Strong Message Here Podcast
Armando Iannucci hosts the programme that gives you a cast-iron guarantee to be laser-focused on decoding the baffling world of political language.
Armando Iannucci hosts the programme that gives you a cast-iron guarantee to be laser-focused on decoding the baffling world of political language.
Each week he'll be joined by a guest to crack open the political phrasebook and attempt to demystify the doublespeak. Why does everything now have to be 'turbo-charged'? What's the difference between a 'pledge' and a 'mission'? Why has my local MP been 'weaponised' and should I be worried?
You'll be treated to a crash course in the dark arts of political language from people on the inside who are both baffled and beguiled by it. They'll walk you through the various verbal fiascos of the modern political lexicon so that by the end you'll be oven-ready for an appearance on Newsnight.
Armando's erstwhile partner in de-baffling political lexicon, Helen Lewis, is away working in the United States in the autumn and so her seat will be kept warm by a rotating cast of co-hosts.
Listen to Strong Message Here on Thursdays on Radio 4 at 9.45am, and an extended version is available on BBC Sounds.
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4.
Episodes to download
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Regime Change (with Natalie Haynes)
Thursday
With Venezuela under new management, why won't the boss call it regime change?
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Listeners' Strong Messages (with Stewart Lee)
New Year's Day 2026
Stewart joins Armando as they dip into the listeners' mailbag.
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Words of the Year (with Natalie Haynes)
Thu 18 Dec 2025
Armando Iannucci and Natalie pick through some of the words of the year.
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Civilisational Erasure (with Stewart Lee)
Thu 11 Dec 2025
Armando and Stewart look the US' claims of civilisational erasure in Europe.
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AI Hallucinations (with Stewart Lee and Sarah Wynn-Williams)
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Sarah Wynn-Williams joins Armando and Stewart Lee to talk all things AI.
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Spooking the Markets (with Natalie Haynes and Stewart Lee)
Thu 27 Nov 2025
Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Natalie Haynes decode the world of political language.
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Moral Failure and Deadly Negligence (with Sara Pascoe and Matt Winning)
Thu 20 Nov 2025
Armando and Sara Pascoe are joined by Dr Matt Winning to discuss the language around COP.
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The Buck Stops Here (with Ria Lina and Sophy Ridge)
Thu 13 Nov 2025
Armando is joined by Ria Lina are joined by Sophy Ridge to chat editing and impartiality.
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Be Vigilant (with Phil Wang)
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Armando Iannucci and Phil Wang look at language used after a violent event.
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Deep Disillusionment in This Country (with Stewart Lee)
Thu 30 Oct 2025
Armando Iannucci and Stewart Lee find the sources of deep disillusionment in this country.
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In Hindsight (with Ria Lina and Tim Shipman)
Thu 23 Oct 2025
Ria Lina and Tim Shipman join Armando to discuss political fallouts, and excuses.
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The End of the Age of Terror and Death (with Stewart Lee)
Thu 16 Oct 2025
Armando Iannucci and Stewart Lee present the greatest episode of anything ever.
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Repetition, Repetition, Repetition (with Natalie Haynes)
Thu 9 Oct 2025
Natalie Haynes joins Armando to repeatedly discuss repetition, repetitiously.
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The Battle for the Soul of the Country (with Adam Fleming)
Thu 2 Oct 2025
Armando Iannucci is up in Liverpool to decode the language of party conferences.
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Hurty Words (with Stewart Lee)
Thu 25 Sep 2025
Stewart Lee joins to look at the rebranding of cancel culture.
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Phase 2 (with Ria Lina)
Thu 18 Sep 2025
'Phase 2' and more language from a fraught political summer.
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Strong Recommend: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
Thu 11 Sep 2025
Is Terry Pratchett the finest comic novelist of the 20th Century?
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Strong Recommend: Tehran (Apple TV+)
Thu 4 Sep 2025
How drama can give you a glimpse beyond the headlines.
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Strong Recommend: The Contestant
Thu 21 Aug 2025
Reality TV at it's most extreme. Does it affect how we tell stories?
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Strong Recommend: Shamanism, The Timeless Religion by Dr Manvir Singh
Thu 14 Aug 2025
How has shamanism permeated Western political culture?
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Strong Recommend: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Thu 7 Aug 2025
The joy of a short novel, and a tip on how to get into new novelists.
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Strong Recommend: Evita at London Palladium
Thu 31 Jul 2025
Take to the streets to be part of an exciting London performance this summer.
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Strong Recommend: Shakespeare's Richard II
Thu 24 Jul 2025
Armando asks why Richard II is such an overlooked Shakespeare historical?
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Strong Recommend: Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts
Thu 17 Jul 2025
How taxonomists naming conventions affected more than just our language.
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Strong Recommend: The Ballad of Wallis Island
Thu 10 Jul 2025
The first in a series of cultural recommendations from the hosts of Strong Message Here.
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We Haven't Always Told Our Story as Well as We Should
Thu 3 Jul 2025
A look at the language of the first year of the Labour government.
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The New Brexit
Thu 26 Jun 2025
Helen returns as we discuss the topic described by Farage as 'The New Brexit'; Net Zero.
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Delivering for Ordinary People (with Marina Hyde)
Thu 19 Jun 2025
Who are 'ordinary people'? And do politicians really know how to 'deliver' for them?
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I Regret Some of My Posts (with Sara Pascoe)
Thu 12 Jun 2025
Bromances, breaking up, and making up. With Sara Pascoe.








