Planet Normal

David Davis MP is Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan's latest passenger as they blast off to Planet Normal. The Tory veteran talks about whether the A-Levels U-turn will be this government's poll tax moment, says don’t need to be “world leading”, we just need to be competent when it comes to coronavirus, and that the Cabinet would have benefitted from more experience in hindsight. Plus, a glimpse behind the scenes of the rows that caused him to step down as Brexit secretary. Allison and Liam also talk exams, and whether "Gav has to go", and hear about home-made explosives and Starsky and Hutch inspired car chases in your Health and Safety stories. Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearsonRead more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halliganDo you need help subscribing or reviewing? Read more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/chopperEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

Nigel Farage buckles up to join the Telegraph's Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan on their weekly voyage to Planet Normal. Never one to hold back, Mr Farage accuses the French navy of being a taxi service for immigrants, warns the Prime Minister that he's at risk of losing Middle England, and declares the Cabinet a bunch of "kids with rich daddies". Plus, Liam welcomes Allison back after her well-earned break with a chat about exam results (don't mention the D in O-level Maths...), and the pair weigh up who would get the top job in a Planet Normal fantasy Cabinet. Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Do you need help subscribing or reviewing? Read more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/chopperEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

Broadcaster Iain Dale hops into the passenger seat to join the Telegraph's Liam Halligan and guest co-pilot Kate Hoey on this week's voyage to Planet Normal. Iain tells Liam why he's been known to shame people for rudeness on social media, how he suffers from imposter syndrome, and why he's written a book about listening to the other side of the debate.Plus, Kate and Liam discuss why it's hard to talk about immigration and how Liam's the only person from last week's episode not to have been awarded a peerage. Plus the pair reminisce over the time Liam played bus driver to his co-host in Northern Ireland...Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Do you need help subscribing or reviewing? Read more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Audio Football Club podcast: www.playpodca.st/afcEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

For the next two weeks former MP Kate Hoey steps into Allison Pearson's space-boots to join Liam Halligan as co-pilot to Planet Normal. Their guest this week is former MEP and director of the Institute of Ideas, Claire Fox, who tells Liam that there is a war on history led from the top, that the BBC is the now the "woke" channel and how she bruises after social media showdowns. Plus, Kate and Liam discuss the government announcing that people will have to quarantine after returning from Spain, identity politics and racism within football, and of course, Nando's.  Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Do you need some help subscribing or reviewing? Read more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast: www.playpodca.st/chopperEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

Planet Normal goes back to its roots and speaks to... a normal person. This week it’s brave district nurse and Planet Normal listener, Holly, who tells Telegraph columnists, Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan about the horrors of treatments delayed over the coronavirus crisis: a devastating move she thinks will cause more deaths than the pandemic itself. Plus, she reveals how care homes were “bullied” into taking patients with suspected Covid-19 and why some health workers used the pandemic as an excuse to stay home. Also on the podcast: Allison and Liam reflect on Boris Johnson’s tumultuous first year as PM, the real reason teachers were among the public sector workers to receive a pay rise, and why former Speaker of the Commons, John Bercow, won’t be invited on the show anytime soon.Telegraph subscribers can listen to Holly’s full interview: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/23/people-treatable-cancers-will-die-due-government-scaremongering/Read The Sunday Telegraph interview with Boris Johnson: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/07/18/boris-johnson-exclusive-interview-will-not-need-another-national/Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Do you need some help subscribing or reviewing? Read more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Chopper’s Politics podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/chopperEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

Entrepreneur Luke Johnson is Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan's latest guest to blast off to Planet Normal. The man behind Pizza Express and Gail's Bakery tells Allison why the government's only effective lockdown policy has been 'Project Fear', how the High Street will have to get creative to survive, and reveals what other captains of industry are telling him behind closed doors.Plus, Allison and Liam respectfully disagree over face masks, discuss the government's 'My way or the Huawei' ruling, and enjoy more of your 'elf and safety tales. Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Do you need some help subscribing or reviewing? Read more about podcasts here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Audio Football Club podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/afcEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

Trevor Phillips, broadcaster, writer and former chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, is Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan's latest castaway to Planet Normal. The former Labour candidate for London Mayor tells Liam why guilt obscures media coverage of racial issues, how he knows what it's like to be randomly stopped by the police, and why he believes parts of the Labour Party just don't care about winning elections.Plus, Allison and Liam discuss the devastating knock-on effect of lockdown on cancer treatments, Rishi Sunak's mini-Budget or "big Economic enchilada", and enjoy listeners' stories of a time before health and safety, featuring a homemade army tank!Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/chopperEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

Shaun Bailey, Conservative candidate for London Mayor, touches down on Planet Normal, alongside Telegraph columnists, Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan. The former Special Advisor to the PM tells Allison why we're in for a "summer of discontent", why Labour hasn't been able to curb London's knife crime crisis and how speaking out against the Left as a black person is seen as an act of bravery. Oh - and how he found love over a Müller Corner...Plus, Allison and Liam lament Leicester's second lockdown and question whether a Wimbledon-style queueing system is the way to get Britain back to the pub. Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Chopper's Politics podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/chopperEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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 Governor of the Bank of England, Lord Mervyn King, is the co-pilot on Telegraph columnists Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan's fifth orbiting of Planet Normal.He tells us why he believes no-deal Brexit scaremongering was an attempt to reverse the referendum result, how quantitative easing isn't always the answer, and why politicians should admit to changing their minds.Plus, Allison and Liam mourn the simplicity of a pre-Covid pint in the pub, childhood in a time before Health and Safety (hand grenades anyone?!) and their battle with the dreaded "Quarantine Fifteen". Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Audio Football Club podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/afcEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.

Novelist Lionel Shriver buckles up to join Telegraph columnists, Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan for their fourth trip to Planet Normal. She tells us why her political views lose her both friends and awards, and why today’s literature fails to pique her interest.Plus, Allison and Liam weigh in on the footballer who took on the government and won, Marcus Rashford, why the reopening of schools should be “obligatoire” and they reveal who was "leader of the pack" during their Scout and Guides days. Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/allison-pearson/Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/Listeners can get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normalListen to the Telegraph's Audio Football Club podcast: https://www.playpodca.st/afcEmail: planetnormal@telegraph.co.ukSee 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.