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Mad, Sad and Bad with Paloma Faith

James O’Brien: The Therapy Session That Changed My Life

Season 1, Ep. 4

From speaking to opinionated callers on his radio show, to taking down Nigel Farage live on air, James O’Brien has dealt with his fair share of mad, sad and bad. Me and my Mum are also huge fans of his, so I was super excited to invite him over for a chat.


In this episode, we delve deep into James’ early life; from being born to a young single mother and his subsequent adoption, to his experiences of corporal punishment at Catholic school. We discuss how these early experiences shaped him, and how therapy helped him to address some of the coping mechanisms and prejudices he had carried through childhood. He is open, vulnerable, deeply honest, and is the epitome positive masculinity.


We also discuss being our therapists’ favourite clients, and James takes the liberty of dishing out some parenting advice to me! This conversation was political, hilarious, and deeply refreshing!


#JAMESO'BRIEN #PALOMAFAITH #MADSADBAD

Find us on: Instagram / TikTok / YouTube

Credits:

Producer: Jemima Rathbone

Assistant Producer: Magda Cassidy

Edit Producer: Pippa Brown

Editor: Shane O'Byrne

Video: Jake Ji & Grisha Nikolsky

Video Editor: Joel Sommazzi & Josh Bennett

Original music: BUTCH PIXY

Social Media: Laura Coughlan

Marketing: Eleanore Bamber

Exec Producer: Jemima Rathbone

Exec Producers for Idle Industries: Dave Granger & Will Macdonald

Senior Exec Producer: Holly Newson

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