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Planet Normal

Planet Normal

By: The Telegraph
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 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.

© Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Osborne and Cameron cut UK defence spending - and now Starmer is making it worse

    Osborne and Cameron cut UK defence spending - and now Starmer is making it worse
    Apr 15 2026

    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 blaming external conflicts for vulnerabilities that were already "starkly exposed" months ago?.


    Meanwhile, Allison reels from Liam’s sudden appearance on the front pages of the tabloids before diving into her powerful column on the Southport inquiry. They discuss the catastrophic failures of agencies that ignored unambiguously signposted warnings, and the ‘woke priorities’ that may have silenced those trying to protect the public.


    Strapping in this week is former Royal Marine commando James Glancy who tells your co-pilots why the UK military can no longer meet its responsibilities around the world.


    Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |

    Read ‘Harry and Meghan need to stop pretending they’re Royals. It’s embarrassing’:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/15/prince-harry-meghan-stop-pretending-to-be-royals/ |

    Read ‘We want people jailed for failing to prevent the mass murder of our children’:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/14/we-want-people-jailed-mass-murder-children-southport/ |

    Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ |

    Read Liam ‘Reform should not have pledged to keep the pension triple lock’:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/12/reform-should-not-have-pledged-keep-pension-triple-lock/ |

    Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |

    Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |

    Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |

    Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |

    For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal |

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Trump strikes ceasefire with Iran as Starmer grandstands in the Gulf

    Trump strikes ceasefire with Iran as Starmer grandstands in the Gulf
    Apr 8 2026
    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 control a 20-mile-wide sea passage in the Middle East. Allison shares her fuzzy memories of the 1969 moon landing.They ask if the sacking of 54 year old Walker Smith for intervening in a shoplifting incident is capitulation to HR and if the policy of non-intervention is undermining the fabric of society. A Tug-of-War emerges as your hosts clash over Reform UK’s pledge to guarantee the state triple lock, with Liam arguing we are living beyond our means, whilst Allison defending it for those nearing retirement.Strapping in this week is former UK ambassador to Iran, Nicholas Hopton who tells your co-pilots how the continuing war is affecting politics within the Iranian regime…Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |Read ‘Allison Waitrose’s sacking of a hero employee sums up Broken Britain’:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/07/waitrose-sacking-hero-employee-broken-britain/ |Read ‘I was asked out by a Richard Gere look-alike, but you won’t catch me getting a ‘Mounjaro Divorce’’:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/08/fat-jabs-fuelling-divorce-boom/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘Britain’s vulnerability to war exposes need for fundamental reforms’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/05/britains-vulnerability-to-war-exposeneed-fundamental-reform/ | Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |Read Nicolas Hopton: Iran has offered Trump an olive branchhttps://spectator.com/article/iran-has-offered-trump-an-olive-branch/ | More from Nicholas: https://www.nicholashopton.com/ |Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    58 mins
  • The Liberal consensus gave us mass migration and broken boarders

    The Liberal consensus gave us mass migration and broken boarders
    Apr 1 2026

    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 hitting family farms and small businesses, arguing that the government is the true price gouger as it rakes in millions from fuel duties.


    Returning stowaway Professor Matt Goodwin joins your co-pilots to discuss his new book, Suicide of a Nation, and why the government is still ignoring the migrant crisis.



    Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |

    Read Allison ‘The elite can’t stand the truth about mass migration’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/01/elites-attack-matt-goodwin-immigration/ |

    Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ |

    Read ‘It’s time to stop pretending we have a First World health service’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/31/socialist-nhs-failed-time-to-change-funding/|

    Read Liam ‘Britain’s small firms are needed to rescue us from this slump’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/03/29/britains-small-firms-are-needed-to-rescue-us-from-slump/ |

    Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |

    Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |

    Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |

    Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |

    For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal |


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 16 mins
All stars
Most relevant
PN used to be great but it's refusal
to acknowledge the possibility of vaccine harm is infuriating. This week Andrew Bridgen spoke very powerfully about this to an empty Parliament...yet this bombshell was completely ignored!. But because PN supported the vaccine they cannot possibly do an about face as the facts change.!.
Also Haligan's refusal to discuss immigration without banging on about his Irish ancestory growing up in London..tolerance bla bla bla yada yada every time is becoming boring and patronising. He's too cosy with his chums in power to be the voice of reason we need.

Still good but..

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What’s not to love about a podcast that speaks the thoughts of most people freely. Planet Normal is simply and plainly speaking generally centrist type thoughts. The type of thoughts that are, worryingly, being increasingly touted as bigoted and far right, or, overblown as dangerous by numerous Legacy Media outlets who’s presenter’s/editors/journalists/backers now seem to live in an ideological bubble that no one normal can identify with, and instantly cancel or target as bigots anyone who has a thought that does not strictly align with their chosen rhetoric. So, shame, shame, shame on main stream & legacy media, and WELL DONE Rocket Pilots who got me through lockdown with some sanity left. THANK YOU. Never give up, never surrender.

Love love love… freedom of speech and polite debate

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wonderful to hear common sense in this crazy world. definitely my therapy for the week.

common sense

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Planet Normal should be compulsary listening for everyone! 🤣
Great political analysis, humour and some of the best guests from across the political, business & social spectrum. I cannot recommend a weekly trip aboard the Rocket of Right Thinking enough.

pure common sense in a mad mad world

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A fantastic insight into the statistics and human stories behind the pandemic. A must-listen every week.

Required listening to stay sane!

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