Strong Message Here

Is Keir Starmer stuck in 2016? BBC's Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent Marianna Spring joins Phil Wang and Armando to look at the evolving language of social media. How do politicians navigate the new online world, both when trying to get their central message across, and in responding to crises? With the shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, we examine how the no...

New Year, and Venezuela is under new management. The fallout from the "extraction" of Maduro has thrown up some interesting political language. Why aren't the US calling it 'regime change'? Why is Starmer damned if he does or doesn't say anything? and is Trump the first politician to use the word 'literally' correctly? In the extended version, we also look at Natalie's pedometer, Armando as the El...

It's New Year's day, so Armando and Stewart are dipping into the very real, physical listeners' mailbag. In a loose and end-of-term episode, with some adult humour, we talk about the misuse of the phrase 'bad apples', Stewart thanks Armando for his leadership, and are treated to unexpected, slightly fruity, film reviews of 'Who Dares Wins' and 'Cats'. We also hear about Armando's ambassador for 'p...

As the year comes to a close, Natalie Haynes joins Armando to discuss and dissect the words of 2025. Looking at official lists, and conjuring up some of their own, they set about breaking down the language that defined another frenetic year. We find out what links all of the official words of the year, and why we can learn a lesson from Austria when choosing them. Armando also denies he writes Pet...

Is 'Civilisational Erasure' upon us? This week, Armando is joined again by Stewart Lee to look at this phrase, and others from the US' new National Security Strategy. Would this kind of language have been unthinkable even a few years ago? We also look at other elements of the strategy, and whether it's time to forget the idea that Trump is playing '3-dimensional chess' with his language. Outside c...

This week, Armando is joined again by Stewart Lee to discuss the language around AI. They are also joined by public policy expert and author of Careless People, A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism Sarah Wynn-Williams. For legal reasons, Sarah is not allowed to say anything negative about Meta, so we discuss lots of other areas around tech and AI. We look at hallucinations - what a...

It's budget week, Armando is joined by two members of the Strong Message Here commune, Natalie Haynes and Stewart Lee. How do markets get 'spooked'? Who has the broadest shoulders? And what does 'a Labour Budget with Labour values' actually mean? We discuss how taxes get their nicknames, why we know so much about the budget ahead of time these days, and whether Rachel Reeves could've taken inspira...

António Guterres has said that missing the 1.5 degree climate target is "a moral failure and deadly negligence". Is he right? Dr Matt Winning joins Sara Pascoe and Armando to discuss the language around climate change. Is it proportionately alarmist, or does it just scare us? Are we numb to the jaw-dropping headlines? Matt has some ideas of how to communicate these complex ideas more succinctly, a...

This week, Armando is joined again by comedian Ria Lina, and Sky New's new breakfast host, Sophy Ridge. In the week with 2 big resignations at the BBC, news journalism and accuracy are under the spotlight. We discuss the pressures on live broadcasting, editing, and deciding what stories make it to air. When is something worthy of coverage? These decisions are made all the time, but how? We also di...

This week, Armando is joined by Phil Wang to look at the use and abuse of political language. Defence Secretary John Healy says we need to 'be vigilant', and Reform councillor Laila Cunningham says 'Labour want us to shut up and die' - we look at how the public and the police respond to horrific events, and at our relationship with the police. We also discuss chocolate getting worse, Nigel Farage...

This week, Armando is joined again by comedian Ria Lina, and Political Editor of The Spectator, Tim Shipman. We're looking back at looking back. In a week where a scandal-hit Prince renounces his titles and the Chinese spy case continues to pose questions of language for the government, people's previous decisions are being put under the spotlight, we look at how public figures respond to the repe...

One one hand, the world is going to hell, on the other, the age of terror and death has ended, so which is it? Stewart Lee joins Armando to take a look at this maximal approach to political language. How do you do moderate politics with caps lock on? What's the smart way to diffuse complex arguments about politics? And given the details still to be worked out in the Isreal Gaza peace process, is t...

