The Eddie Mair Interview

John Sipher spent 28 years with the US National Clandestine Service. Mr Sipher spoke to Eddie Mair about his life undercover, why he's kept a brick from Osama Bin Laden's house, torture, and the Sergei Skripal poisoning.

Artificial intelligence is already a big part of our lives, whether or not we are aware of it, and it will only become more significant. But could it ever help us with our most tender human emotions, like when we are grieving? Eugenia Kuyda is a tech entrepreneur and when her friend Roman Mazurenko died suddenly, Eugenia used machine conversation to bring him back to life. She told Eddie Mair about the app she created to do this called Replika, which describes itself as an artificial intelligence friend that's always there for you. (Photo: Roman Mazurenko and Eugenia Kuyda Credit:Eugenia Kuyda) .

On New Year's Eve four young men were stabbed to death in separate incidents around London. It brought the total number of fatal knife attacks in the Capital to 80 in 2017. Many of these incidents are due to gang rivalries. Jermaine Lawlor was a member of a gang in East London. He was first arrested at the age of 11, but tells Eddie Mair that seeing "friends being murdered, made me think about my life". Now 26, he's a youth worker and has set up a service to help those that remind him of his younger self. (Photo:Jermaine Lawlor Credit: Jermaine Lawlor)

What would you like to happen if you become very ill or severely incapacitated? What can you do now to make sure your wishes, whatever they are will be respected should that time come? Professor Jenny Kitzinger is from the Cardiff-York Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre which campaigns on behalf of incapacitated patients to have their last wishes respected. Jenny's sister Polly had a car crash in 2009 which has left her in a permanent vegetative state. Her family knew she would not want life-prolonging treatment but as Jenny told Eddie Mair, "without an advance decision (document) we found that those views were not respected". (Photo: Professor Jenny Kitzinger, Cardiff-York Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre Credit: J Kitzinger)

Sebastian Balfour, a historian and Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Spanish Studies at the London School of Economics, was PM’s trusted guide to events in Catalonia before, during and after the disputed independence referendum. In an extended interview, Professor Balfour talks to Eddie Mair not about his day job, but about his fascinating life including being rescued as a little boy from a Japanese internment camp and living in America in the1960's where he bought and sold antique cars. (Photo: Historian Sebastian Balfour Credit: Sebastian Balfour)

Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is an increasingly popular destination for international sun-worshippers and shoppers. Recently when Dubai has been in the news, it has not been for bargains or top tanning tips. This week a young British expat, Asa Hutchinson, was said to be facing jail in Dubai after witnessing a fight. There were more headlines about Jamie Harron, a 27-year-old Scot who was sentenced to three months in jail in Dubai for touching a man's hip. After spending three and a half months awaiting the outcome of the case, he was exonerated and able to return home. But what is it like to be caught up in the criminal justice system in Dubai? David Haigh is someone who knows. He is a lawyer and was a business executive. He says he is an innocent man who was wrongly imprisoned. He was arrested at the airport in Dubai on a trip to visit a former employer, GFH, about further work. But GFH - an investment bank based in Bahrain - had accused him of stealing money from them. And they strongly deny that the basis of his subsequent conviction was false. David Haigh told PM about his arrival in Dubai. (Photo: David Haigh Credit: David Haigh)

The treatment of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has led to worldwide condemnation, with the US threatening sanctions. Bangladesh, which has taken in hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who’ve fled their homeland, has now signed a deal to return them to Myanmar. Nijam Uddin Mohammed is a Rohingya Muslim. He spent 18 years in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, but now lives in Bradford. He tells Eddie Mair about fleeing Myanmar when he was a boy; and about his return to visit the camps he used to live in. (Photo courtesy of Nijam Uddin Mohammed)

The magazine Gay Times has sacked its new editor over comments he made on social media in the past. Josh Rivers was appointed last month. The first non white editor in Gay Times history. But an investigation by Buzzfeed News found several tweets posted by Josh Rivers between 2010 and 2015 which it said would shock many people. Although he tweeted a statement which described his messages as "horrible", "hateful" and "abhorrent" and expressed sorrow at causing any offence, the Gay Times sacked him. He told Eddie Mair that the texts came from a place of "deep self-loathing that I've worked hard to overcome". He also said "this isn't about me it's about, beautiful, sensitive, valuable people who have been hurt by this and they need to heal - if I can help them do that, I'd love to but until then they have to do what they have to do to get through this." (Photo: Josh Rivers Credit: Gay Times)

As we approach Armistice Day, followed by Remembrance Sunday, we talk to an American army veteran who is the host of a new podcast "Battle Scars", in which he interviews people who have been in war zones. Born in Vietnam, Thom Tran moved to the US as an infant. He enlisted in the United States Army at 18 years old, before he had finished high school. He spent eight years in the army including 12 months in Iraq. These days he is a musician, and a stand-up comic, but in his new podcast he uses his own history to help other former soldiers talk openly about their experiences on the front line. Based in Los Angeles, he spoke to Eddie Mair after his early morning trip the gym. (Photo: Thom Tran on stage Credit: Thom Tran)

