Planet Normal

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/v0ptnvQnGUQ This week on Planet Normal your co-pilots of sanity, Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson, navigate the wreckage of the UK’s two-party system as seismic local and devolved elections loom on May 7th. With the UK inflation rate remaining a major concern and the Strait of Hormuz effectively blockaded by Iran, the duo examines how geopol...

This week on the rocket, co-pilots Halligan and Pearson dive into the political firestorm engulfing Westminster as Sir Keir Starmer faces intense scrutiny over the botched appointment of Peter Mandelson as Ambassador to the US. Following explosive evidence from former civil servant Sir Olly Robbins, the duo explores the ‘process-driven’ culture of the current government and whether it is shielding...

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-e1x0gsvjfY This week on the rocket, co-pilots Halligan and Pearson eye a horizon of storm clouds gathering over Britain’s economy and national security. Liam breaks down the "serious downgrade" from the IMF, which predicts the UK will suffer more economic fallout from the war in Iran than any other major economy. He asks if the government is...

You can watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/B0VweeU7QlA This week on Planet Normal, your co-pilots navigate their way from the high-stakes geopolitics of the Strait of Hormuz to the local battlegrounds of the South London Waitrose middle aisle, they examine whether common sense has gone to die - and whether the UK is becoming ‘Blighty no-mates’ on the world stage. Pondering the paradox...

In this week’s dispatch from the sanctuary of sweet reason, co-pilots Pearson and Halligan examine a growing sense of national insecurity as Britain faces a big economic hit from the US-Iran war and the systemic economic vandalism of a new tax year.  The duo discuss the ongoing scandal of NHS waiting lists, with Alison analysing the apparent waiting list cleansing and the statistical chicaner...

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/z53vu3azxZs In this week’s dispatch from the sanctuary of sweet reason, your co-pilots of sanity Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson, address the rise of antisemitic attacks in Britain, including the chilling firebombing of Jewish charity ambulances in North London.  Alison shares her continuing case against Essex’s police and crim...

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QVXFsa07Rpo In this week’s dispatch from the sanctuary of sweet reason, co-pilots Pearson and Halligan examine a growing sense of national insecurity as Britain faces a perfect storm of energy, military, and financial fragility, and the unfolding meningitis outbreak. With oil climbing back above $100 a barrel and the Strait of Hormuz remainin...

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uRceQCyRYIU It’s markets this, oil prices that, and what will happen next, so your co-pilots are blasting in to make sense of the tsunami of news flooding across the globe from the Middle East and the war with Iran. Allison points to the shame of all governments for not protecting British interests and defence strategy has left us woefully un...

You can watch this episode on youtube: https://youtu.be/KQ1dUe4FxZ0 As conflict with Iran hots up across the Middle East, your co-pilot blast in to make sense of the madness. Strapping into the rocket is Dr Alan Mendoza, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Henry Jackson Society to give his expertise on the conflict and how the ‘special relationship’ is faring as the PM holds back on British i...

You can watch this recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lFRwaTYK-mM Your co-pilots have braved the atmosphere of planet Earth as the rocket touches down at the Emmanuel Centre in London for a live recording of Planet Normal!  To mark the occasion, your co-pilots are joined by two of the most fearless voices to navigate a country they fear is currently on an ‘economic cliff edge’.  The...

Book your tickets for Planet Normal: LIVE on the 24th February: telegraph.co.uk/planetnormallive | You can watch this episode of Planet Normal on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_jt6Hy7NYvU On this week’s flight through the sanctuary of sweet reason, co-pilots Pearson and Halligan examine the rapid rise of Reform’s new "Shadow Cabinet," including Robert Jenrick’s debut as Shadow Chancellor and his missi...

Book your tickets for Planet Normal: LIVE on the 24th February: telegraph.co.uk/planetnormallive | You can watch this episode of Planet Normal on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LFlJivPsT9A Following a scorching column by their colleague Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, co-pilots Pearson and Halligan discuss whether Britain is becoming "ungovernable" as sovereign bond yields spiral and the Prime Minister appear...

Book your tickets for Planet Normal: LIVE on the 24th February : telegraph.co.uk/planetnormallive | You can watch this episode of Planet Normal on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wh42OqWtzDA As the Prime Minister vows to release the ‘Mandelson Files’ pressure on who knew what, and when is mounting on Labour. Repeat stowaway former head of Mi6 Sir Richard Dearlove is on hand to give his expert analysis o...

