Strong Message Here

Strong Recommend: The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

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 try on a new author for size before committing.Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds.Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Sound Editing: Chris Maclean
Recorded at The Sound CompanyStrong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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.