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Strong Message Here

Armando Iannucci hosts the programme that gives you a cast-iron guarantee to be laser-focused on decoding the baffling world of political language.

Radio 4,63 episodes

Episodes

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Regime Change (with Natalie Haynes)
With Venezuela under new management, why won't the boss call it regime change?
08 Jan 2026,29 mins
Listeners' Strong Messages (with Stewart Lee)
Stewart joins Armando as they dip into the listeners' mailbag.
01 Jan 2026,36 mins,
Words of the Year (with Natalie Haynes)
Armando Iannucci and Natalie pick through some of the words of the year.
18 Dec 2025,28 mins
Civilisational Erasure (with Stewart Lee)
Armando and Stewart look the US' claims of civilisational erasure in Europe.
11 Dec 2025,28 mins
AI Hallucinations (with Stewart Lee and Sarah Wynn-Williams)
Sarah Wynn-Williams joins Armando and Stewart Lee to talk all things AI.
04 Dec 2025,36 mins
Spooking the Markets (with Natalie Haynes and Stewart Lee)
Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Natalie Haynes decode the world of political language.
27 Nov 2025,32 mins,
Moral Failure and Deadly Negligence (with Sara Pascoe and Matt Winning)
Armando and Sara Pascoe are joined by Dr Matt Winning to discuss the language around COP.
20 Nov 2025,37 mins
The Buck Stops Here (with Ria Lina and Sophy Ridge)
Armando is joined by Ria Lina are joined by Sophy Ridge to chat editing and impartiality.
13 Nov 2025,34 mins
Be Vigilant (with Phil Wang)
Armando Iannucci and Phil Wang look at language used after a violent event.
06 Nov 2025,29 mins
Deep Disillusionment in This Country (with Stewart Lee)
Armando Iannucci and Stewart Lee find the sources of deep disillusionment in this country.
30 Oct 2025,28 mins
In Hindsight (with Ria Lina and Tim Shipman)
Ria Lina and Tim Shipman join Armando to discuss political fallouts, and excuses.
23 Oct 2025,34 mins
The End of the Age of Terror and Death (with Stewart Lee)
Armando Iannucci and Stewart Lee present the greatest episode of anything ever.
16 Oct 2025,29 mins
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition (with Natalie Haynes)
Natalie Haynes joins Armando to repeatedly discuss repetition, repetitiously.
09 Oct 2025,30 mins
The Battle for the Soul of the Country (with Adam Fleming)
Armando Iannucci is up in Liverpool to decode the language of party conferences.
02 Oct 2025,33 mins
Hurty Words (with Stewart Lee)
Stewart Lee joins to look at the rebranding of cancel culture.
25 Sep 2025,29 mins
Phase 2 (with Ria Lina)
'Phase 2' and more language from a fraught political summer.
18 Sep 2025,29 mins,
Strong Recommend: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
Is Terry Pratchett the finest comic novelist of the 20th Century?
11 Sep 2025,6 mins
Strong Recommend: Tehran (Apple TV+)
How drama can give you a glimpse beyond the headlines.
04 Sep 2025,6 mins
Strong Recommend: Elden Ring
Why is Tolkienese still the language of fantasy today?
28 Aug 2025,10 mins
Strong Recommend: The Contestant
Reality TV at it's most extreme. Does it affect how we tell stories?
21 Aug 2025,10 mins
Strong Recommend: Shamanism, The Timeless Religion by Dr Manvir Singh
How has shamanism permeated Western political culture?
14 Aug 2025,8 mins
Strong Recommend: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
The joy of a short novel, and a tip on how to get into new novelists.
07 Aug 2025,5 mins
Strong Recommend: Evita at London Palladium
Take to the streets to be part of an exciting London performance this summer.
31 Jul 2025,6 mins
Strong Recommend: Shakespeare's Richard II
Armando asks why Richard II is such an overlooked Shakespeare historical?
24 Jul 2025,8 mins
Strong Recommend: Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts
How taxonomists naming conventions affected more than just our language.
17 Jul 2025,8 mins
Strong Recommend: The Ballad of Wallis Island
The first in a series of cultural recommendations from the hosts of Strong Message Here.
10 Jul 2025,8 mins
We Haven't Always Told Our Story as Well as We Should
A look at the language of the first year of the Labour government.
03 Jul 2025,32 mins
The New Brexit
Helen returns as we discuss the topic described by Farage as 'The New Brexit'; Net Zero.
26 Jun 2025,30 mins
Delivering for Ordinary People (with Marina Hyde)
Who are 'ordinary people'? And do politicians really know how to 'deliver' for them?
19 Jun 2025,38 mins
I Regret Some of My Posts (with Sara Pascoe)
Bromances, breaking up, and making up. With Sara Pascoe.
12 Jun 2025,33 mins