Launching Pearlcasts
The 50th Anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government
We kick off with a topic close to our hearts, the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government. We have three of the best sources in the nation taking part: our editor-in-chief John Menadue – the living link to the scandal and the nation’s top public servant at the time; Jenny Hocking, author of The Palace Letters and Australia’s pre-eminent Dismissal historian; and Brian Toohey, the journalist who has dug deepest into the darkest elements of the events.
Go to Pearlcasts
16 November 2025
Trump’s ploy at the UN is American imperialism masquerading as a peace process
The Trump administration is pushing an Israeli-crafted resolution at the UN Security Council aimed at eliminating the possibility of a State of Palestine.
16 November 2025
Australia’s reluctance to rest its fast bowlers could prove disastrous during the Ashes
Australia faces a huge challenge before the Ashes even begin.
16 November 2025
Environment: Paris 2015 generated hope, but not enough climate action
Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, staying within the 1.5oC guardrail seems increasingly unlikely, even though there’s plenty of money to do it. Really, it’s legal to chop bits off the Great Barrier Reef and sell them? Microsoft is struggling to meet its promise to become carbon-free.
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We continue to see powerful interests shape the headlines and spread misinformation faster than facts in current times. This year, Pearls and Irritations has again proven that independent media has never been more essential. We have continued to push the issues ignored by mainstream media, building our voice as a trusted source for local and global issues. We ask you to support our plans for 2026.
The integrity of our media matters - please support Pearls and Irritations. For the next month you can make a tax deductible donation through the Australian Cultural Fund.
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16 November 2025
From populism to progress: The Netherlands’ historic election
The Netherlands has been at the centre of a political shake-up in recent weeks, with the vote count only just finalised.
16 November 2025
‘Oh, the fog lying like a blanket over this sad town’: The Mushroom Tapes sees the humanity in an inhumane story
The Mushroom Tapes opens with a blunt refusal to accept a murder trial as spectator sport:
15 November 2025
Keating on the malevolence and brutality of The Dismissal
Paul Keating had just been appointed to his first ministry when the governor-general brought it all crashing down on November 11. The former prime minister is interviewed by Niki Savva.
15 November 2025
This Russian victory really is one for the little guy
The Castle remains good law in Australia. Almost three decades since the battling suburban solicitor Dennis Denuto introduced us all to the high legal concept of “the vibe of the thing”, the High Court has broadly endorsed the classic movie’s basic contention: a man’s home is his castle.
15 November 2025
The integrity of our media matters – please support Pearls and Irritations
We continue to see powerful interests shape the headlines and spread misinformation faster than facts in current times. That's why your support of what we do matters.
15 November 2025
Trick or treaty? Don't know, can't say
The Indonesian print media covering the one-day visit of President Prabowo Subianto to Australia this month has dazzled its readers with some splendid insights into a serious issue.
15 November 2025
Gaza woman blinded in Israeli strike opens bakery to subsist and hope
Despite her injury, Warda Abu Jarad has started baking cookies and bread to help provide for her family.
15 November 2025
China-phobia in Australia is endangering the country’s security
The toxic roots of China-phobia are deeply embedded in modern Australia’s cultural history. It has a firm grip on the minds of many of Australia’s policy wonks, politicians, media commentators, and the general public.
Latest on Palestine and Israel
16 November 2025
Trump’s ploy at the UN is American imperialism masquerading as a peace process
The Trump administration is pushing an Israeli-crafted resolution at the UN Security Council aimed at eliminating the possibility of a State of Palestine.
15 November 2025
Gaza woman blinded in Israeli strike opens bakery to subsist and hope
Despite her injury, Warda Abu Jarad has started baking cookies and bread to help provide for her family.
15 November 2025
Recovering moral imagination in a time of war
There is a moment in every conflict when language collapses. Words like justice, revenge, and security are repeated so often they lose their meaning.
14 November 2025
The boy who cried antisemitism
For two years, we’ve been told Australia is drowning in antisemitism. Every protest for Palestinian human rights, every mural, every chant criticising Israel has been hauled up as “evidence.”
14 November 2025
Building a strategic movement for Gaza
I’ve spent the past two years deeply involved in actions, campaigns and community organising for Gaza. But as the so-called ceasefire begins and talk of ‘peace plans’ fills the headlines, I find myself asking a harder question: what now?
8 November 2025
10,000+ Palestinians buried beneath Gaza rubble in ‘world’s largest mass grave’
“We call on the world to send international teams to recover the bodies of the missing,” said the member of one civil society group. “We call on the world to provide the necessary equipment to recover the bodies.”
8 November 2025
Making them pay: Wielding influence in a world with no shame
One of the upshots of US support for Israeli criminality over the past two years has been the cowardly position adopted by US supplicant states who feel wedged by realpolitik and morality.
7 November 2025
OFFICIAL – Israel’s proposed death-penalty law is a war crime
Not satisfied it seems with the continued genocide of Palestinians, Israel is now looking to execute Palestinian prisoners by introducing a death penalty law.
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
15 November 2025
China-phobia in Australia is endangering the country’s security
The toxic roots of China-phobia are deeply embedded in modern Australia’s cultural history. It has a firm grip on the minds of many of Australia’s policy wonks, politicians, media commentators, and the general public.
14 November 2025
China’s new climate targets show progress but lack ambition
On 24 September 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China’s updated targets for combatting climate change at the UN Climate Summit.
11 November 2025
After Trump goes home
If anyone had any lingering doubts about the change in the world order, the sight of President Trump pumping his fist into the air at the doorway of Air Force One, before turning his back on Asia to fly home, they should be put to bed now.
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A matter of cautious hope
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