Full Disclosure with James O'Brien

From suburban England to the front lines of the punk revolution and the stadium stages of MTV era rock, Billy Idol has spent a lifetime reinventing what rebellion looks like.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the singer to trace an extraordinary life that began in a childhood split between England and the United States, moving between places and possibilities before music gave him a sense of direction. Idol reflects on growing up in a close knit family, the influence of his parents, and the early restlessness that would eventually pull him towards London at the moment punk was beginning to erupt.
They discuss the raw energy of the mid seventies scene and the formation of Generation X, when a group of young musicians with little formal training suddenly found themselves at the centre of a cultural explosion. Idol recalls the excitement of those early days, when punk felt less like a genre and more like a declaration that a new generation had something to say.
From there the conversation moves to New York, reinvention and the birth of the unmistakable Billy Idol persona that would come to dominate the early years of MTV. He reflects on fame, excess and survival, the uneasy balance between punk credibility and global success, and how rock and roll changed as the movement he came from entered the mainstream.
Frank, reflective and full of energy, this is a conversation about rebellion, reinvention and the enduring power of rock and roll.
Billy Idol Should Be Dead documentary, coming to Sky Arts on 26th March
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This episode includes discussion of sensitive topics, including sexual assault and violence, that some listeners may find distressing. Please take care while listening, and feel free to pause or step away if you need to.
At fifteen, Naz Shah was forced into a marriage thousands of miles from home. Years earlier, she had been sent from Bradford to rural Pakistan, pulled out of school and dropped into a life that felt a world away from the one she had known.
But the road that would eventually lead her to Westminster begins much earlier. It starts in a Bradford childhood shaped by poverty, upheaval and a mother trying desperately to hold her family together after being abandoned and left dangerously vulnerable.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with Shah to explore the experiences that shaped her life. She recalls growing up amid instability, belongings packed into black bin liners, and the powerful expectations around honour and reputation that governed the choices available to women and girls.
As the conversation unfolds, Naz reflects on the moment her childhood ended and the shock that followed her return to Britain. A family crisis would eventually lead to her mother being imprisoned for killing the man who had controlled and abused her for years, a truth that emerged only gradually and changed the course of Naz’s life.
This is a conversation about survival, silence and the weight of honour. How does a girl who left school at twelve find her way to Parliament? And what happens when the story behind a family tragedy finally comes into the light?
Find out more about Honoured by Naz Shah here
Additional support:
If you've been affected by anything you've heard in this episode, please take a moment to read the resources listed: Rape Crisis, Women's Aid, Victim Support
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Gary Lineker took questions from the live Full Disclosure audience and nothing was off the table. He discusses the scrutiny that follows every World Cup, including the tournament in the United States, and considers whether sports broadcasters should speak out more in politically volatile times.
He also reflects on his own social media controversies, football’s growing tribalism, and whether today’s game might have suited him better than the heavy pitches and harder tackles of his playing days.
Candid, thoughtful and often wry, this is the unfiltered extra from a memorable live show.

Gary Lineker has scored in World Cups, fronted the nation’s biggest football programme, and weathered a political firestorm that nearly ended it all. But at the height of his success, turning to a teammate after scoring four for England, his reaction was disbelief: “Why am I so f**ing lucky?”
In this live edition of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien charts the full arc of Lineker’s extraordinary career. From a market trader’s son in Leicester to Golden Boot winner and the face of Match of the Day, Gary reflects on self doubt, ambition, and the surreal reality of becoming a national institution.
He opens up about the brutal culture of tabloid scrutiny, the shock of discovering he had been followed by investigators, and the emotional weekend when the BBC stood him down- only for colleagues to walk out in solidarity. He explains why he refused to apologise when he believed he was right, the mistake that ultimately cost him his role, and why speaking out became unavoidable.
Funny, disarmingly honest, and unexpectedly vulnerable, this is Gary Lineker as you have never quite heard him before- on luck, loyalty, outrage, and starting again.
This episode was recorded at The Royal Geographical Society to raise money for charity Make Some Noise. You can find more information about the charity here
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From the bomb sites of post war South London to the stages of the Comedy Store and the studios of Radio 4, Arthur Smith’s life has been driven less by ambition than by curiosity. The son of a Second World War prisoner of war turned police officer, and a grammar school girl who filled the house with books and poetry, Arthur grew up in a home where humour and humanity went hand in hand.
In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O’Brien sits down with the comedian to trace a journey that begins in Bermondsey and winds its way through the birth of alternative comedy, and the strange alchemy that turned a literature graduate into one of Britain’s most distinctive comic voices. Arthur reflects on discovering the thrill of laughter as a child playing Captain Hook, on being elected head boy, and on why poetry and stand up share more in common than most people realise.
They revisit the early days of the Comedy Store, the emergence of a new kind of comedy in the 1980s, and the moment television fame arrived via Grumpy Old Men. Arthur speaks candidly about the seductions of drink, the shock of acute pancreatitis, and how a brush with mortality reshaped his relationship with success. For Arthur, comedy has never been about domination or design, but about delight: finding the precise word, the perfect pause, the unexpected turn.
Find out more about Arthur Smith’s upcoming gigs here
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