Game On (with Natalie Haynes)
4/30/202628 min
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 strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk
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.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsArmando Iannucci· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to Strong Message Here from BBC Radio 4, a guide to the use and abuse of political language. I'm Armando Iannucci. I'm joined this week once again by Natalie Haynes.
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:14
Woo-hoo.
Armando Iannucci· Host0:14
Hello.
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:14
Hello again.
Armando Iannucci· Host0:15
Hello. Nice to have you back. You've been away.
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:17
I've been away.
Armando Iannucci· Host0:18
Uh, um- I've been far away. Far away. Is that, that America? Is that where you've been?
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:22
I've been to that there America.
Armando Iannucci· Host0:24
How, how- Yeah ... is that looking?
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:25
[laughs] Well, the... it's like a completely dual reality- Mm ... in which day to day everything feels a little bit dysfunctional but essentially okay.
Armando Iannucci· Host0:34
Mm-hmm.
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:34
But then simultaneously, if you open a newspaper, it feels like it's the end of the world, and you have to try and run these two things together- Yes ... all the time in your head.
Armando Iannucci· Host0:43
Yes. That, I- Is that just the modern condition? That is [laughs] Let me tell you- Is that just how we live now- Yeah, um ...
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:48
in denial?
Armando Iannucci· Host0:49
Yes. I mean, that is life now, isn't it? It's, uh- A bit ... it's do I, do I open the box? It's the Schrödinger's awfulness.
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:56
Yes.
Armando Iannucci· Host0:57
[laughs] Is there awfulness in that box? I won't know- Almost certainly ... until I open it.
Natalie Haynes· Guest0:59
Yes.
Armando Iannucci· Host1:00
Almost certainly. [laughs] I don't even have to open the box now.
Natalie Haynes· Guest1:02
Yeah.
Armando Iannucci· Host1:02
The cat is dead.
Natalie Haynes· Guest1:03
Yeah.
Armando Iannucci· Host1:04
Okay? I don't have to notice it. I can smell it from here. [laughs] [laughs] Now give me the Nobel Prize.
Natalie Haynes· Guest1:10
[laughs] Yeah. Little bit.
Armando Iannucci· Host1:12
Good. Well, uh, I... the phrase we're actually gonna look at this week is game on, not, uh, for sport reasons, but because increasingly, so much of how we live our life is, is via a series of ranks. The use of social media kind of compels us