Planet Normal

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المجتمع والثقافة

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.

قبل ٢٣ ساعة

Labour drags us further to the '70s and Burnham stokes the psychodrama

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wQSgb9En2k0 This 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 emergency, explaining how sovereign bond markets are reeling from a protracted Labour leadership battle, where all the major contenders are looking to increase borrowing and spending even further. Meanwhile Allison shares her deep frustrations with the current state of the nation, highlighting the desperate struggles of local community hubs and family pubs fighting to survive under the weight of punishing economic changes. This week’s stowaway on the rocket is royal historian and biographer Andrew Lownie, who discusses the ongoing fallout surrounding the royal family and his investigations into institutional secrecy. Highlights Labour drags us further to the '70s and Burnham stokes the psychodramaSir Keir Starmer's leadership is under intense pressure amidst a protracted Labour leadership battle.Sovereign bond markets react to high spending as government borrowing costs spike to a 30-year high.Royal biographer Andrew Lownie exposes new allegations and the culture of institutional secrecy. 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 ‘‘Don’t drink them all at once’: Regulars enjoy free pints on National Pub Day’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/16/allison-pearson-national-pub-day/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘As Labour lurches further Left, the markets are calling time’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/17/as-labour-lurches-further-left-the-markets-are-calling-time/ | 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.

١ س ٤ د
١٣ مايو

Is Starmer’s Labour drama as fleeting as Streeting’s bid for PM?

You can watch this episode on YoutTube: https://youtu.be/5Zb71ekLVBE This 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 your co-pilots preferred replacement? Wes Streeting? Angela Rayner? ‘Mad’ Ed Miliband? Or does Andy Burnham stand the best chance with the softy Labour Left? Return stowaway William Coulston joins your co-pilots to dissect the local election results, and where the Social Democrat Party stands on Welfare and why Labour's approach is bankrupting the country. Highlights: Planet Normal: Is Starmer’s Labour drama as fleeting as Streeting?Reform UK gains over 1,400 seats as the traditional two-party system fragments following the May 7th elections.Streeting eyes the prize but is Andy Burnham waiting in the wings? 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 | Liam Halligan and Serge Kogan - London to Paris in 24 hours - ON A TANDEM: https://www.justgiving.com/page/liam-halligan-serge-kogan | Read Allison ‘Starmer quitting isn’t enough. Furious voters want an end to politics as we know it’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/12/allison-pearson-starmer-quitting-isnt-enough/ | Read Allison ‘Sick of being dismissed as a racist, Essex Man has turned to Reform’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/08/essex-voters-embracing-reform-liked-nigel/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘Oil prices are detached from reality’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/10/headline-oil-prices-are-detached-from-reality/ | 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.

١ س ٣ د
٦ مايو

Inflation threats to consumer prices and Happy 100th birthday to Sir David Attenborough!

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/81-0uu_POWE On 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 why the government is paying more in borrowing costs than it did in 1998. Return stowaway and advocate for financial education, Justin Urquhart-Stewart straps in to give your co-pilots a view of the geopolitical landscape as the to and fro of the Strait of Hormuz continues to impact food, energy and production prices across the world… Highlights: Planet Normal: Happy birthday to Sir David Attenborough!Allison recalls her Venezuelan rainforest interview with Sir David Attenborough Blockades in the Strait of Hormuz continue to threaten global energy supplies and UK inflation. 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 | LIAM HALLIGAN and SERGE KOGAN - London to Paris in 24 hours - ON A TANDEM: https://www.justgiving.com/page/liam-halligan-serge-kogan | Read Allison: 'The day an unflappable David Attenborough saved me from a gun-toting militia': https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/07/david-attenborough-saved-me-from-a-gun-toting-militia/ | Read Allison ‘We all know who is to blame for the rise in anti-Semitism – and it is not Israel’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/05/05/we-know-who-to-blame-for-the-rise-in-anti-semitism/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘Labour is steering Britain into a bond market meltdown’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/05/03/labours-political-antics-could-spark-bond-market-meltdown/ | 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.

