Almost one million young people in the UK are currently not in employment, education or training (NEET). To help tackle this, the government has announced 350,000 new training or workplace opportunities will be offered to young people on universal credit - but that those who don’t engage could have their benefits cut. 

Why are you or the young person in your life in the NEET category? And, what would make a difference?

This episode was recorded on the 8th of December. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Nigel Farage has accused the BBC of double standards after he was asked about numerous claims he used extreme racist and antisemitic language as a teenager, which he denied.

Today, James is joined by one of the many people who've made such claims, Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish former classmate of Nigel Farage's, who told the BBC that Farage had repeatedly said to him "Hitler was right" and "gas them". 

This episode was recorded on the 5th of December. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Wes Streeting will be launching an independent review that’ll investigate whether mental health, ADHD and autism are being over-diagnosed in England - James explores the distinct possibility that it isn’t.

Also, facial recognition technology could be used more often by UK police forces, according to the Home Office. Could this be the “end of privacy as we know it”, as privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch claims?

And, James speaks with Washington Correspondent Simon Marks for the latest Donald Trump-related news, including the President stating that he doesn’t want any Somalian people in the country and that Somalia “stinks”.

This episode was recorded on the 4th of December. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

The UK media is beginning to acknowledge Brexit as the unmitigated failure that it is, partly in thanks to damning findings like the National Bureau of Economic Research’s, that concluded Brexit has reduced UK GDP by 6-8%. This is far more than most previous estimates. The question is finally beginning to be asked… should Labour reverse Brexit?

And, so-called "miracle" weight-loss jabs are currently only available to 1 in 10 people who need them worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. For those of you that do have access, what happens when you stop taking them?

This episode was recorded on the 3rd of December. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Justice Secretary David Lammy has announced the creation of new “swift courts” which will see a judge decide verdicts in thousands of cases where the right to a jury trial will be removed.…  What does this actually mean and what are we so afraid of losing?

Resident doctors have announced a fresh round of strikes with a five-day walkout from the 17th December. Considering their recent wage increase, is this a strike too far? Or do we not know the full picture?

And the UK’s attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish government ministers, Richard Herner has urged Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who claim the Reform UK leader racially abused them while at school… So why is there not more scrutiny

This episode was recorded on the 2nd of December. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is facing accusations she misled voters and ministers by not revealing upsides in the OBR’s (Office for Budget Responsibility) forecasts for the economy. Starmer and Reeves both defend the Budget and deny that the Chancellor misled anyone. James gets into the nitty gritty and asks what we’re supposed to be angry about here?

And, AI is set to replace 3.4m jobs in the next decade, a major educational research organisation has warned. Are we totally ignoring the reality of this situation? Has AI already taken your job? What hope do our kids have?

This episode was recorded on the 1st of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Net migration to the UK fell by two-thirds in the year ending June 2025 compared with the previous 12 months, according to ONS figures. This has coincided with rising numbers of young people leaving the UK because of its economic and political landscape. Are you leaving the UK? If so, why? And, how can we persuade young people to hang around?

This episode was recorded on the 28th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Yesterday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her 2025 Budget. Much of the media is in uproar at tax rises, especially the lifting of the two-child benefit cap - but what measures should we actually be angry about?

And, James asks his listeners what their experiences of Universal Credit are, as well as what it’s like being labeled as a scrounger by much of the right-wing media and political class?

This episode was recorded on the 27th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled the long-anticipated budget - but not before the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) leaked it! James was joined by fellow LBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty and Politics Editor Natasha Clark to discuss both the fallout from the leak and the budget itself!

Also, Justice Secretary David Lammy is proposing to massively restrict the age old to a jury by trial by only guaranteeing it for defendants facing the most serious of crimes… is this right?

This episode was recorded on the 26th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.

Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy are set to escape Labour’s “mansion tax” after adjustments from the Treasury - the tax will now only apply to houses worth over £2m. Is a mansion tax the right move for the Chancellor?

And, a new study has found that the majority of ethnic minority adults (55%) believe those putting up St George’s crosses as part of the “Operation Raise the Colours” campaign are doing so to express racist and/or anti-migrant sentiment. Has this campaign changed the way you feel about the flag?

This episode was recorded on the 25th of November. Catch James O'Brien weekdays from 10am on LBC.