To find James O'Brien hard going

[Alanis126]

I'm a regular LBC listener and tend to share most of his political views. But I find him increasingly unbearable. He is one of the most moralising holier-than-thou people I've ever heard. He seems to have this weird fixation with marriage and recently described his views as "slightly strong-arm" on the subject.. What the hell does that mean?? That he thinks he should be allowed to force unmarried couples or single people to marry? I just cannot bear him and I wondered if anyone else felt the same?

He doesn’t want to hear or understand why someone may hold a different opinion

He gives callers much more time to explain themselves and back up their arguments than most presenters. Ferrari, for instance, always interrupts and hectors people who aren't following his personal party line. It's not O'Brien's fault if people can't actually justify what they are saying.

Mmm yes like he wanted to listen to why women do not want men in women’s spaces

Did he fuck he just talked over caller and implied she was being ridiculous

As he usually does

He just happens to have left wing opinions - so for some it’s justified how he talks to callers

I’ve listened to him for many years and he doesn’t talk down to most callers. Of late, he does condensed to brexiters who come on the show and refuse to see or accept facts. It’s difficult to debate facts with someone who only has feelings and emotions. Frankly I think he is super patient, some of the people who call his show would push most people over the edge.

I agree, OP. I cannot stand the way he belittles people who do not share his point of view and actually laughs at them! I have had to turn the radio off recently because I am sure he is getting worse! He is far too self-opinionated.

“I agree, OP. I cannot stand the way he belittles people who do not share his point of view and actually laughs at them!”
I have never heard him laugh at anyone who can back up the point they rang in about. But maybe I haven’t listened enough.

He just happens to have left wing opinions - so for some it’s justified how he talks to callers

This sums it up perfectly. He enjoys the blood sport of attacking callers whose political views he doesn’t agree with. He kind of gets off on it. If you enjoy that too, JOB is the man for you.

I completely agree with you. I also agree with
his views, but I find he just talks over people. He's extremely patronising as well. When he was talking about how his child's godfather and certain other 'educated' (as he put it) people had voted Brexit and explained their reasons to him, I was wondering how those conversations had gone 😂 and if they were still speaking to him. He definitely isn't interested in a balanced debate or respecting different views. Basically if a caller doesn't share his view he's going to try to make them look as silly and uninformed as possible and god help them if they try to defend their point or argue back, as he really doesn't like that.

He also does a faux 'I'm not educated enough on x topic, please help me understand' and then proceeds to interrupt and speak over people who have more of an insight on the topic. He comes across as very self important and narcissistic.

I also wish he'd leave the religious line out of the debates as to many people God is about as believable as Boris Johnson's 'we're negotiating with the EU for a deal' bollocks.

Why would you ring a well known left leaning remainer on a talk radio station and make statements of “fact” you can’t back up? What do you expect to happen?

What do you think of the Posie clip, Bertrand Russell? Genuinely curious as you seem to be a fan, as I was, and that call was the one that really started to turn me off him.

He invites listeners to call in and give their opinion

They do

He doesn’t have to agree but he also doesn’t have to go on an ego boosting caller bashing tirade

Vanessa Feltz is fantastic at playing devils advocate and you will hear many views around an argument she may not be allowed to give her opinion but she will question callers and put other views forward you actually learn and begin to understand why people may hold such opinions

JOB comes across as someone (like many and quite a few on here) who truly believe that are morally superior because they are left wing in the political views

He will undermine a speaker he doesnt like by a, mumbling underneath them over some really petty point, and b , sidetracking them with spurious analogies that might illustrate something but derail the conversation .I suppose as it's LBC personal likes and bias is a given but I find his show has become the James O'Brien Opinion show .And I think his Catholic background is propelling him on a rightward path .

Why would you ring a well known left leaning remainer on a talk radio station and make statements of “fact” you can’t back up? What do you expect to happen?

I feel like JOB said this himself?! 🤣

When he says ‘I’m sorry you’ve fallen for it. I’m sorry you’ve fallen for the lies but you have to take that responsibility. I can’t help you’ 🤮 and the way he laughs like people are idiots and calls them ‘mate’. The saying is true about how some or the nastiest people are in church on a Sunday.

