Rocket around the Christmas Tree!

Rocket around the Christmas Tree!

Author: The Telegraph December 25, 2025 Duration: 1:00:49

It’s a Merry Christmas from the Rocket of right thinking at Planet Normal to everyone stuck on Planet Earth


Your intrepid co-pilots reflect on a year of political thrills and economic spills, honouring the "citizens of Planet Normal" while handing out awards to the figures in public life who impressed - and those who most certainly did not. 


Amidst the Christmas cheer, your hosts offer a heartfelt thank you to their "intelligent and inspired" listeners for their tireless contributions throughout a tough year, before signing off with a promise of more wit, reason, and levity when the podcast returns in mid-January.


The festive spirit is bolstered by a special interview with British tennis star and Wimbledon doubles champion Henry Patten who straps in to tell us what a Wimbledon champion has for Christmas Dinner and shares his journey from the grass courts to the top of the sporting 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 Allison 'Non-crime hate incidents may be gone, but don’t expect the police to stop censoring you': https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/23/good-riddance-to-non-crime-hate-incidents/ |

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

Read Liam ‘Why I’m not cheering the pre-Christmas rate cut’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/12/21/why-im-not-cheering-the-pre-christmas-rate-cut/ |

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

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

Read Tim Sigsworth ‘Father Christmas is ‘too white’’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/21/santas-naughty-list-too-colonial-museum/

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Every Thursday, Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan step outside the daily noise to offer a different perspective on the week’s events. Planet Normal, from The Telegraph, is a conversation that often challenges the prevailing narratives found in mainstream media and political circles. This podcast digs into the stories shaping society, culture, and the news, focusing on the viewpoints and concerns that feel increasingly sidelined. Pearson and Halligan, both seasoned columnists, bring a blend of sharp analysis and relatable frustration to topics ranging from family life and economic pressures to broader cultural shifts. Their discussions feel like a break from a scripted debate, offering listeners a space where common sense and direct commentary take precedence. Tuning in provides a weekly reset-a chance to hear arguments grounded in everyday experience rather than abstract theory. It’s for anyone who feels the conventional discourse doesn’t quite reflect the reality they see. You’ll find the tone is more like a candid chat between two well-informed friends than a formal news broadcast, making complex issues accessible and engaging. This is the appeal of the Planet Normal podcast: a consistent, thoughtful alternative that speaks plainly about the forces shaping our world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Planet Normal
Podcast Episodes
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Best Voyages from the Rocket 2025 Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Best Voyages from the Rocket 2025 Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:49
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Labour! Leave our kids alone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:30
Another black hole has appeared in the country’s coffers, but you can bank on your co-pilots to make sense of the pennies and cents.Allison thinks Starmer’s new migrant swap deal with France is nonsense and nothing more…
Feeble Starmer is stoking a febrile country [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:29
With Donald Trump giving Starmer a piece of his mind, there’s no shortage of madness this week, and your co-pilots are ready to make sense of it all!Allison thinks The US President took the Prime Minister to task on his…
The UK is on a Hard Road tackling immigration concerns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:21
Co-Pilot Pearson is taking a break but fear not, Nick Timothy is strapping in to help Co-pilot Halligan make sense of this week’s madness.Liam is pleased Labour have caught up with the rest of the country in talking abou…
Labour’s multicultural project has been a devastating experiment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:05
Another week in Labour’s u-turn government and the rumblings of a wealth tax are on the horizon, just as your co-pilots predicted!Allison thinks the PM’s speech on Monday was a ‘soft focus’ reflection of the 7th July Lon…
Starmer's ‘ming vase’ strategy smashed by policy pirouettes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:25
As Labour performs another head spinning u turn, your co-pilots are here to cut through the madness, so you don’t have to.Allison thinks this government has been a series of ‘car crashes’ culminating in another major hum…