James O’Brien has been speaking boldly, honestly and incisively about the state of Britain – from our troubled political systems to the country’s growing social divisions – in his work as a radio presenter and author.

Join him as he speaks to Laura Bates about his new book How They Broke Britain, a look at a shady network of influence that has made the UK a country of strikes, shortages, and scandals. From think tanks to politicians and businessmen, O’Brien reveals how a select few have conspired – either by incompetence or by design – to bring Britain to its knees.

O'Brien is an award-winning writer and broadcaster whose daily current affairs programme is the most popular show on LBC. His first book, How To Be Right, won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Political Book by a nonpolitician.

Bates is a writer and activist and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. She is one of the Hay Festival Thinkers in Residence.