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PODCAST

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.

society & culture news commentary

All Episodes

58:37

The case of Essex police vs Allison Pearson and the...

Planet Normal ·

2026/07/29

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube:https://youtu.be/hjoyImW6a8sThis week’s journey in the rocket of right thinking opens with an exclusive announcement from co-pilot Pearson in her case against the Essex police and Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst.Back in November 2024 Allison received a visit from Essex police regarding a year old post on the social media platform X. Mr Hirst later appeared on LBC and veered into making personal claims against Allison and the situation, for which

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58:48

Andy and the Backstabbers make their debut to the...

Planet Normal ·

2026/07/22

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube:https://youtu.be/LYzZRwK5C0gThis week’s journey in the rocket of right thinking opens with co-pilots Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson reflecting on Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister.Liam warns that uncosted bungs and 10-year gilt yields staying above 5% threaten a fiscal crisis and discusses his upcoming appointment as Director of the Centre for Policy Studies, pitching the concept of conditional tax cuts to restore economic credibility.Allison

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57:28

Starmer out, Burnham in and we pay tribute to...

Planet Normal ·

2026/07/15

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube:https://youtu.be/wQxi0BVywEsThis week’s journey in the rocket of right thinking opens with a tribute to former MP and Reform member, Ann Widdecombe as your co-pilots reminisce their time with Anne over the years.Liam raises serious concerns about the incoming Prime Minister’s fiscal capabilities in light of a £120 billion budget deficit warning from the OBR, arguing that a reliance on tax-and-spend policies simply will not work.Allison criticises the

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56:05

Farage furor and the media blindspot to the OBR warnings

Planet Normal ·

2026/07/08

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube:https://youtu.be/YItlh0gx6cAA never ending tsunami of news sees Reform UK leaderNigel 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 Binface, instead of the looming financial issues as the OBR announces the Government has ‘unsustainable UK debt’.Allison

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1:02:51

Labour’s new migration policies will create a...

Planet Normal ·

2026/07/01

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bW3b5qKQP6ICo-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" can survive economic reality.Allison reflects on The Telegraph's recent Brexit event and attacks Home

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1:05:19

Burnham is the wrong answer to the UK’s economic problem

Planet Normal ·

2026/06/24

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/D90j1xiHV_cA 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 contest, for the top job, however doesn’t believe his fiscal policies will stand up to economic

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1:06:06

Social Media Ban: Starmer finally gets something right

Planet Normal ·

2026/06/17

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lq-8ZhnYjjkThe 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 their “in real life" connections and this ban could help them reconnect with the elusive parchment joy of

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1:03:28

Civil unrest will only get worse if people’s concerns...

Planet Normal ·

2026/06/10

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qNYLdKrCI_oOn 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 affected victims of crime more than the perpetrators and is detrimental to the social cohesion of the

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1:11:47

10 years on from the Referendum, have we even had...

Planet Normal ·

2026/06/03

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/82lXs84p8_MThis 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, the duo reflects on the original promise of leaving the EU and how the podcast itself was born out of a

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1:01:36

Blair is talking sense on this Lefty Labour Party,...

Planet Normal ·

2026/05/27

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uXkk5GHpPE4This 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, who has openly lacerated his own party for what he calls an “infinite capacity for self-delusion”.Liam

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1:03:35

Labour drags us further to the '70s and Burnham...

Planet Normal ·

2026/05/20

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wQSgb9En2k0This 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 high, the duo warns that the British economy is on a knife edge.Liam focuses on the unfolding fiscal

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1:02:38

Is Starmer’s Labour drama as fleeting as Streeting’s...

Planet Normal ·

2026/05/13

You can watch this episode on YoutTube: https://youtu.be/5Zb71ekLVBEThis 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 precarious future after Labour’s vote share collapsed in traditional hubs like Birmingham and Cambridge.Who is

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1:04:03

Inflation threats to consumer prices and Happy 100th...

Planet Normal ·

2026/05/06

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/81-0uu_POWEOn 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 nearly 30 years ago.Liam breaks down the economic fallout of the continuing to impact consumer prices and

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59:34

Starmer survives a vote this week, but what will the...

Planet Normal ·

2026/04/29

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/v0ptnvQnGUQThis 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 geopolitical instability is hitting British pockets.Liam breaks down the "end of the world as we know it" for

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1:10:47

The Mandelson mess, stagflation returns, and the...

Planet Normal ·

2026/04/22

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 a lack of transparency.Liam explains why even a potential ceasefire or the reopening of the Strait of

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1:01:28

Osborne and Cameron cut UK defence spending - and now...

Planet Normal ·

2026/04/15

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-e1x0gsvjfYThis 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 blaming external conflicts for vulnerabilities that were already "starkly exposed" months ago?.Meanwhile,

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58:26

Trump strikes ceasefire with Iran as Starmer...

Planet Normal ·

2026/04/08

You can watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/B0VweeU7QlAThis 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 of a superpower that can send the Orion spacecraft to the far side of the moon while struggling to

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1:16:09

The Liberal consensus gave us mass migration and...

Planet Normal ·

2026/04/01

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 chicanery used to massage figures ahead of local elections.Liam highlights a tax-bonanza of pre-announced tax rises

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1:01:31

Anti-semitism is clearly out of control in the UK

Planet Normal ·

2026/03/26

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/z53vu3azxZsIn 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 crime commissioner, as well as the county’s police force over a post on X, which has since been deleted, which led

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1:10:04

UK Meningitis outbreak and Starmer’s abortion policy...

Planet Normal ·

2026/03/19

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QVXFsa07RpoIn 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 remaining shut, Liam argues that it is time for the government to junk the ‘Net Zero virtue signalling’ and

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317 results

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