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Armando is joined by sketchwriter for the Times, Tom Peck, to look at the language of the schism on the British right Following on from party conference season, we discuss the escalating war of words between Badenoch and Jenrick, as well as 'the worst speech of all time' from Andrew Griffith. We also look at the language of the Green Party's 'zionism is racism' motion, and the wider reaction to it. Elsewhere, Armando recalls the moment he died inside, Tom pitches a new BBC property show, and they speculate on the late Queen's final diary entry. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC studios production for Radio 4

Armando is joined by Stewart Lee to look at the newly rebranded 'Super Intelligence'. To get into the linguistic weeds, they are also joined by founding member of The Nerve, Carole Cadwalladr. The tech bros are coming up with new terminology all over the shop, so we take a whistle stop tour through phrases that grind our gears. Rogue agents, warfighters and bootloaders all come under scrutiny. Elsewhere, we discuss Armando's visit to Jeffrey Archer's house, Burnham's short honeymoon and why Superman is a rubbish superhero. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC studios production for Radio 4

Armando is joined by comedian Pierre Novellie this week, and they’re going to have an honest conversation about political capital. Looking at some of the phrases and language being used around Burnham’s decision to spend his political capital, we look at some of the announcements trailed in the speech, and whether the politics of ‘saying’ now trumps the politics of ‘doing’. Elsewhere, Armando and Pierre work out the difference between a ‘legitimate concern’ and an ‘understandable concern’, examine Peter Thiel’s defense of evil, and find the most unfortunately named politician in the world. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Rich Evans Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC studios production for Radio 4

Stewart Lee returns to the show after a summer judging dog shows with Charlotte Church. He and Armando look at the Lib Dem conference, and why the 'word cloud' is not Ed Davey's friend. They also have some helpful and serious suggestions for how Ed can improve his messaging, which I'm sure he'll take on board. Elsewhere, we look at how Trump's media ban might play out, and if the Democrats in the US have finally landed on a decent attack line on 'The Trump Crime Family'. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Rich Evans Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

Armando is back from a summer break to look at the use and abuse of political language. Joined by friend of the show, Natalie Haynes, they mournfully fell the Keir Starmer Metaphor tree, and find a suitable replacement for the Andy Burnham era. Elsewhere, they discuss the undercover operation on Reform, and the language of the fallout, 'perv glasses' and a corbyn-eqsue 'Strong Message Here' for the modern era. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

This week, Phil Wang steps in for Armando, and is joined by comedian Pierre Novellie to discuss 'doing politics differently'. Digging into the language of Burnham's speech, we examine what he means by 'place', and whether we will see an end to 'punch and judy politics'. Elsewhere, we look at Badenoch's attack mode, America's 250th celebrations and why politicians struggle to p-p-p-pick a favourite biscuit. Stay tuned to the end to hear from Armando, and find out what they 'Putin' the chicken over in Georgia. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: James Robinson Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

Armando is under the weather this week, so in true World Cup style, we have called up a super sub. Matt Forde steps in to host, and Ria Lina joins him to discuss the big news of the week. Is it a bit rich of the Labour Party to claim they don't want to 'exaggerate small differences'? How does Starmer sell his achievements, and is there anything we can learn about how Burnham uses language? In the longer version, we also look back at some of Starmer's best bits, and whether Manchesterism is an ideology, or just good branding Armando will be back next week, but in the meantime, if you have got a strong message for the show, email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Katie Baum & Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

Stewart Lee joins Armando to look at the detail, or lack thereof in the US and Iran deal. What is a memorandum of understanding? Does the language of UFC apply to this deal? And are Shoreditch hipsters running Iran's social media campaign? It's by-election day, and while broadcast rules prevent us from discussing the events in Makerfield, there's no rule to stop us discussing the broadcasting rules themselves. Outgoing Ofcom chair Michael Grade has been vocal about the state of broadcast journalism in the UK, so we take a close look at his recent language. Elsewhere, we talk Ghibli Grandads, soiled underpants, and 'the Islington of the Mind'. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: Richard Morris Recorded at The Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

