03/12/2012 James O'Brien Show - Knife crime, Israel, Corporation Tax

Credit: BBC

Click here to download the podcast (subscription required)

Hour 1

• After it was announced that Chris Gayling will reveal that people wielding knives in public will go to prison, James takes calls from Londoner to get their reactions.

Hour 2

• James re-visits the Israeli-Palestine debacle again after reports that Binyamin Netanyahu plans  mass building on illegally occupied territories just a week after a peace agreement.  James wants to know what you think Netanyahu is playing at.

Hour 3

• More Israel/Palestine calls
• After Margaret Hodge's call to investigate the tax arrangements of multinationals like , Starbuck, E-bay, Amazon and the like, James wants to know where the popular refrain that "if we ask them to pay tax, they'll move abroad" comes from.

Mystery Hour Podcast 22/11/2012

Here's today's Mystery Hour Podcast


Questions are under Hour 3 of today's show.

• Click here to listen to previous podcasts.
• Click here to read the archive

22/11/2012 James O'Brien Show - Gaza Ceasefire, Babies and Dogs, Mystery Hour

Click here to download the podcast (subscription required)

Hour 1

• Following the Gaza ceasefire agreement, James asks: who won and what was won?

Hour 2

• Following the death of a baby after getting attacked by the family dog, James wonders why anyone would take the chance of keeping a dog around your newborn baby.
• Scary stuff. All I can say is Dr Freud would have had fun with some of the callers.

Hour 3 - Mystery Hour

Free audio podcast of this hour is available here

• If stars die, how come astronomical studies appear to be the same?
• Is there a restriction on the height of basket ball players?
• Why do we refer to the mince meat pie thus when there's no meat involved?
• Why do we teach kids times tables up 12?
• What would have to happen for us to see things around us in slow motion?
• Can the internet ever be turned off?
• Can birds fly backwards?
• Can an animal procreate with an from a different species?
• Can a hair that's fallen off a dog grow on a human body?  Duh!
• Today being Thanksgiving in the US, what happens to the two turkeys that President Obama will pardon?

19/11/2012 James O'Brien Show - Mansion Tax, Young Drivers, The Middle East

Click here to download the podcast (subscription required)

Hour 1

How can anyone object to a tax on property worth over £1m during a time of austerity? Call: @mrjamesob on: 0845 60 60 973
— LBC 97.3 (@lbc973) November 19, 2012

• As usual, The Telegraph readers lined up with their reasons why they think this is unfair to them and had their arguments calmly and intelligently decimated by our bearded hero.
• But some useful contributions too, especially the last caller John who encouraged us all to "be greedy but not too greedy".

Hour 2

• James discusses the proposed restrictions on young drivers.

Hour 3

• James discusses the Middle East (again) but this time contrasts it with the Northern Ireland.

I wanted to link to the Matthew Parris' Times column in which he articulates his frustration and boredom with the Middle East.  James quotes it often and has said in that he cut it out and kept it.  I can't link to it as it's behind the paywall - and I'm not giving that company any of my money - but when Mr Parris was on Question Time, he pretty much summed it up.