Planet Normal

It’s a joyous week on Planet Normal as co-pilot Pearson returns to her rightful place at the helm of the rocket. And she’s not short of things to say.It’s three big cheers for the end of Covid restrictions, but only one and a half of those are for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Allison fears the public mindset is now the biggest threat, and expects squeals about the end of restrictions from the 'lockdown is lovely' and ‘there’s no harm in being cautious’ classes. Liam is looking ahead to the public inquiry, and hopes it might teach us not to have a 'knee-jerk' response to any future pandemic.Joining our co-pilots this week is former Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, who beams in ahead of his review of the UK Border Force to tell our co-pilots how tough immigration policies in Australia have successfully halted migrant boats, and shut down dangerous people smuggling operations. Mr Downer also reveals that government insiders told him the Prime Minister was 'forced' into introducing many Covid restrictions. Plus, he weighs in on whether Australia would ever remove the Queen as head of state.And, fond farewells are the order of the day as George, our secret NHS source, has one last update for our co-pilots and listeners. Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Annette’s late father Owen’s blog: https://annettejames1.wixsite.com/pottingshedtales | Listen to History Defended: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history-defended|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 |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Helmi 202259min

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to build, co-pilot Halligan is joined for one week only by a new co-presenter. Telegraph defence editor, Con Coughlin, steps in to give his take on the recent developments in the region and how it could affect the rest of the world.Con believes Russia remains the biggest threat to the Western Alliance, but warns we shouldn’t overlook China and its bid for ‘global conquest’.Whilst Liam is concerned with the bigger economic issues that might be at stake and how the turmoil could impact our wallets if it isn't contained.Also boarding the rocket this week is MP and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Tom Tugendhat, who tells our co-pilots the European Union's response to the conflict simply proves the EU is ineffectual on foreign policy issues.He also shares his concerns on the net zero agenda, and why it shouldn’t come at the expense of levelling up or when households are grappling with the rising cost of living.And one listener email has our co-pilots laughing at an unlikely encounter with their GP. Read more from Con: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/con-coughlin/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Con Coughlin: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02/13/vladimir-putin-taking-big-gamble/ |Con Coughlin: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02/10/appeasing-russia-west-conspiring-destruction/ |Ambrose Evans- Pritchard: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/02/15/putin-close-winning-ukraine/ | Listen to History Defended: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history-defended|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 |Make a complaint: https://www.patients-association.org.uk/making-a-complaint |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Helmi 202254min

The bell has rung for Parliamentary recess but the political drama shows no signs of slowing down, and neither do our co-pilots.Fresh from announcing he'll be standing down at the next election, MP Sir Charles Walker joins our co-pilots on the rocket to explain why he thinks it would be ‘heroic’ and ‘courageous’ for the PM to resign. He also says that the public has to shoulder some responsibility for lockdown measures, and highlights the importance of political 'Yorkshire pudding' for Boris Johnson's future (listen to find out what that means!). Also on the podcast, as Sajid Javid unveils his latest plans to shift the NHS backlog, our co-pilots share their own concerns. Allison thinks the Health Secretary is lacking urgency in this ‘matter of life and death’, while Liam thinks a proper debate, prompted by the media, is needed to restructure our healthcare system.And there is another entertaining delve into the mailbag as listeners share some entertaining anecdotes from their childhood that young people today might find incomprehensible...Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |You can contact the Patients Association here: https://www.patients-association.org.uk/making-a-complaint Listen to I Witnessed History: www.playpodca.st/witnessed |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 |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Helmi 202259min