You can watch this episode of Planet Normal on YouTube:   https://youtu.be/4f7eZbkA91Q It's been a week of defections, rejections and tantrums in the world of politics, and your co pilots are here to wade through the madness.  After the Telegraph published an article outlining the role Starmer took in prosecuting soldiers your co-pilots speak to General Sir Peter Wall to delve deeper int...

You can watch this episode of Planet Normal on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mwWiWA21r1U The rocket of right thinking is back with a blast and a very special defector is aboard. Robert Jenrick is strapped in to tell our intrepid co-pilots why he has joined Reform UK and why he thinks the Conservatives didn’t deserve ‘a second chance’. Your co-pilots return to the cockpit to navigate a world that has g...

The winter break continues on Planet Normal! In this, the third and final part of the three part best of the rocket series, our co-pilots take a look back at some of their most explosive voyages on the rocket of right thinking from 2025, before our intrepid co-pilots return next week! Back in November Liam spoke to Scottish born Rosie Kay who enjoyed a highly successful international career as a p...

In our second episode of the Best of the Rocket 2025, co-pilots Pearson and Halligan dive deep into the past year’s archives and bring you some of their most intriguing and provocative voyages on the rocket of right thinking, from this past year. This week the Rocket has made a stop at Westminster with Conservative MP Helen Whately, coming on board to discuss her having one of the toughest briefs...

In this, the first of the Best of the Rocket 2025, co-pilots Pearson and Halligan dig into the data files for some of their most explosive voyages on the rocket of right thinking from this year. There’s been no shortage of madness on the rocket over the past few months, the peak of which was definitely when Chancellor Rachel Reeves cried in the Commons and the leader of the RMT said ‘stuff it’ to...

It’s a Merry Christmas from the Rocket of right thinking at Planet Normal to everyone stuck on Planet Earth Your intrepid co-pilots reflect on a year of political thrills and economic spills, honouring the "citizens of Planet Normal" while handing out awards to the figures in public life who impressed - and those who most certainly did not.  Amidst the Christmas cheer, your hosts offer a hear...

Your Co-pilots reflect on a sombre week as the festive season is overshadowed by the beach massacre in Sydney earlier this week.  Co-pilot Pearson delivers a blistering critique of Western leaders whom she accuses of failing to confront the root of Islamist extremism. Liam connects the tragedy to the rising sense of fear among the Jewish community in the UK, arguing that the ‘aggressive’ week...

Co-Pilots Pearson and Halligan tackle a week of political and economic madness. Starmer is dismissed as a "caretaker Prime Minister" with a weak mandate, having been supported by only 20% of the electorate. Your hosts dissect Chancellor Rachel Reeves' job tax hike and her "benefits street Budget" which funds the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap by ‘punishing 340,000 working people’ with froz...

With reaction to the autumn Budget still on the lips of news outlets everywhere, your co-pilots are here to make sense of the chaos. Allison doesn’t hold back and thinks Reeves has ‘lied’ to the electorate and inflated her own words in order to try and sneak her Budget past everyone. Meanwhile Liam thinks the fighting between Number 10 and 11 is harming the economy on a fundamental scale. Meanwhil...

The rocket of right thinking is back for a crucial Budget Special as Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her second major fiscal statement. Her new £30 billion tax rise means a staggering £70 billion increase in just two years, the most "punitive tax raising budget in more than three decades". Joining the co-pilots to dissect the numbers is the brilliant Telegraph columnist, Roger Bootle. Roger revea...

This week the Rocket welcomes former Prime Minister Liz Truss to discuss next week’s Budget as well as the co-pilots diving into the latest political issues. From the dramatic U-turn on immigration by the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, to the creeping tax rises hidden in Rachel Reeves's upcoming budget, there’s more than enough madness to unpack. They ask if the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's...

After a Telegraph bombshell, both the BBC Director-General and Head of BBC News are OUT as the corporation is exposed for its "FAR LEFT ideological capture". Our co-pilots take a look at the shocking truth behind the billion-dollar lawsuit threat from President Donald Trump after a Panorama team edited his speech on January 6th 2021. Allison details the biased coverage of Israel and Gaza as well a...