Strong Message Here

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.