Kemi-Kaze and political nicknames

In this new series for Radio 4, comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.

This week, Helen’s eye was caught by the Conservative leadership race, where Robert Jenrick has coined a new nickname for rival Kemi Badenoch.

They dig into other examples of political nicknames and name-calling - the good, the bad and the ugly. And more to the point, is this sort of playground behaviour what we expect from our elected officials?

A longer version, discussing more American presidents, and why Donald Trump keeps talking about Arnold Palmer, is available on BBC Sounds.

Sound Editing by Charlie Brandon-KingProduction Coordinator - Katie BaumExecutive Producer - Pete Strauss

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

In this new series, Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci investigate which political buzzwords are strong and stable and which are a crock of covfefe.

Each week Helen and Armando will crack open the political phrasebook and attempt to decode 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 two people 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.

Warning: this podcast features strong political language that some listeners may find nonsensical.

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

• No. of episodes: 28
• Latest episode: 2025-05-01
• Comedy

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