Feature interview: Scottish satirist Armando Iannucci

The UK has been swept up in a week of economic and political turmoil, with Prime Minister Liz Truss’s Conservative government coming under increasing pressure over its controversial tax cut plan. Financial markets are roiled, the British pound tanked, and the IMF issued a rare rebuke. Meanwhile in Italy, the electoral success of Giorgia Meloni marks a lurch to the far right that will see a party with roots in neo-fascism enter power for the first time since World War II. And in the US, the latest January 6 hearing had to be postponed due to the devastating arrival of Hurricane Ian. Political chaos often acts as inspiration for Armando Iannucci’s work. He’s beloved for his comedies, looking at the absurdity of politics in The Thick of It, Veep, and The Death of Stalin. His latest work, Avenue 5, is a sitcom about a tourist spaceship thrown off course. But as he explains to Christiane, his goal isn’t just to poke fun at those in power, but increasingly to try and shore up our fragile democratic norms.

Also on today's show: Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jodi Kantor; comedian Hasan Minhaj.

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