James O'Brien on selling suits to John Major, being a 'not very good' journalist and the impossibility of impartiality

This week’s guest is the LBC radio host, James O’Brien. James grew up in Kidderminster in the 70s and 80s with his adoptive parents Joan and Jim O’Brien. He attended Ampleforth College, the famous Catholic public school in Yorkshire. He describes his school years as rebellious – but reflects that the ‘weird burning sense of injustice’ he felt was ‘pretty well placed’. Following in his father’s footsteps – James pursued a career in journalism – and got his foot in the door thanks to a chance encounter with John Major. Although he started out in print, he later segued into broadcast – starting his LBC show in 2004. In this episode he discusses with host Kelly-Anne Taylor the impossibility of impartiality, receiving hate on social media, imposter syndrome, his new book 'How They Broke Britain' and what he gets up to on Christmas Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Om Podcasten

We’ve all been there – sat in front of the television, flicking through channels, getting increasingly frustrated – there’s so much on, but nothing to watch. TV critics Caroline Frost and Shem Law have you covered. Each Friday, they serve up short, sharp television recommendations to mark your cards for the week ahead. They’ll tell you what to watch – and what to avoid. They watch it all, so you don’t have to.   No more asking: what’s on TV tonight? What to watch? Or, what should I watch? Instead, listen to Smart TV for your weekly round-up of TV programmes and film reviews. You’ll find out about the latest series dropping that week, what to binge and what television show will become the next watercooler moment.   Radio Times’ journalists Caroline Frost and Shem Law will cover all things terrestrial as well as what’s on the streaming sites – they’ll cover what’s broadcast on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky to NOW, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Netflix and Apple TV.   Whether you like Entertainment, Current Affairs, Documentaries, Dramas, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thrillers, Sports or Radio – they’ll have you covered. If you enjoy our weekly round-up of television reviews, do search for the View From My Sofa podcast which sees Kelly-Anne Taylor sit down with a celebrity guests to talk about their lives through the prism of TV.