James O'Brien Daily

Heathrow Airport has submitted its “shovel-ready” plans for a third runway that’d allow 750 additional flights a day over London and, according to the government, generate 100,000 jobs. The Prime Minister loves the idea, whereas London Mayor Sadiq Khan is fighting tooth and nail against it. Who’s side are you on and why? And, the main internship scheme that draws university students to the civil service will now only be available for students from "lower socio-economic backgrounds", in efforts to get more of the working class into Whitehall. Do you agree with this? What will the benefits of this be?This episode was recorded on the 1st August. Catch James O’Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Britain’s biggest police force is set to more than double its use of live facial recognition. Many are worries about the ethical use of the technology, particularly considering its complete lack of regulation. When do you stop using tech that does good, in order to prevent it being used for something bad in the future?And, Brits are “cheating the system” to get hold of weight-loss jabs before their holidays, Wes Streeting has claimed. The Health Secretary says people are pretending to be overweight, thus making themselves eligible for Mounjaro and Wegovy, which hugely reduce feelings of hunger and cravings. James speaks to these people - and ponders whether they’re actually doing anything wrong.This episode was recorded on the 31st July. Catch James O’Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Sir Keir Starmer has announced that the UK will join the other 147 UN nations that recognise the sovereign state of Palestinian, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, amongst other conditions. Why has Starmer done this now and what is this likely to achieve?And, for the first time ever, No 10 is hosting a reception for social media influencers at Downing Street, in an attempt to reach voters on platforms beyond the traditional media. This is not James’ area of expertise - he wants to know what this is all about.This episode was recorded on the 30th July. Catch James O’Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

A year ago today, the nation was struck by the horrific Southport killings, in which three young girls were murdered. Today, Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of UK terrorism legislation, told LBC that there should be a total ban on social media for under 16s. He believes social media can radicalise young people and fuel such crimes. Do you agree?And, loss of community spaces like youth clubs, pubs and leisure centres created the “tinderbox conditions” for last summer's racist far-right riots, a new report has found. How significant do you think this loss has been to the collapse of community spirit, and in the vacuum, the growth of the far-right?This episode was recorded on the 29th July. Catch James O’Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

James analyses the current swathe of headlines such as “Deprivation and immigration straining social cohesion, says Rayner”, “Demonstrators clash at Epping hotel as protests spread nationwide” and “Two in five arrested for last summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse.” When the entire media and political class is portraying the UK as on the brink of catastrophe, how do we hold on to the truth?And, Greece and Turkey are battling major wildfires amid a severe heatwave. In Turkey, meteorologists recorded the country’s highest ever temperature on Saturday, 50.5C - several people have died. Why aren’t we more terrified of climate change, especially in comparison to issues such as immigration?This episode was recorded on the 28th July. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Under new laws beginning today, under-13s in the UK must be barred from social media. How will it work and are there aspects of online identity verification that politicians might not have considered? Joining James to discuss the new laws is Lisa Kenevan, whose son Isaac died aged just 13 in a tragedy that she believes was caused by social media exposure. Now she and the parents of three other children who died in similar circumstances are suing TikTok.And, Sir Keir Starmer is being urged to include speaking skills into the national curriculum. Himself never a man of few words, James asks what it’s like struggling with speaking, and what difference oracy lessons could make.This episode was recorded on the 25th July. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

The BMA has said NHS bosses will be putting patients at risk from tomorrow's resident doctors' strike. Only non-urgent care will be cancelled - a move that will spread senior doctors too thinly according to the union. Considering their 22% pay rise across the last 2 years, do you support the doctor’s strikes this time round? Also, new data shows a third of 20 to 34-year-old men in the UK still live at home, a number much higher than their female counterparts - why is this? Is this “failure to launch” even still considered a failure? And what’s it like as the parent and the young adult in this scenario?And, James speaks with Sönke Iwersen, award-winning journalist at Germany’s top business newspaper, Handelsblatt, and one of the authors of “The Tesla Files”. Based on leaked Tesla documents, the book details disturbing alleged problems with the company and its car’s auto-pilot feature, and what drives Elon Musk.  This episode was recorded on the 24th July. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Following two riots outside an asylum hotel in Epping last week, Sir Keir Starmer is demanding urgent action to avoid a repeat of last summer’s far-right violence. What should they do?Also, have you ever experienced brain fog? According to a new study, the Covid-19 pandemic may have aged our brains prematurely. Do you think this has happened to you?And, more than 100 NGOs warn that "mass starvation" is spreading across Gaza, accusing Israel of not allowing food into the strip. James speaks with Dr Joanne Perry, a doctor with Médecins Sans Frontières, based in Al Helou hospital in the north of Gaza, to find out more.This episode was recorded on the 23rd July. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Israel has launched another offensive in Gaza, targeting the main hub for humanitarian efforts in the strip, Deir al-Balah, amid warnings of Palestinian starvation. This latest assault comes just after Israel killed at least 85 Palestinians waiting for aid on Sunday, in what has become almost daily slaughter. Yesterday, a joint statement issued by the UK and 27 other nations condemned Israel for the "drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians". The tide in the global community has turned - but what have you learned from this conflict?This episode was recorded on the 22nd July. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Water regulator Ofwat will be scrapped and replaced with a new watchdog to “prevent the abuses of the past”, including an estimated £85 billion being extracted from the UK water industry, with next to no investment. Simple question here - what has happened to our water and why?Also, the Lionesses have decided to stop taking the knee to protest against racism before their Euro 2025 matches. This comes after England star Jess Carter received significant online racist abuse and a statement from teammate Lucy Bronze saying that taking the knee wasn’t working to tackle racism. What do you think of the Lionesses decision?And, James speaks with James Ball, Editor at the New World, who’s been covering the Jeffrey Epstein case since 2014 and explains how it could break Donald Trump.This episode was recorded on the 21st July. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.