Hugo Rifkind joins Armando, fresh from interviewing a highland cow, to discuss the phrase 'fanning the flames'. Can a politician ever avoid politicising an issue? How is that different from weaponising? And does journalism have a role in fanning the flames, and prolonging political arguments? Elsewhere, Armando explains the power of the power nap, Pete Hegseth conflates D-Day with immigration, and we ask if Keir's curse is having an eminently rhyme-able name? Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Rich Evans Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter Executive Producer: James Robinson Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

Natalie Haynes joins Armando to look at the differing language used when discussing the benefits and risks of the AI revolution. Is it just 'a thing' which is beyond debate? What does non-zero actually mean? And we examine the language of Tony Blair's argument, by taking it to its logical conclusion. In the longer version, you will also hear the ramification of shouting at Harold Pinter, Peter Thiel's unimpeachable jury, and whether we're all living in Armando's diving helmet. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at The Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

Fresh from a trip to America, Munya Chawawa joins Armando to discuss the political art of saying nothing. Munya recently looked at the parallels between Trump and Wrestling, and talks about how the language and theatre of WWE has inspired Trump's political style. They then turn to Andy Burnham's tightrope walk, and his desire to be clear and direct, whilst also avoiding the elephant in the room - what effect does that have on his language? Danny Kruger's defence of Reform's candidate also reveals some tricks of the political language trade, and we ask - can politicians engage on social media without being cringe? Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] A full list of candidates running in the Makerfield by-election is as follows Jake Austin - Liberal Democrats Count Binface - Count Binface Party Andy Burnham - The Labour Party Dan Clarke - The Libertarian Party John Dyer - Independent Ed Gemmell - Climate Party Paul Gould - Independent Alan 'Howlin' Laud Hope - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party Robert Kenyon - Reform UK Robert Pownall - Independent Rebecca Shepherd - Restore Britain Sarah Wakefield - Green Party Peter Ward - Rejoin EU Michael Winstanley - The Conservative Party Sound editing: Rich Evans Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu Executive Producer: Richard Morris Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

How do you capture the atmosphere of the commons? Parliamentary sketch writer for The Times, Tom Peck, joins Armando to discuss his most detested political buzzwords. We look at why people get so bloodthirsty in politics when 'the herd moves', who 'an anonymous source' might be, and whether Keir Starmer can draw a pig. In other news, we look at the demise of PearTree Productions, Ed Davey's wetsuit strategy, and a short-lived Reform councillor who may have taken to political language quickly in his political tenure, but was undone by some shocking language he used elsewhere. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu Executive Producer: James Robinson Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and Sasha Bobak. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

This week, we look at the language of embattled leaders, and some triumphant ones. Joined by Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ayesha Hazarika, we pore over the speech of Starmer's life - the third such event we have covered on this programme. Is rhetoric the right tool in his father's hand-me-down toolbelt for him to deploy in times of crisis? He says he gets it, but do we believe him? We look at the paralysing effect of message discipline on political figures, and why it's so refreshing to hear a more genuine message. We also examine Rhun ap Iorwerth's oratory skills (borrowed from the skinny kid with a funny name), screaming penguins and ask: who is the modern "Mondeo man"? Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu Executive Producer: Pete Strauss Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

What is the Technological Republic? Armando, Stewart and founder of The Nerve, Carole Cadwalladr, discuss the language and posture of the manifesto released by Palantir's Alex Karp last year. We look at how Tech bros frame those who block their progress, their effusive language about their products, why they might reflect on linguistic parallels with George Orwell's works. Armando also describes William Shatner's prose, in which he finds, having read his book, Tech War, that his sentences seem to run on, perhaps one or two clauses longer than a sentence should, which interested him, but also made for a challenging read, which in turn made it worthy of discussion on this week's programme. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu Executive Producer: Richard Morris Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

Ready Player One? Natalie Haynes joins Armando once again to talk about the rise of prediction markets, and how they might affect political language. We also look at the respective war memes from the US and Iran, and how they are taking their cues from video games. Elsewhere, we discuss the Arc de Trump, Armando's bag of filth, and whether a Sphinx might look good on the White House lawn. Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at [email protected] Sound editing: Chris Maclean Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu Executive Producer: James Robinson Recorded at the Sound Company Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.