١ س ٤ د
٢٩ أبريل

Starmer survives a vote this week, but what will the May elections reveal for Labour

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/v0ptnvQnGUQ This 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 the traditional political establishment, as Reform UK and the Greens surge while both major parties face a potential hammering at the polls. Meanwhile, Allison reflects on her recent trip to Wales, where a "turquoise tsunami" threatens the Labour heartlands as Reform gain in the polls. Stowing away on the rocket this week is former 22 SAS commander Colonel Richard Williams, who discusses how "lawfare" and the prosecution of veterans are undermining British military recruitment and national security. Highlights: Planet Normal: Starmer survives a vote this week, but what will the May elections reveal for LabourReform UK and the Greens surge as the traditional two-party system faces a May 7th meltdown. Blockades in the Strait of Hormuz threaten global energy supplies and UK inflation. 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 ‘Nigel Farage is winning the battle for the soul of my beloved Wales’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/24/allison-pearson-on-labour-party-in-wales/ | ‘Prime minister Angela Rayner would be a new low for Britain’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/28/prime-minister-angela-rayner-new-low-for-britain/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘We’re on the brink of a global recession, but it’s not Iran we need to worry about’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/26/does-geopolitics-pose-greatest-economic-danger-or-is-it-ai/ | 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.

١ س
٢٢ أبريل

The Mandelson mess, stagflation returns, and the battle for Wales

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 Hormuz may not be enough to prevent a global energy crisis. With the UK inflation rate unexpectedly rising to 3.3% in March, the hosts warn of a "stagflation" trap that could see food and energy prices soaring for years to come. And co-pilot Pearson brings a report from her homeland in Wales ahead of the Senedd election in May… Highlights: Middle East infrastructure damage threatens high energy prices and rising UK inflation.Reform UK surges in Wales as voters consider abandoning the traditional two-party system. 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 ‘Keir Starmer and Olly Robbins deserve each other’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/21/keir-starmer-olly-robbins-deserve-each-other/ | ‘British Jews are in danger. Either we do something about it or they’ll leave’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/22/britains-double-standards-over-anti-semitism/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘Britain is the most inflation-prone nation in the G7. That was true before the Iran war’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/19/britain-most-inflation-prone-in-g7-true-before-iran-war/ | 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.

١ س ١١ د
١٥ أبريل

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

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.

١ س ١ د
٨ أبريل

Trump strikes ceasefire with Iran as Starmer grandstands in the Gulf

You can watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/B0VweeU7QlA This 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 branch https://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.

٥٨ د
١ أبريل

The Liberal consensus gave us mass migration and broken boarders

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.

١ س ١٦ د

مشاهدة الكل (٣٠٧)

Murder in the Masai Mara When Julie Ward vanishes mysteriously in the Masai Mara in 1988, her father begins a hunt for answers that stretches from a safari lodge in Kenya to MI6’s headquarters in London. The case was never solved. Nearly four decades on, The Telegraph Deputy Investigations Editor Katherine Rushton pours over classified documents, interviews the people tangled in the case, and travels to Kenya to try to understand:who tried to stop her murder being solved. What happened to Julie Ward, why did the Kenyan authorities try to cover it up, and why were MI6 agents involved? Telegraph Investigates: Discover The Telegraph’s most gripping and hard-hitting investigative journalism, all in one place. Go behind the scenes with our top reporters as they uncover untold stories, expose injustices, and reveal shocking criminal revelations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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وثائقي
The world’s #1 most listened-to podcast on the Russia-Ukraine war. Trusted by over 140 million listeners, every weekday The Telegraph’s award-winning team provides breaking news and expert analysis on military strategy, weaponry and the geopolitics of Vladimir Putin vs. Volodymyr Zelensky. And ask: where does Donald Trump fit in? From frontline reporting and battlefield analysis to deep dives on military strategy, sanctions, energy markets, and global security, we cover the latest war updates alongside history, economics, culture, and daily life in Ukraine and Russia. Featuring expert insight on weapons systems, cyber warfare, humanitarian issues, and what happens next, it is widely considered the go-to source for understanding the conflict. NOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE: Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest EMAIL US: Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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