Pearlcasts
As we review 2025, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions.
Go to Pearlcasts
20 December 2025
Choosing hope in an uncertain world
In an age of political, ecological and social strain, hope is often mistaken for denial. But real hope is neither passive nor naïve – it is a choice to keep acting, even without guarantees.
20 December 2025
What the Bondi Beach tragedy reveals about Australia’s political faultlines
In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack, grief was quickly accompanied by political demands that blurred the line between combating antisemitism and suppressing dissent, with troubling consequences for social cohesion and civil liberties.
20 December 2025
Why did Trump send his warships to Venezuela?
As US pressure on Venezuela intensifies, Washington is reviving an openly interventionist approach to Latin America. The targets extend beyond Caracas to the region as a whole.
20 December 2025
Why are you still using Microsoft Windows?
The ACCC’s case against Microsoft raises questions about market power and consumer transparency – but it also highlights how dependence on bundled software limits real choice for users.
20 December 2025
Shrinking East Asia needs a safety net
East Asia has led the global recovery since the pandemic, but deep welfare imbalances are now threatening the sustainability of its growth model.
20 December 2025
Bondi raises questions about ASIO’s community intelligence reach
The Bondi attack has renewed scrutiny of whether Australia’s domestic intelligence agencies have sufficient cultural reach and human intelligence within the communities they monitor.
20 December 2025
Chile swerves to the right and into the past
José Antonio Kast’s election marks the first time since Chile’s return to democracy that an admirer of the dictatorship has reached the presidency. The implications run deep.
19 December 2025
A better symbol
After the Bondi massacre, grief was swiftly overtaken by politics. Public mourning and the misuse of symbols raise hard questions about solidarity, power and what genuinely brings light.
19 December 2025
Pearlcast: a year that overturned the old certainties
As 2025 draws to a close, the temptation is to look for neat summaries and settled conclusions. But in the latest episode of our podcast Pearlcast, that impulse is firmly resisted.
19 December 2025
Radar lock or editorial block? The ABC's China-Japan report has blind spot
A story published by the ABC framed a military encounter as an act of aggression. But subsequent details told a more complicated story that Australia’s public broadcaster never revisited.
19 December 2025
MYEFO leaves the hard work on inflation, debt and budget repair undone
The latest MYEFO shows only marginal improvement in the budget outlook, while deficits persist and fiscal settings continue to complicate the Reserve Bank’s task.
Read our series
Latest on Palestine and Israel
20 December 2025
What the Bondi Beach tragedy reveals about Australia’s political faultlines
In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack, grief was quickly accompanied by political demands that blurred the line between combating antisemitism and suppressing dissent, with troubling consequences for social cohesion and civil liberties.
20 December 2025
Bondi raises questions about ASIO’s community intelligence reach
The Bondi attack has renewed scrutiny of whether Australia’s domestic intelligence agencies have sufficient cultural reach and human intelligence within the communities they monitor.
19 December 2025
A better symbol
After the Bondi massacre, grief was swiftly overtaken by politics. Public mourning and the misuse of symbols raise hard questions about solidarity, power and what genuinely brings light.
19 December 2025
2025 in Review: Palestine, international law and Australia’s silence
In 2025, the crisis in Palestine brought international law to a breaking point. Australia’s response, marked by caution and inaction, raises hard questions about responsibility, principle and moral leadership.
19 December 2025
Storms expose Gaza’s humanitarian collapse
Heavy rains and gale-force winds have turned life-threatening for Palestinians in Gaza, where the destruction of housing and restrictions on aid have left millions without shelter.
19 December 2025
The Bondi Beach massacre: exploiting tragedy
The tragic massacre at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi was followed by a rush to assign blame, inflame fear and curtail dissent.
16 December 2025
Blame, grief and responsibility after Bondi
In the aftermath of a devastating attack on Sydney’s Jewish community, political leaders must resist the urge to weaponise grief or assign blame.
9 December 2025
The Bondi Beach massacre: exploiting tragedy
The tragic massacre at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi was followed by a rush to assign blame, inflame fear and curtail dissent.
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
14 December 2025
Book extract: Understanding China: governance, socio-economics, global influence
China’s rise has reshaped global economics, lifted millions out of poverty, and challenged Western assumptions about governance. This extract from 'Understanding China, Governance, Socio-Economics Global Influence' argues that engagement, not confrontation, offers the only viable path forward.
7 December 2025
Ceding the future to China
Delivered as remarks to Brown University’s Watson School during its “China Chat” series, Chas Freeman reflects on China’s return to global prominence and the United States’ accelerating retreat from the international order it once led – and asks what coexistence looks like as power shifts in the 21st century.
6 December 2025
China’s challenge is explaining why it succeeded
Western commentary often dwells on China’s problems while overlooking the cultural and historical foundations of its extraordinary achievements. Understanding both is essential to informed judgement.
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.
DonateMore from Pearls and Irritations
Latest letters to the editor
The people and the common good
Chris Young — Surrey Hills, Vic
Can we discuss degrowth without the ideology?
Jenny Goldie — Cooma NSW
Getting submarines, or funding the US to get them
Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041
Vast educational inequality
Les Macdonald — Balmain NSW 2041