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I started listening to James O’Brien on LBC radio a while ago. I’ve always been a fan, watching videos (that have gone viral) of him demolishing callers on issues where they’re clearly misinformed. That led me to listen to his full show every morning from Monday-Friday. I must admit I’ve taken a little break from listening as his near-continual demonization of Jeremy Corbyn is a little much. I agree with some of it, it’s not that, it’s just a bit repetitive.

Each chapter in this fairly short book discusses a subject such as immigration or feminism. To illustrate his arguments O’Brien intersperses each chapter with calls he’s had previously to his radio show. These were my favorite bits. I listened to this on audio which was great and these calls were rerecorded with a voice actor who put on various accents etc and really made them.

James’s overarching point is that people aren’t often asked to explain their position anymore. He contests that when they are they often crumble and reveal the truth of their arguments, that it’s just repetition of what someone else has said and not something they’ve actively thought about. What James wants most of all is to force these people to think. The biggest compliment he can receive, he says, is to change someone’s mind.

This is a great book to inform, especially when it comes to Brexit and I would strongly urge everyone (from the U.K. especially) to read this and take on the most central point: have the ability to defend your arguments.