Planet Normal

Tim Stanley, Telegraph columnist and leader writer, joins Allison Pearson on this week’s podcast, while Captain Halligan is on his very own Aegean Odyssey (AKA a Ryanair flight to Greece). The pair award the education secretary an F for allowing top A-Level grades to be handed out to almost half of school leavers - a move our hosts agree isn’t really that generous after all - and reflect on the latest Covid confusion. Our new co-pilot is a loyal follower of Boris Johnson, but has his loyalty been shaken by 17 months of inconsistencies within his pandemic response? Not so… Tim explains all.Also on the podcast: education reformer and “Britain’s strictest headmistress” Katharine Birbalsingh lets Allison in on the real reason behind this year’s grade inflation, lays out why she thinks calls to decolonise the curriculum are “appalling” and explains why - cue groans from our younger listeners - exams must stay.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 12th August 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2021/08/12/planet-normal-need-have-conversation-grade-inflation/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/ |Read more from Tim: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/t/tf-tj/tim-stanley/ |Listen to Hong Kong Silenced: www.playpodca.st/hongkong |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.

Telegraph columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson are back with a bang from their holidays for another much needed trip to Planet Normal. This week Allison surprises Liam with her sudden reincarnation as a BMX expert, as both hosts celebrate the uplift in mood delivered by Team GB at the Olympic Games. Away from Tokyo, Allison adds the PM to her own 'Amber watchlist' after the government's flip flopping on travel policies, and Liam ruminates on a return of Number 10 versus Number 11 bickering this week. Also on the podcast: Dr Charles Levinson, founder of private home visit doctor service 'Doctor Call' boards the rocket of right thinking to tell our co-pilots why he thinks the public health response to the pandemic has caused more harm than the virus itself.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 5th August 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/08/05/public-policy-response-illness-has-caused-harm-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 Hong Kong Silenced: www.playpodca.st/hongkong |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.

In the words of Alice Cooper, “School’s out for Summer”. The holidays are fast approaching but there’s no rest for our co-pilots, Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan, as Allison accuses the Left of weaponising the use of face masks, Liam predicts public finger-wagging for those choosing to ditch them, and our hosts nail their colours to the mast on the so-called “War of the Noses”.Also on the podcast: LSE behavioural scientist Professor Paul Dolan cruises into the Planet Normal atmosphere to tell listeners why the government must honour its social contract of freedom in a post-vaccine world, and why the cost of achieving zero-Covid is just too high. Plus, a particularly moving email from a Brown Owl gives our co-pilots pause for thought. Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 14th July from 11am-12pm:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/07/15/planet-normal-rural-areas-will-see-mask-wearing-drop-entirely/ |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 Imposters: www.playpodca.st/imposters |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.

Meet the mothers taking on the system over the way children have been sidelined in lockdown decision-making. Working mums Molly, Liz and Christine added a string to their collective bow when they were forced to become home teachers over much of 2020 - and another one when they later set up pressure group, Us for Them. It campaigns for the needs of the young to be prioritised over the pandemic and beyond. This week they board an extra large Planet Normal rocket, telling Telegraph columnists Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan why calling children ‘resilient’ is simply a means of justifying putting adults first, plus they lay out the very real effect lockdown measures have had on their own kids.Elsewhere, has the Saj been had? Liam wonders whether the ‘doom-monger scientists’ will have their way in delaying the new Health Secretary’s freedom day deadline, Allison tells us why the NHS’ George Cross victory saw her jaw drop, and a powerful interview leaves one of our co-pilots cowering in the corner of the Planet Normal capsule.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 8th July from 11am-12pm:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/07/08/not-enough-call-children-resilient-must-put-first/ |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 Hong Kong Silenced: www.playpodca.st/hongkong |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.

Good news for football fans, bad news for the former health secretary. A week of highs and lows, or highs and highs - according to our co-pilots, Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan. They tell listeners why hypocrisy is too weak a word for the actions of Mr Hancock, and Liam gives us the inside line on new health secretary, Sajid Javid’s first moves. Also on the podcast: SDP leader William Clouston boards the rocket of reason to tell listeners what sets his party apart in the much-anticipated by-election in Batley and Spen, and why he thinks the Labour Party no longer shares the values of its former voters.Warning: This episode contains a terrible impression of the current PM.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 1st July from 11am-12pm:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/06/30/planet-normal-matt-hancock-has-done-us-favour-exposing-westminsters/ |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 Hong Kong Silenced: https://www.playpodca.st/hongkong |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.

