Pearlcast episode

Pearlcasts

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

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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.

How the Greens could win 25 per cent of the vote
Drew Hutton

How the Greens could win 25 per cent of the vote

The Greens need to get out of their own bubble and do some very serious soul searching if they are ever to have broad appeal, argues a co-founder of the Queensland and Australian Greens, Drew Hutton.

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.

John Menadue

Support our independent media with your donation

Pearls and Irritations leads the way in raising and analysing vital issues often neglected in mainstream media. Your contribution supports our independence and quality commentary on matters importance to Australia and our region.

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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.

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

Shock, horror! An effective parliament in our time?

An ACT Legislative Assembly committee has strengthened proposed sentencing laws by listening to expert evidence and improving the legislation.

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?

Renewed calls to invoke the 25th Amendment have put the spotlight on how it works – and why it may be ill-suited to dealing with a president accused of mental incapacity.

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 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

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.

China’s response to war is strategy, not opportunism
Jocelyn Chey

China’s response to war is strategy, not opportunism

As war disrupts the Middle East, China is focused on stability and long-term strategy – but much of the commentary in Australia continues to misread its intentions.

More from Pearls and Irritations

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

Urgent warning to Congressional leaders: Trump is psychologically unstable and dangerous
Jeffrey D. Sachs,  Bandy X. Lee,  James Gilligan,  Prudence L. Gourguechon,  James R. Merikangas

Urgent warning to Congressional leaders: Trump is psychologically unstable and dangerous

Values-based citizenship is vague, selective and dangerous
Jocelyn Chey

Values-based citizenship is vague, selective and dangerous

Latest letters to the editor

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.
Moral vacuity writ large

Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041

“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition” MacBeth(1.7.25–27). The world's most moral army has deliberately slaughtered more children in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and other countries in the Middle East than any other army in human memory, with the possible exception of the US. It's morality extending to holding competitions to see how many kids each soldier can snipe in the head or in the groin. These are facts confirmed by official investigations by the UN. Yet the governments of the morally superior west have simply consigned this obscene...

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