Oh I've found my people!

Cannot stand him and his stupid sound bites about contempt for the conmen and pity for the condemned or whatever wank he's trying to dress up as insight.

Hate the was he says 'alright, , have a nice day' and cuts them off in pitying tones and then graciously accepts fawning compliments from the next caller about the last one and talking sense etc.

What really put me off him was a conversation with a woman re Brexit (of course!) and she unfortunately gave an example of EU Regs which meant fish and chips couldn't be sold in newspaper any more! He was like a dog with a bone and would not stop repeating it and laughing in a pitying kind of way. He is awful.

Have to switch him off and I am a remainerr

I think 3 years later his mind is still blown that people actually voted for Brexit (and Trump for that matter), and that’s because despite thousands of conversations on the subject he has had no genuine interest or intellectual curiosity (or empathy) about why they voted that way. Leave voter = racist in James’ leafy London world.

In his own small way he has contributed to the sense that there are two sides pitted against each other in this country. Why can’t we just talk? Why should people have to have a long list of “statements of fact” to back up their points when they call a radio station? Why can’t they just call to discuss an idea?

What James misses (except when he’s talking to transwomen in his weird flirty “empathic” voice, in which case “feeling like a woman” requires absolutely no back-up statement of fact) is that people on both sides of the Brexit debate were largely motivated by feelings. I knew fuck-all about the EU 3 years ago but voted to Remain because I largely felt that things were generally ok. I didn’t understand the sense of lack of sovereignty or worries about immigration that prompted many people to vote Leave. Now I do, and I respect that. Something like the concept of sovereignty cannot necessarily be proved by fact, but that doesn’t make it unimportant or meaningless.

When you insist that everyone come fully prepared to every conversation with “statements of fact” you miss the nuance of what really motivates people. And that’s why James still thinks that if he steps out of his London bubble he’ll be surrounded by bigots and racists.

Thanks for this topic OP - I hadn’t realised how much I had to say on JOB until now!

I find him smug, condescending and unbearable to listen to. Even his tone when speaking to listeners is arrogant in the extreme. I just turn off now as soon as I hear his voice and listen to Radio X instead.

I actually quite like him! He doesn’t twist things, he asks idiots to back up their opinions (which they’ve clearly read from a post shared to their facebook feed) and gives plenty of time for callers to explain their points. It makes me laugh

He's a very knowledgeable guy, like a lot of people on the left. However, he has a team working with him live on the show and they just send him stuff to his monitor very quickly as a caller is speaking. The whole show is based on him putting down callers, with the occasional caller meeting his requirements for an agreeable chat (based on his outlook). He, like everyone, doesn't know the answer to everything but he makes it appear as though he does. It makes for great ratings and, coming from someone who has worked in commercial radio myself, is essential for keeping those Rajar points high and thus, greater advertising revenues. Which is what commercial radio relies on. I hope that helps.

Yes that’s a useful insight majorTTime. And I can quite see that the blood sport of a leftist Remainer champion tearing apart the opposition has major appeal to leftist Remainers. Which is weird because leftist Remainers always think they’re terribly open-minded, accepting and tolerant.

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think even Nigel Farage is a better listen these days. At least he treats his callers politely.

If you think it's only the left who "tear into" the opposition you don't have to look at all far on LBC to find examples of the opposite - notably Nick Ferrari. The difference is, however, that he doesn't do his homework in the way that O'Brien does, so he simply deals with people he disagrees with by never allowing them to finish what they're saying and shouting them down.

James can be a jerk but I have to say I saw him interview Jacob Reese Mogg recently and I can tell you all he squirmed stuttered like a trapped zombie against the far superior intellect of Moggsie. Seek it out folks.

I really like him. I switch on specifically for his show.

This is interesting - a blog in the Spectator about O'Brien and the Westminster child abuse manufactured scandal.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/09/james-obrien-and-the-vip-child-sex-abuse-lies/amp/