Since 2008 Alan Power, head gardener at Stourhead in Wiltshire, has joined Radio 4's PM programme to tell us about the autumnal view. This year, there was something extra to talk about. (Photo: Stourhead. Credit: PA)

Steve Hewlett chronicled his experience with oesophageal cancer weekly on PM in 2016. Steve believed that by using his journalistic skills to investigate and understand his own cancer, he would be doing some good for himself and perhaps for people listening to PM. He was right on both counts. Lisa Griffith wrote to the programme about her husband Paul. After hearing about the symptoms on PM, Paul went to the doctor and was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. (Photo: Paul Griffith. Credit: Lisa Griffith)

The film producer Harvey Weinstein has been accused of a string of sexual assaults after the New York Times reported previously undisclosed allegations against him stretching over nearly three decades. He has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex. Alison Owen is a film producer who has worked on a number of films with Mr Weinstein. Her credits as a producer include Elizabeth, Shaun of the Dead and Tulip Fever. She told Eddie Mair about her experiences of Harvey Weinstein. (Photo: Harvey Weinstein. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Most people would probably not want to see what the firefighters who attended Grenfell Tower fire saw, or do what they did. All of the firefighters who were there received counselling after their shift had finished. Some are still having treatment, including the woman who is the London Fire Brigade Commissioner, Dany Cotton. Clifford Thompson is a journalist at the BBC but his boyhood dream was to be a firefighter: a dream he realised when he was stationed in East London at the age of 18. In this interview he reflects on his life as a firefighter, some of the big disasters he attended and how the support now offered to firefighters in dealing with traumatic events has changed. (Photo: Clifford Thompson Credit: Clifford Thompson)

Most people would probably not want to see what the firefighters who attended Grenfell Tower fire saw, or do what they did. All of the firefighters who were there received counselling after their shift had finished. Some are still having treatment, including the woman who is the London Fire Brigade Commissioner, Dany Cotton. Clifford Thompson is a journalist at the BBC but his boyhood dream was to be a firefighter: a dream he realised when he was stationed in East London at the age of 18. In this interview he reflects on his life as a firefighter, some of the big disasters he attended and how the support now offered to firefighters in dealing with traumatic events has changed. (Photo: Clifford Thompson Credit: Clifford Thompson)

Dame Louise Casey was honoured for her work in government helping families and vulnerable people. She has worked as an adviser on social policy to four prime ministers over 18 years. In her first interview since stepping down in April, Dame Louise reflected on 18 years as a government adviser. "We are fraying and we are fragile," she told Carolyn Quinn. "People are literally one chess move away from either falling into abject poverty...or being able to make it for themselves." The government's implementation of the Universal Credit welfare plan "makes my hair stand on end", she said. (Image: Dame Louise Casey. Credit: UK government)

What does it mean to be asexual? Eddie Mair talks to a man about his story of discovering his asexuality, coming out to family and friends, and negotiating relationships. This podcast contains sexually explicit material. (Photo: Ace of Hearts on top of playing cards Credit: Getty Images)

For a handful of people in the world, remembering things is not a problem. They have a condition called HSAM or Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, which means they can remember everything that has happened to them, often in great detail. Very little is known about why some people have it, but Rebecca Sharrock from Australia is one of those helping researchers learn more about her condition. (Photo: An illustration of the brain. Credit: Getty Images)

Abortion in the United States continues to spark fierce debate and cause division, ever since the Supreme Court made it legal in 1973 following the Roe v Wade case. Individual states still have a lot of power to influence the availability of abortions and in almost every state there are campaigns and protests for and against. In our two-part podcast we hear from people on either side of the debate. For part one we heard from Dr Willie Parker, who provides abortion services in Georgia and Alabama. In part two Eddie speaks to Esther Ripplinger, who campaigns against abortions in her home state of Washington, not least because of her own experience of having one. (Photo: Esther Ripplinger. Credit: Esther Ripplinger)

Abortion in the United States continues to spark fierce debate and cause division, ever since the Supreme Court made it legal in 1973 following the Roe v Wade case. Individual states still have a lot of power to influence the availability of abortions and in almost every state there are campaigns and protests for and against. In our two-part podcast we hear from people on either side of the debate. For part one we speak to Dr Willie Parker, who was raised in a fundamentalist Christian family in Alabama. He now exclusively provides abortion services to women in his home state and neighbouring Georgia, both of which have more restrictive laws on abortion. (Photo: Dr Willie Parker. Credit: Getty Images)

For 16 years, David Drew and Neil Carmichael have campaigned against each other to be MP for Stroud. The constituency in Gloucestershire is known as a bell-weather because it often goes the same way as the national result. In 1997 David won for Labour, and Tony Blair moved into No.10. The next general election in 2001 saw Neil enter the race but David held on, as did the Labour government. The same happened in 2005. Then in 2010 Neil beat David and the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Lib Dems. Neil's second success in 2015 was mirrored by the Conservatives, but in 2017 David Drew retook the parliamentary seat. Eddie Mair speaks to the pair about what it is like going up against the same person for so many years. (Photo: David Drew (l) and Neil Carmichael (r). Credit: BBC)