James O'Brien

James O'Brien is a British broadcaster, journalist, and author best known as the presenter of his weekday show on LBC Radio, where his incisive, forensic style of questioning callers has made him one of the most distinctive and polarising voices in British media. His books extend his broadcasting work into thoughtful explorations of modern life, politics, and how people are manipulated. Born in 1972, O'Brien studied English at the London School of Economics. He worked as a journalist for the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror before moving into broadcasting. He joined LBC in 2004 and has since become the station's flagship presenter, known for his ability to dismantle callers' arguments with patience, logic, and occasionally devastating precision. How Not To Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind (2020) was his first book, exploring how people come to believe things that are demonstrably untrue and how they can learn to question their own assumptions. How To Be Right... in a World Gone Wrong (2018) collected and expanded on some of his most memorable on-air exchanges. Both books combine personal reflection with broader analysis of how misinformation, tribalism, and emotional reasoning shape public debate. O'Brien has been a prominent critic of Brexit, the tabloid press, and political populism, positions that have earned him both devoted listeners and vocal detractors. His broadcasting style — measured, persistent, and genuinely curious about why people believe what they believe — translates well to his writing. The audiobook editions of O'Brien's books are particularly effective, read by the author himself with the conversational energy and directness that characterise his broadcasting. His books and audiobooks are essential for anyone interested in how we form our beliefs, why we resist changing them, and how to think more clearly about the issues that matter.