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, the Japanese people were gripped by Tomoaki Hamatsu's journey. Today, can we see how reality TV has infected our storytelling and our language? Whether it's someone in Big Brother proudly declaring they'll 'say it to your face' or an Apprentice-host-turned-President telling you 'you're fired' - are these reality shows replacing the art of storytelling?

And Armando asks 'what is structured reality?', 'What is America's Next Top Model, and, more generally, 'What?!'.

Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls

Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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 Shamanism: The Timeless Religion, which helps inform a discussion around ritual and our desire for formality, and even otherness, from authority figures.

Helen and Armando also debate whether ayahuasca retreats are ego trips, or enlightening experiences, and why they could never follow Thatcher's night time regimen.

Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls

Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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

Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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 happens to be near the venue at about 9pm most nights across the summer. You can enjoy the showstopper yourself, whilst also adding to the experience of those in the venue who are missing out.

Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls

Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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 doesn't get its due among the other historical plays. Armando wonders why? It's full of drama and it's written in verse, what's not to love? Helen also discusses it in the context of the time, and what made it such a brave piece of writing.

We also discuss which Shakespearean historical figure modern politicians might be.

Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls

Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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 attempts at taxonomy.

The naming conventions of various parts of our world have informed so much of our lives. From what we call different animals and plants, to how relatively arbitrary classification of human races may have helped justify the slave trade.

Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls

Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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 as a short film, and has won plaudits for its offbeat, funny and warm story. How do films get made, when is the British film industry at his best, and what makes a film like this so special?

Join Helen and Armando over the summer for more cultural recommendations, available weekly on BBC Sounds.

Production Coordinator: Sarah Nicholls

Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend is produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies and is a BBC Studios production for Radio 4.

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?

Looking at phrases from the year, like "The tepid bath of managed decline" and "National Health Recovery Mission Champions", does their language connect, and are their opponents any better?

Strong Message Here will be back on Radio 4 in September, but subscribe to BBC Sounds to hear Helen and Armando over the summer in Strong Message Here: Strong Recommend; a series of short episodes with their language-based cultural recommendations.

Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at [email protected]

Sound Editing by Chris Maclean

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.

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 sights on the language around Net Zero.

They ask, Why has it taken long for them to cover it on the show? Is it being framed in a relatable enough way? And, does it suffer from being part of an 'omnicause'?

Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.

Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at [email protected]

Sound Editing by Chris Maclean

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci decodes the utterly baffling world of political language.

This week, Helen Lewis is still away, so Journalist Marina Hyde steps in to join Armando. They discuss what an ordinary person might be, and examine if politicians use them as cover? Why is it always that things 'ordinary people' are saying 'on the doorstep' just so happen to be the exact things they wanted to do anyway?

We also look at delivery in politics. Do we believe politicians when they say they'll deliver? And do we reward them fairly when they do?

Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.

Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at [email protected]

Sound Editing by Chris Maclean

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.