Strong Message Here
Episodes
Righteous Targets for Violence (with Hugo Rifkind)
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Hugo Rifkind joins Armando for a chat about the religious language in politics.After a quick detour round the far side of the moon, we find out Trump'...
That's a Great Question (with Stewart Lee in Laugharne)
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Stewart Lee joins Armando at the Millennium Hall in Laugharne.Is AI too sycophantic? Should we worry about how military-grade AI is being sold in star...
We're Here to Listen (with Stewart Lee in Laugharne)
26 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Armando is joined by Stewart Lee at the Millennium Hall in Laugharne.Taking the audience's most loathed political soundbites, we discuss 'existential ...
You Don't Have to Worry (with Marina Hyde)
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Marina Hyde returns to join Armando for a positive look at some positive language.Pete Hegseth tells us not to worry about the Strait of Hormuz, Trump...
I Understand the Anxiety (with Ria Lina and Coco Khan)
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Armando is joined by Ria Lina and host of Pod Save the UK, Coco Khan, to look at the political language around anxiety.How do we engage with difficult...
Get Real (with Hugo Rifkind)
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist and Times Radio presenter Hugo Rifkind joins Armando this week.In another breakneck week, we look at the language of reality in politics. A...
History Will Judge You (with Stewart Lee)
26 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Stewart Lee joins Armando again this week. With a by-election on, we look away from the present day and think about how history will judge politicians...
For the Sake of Transparency (with Natalie Haynes and Michael Gove)
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Armando is joined by Natalie Haynes and Michael Gove to discuss the true meaning of transparency.With his experience as both a politician and a journa...
Psychodrama (with Stewart Lee)
12 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Stewart Lee joins Armando to examine the language around political pyschodramas. We've discussed political language becoming maximalist, but it also g...
You've Let Your Country Down (with Emily Maitlis)
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Has a man once described as 'teflon' finally run out of spin? Peter Mandelson suggests he needs to run an investigation into himself, but to do an inv...
Are You a Stupid Person? (with Natalie Haynes)
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Was Andy Burnham blocked from running in the Gorton and Denton by-election because Labour need to save resources for elections they ‘must have’? W...
U-Turns and Turncoats (with Stewart Lee)
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
With the backdrop of tariffs and territorial land grabs, Stewart and Armando look at the political language of U-turns and turncoats.With politicians ...
Elections Aren't Won on Twitter (with Phil Wang and Marianna Spring)
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is Keir Starmer stuck in 2016? BBC's Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent Marianna Spring joins Phil Wang and Armando to look at the evolv...
Regime Change (with Natalie Haynes)
08 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
New Year, and Venezuela is under new management. The fallout from the "extraction" of Maduro has thrown up some interesting political language. Why ar...
Listeners' Strong Messages (with Stewart Lee)
01 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It's New Year's day, so Armando and Stewart are dipping into the very real, physical listener's mailbag.In an loose and end-of-term episode, with some...
Words of the Year (with Natalie Haynes)
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
Civilisational Erasure (with Stewart Lee)
11 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Sec...
AI Hallucinations (with Stewart Lee and Sarah Wynn-Williams)
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Careles...
Spooking the Markets (with Natalie Haynes and Stewart Lee)
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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'? Wh...
Moral Failure and Deadly Negligence (with Sara Pascoe and Matt Winning)
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Sa...
The Buck Stops Here (with Ria Lina and Sophy Ridge)
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
Be Vigilant (with Phil Wang)
06 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Deep Disillusionment in This Country (with Stewart Lee)
30 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Armando is joined again by Stewart Lee to look at how political actors use language.Wes Streeting says there is a 'deep disillusionment in ...
In Hindsight (with Ria Lina and Tim Shipman)
23 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
The End of the Age of Terror and Death (with Stewart Lee)
16 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 loo...
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition (with Natalie Haynes)
09 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Battle for the Soul of the Country (with Adam Fleming)
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 cha...
