Martin Sixsmith: From The Cold War to Putin, the highs and lows of Government and uncovering the scandal of the lost children of Ireland.

Martin Sixsmith is many things; he's an academic, an investigative journalist, a documentarian and he spent years as a foreign correspondent for the BBC working in Russia, Washington and Poland. He's an author of both fiction and non-fiction, a radio and television presenter and he was an adviser to the Labour Government. Of the 8 books he has written to date, probably his most well known is "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee" which was turned into a multi Oscar and BAFTA nominated film "Philomena" starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. In this conversation Martin talks about his experiences in Russia, The Cold War and Putin and how he came to write about The Lost Child of Philomena Lee. Fascinating, frank, informative and funny, I really enjoyed talking to Martin.