Another week on Planet Normal poses more questions over the future of our Prime Minister. But do our co-pilots think Mr Johnson is a dead man walking or, to borrow a phrase from PM himself, that the Partygate storm is merely a 'pyramid of piffle'?Allison's done defending Boris Johnson for good, but Liam's advice for the PM? The economy, stupid. Co-pilot Halligan thinks he should channel Bill Clinton, by using proven economic policies to overcome his personal scandals.Plus, Liam weighs in on the Government's 'levelling up' white paper. Is it just a canny slogan? Or will the plan mean real change? Also boarding the rocket of right thinking this week is Dr Steve James, who beams in to tell our co-pilots why he confronted Sajid Javid about compulsory vaccines for NHS staff - and the overwhelming support he received after the incident went viral. Steve also shares his insights from working in ICU during the pandemic, and what he would do if he could wave his magic wand over the NHS.And, a nostalgic delve into the Planet Normal mailbag this week, as listeners share their childhood memories from the 70s.Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Listen to Chopper’s Politics: www.playpodca.st/chopper |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 |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Helmi 20221h

The nation waits for Sue Gray's 'Partygate' report, and Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan are here to fill the void. Will the PM cling on? Yes, says Liam, but there are more important issues at hand. He tells us what. Meanwhile Allison wonders if we're seeing a coordinated campaign against the PM from Tory ranks. And she too has been ambushed by cake.Joining our co-pilots on the rocket this week is Isle of Wight MP, Bob Seely, who condemns a 'national scandal'. Which one, you ask? The use of 'hysterical' scientific modelling to drive lockdown policies. He lays bare the damage done by decision makers who used worst-case scenario forecasting to push for draconian measures. And, as we bid Plan B restrictions a welcome farewell, listeners share the most ludicrous Covid rules in their area.Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Listen to Chopper’s Politics: www.playpodca.st/chopper |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 |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Tammi 202258min

Actress and presenter Denise Welch brings some star power to Planet Normal, as she joins Telegraph columnists Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan in their rocket of right-thinking. She used to pull pints in the Rovers Return, but these days, you can find her engaging with her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers on the real-world impact of repeated Covid lockdowns. Not one to shy away from difficult truths, she tells listeners when she first recognised signs of a "Covidian cult", and shares her moving first-hand experience of a "broken" NHS.Also on the podcast: Plan B restrictions are finally on the way out, but will Boris Johnson be going with them? Our co-pilots look into their crystal ball, and weigh up the runners and riders were a Tory leadership election to take place.Allison will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 20th January 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/01/20/planet-normal-question-isnt-whether-boris-johnson-should-stay/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Listen to I Witnessed History: www.playpodca.st/witnessed |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 |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Tammi 20221h

Boarding the rocket of right-thinking in a podcast exclusive, no less, is Lord Frost. The one-time chief Brexit negotiator, who quit his Cabinet role as Brexit minister in December, tells Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson how the Government’s ineffective Covid policy drove him out of Downing Street, what it was really like sitting opposite Brussels on the negotiating table and why he advises slow steps in the Net Zero agenda.Also on the podcast - the question not even Number 10 knows the answer to: Can Boris Johnson survive so-called Partygate? Our co-pilots debate whether public outcry at a Downing Street gathering over May's lockdown could spell the end of the Johnson premiership. And is there an internal plot against the PM? Our hosts have their own theories.Watch Lord Frost's interview with Liam: https://youtu.be/hFId3IUxH9w |Allison will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 13th January 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/01/13/lord-frost-covid-lockdowns-serious-mistake-government-needs/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Listen to I Witnessed History: www.playpodca.st/witnessed |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 |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Tammi 202259min

With a new year comes a new wave of cynicism on our rocket of right thinking. This week, Allison wonders why the government has made it respectable for healthy people to skive work, while Liam predicts a year of ‘political unrest’. And both co-pilots ponder the question, how much Covid testing is too much?Joining us on our Planet Normal voyage is pub owner and hospitality champion, Adam Brooks who delivers some home truths about the real effect of Covid restrictions on his venues, and shares the moving reason he's inspired to fight the good fight for hospitality.And Allison shares her surprising, but scarily realistic dream with listeners.Allison will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 6th January 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/01/06/planet-normal-now-pandemic-testing-not-illness/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Listen to Chopper’s Politics: https://www.playpodca.st/chopper | Need help subscribing or reviewing? Read 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 |See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Tammi 202256min