Hurty Words (with Stewart Lee)
25 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Phase 2 (with Ria Lina)
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 su...
Strong Recommend: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Strong Recommend: Tehran (Apple TV+)
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Strong Recommend: Elden Ring
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Jap...
Strong Recommend: The Contestant
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
Strong Recommend: Shamanism, The Timeless Religion by Dr Manvir Singh
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Sha...
Strong Recommend: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 tr...
Strong Recommend: Evita at London Palladium
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Strong Recommend: Shakespeare's Richard II
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Strong Recommend: Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 at...
Strong Recommend: The Ballad of Wallis Island
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To start off this mini-series, Armando picks a film he's enjoyed recently. Tim Key and Tom Basden's hit film The Ballad of Wallis Island started life ...
We Haven't Always Told Our Story as Well as We Should
03 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Helen and Armando look back at a year of the Labour government. What language has come out of if, and why is it struggling to define itself...
The New Brexit
26 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Helen Lewis is back! In the longer edition, you can hear what Helen has been up to in her absence, before Helen and Armando set their sight...
Delivering for Ordinary People (with Marina Hyde)
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci decodes the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen Lewis is still away, so Journalist Marina Hyd...
I Regret Some of My Posts (with Sara Pascoe)
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Helen Lewis is still away, so comedian Sara Pascoe steps in to join Armando. They reminisce over their first meeting on the set of a classi...
Weird Turkish Barber Shops (with Stewart Lee)
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci decodes the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen Lewis is away, so comedian and writer Stewart...
An Announcement President (with Jon Stewart)
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we have a very special guest, Jon Stewart! Jon joins Armando and Helen to discuss whether Trump is the political equivalent of Miles Davis,...
The Island of Strangers and the Manacled Gimp of Brussels
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, we're looking at inflamma...
Yes or No?
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen and Armando take a ...
I Want My Country Back (with Phil Wang)
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, following Reform's announ...
The Official Language of the United States
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, a look over the pond at T...
How Much is a Pint of Milk? (with Rob Burley)
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci are...
Liberation Day (with Soumaya Keynes)
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen and Armando are joi...
Three Word Slogans (with Cleo Watson)
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen and Armando are joi...
Fist Emoji, Flag Emoji, Fire Emoji (with Ava Santina Evans)
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.Following the remarkable security br...
Seizing the Narrative (with Stephen Bush)
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.Are Labour telling a good enough sto...
Britain Isn't Working
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, the Government announced ...
Be Quiet, Small Man
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Musk has been threatening...
In the Public Interest?
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.Hot mics, leaks, tell-all books. We ...
Everybody's Miserable
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.Farage says everybody is miserable, ...
The Threat from Within
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, JD Vance sent European le...
Build, Baby, Build!
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Starmer has suggested tha...
Flying a Kite and Rolling the Pitch (with Rob Hutton)
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.Why do we know what's going to be in...
Trump Derangement Syndrome
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Trump has truly settled b...
Free Speech Is Back!
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen and Armando take a ...
A Lawyer, Not a Leader
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, after a well-earned week ...
Listeners' Strong Messages
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen and Armando are del...
Words of the Year
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a year where Labour secured a 'loveless landslide' in the UK and Trump sealed his return to the White House, Helen and Armando will be 'laser-focus...
The Tepid Bath of Managed Decline
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen and Armando are hav...
Reset, NOT Relaunch
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, following Keir Starmer's ...
Becoming a Distraction
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.Following Louise Haigh's resignation...
I Make No Apology For...
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, we get into the world of ...
The Deep State
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Helen and Armando spend s...
In Listening Mode
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, as the Democrats lick the...
MAGA - Trump trumps Harris
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, Trump has made his way ba...
Tough Decisions
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This week, as Rachel Reeves delivers...
Kemi-Kaze and political nicknames
24 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this new series for Radio 4, comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.This...
Introducing Strong Message Here
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci investigate which political buzzwords are strong and stable and which are a crock of covfefe.New episodes are availab...