Catriona Jackson

I tried very hard to comply with former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s call to boycott The US President’s State of the Union address this past week – but when the Al Jazeera prompt flashed up on my computer screen I caved. (more…)

I gasped in disbelief when I heard our Prime Minster invoke his beloved mother, when blocking the return of family members of ISIS fighters to Australia this week.  He said: “My mother would have said, ‘If you make your bed, you lie in it’.” And he doubled down the next day, saying of the 11 women and 23 children: “I have nothing but contempt for these people.”

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We’ve had a huge response this week to the news that John is stepping back from daily involvement in running Pearls and Irritations in order to write and enjoy life more. (more…)

The debate over the visit of the Israeli President has occupied much space in P&I this week, and for good reason.
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Hello all – I hope you got some much-needed respite during what turned out to be a January full of grief and turmoil for so many. (more…)

I hope you have had time to read our offerings on the terrible shootings at Bondi this week. Amidst a thicket of coverage, here and overseas, many readers were struggling to process the tragic events. (more…)

As we hurtle towards the chaos of Christmas, we are taking a moment to reflect on the high and lows of 2025, and what it all means for 2026.

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Sometimes we run a piece that is much longer than our usual 1000 word upper limit because it is worth it. (more…)

‘Let me also take this opportunity to say thank you for what you are doing for Australia. P&I provides a moral compass, keeps hope alive and spurs on action.” Dr Jane Anderson Adjunct Research Fellow – Population and Global Health The University of Western Australia (more…)

I was lucky to speak with a room full of young people at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering this week, at an ‘ask me anything’ session. So many of them were worried that the university system was not delivering, and that, for students, fear of debt was making them think twice about further education and distorting subject choices.

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First of all my thanks to those who’ve already made a donation to our end of year fundraiser. As many of you know we are absolutely independent and fund operations purely through the generosity of the Pearls and Irritations community. (more…)

Thanks to all for the terrific response to our new venture Pearlcast which, if you haven’t caught it yet, focused on the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government. (more…)

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. (more…)

It has been a real pleasure to watch so many Americans enjoy what might just be a pivotal moment in American politics, with the victory of Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian to win the office of mayor of New York. (more…)

When I began as editor in early 2025 I was struck by how much great reading P&I offered. Now we are branching out to bring you great listening as well, with a big new project, Pearlcast. (more…)

As I look out of my window this morning, I can see a very small proportion of the 34 million people who live in Delhi, 6.5 million more than inhabit the whole of Australia. (more…)

Readers are well aware of our special interest in calm and rational coverage of China. Often we focus on geopolitics, and the change in China’s position in a world of continual, swirling change is fascinating. (more…)

This month we are working hard on a new initiative, a P&I podcast series called Pearlcast. Pearlcast will kick off with a topic close to our hearts, the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government. (more…)

If you do a Google search for the US federal health department (Health and Human Services) site, as I did this week, a big red banner pops up (over a homepage filled with happy snaps of Trump and Kennedy, and the Make America Healthy Again slogan). (more…)

I am writing from the back of a minibus in Chongqing this week, the mountainous mega city in southwestern China. (more…)

I am in China for P&I this week, with a group of Australian journalists on a visit sponsored by the Chinese Government and will be very keen to share my impressions when I return. (more…)

If you had any doubt that global power dynamics are shifting, one image from the past week put paid to that. (more…)