Did you know Keir Starmer's dad was a toolmaker? Of course you did, because he repeated it every time he was in front a microphone for years. Armando is joined by Natalie Haynes to discuss the use of repetition. How it can be an effective rhetorical technique for the likes of Cicero and Tony Blair, but grates when coming from others? We also look at the language of the recent Tory Party conference...

Armando is at the Labour Party conference (well, in a portakabin in a car park nearby - the glamour!), and is joined by Newscast's Adam Fleming to chat all things conference. Has message discipline killed the party conference? Or does their own momentum still make them newsworthy? Looking at conferences past, we look at what makes them an interesting part of the political calendar, and how languag...

Stewart Lee returns to the show, to join Armando in discussing 'hurty words'. With Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, and in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder, free speech is in the spotlight again. Those who railed against 'cancel culture' are now getting into 'consequence culture'. We also discuss how Marvel's superheroes might respond to the actions of their new owners, and whether you can pray in your...

In the first episode of the new series, Armando Iannucci and guest co-host, Ria Lina look at the use and abuse of political language. The political summer is often called 'silly season', but with global conflict and rising tensions at home, Armando and Ria look at the language that defined recent months including Keir Starmer's "Phase 2" and the word "plastic". Armando’s erstwhile partner in de-ba...

In the last of our summer mini-series, Helen brings a book by Terry Pratchett. To Helen's surprise, this is a blind spot for Armando, who hasn't read any despite being told to do so many times. Where do you start with such an extensive back catalogue? What makes Pratchett's satire so timeless? and has Helen found a new Pratchett super-fan in Armando? Strong Message Here will return next week. If y...

Armando has been watch Tehran on Apple TV. This multi-language show about spy agencies in Iran and Israel sheds gives you a glimpse in to life on the ground in these countries that you can't get from headlines alone. Like the Post Office scandal in the UK, why does it sometimes take a dramatisation to mobilise the public, and bring about change? Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cult...

If you're interested in fantasy, and fancy taking on a responsibility equivalent to a part-time job, Helen recommends Elden Ring. A wildly popular Japanese video game which allows you to live in a world created by George RR Martin. With place and character names reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, we ask why that is the accepted register of fantasy. Could it be the detail and care which Tolkien gave...

In 1998, a Japanese man was filmed in solitary confinement for our entertainment. Naked as the day he was born, which led to his suggestive nickname, the Japanese people were gripped by Tomoaki Hamatsu's journey. Today, can we see how reality TV has infected our storytelling and our language? Whether it's someone in Big Brother proudly declaring they'll 'say it to your face' or an Apprentice-host-...

What is xenising? And why do authority figures do it? Can we trace Farage back to the shamans of the past? Helen recommends Dr Manvir Singh's book Shamanism: The Timeless Religion, which helps inform a discussion around ritual and our desire for formality, and even otherness, from authority figures. Helen and Armando also debate whether ayahuasca retreats are ego trips, or enlightening experiences...

Fancy trying a new author, but don't know where to start? Armando recommends a short novel by Penelope Fitzgerald, and Helen shares a tip on how to try on a new author for size before committing. Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds. Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Sound Editing: Chris Macle...

Helen has been to the theatre recently, so you don't have to! Jamie Lloyd's production of Evita has a moment in it which can be enjoyed by anyone who happens to be near the venue at about 9pm most nights across the summer. You can enjoy the showstopper yourself, whilst also adding to the experience of those in the venue who are missing out. Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural...

This week, it's Armando's term to recommend something, and he makes the case for a little known up-and-coming writer, William Shakespeare. Richard II doesn't get its due among the other historical plays. Armando wonders why? It's full of drama and it's written in verse, what's not to love? Helen also discusses it in the context of the time, and what made it such a brave piece of writing. We also d...

This week, Helen picks a book she's enjoyed recently. Jason Roberts' book from this year, Every Living Thing, details Carl Linnaeus and Du Buffon's attempts at taxonomy. The naming conventions of various parts of our world have informed so much of our lives. From what we call different animals and plants, to how relatively arbitrary classification of human races may have helped justify the slave t...