The Telegraph
Planet Normal
The podcast that speaks your language. News and views from beyond the bubble with Telegraph columnists, Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan, every Thursday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episodes
Farage furor and the media blindspot to the OBR warnings 08.07.2026 56:05
You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YItlh0gx6cA A never ending tsunami of news sees Reform UK leader Nigel Farage stand down, triggering a “People vs the Establishment" election… but was this a political mis-step? Liam thinks it was a mistake by the Reform leader, but is aghast that the news is giving more coverage to ‘unserious candidates’ such as count Binf...
Labour’s new migration policies will create a 'Burnham bump’ 01.07.2026 1:02:51
You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bW3b5qKQP6I Co-pilot Pearson returns from her break in Sicily to find political chaos in full swing following Keir Starmer's resignation announcement last week. Liam and Allison dissect Andy Burnham's bid for the top job, with Liam labelling him "Boris in a bomber jacket" and questioning whether his tax-heavy vision of "Manchesterism"...
Burnham is the wrong answer to the UK’s economic problem 24.06.2026 1:05:19
You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/D90j1xiHV_c A news heatwave has caused chaos across the land, Co-pilot Halligan pressed the emergency button and is joined by under-study Baroness Claire Fox while Co-pilot Pearson recovers from the shock of it all. Liam congratulates Andy Burnham on his victory in Makerfield, and apparently set to have a coronation rather than a cont...
Social Media Ban: Starmer finally gets something right 17.06.2026 1:06:06
You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lq-8ZhnYjjk The rocket of right thinking speeds around planet normal gathering the news tsunami of this week… Allison surprises Liam by AGREEING with Sir Keir Starmer’s social media ban for under 16 year olds, as she states in her column this week. The addictive and toxic nature of smartphones has ruined children’s attention spans and t...
Civil unrest will only get worse if people’s concerns remain ignored 10.06.2026 1:03:28
You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qNYLdKrCI_o On your rocket of right thinking this week co-pilots Pearson and Halligan discuss the recent riots in Belfast and the two-tier policing worries continuing from the murder of Henry Nowak. Liam thinks Kemi Badenoch’s call to ‘treat people equally’ under the law is correct and the DEI training given to police has disproportionately a...
10 years on from the Referendum, have we even had Brexit yet? 03.06.2026 1:11:47
You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/82lXs84p8_M This week on Planet Normal, your co-pilots of sanity, Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson, confront the tragic murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak and the national outrage surrounding the police's handling of the case. Marking the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum with former Vote Leave chief executive, Lord Matthew Elliott, t...
Blair is talking sense on this Lefty Labour Party, and Starmer should listen to save them 27.05.2026 1:01:36
You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uXkk5GHpPE4 This week on Planet Normal, your co-pilots of sanity, Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson, dive into a political landscape dominated by explosive leadership interventions and growing institutional scandal. Following a dramatic local election period, the duo analyzes a scathing 5,000-word essay by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, wh...
Labour drags us further to the '70s and Burnham stokes the psychodrama 20.05.2026 1:03:35
You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wQSgb9En2k0 This week on Planet Normal, your co-pilots of sanity, Liam Halligan and Alison Pearson, take us back to the 1970s as they look at the retro economic policies dragging the country in reverse. With financial markets reacting to the Labour infighting with horror, sending the UK government's borrowing costs to a staggering 30-year hig...
Is Starmer’s Labour drama as fleeting as Streeting’s bid for PM? 13.05.2026 1:02:38
You can watch this episode on YoutTube: https://youtu.be/5Zb71ekLVBE This week on Planet Normal, your co-pilots of sanity, Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson, sift through the debris of a historic set of local elections that have left Sir Keir Starmer clinging to power. The duo analyse the turquoise tsunami that saw Reform UK gain over 1,400 council seats, whilst the Prime Minister faces a precario...
Inflation threats to consumer prices and Happy 100th birthday to Sir David Attenborough! 06.05.2026 1:04:03
You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/81-0uu_POWE On the rocket of sweet reason this week we are avoiding talking about the May elections, so hold tight for a bumper episode next week! Meanwhile, Allison reflects on one hundred years of Sir David Attenborough as he celebrates his birthday this coming Friday and shares her memories of interviewing him in the Venezuelan rainforest...
Starmer survives a vote this week, but what will the May elections reveal for Labour 29.04.2026 59:34
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...
The Mandelson mess, stagflation returns, and the battle for Wales 22.04.2026 1:10:31
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...
Osborne and Cameron cut UK defence spending - and now Starmer is making it worse 15.04.2026 1:01:28
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...
Trump strikes ceasefire with Iran as Starmer grandstands in the Gulf 08.04.2026 58:26
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...
The Liberal consensus gave us mass migration and broken boarders 01.04.2026 1:16:09
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...
Anti-semitism is clearly out of control in the UK 26.03.2026 1:01:31
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...
UK Meningitis outbreak and Starmer’s abortion policy shame 19.03.2026 1:10:04
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...
The Iran war lays bare the betrayal of Britain’s energy security 12.03.2026 58:27
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...
Iran, Trump and running scared Starmer 05.03.2026 1:02:40
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...
Planet Normal: Live, with Lionel Shriver and Suella Braverman 26.02.2026 1:31:00
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...
Reform launch their top team, as Starmer U-turns - again! 19.02.2026 1:16:57
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...
Tick tock, Sir Keir’s against the clock 12.02.2026 1:16:46
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...
The Mandelson quagmire and murky dealing of Chagos 05.02.2026 1:07:00
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...
Starmer’s Shameful Soldier Witch Hunt 28.01.2026 59:08
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...
Robert Jenrick's Reform defection and the Greenland rift 22.01.2026 1:02:57
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...
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