Unfiltered with James O'Brien

JOE

Revealing and candid one-hour conversations with a different special guest every week, featuring fascinating people from the worlds of sport, politics, entertainment, activism and the media.

  • 57 minutes 55 seconds
    Michael Cheika

    My guest today is one of the most recognisable rugby coaches in the world. 


    A Rugby Union player turned coach, and only man to have won the major domestic competition in each hemisphere, he currently coaches the English Premiership’s Leicester Tigers.


    Five years later, in an emotional and personal decision, he code-switched to Rugby League to coach the team of his parents’ home-nation, Lebanon. 


    A decision which led him to be dubbed “the busiest man in rugby” as he simultaneously coached Lebanon’s League team and Argentina’s Union team. 


    My guest today is Michael Cheika. 




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    2 November 2024, 4:20 am
  • 55 minutes 9 seconds
    Carol Vorderman

    My guest today likes to describe herself as “just an old bird with an iPhone”. 


    But there’s no need to be so humble. 


    From Countdown to drawing the ire of members of the Conservative government, she’s always trodden her own path.


    Her new book, Now What? On a Mission to Fix a Broken Britain, details this journey into the political. 


    My guest today is Carol Vorderman. 



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    12 September 2024, 3:20 am
  • 56 minutes 2 seconds
    Max Fosh

    To call him, simply, an ‘internet prankster/comedian’ would be accurate, but perhaps a disservice. 


    He ran for London Mayor, competed in Mr Universe with no training, and became the richest man in the world - for seven minutes. 


    An exemplar of the changing face of fame in modern Britain, he’s now going on his first international tour, Loophole. 


    Our guest today is Max Fosh. 




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    22 August 2024, 3:20 am
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    AJ Tracey

    You can’t tell the story of UK Rap without mentioning Dizzy Rascal, Wiley, Stormzy and my guest today. 


    Born and raised in a street that would provide the name of his debut record’s smash hit, Ladbroke Grove, he’d go on to achieve five platinum singles and 2 billion Spotify plays. 


    And, he did it all as an independent artist in an industry monopolised by major labels. 


    My guest today is the microphone champ, AJ Tracey. 




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    17 May 2024, 3:20 am
  • 1 hour 21 minutes
    Frank Lampard

    As a footballer, his record speaks for itself. 


    But, his career as player-turned-manager is a knot of competing narratives. A Romford-boy-done-good, a manager dealt a string of poor cards, or a player propelled by Premier League plutocracy.


    As always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. 


    My guest today is Frank Lampard.



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    11 March 2024, 11:55 am
  • 1 hour 33 seconds
    Kabaka Pyramid

    From his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, to the stage of BoomTown, UK, my guest today is an international, billboard top ten charting musician, known for his combination of the sounds of Reggae and dancehall with the lyricism of Hip hop. 


    In February this year, his third album The Kalling won him his first Grammy, beating out fellow nominees Sean Paul and Shaggy for Best Reggae Album. 


    Described as part of the Reggae Revival, he’s collaborated with the biggest names in the genre, from Damien Marley to Peter Tosh. 


    With singles entitled “Never Gonna Be a Slave”, “Stand Up”, and “No Capitalist”, his music is often political, and always resonant. 


    My guest today is Kabaka Pyramid.




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    21 December 2023, 4:20 am
  • 41 minutes 55 seconds
    Caroline Lucas

    My guest today is the Green Party’s highest-profile member, serving both as a member of the European Parliament and then, in 2010, as the Greens’ first - and only - MP. 


    A dedicated activist, as well as politician, her achievements include being the three time winner of Politician of The Year at The Observer’s Ethical Awards; championing animal, worker, LGBTQ+, and women’s rights - as well as a couple of arrests. 


    But, in June this year, she announced that she would not be seeking re-election to the House of Commons. 


    My guest today is Dr Caroline Lucas. 




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    14 December 2023, 2:18 pm
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    Tim Peake

    My guest today was, by his own admission, an unexceptional student from an unexceptional suburb. 


    But, at age 43, he’d achieve the extraordinary - becoming the first Briton to visit the International Space Station. 


    Last month, it was reported that my guest was coming out of retirement to lead the UK’s first astronaut mission. 


    It follows the release of his new book, Space: The Human Story, which traces the lives of the

    men and women who left the earth’s atmosphere before him, forging a path that made his own spacewalk possible. 


    My guest is Tim Peake. 




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    7 December 2023, 10:51 am
  • 49 minutes 57 seconds
    Roman Kemp

    It was at Capital FM - on the show he's helmed for seven years - that my guest met his best friend and producer Joe Lyons, who tragically took his own life in 2020. 


    Since then, my guest’s mental health campaigning has seen him open up about his own experience with depression.


    In this interview, he opens up about how antidepressants killed his sex drive, how role-playing helped him grieve, and why he believes MPs don't care about mental health.


    His recently released documentary, The Fight for Young Lives, is his second exploring mental health and is available on iPlayer now.


    My guest today is Roman Kemp. 




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    23 November 2023, 4:20 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    Teo van den Broeke

    My guest today has had his finger on the pulse of British men’s fashion for over a decade. 


    From the suburbs of Fetcham to the front row of London Fashion Week, he’s served as the Style Director for both British GQ and Esquire


    Interviewing designers, reviewing catwalk shows, and rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of fashion is all in a day’s work. 


    With a launch party hosted by Gucci, his new book, The Closet, is a coming of age story told through twelve items of clothing that have shaped - and draped - his life. In doing so, he shares snapshots of his coming out journey, his eccentric family, and his fraught relationship with his father and alcohol. 


    My guest today is Teo van den Broeke. 


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    16 November 2023, 4:20 am
  • 51 minutes 32 seconds
    Carlo Rovelli

    My guest today takes us on a journey to where time and space end, the heart of a black hole.


    He's been described as a rockstar of theoretical physics, who’s credited LSD with sparking his interest in the subject. 


    And, his work on the quantum loop theory of gravity has seen him pick up where Einstein left off, featuring in his new book, White Holes.


    My guest today is Carlo Rovelli. 



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    9 November 2023, 4:20 am
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