Freedom day has come and gone, and with little freedom restored, co-hosts Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan tell listeners why they feel a rebellion rising. Can opinion polls suggesting the country still supports lockdown be true? Not according to co-pilot Halligan, who tells us why he thinks pollsters’ leading questions are skewing the results. Meanwhile Allison impresses Liam with her newly-acquired scientific vocabulary, and ‘George’ shares some exciting news.Also visiting Planet Normal: Developmental biologist Dr Emma Hilton reflects on the announcement that weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender athlete to compete at this year’s Olympic Games. She shares research suggesting the loss of muscle mass in trans women undergoing hormone treatment is ‘surprisingly’ small, and argues that being exclusive in sport is necessary for fair competition. But where do Liam and Allison stand on the transgender athlete debate? All is revealed within.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 24th June from 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/06/23/planet-normal-trans-athlete-debate-line-must-drawn-stealing/ |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? 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.

Iain Duncan Smith is this week's Planet Normal stowaway, joining Telegraph columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson to discuss the 'real danger' of annual winter lockdowns, and to tell listeners why it's time for the West to stand up to the 'desperate threat' posed by China's economy, military and ideology.Elsewhere, Freedom Day? More like Freedom Nay. Our co-pilots threaten to move to an entirely new solar system after the PM's recent announcement that June 21st is off. Allison comes close to self-combusting, while Liam tells us why he believes politicians have become 'addicted to lockdown'. Plus, a listener email has one of our hosts reaching for the tissues.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 17th June from 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/17/iain-duncan-smith-uk-us-must-strengthen-defences-against-desperate/ |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.

Dr Jay Bhattacharya, Stanford medical professor and co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration boards the rocket of sweet reason this week to tell Telegraph columnists Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan why he thinks the UK government should 'declare victory and move on’ after its vaccine rollout success. The lockdown policy, he tells our co-pilots, will be viewed as the single biggest public health mistake in all of history.Elsewhere, with the sun shining Allison considers crashing the G7 Summit in Cornwall in order to have a holiday, Liam takes listeners behind the scenes at the soon-to-be-launched television channel, GB News, and our co-pilots make an impassioned case for second chances in the light of England cricket star Ollie Robinson's suspension.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 10th June from 11am-12pm:  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/10/lockdowns-single-biggest-public-health-mistake-history-says/|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 Brian Moore’s Full Contact: https://www.playpodca.st/fullcontact |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.

Former Head of MI6 Sir Richard Dearlove joins Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan’s rocket of right-thinking after British intelligence agencies described the Covid-19 lab leak theory as “feasible” - an idea he has long backed. In an explosive interview, Sir Richard tells listeners why China has behaved “appallingly” over the pandemic, and why he believes the US has intelligence on the origins of the virus. Plus, he has some particularly disquieting words for the WHO.Also on the show: Liam tells us why he believes Boris Johnson has had a welcome change of heart towards his scientific advisers, Allison channels her inner “Velma”, and our co-pilots defy the pandemic doom-mongers and celebrate “zero Covid day”.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 3rd June from 11am-12pm, and Telegraph subscribers can hear the full Sir Richard Dearlove interview here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/03/china-will-have-destroyed-proof-wuhan-coronavirus-leak-says/ |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 Brian Moore’s Full Contact: https://www.playpodca.st/fullcontact |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.

Ding Ding! It's round one in Westminster as Dominic Cummings enters the ring to unleash his blow-by-blow attack on the government's handling of the Covid pandemic - and Telegraph columnists Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan were watching. Liam struggles to stand up for his one-time lodger, Allison tells us why she thinks Matt Hancock is the real pantomime villain and they both agree that the former adviser may have delivered one too many punches.Also on the podcast: retired paediatrician and campaigner Dr Ros Jones tells our co-pilots why she's concerned politicians are jumping the gun when it comes to children and vaccines, Allison and Liam lament the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entry and one of our hosts treats listeners to a musical interlude of their own.Allison and Liam will be replying to comments beneath this article on Thursday 27th May from 11am-12pm: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/05/27/planet-normal-dominic-cummings-has-done-intellect-disservice/ |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 Choppers 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.