Today, Kathy speaks to Conor O’Clery, the former Irish Times foreign correspondent, and his wife, Zhanna, who met in Moscow in the heady days of glasnost and perestroika. Conor has written about his postings to Moscow and the U.S. in articles for this paper and in his books, but it is Zhanna who is the subject of his latest book, The Shoemaker and his Daughter. It is a memoir about Zhanna’s incredible family, set to the backdrop of 80 years of Russian history, from Stalin to Putin. She and Conor speak to Kathy about the book, about how they met and married, and the shock of moving from the USSR to the west when Conor was posted to Washington for the Irish Times. Conor also gives his take on the current situation in Russia and why he thinks we have a right to be nervous about it.

Plus: Brexit - Róisín is feeling a bit sorry for Theresa May, but Kathy reckons the British PM's situation is all her own doing.