How They Broke Britain

Product Information

Bland, Archie (24 March 2015). "LBC's James O'Brien: 'You have to be a bit more sledgehammer than scalpel on TV' ". theguardian.com . Retrieved 26 March 2015.

O'Brien first appeared on LBC during 2002 as a holiday cover presenter. His own weekly programme began in January 2003 and he became a full-time presenter in 2004. [2] Regular features of his show include the "Mystery Hour," in which listeners phone in with various things that puzzle them and other callers attempt to give a solution. [9] The text is interspersed with conversations from his radio show - some to illustrate how he used to bulldoze people with his opinion, some showing how he now listens, others where changed his mind on a subject just by listening to another person's experience. He also points out that the best way to change someone else's opinion is not to talk over them, to patronise them or to verbally them; but to get them to question their own viewpoint.In 2015, O'Brien presented a chat show for ITV called O'Brien, which aired for ten episodes. [36] Podcast [ edit ]

How James O'Brien became the conscience of liberal Britain". www.newstatesman.com. 3 February 2017 . Retrieved 2 August 2018. Spanner, Huw (18 January 2019). "Interview with James O'Brien: 'When I'm wrong, I admit it. And that makes me right' ". Church Times . Retrieved 9 September 2019.The start of the book got me interested then it wandered off to his troubled mind and became a little tedious. The book works on the mistakes of the Conservative government and there are some good points to debate here but it’s all a little one way and predictable. I was disappointed. O'Brien distinguishes between "winning" an argument and having a more honest, productive exchange, and he lays out his own shortcomings over the years as an LBC broadcaster to provide evidence and context. The book has eight chapters, each of which dives into a singular issue or issues and shows transcripts of O'Brien fumbling the ball when talking to people on his program about issues he says he is "well meaning but ill informed" about. Probably I was most interested in the chapters on attitudes concerning traditional marriage because I too am susceptible to some of society's prejudices about wedded vs. nonwedded couples (though I didn't realize it until I read the book), and O'Brien's admission of his own hypocrisy concerning meat eating is one I share as well. (Like him, my diet is a "work in progress.") The one issue, I think, he is careful to point out he's not completely sold upon is transgender rights, and his admission that he holds two contradictory points of view on the subject, and therefore must be wrong somehow (he isn't sure how yet) is fascinating to look at. (It's summarized a bit in the midst of this exchange he had with Piers Morgan last October, when the book came out.) Lynskey, Dorian (3 February 2017). "How James O'Brien became the conscience of liberal Britain". New Statesman . Retrieved 3 February 2017.

He tends to write like some kind of prophet of doom and is blinkered to the history he doesn’t want to discuss if it means he is to admit his mistakes in judgement. Notably the ‘Carl Beech’ fiasco among many. Every day, James O’Brien listens to people blaming hard-working immigrants for stealing their jobs while scrounging benefits, and pointing their fingers at the EU and feminists for destroying Britain. But what makes James’s daily LBC show such essential listening – and has made James a standout social media star – is the incisive way he punctures their assumptions and dismantles their arguments live on air, every single morning. I binged this book in about a day, and it's definitely one of my new favorite books. I love reading books about the flaws in my thinking, and understanding the psychology behind this has helped save my life. I'm a recovering drug addict, and my big "Aha!" moment was when I realized that I wasn't the smartest person on earth and that I might just be wrong about the way I was living. This is why I love this book from James O'Brien. Most of the books like this (like the one I'm currently writing) explain the psychology behind different biases and heuristics, but this book caught me by surprise because it's about James reviewing how he was wrong about different topics like racism, mental health, obesity and much more.Dominic Cummings is also present and incorrect, while Liz Truss is the sole woman to make the grade, though Nadine Dorries and Suella Braverman receive honourable mentions. Together, he says, their accomplishments are monumental: Brexit, financial crises, the mishandling of Covid, blatant xenophobia. As a keen enjoyer of James O’Brien’s previous book ‘How To Be Right’, it was unlikely that outside of a shift in personality for either of us, I would find this book anything short of interesting. The fact that it challenged me and the way I have gone about certain interactions in my professional and personal life was a troublesome, but ultimately excellent bonus. It all starts with brutal austerity to save the Banks. I always remember a respected colleague telling me that you should never only cut costs, as you can’t shrink your way to greatness. I listen to James O’Brien’s political radio show on LBC almost every weekday and he is, in my opinion, one of the most sensible, reasonable and articulate people with a media platform in the UK today. I have a lot of respect for him and would recommend anyone to listen to his show.