalition. It might finish them

Catholics lag behind as the first woman appointed to lead the Anglican church
Frank Brennan

Catholics lag behind as the first woman appointed to lead the Anglican church

Latest letters to the editor

The divide between the privileged and others

Bob Pearce — Adelaide SA

Could it be that voters are finally waking up to the void between: “The Privileged few and the rest of us; The Rich and the well-off; Those whose children attend a “Private School and with children at a private school The landowners and the farmers Those who start / benefit from wars and those who fight the wars.
Will this crisis expose the truth about pricing? No

Bob Pearce — Adelaide SA

Not a quick fix for this crisis but the cost of fuel to the consumer has always been manipulated for the benefit of OPEC, shareholders and influential nations. How many times have we heard in plain sight that OPEC has raised or lowered its production to suit? OPEC Like all businesses are primarily concerned with PROFIT and without proper intervention the consumer /taxpayer will always foot the bill and rouge states will not be tolerated.
Living within the truth

David Griffiths — Mordialloc VIC 3195

Why are most Labor leaders in Australia implicitly and/or explicitly hostile to Palestinians and those who oppose the ethic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians? There is an explanation in Vaclavel Havel's 1979 meditation of political dissent - the nature of suppression and the falsehoods and intimidation that respond to dissent. Havel argued that most of us live in a lie and that, instead, it is possible to live within the truth. Most Labor leaders throughout Australia prefer to live in a lie - that there is international law, that Israel is exempt from this law and ethnic...
Who lost our weekend?

Fiona Colin — Melbourne

Not only will we never get an apology from Scott Morrison and the ‘ruined weekend’ farce, an apology will never come from Tim Wilson, Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor who in 2019 posed gleefully in front of a hydrogen-fuelled car. Such was their contempt for electric vehicles (and the push for more renewables) that they instead promoted a most unlikely technology and promoted the myth that EVs (not petrol) would ruin our weekends. Nor will we see an explanation from Taylor or Joyce about the closing of Australian oil refineries. They could admit that, with the oligopolisation of oil, and...

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Arts 152 China 1274 Climate 1517 Commendations 24 Defence 2510 Economy 2933 Education 743
Employment 39 Finance 5 Health 1559 History 84 Immigration 995 Indigenous Affairs 390 Israel Palestine 1555
Media 1923 Pearlcast 4 Podcast 43 Policy 292 Politics 19567 Racism 19 Religion 1259
Review 69 The Human Future 81 Our Top Five Each Week 2529 USA 745 World 1721