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…)
Catriona Jackson
-
Episode 2 – The 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government
In this second episode of Pearlcast from John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations, we return to the dramatic events of 11 November 1975 – the day the Governor-General dismissed the Whitlam Labor government. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
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…)
-
Message from the editor
I am writing from the back of a minibus in Chongqing this week, the mountainous mega city in southwestern China. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
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…)
-
Message from the editor
It seemed almost too much to look back to the events of 9/11 in New York, when there is so much killing and grief swirling the globe now. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
If you had any doubt that global power dynamics are shifting, one image from the past week put paid to that. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Off the back of last week’s huge protests for Palestine in Australia, the global movement to end the genocide continues to grow. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Many of you would have heard P&I publisher, founder and editor-in-chief John Menadue in conversation with David Marr on ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live last Wednesday evening. If not you can catch it any time. We will publish a transcript. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Last Monday night I was part of a panel discussion on the future of Palestine with a fascinating group. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
It has been difficult to focus on much other than the terrible events in Palestine in recent weeks. It is beyond comprehension that the Israeli Government could have made the war even worse, but with the announcement that it will attempt full occupation of Gaza it has done just that. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
I spent some time in Parliament House last week and it was a delight to see the increased diversity of elected members. (more…)
-
Message from the Editor
This week the news from Gaza has been so gut-wrenchingly awful that it is tempting to turn away. To stop reading. To stop looking. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Welcome to the week, the first sitting week of the 48th Australian Parliament, where we will see, for the first time, 94 ALP MPs, 43 Coalition members, 10 Independent MPs and three from minor parties on the floor of the House of Representatives. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Anthony Albanese left for China two days ago. If you relied solely on some parts of the Australian media, you’d think he was handing over the silverware and snuggling up with the People’s Liberation Army. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
My sincere thanks to all who made a contribution to our June fundraising appeal with the terrific team at the Australian Cultural Fund. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
As I prepare the lists of articles for publication each day, I am very aware that many of our stories talk of death, destruction and cruelty. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
One of the things that sets Pearls and Irritations apart is the calibre of our contributors. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
It has been a big couple of weeks at Pearls and Irritations, featuring some of the biggest issues we have pursued strongly in the past few years: the AUKUS defence deal and the genocide in Palestine, both reaching turning points. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
One of the things I love most about this job is the reading and listening (to radio). (more…)
-
Message from the editor
In my first week as editor, back in mid-March, when open shoes were still viable in Canberra, I said that we at Pearls and Irritations do not pretend to be disinterested observers. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
It has been difficult to focus on anything other than the escalating genocide in Palestine this week, as we witness, and document, a shift in opinion and coverage that has been far too long coming. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
While most of the nation has reverted to paying little attention to federal politics, the town where I live (Canberra) has been soaking in it. Last week we witnessed three leadership contests (Greens, Nationals and Liberals) and one nasty stoush over the dumping of Cabinet ministers Ed Husic and Mark Dreyfus. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Welcome to a new week, a new pope, a new cabinet and a new Opposition Leader. And for the first time, there are at least 57% women in the ALP caucus and record numbers of women across the federal Parliament. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Welcome to a new week, after an extraordinary election result, the extent of which was neither expected nor predicted. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
I’ll walk down to the local primary school next Saturday and cast my vote, but I will be in a minority. Most of my kids and both my parents would have already cast their ballots, along with two-thirds of the rest of the community. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
Today, pre-polling opens across the country. The shape of campaigns in Australia has changed radically in the recent past. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
One of the challenges for all of us right now is knowing where to look. Every minute a new set of tumultuous world events takes place. If you stop to focus on one you get trampled by 25 others. It is tempting to just pull up the doona – but then you would be letting them win. (more…)
-
A message from the editor
Nobel prize-winning economist and former New York Times columnist Paul Krugman calls the Trump tariffs the biggest trade shock in history. In the immediate aftermath, incredulity and shock was widespread. The size, and wildly different levels, were not expected. And there were clearly some howlers as well. Norfolk Island (population 2188 people) with no known exports to the US, copped 29%. The uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands in the Antarctic got 10%. Angry penguin cartoons sprouted up all over the place. (more…)
-
Message from the editor
At the start of the first full week of the federal election campaign, we are working hard to bring you a fuller picture of the key issues as we all consider the choices ahead of us. To that end, we will post more stories more often over the next five weeks. (more…)