You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.

I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.

I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,

relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.

So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,

and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience, and maybe that's you.

So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

Hello, today on Open Book, an emotive mix of fiery union politics

and tragic family secrets from acclaimed novelist Sanjeev Sahota.

Plus two unique books written especially for those who live with dementia.

So first to Sanjeev Sahota and the politics of class, race and identity

played out in a union leadership battle, but told through very personal stories.

Sohota was twice Booker nominated for his novels Hours of the Streets and the Year of the Runaways,

compelling explorations of immigrant lives in the UK.

His next, the China Room, followed a young man's visit to the Punjab.

Now, in his latest, the spoiled heart, Sohota returns to

Britain and to the peak district where he himself grew up. This is the story of Sikh trade unionist

Nayan Ola, a man passionate about class justice, as told by his childhood friend Sajan,

a writer whose novels sound not completely dissimilar to Sajotas.

At its heart is the thorny and very current topic of identity politics,

of race pitted against class,

...