TW: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and injuries.
Two years ago, Sir Salman Rushdie, one of the most celebrated and famous authors in the world was on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York, when a figure dressed in black clothes and a mask rushed onto stage and stabbed him numerous times. He nearly died.
Today, ... Show More
Sep 9
Nish Kumar - Failure Is Information. Comedians Call It Material.
Nish Kumar is one of the UK’s best-known comedians, known for his impassioned political progressiveness. You might remember him as the host of the topical BBC comedy show, The Mash Report, which ran to great acclaim until it was abruptly cancelled in 2021 - one of his failures ad ... Show More
57m 6s
Sep 3
Remembering Gloria Steinem
It was a privilege to have one of my all-time heroes, the feminist activist, writer and icon Gloria Steinem on How to Fail back in 2020 and we are heartbroken to hear of her passing at the age of 92. To celebrate her life, we’re re-releasing this very special episode. We talked a ... Show More
58m 23s
Nov 2025
In 'The Eleventh Hour,' Salman Rushdie writes about morality, revenge and ghosts
Salman Rushdie lived for decades under a death sentence and survived a knife attack three years ago. His latest book The Eleventh Hour is his first work of fiction since that near-death experience. These short stories and novellas center around the end of life, what might come af ... Show More
12 m
Apr 2024
Salman Rushdie Is Not Who You Think He Is
<p>Salman Rushdie’s 1988 novel, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/323746/the-satanic-verses-by-salman-rushdie/" target="_blank">The Satanic Verses</a>,” made him the target of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who denounced the book as blasphemous and issued a fatwa c ... Show More
59m 49s
Oct 2024
The Ezra Klein Show: Salman Rushdie
<p>Salman Rushdie's "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder," has been nominated in the nonfiction category as part of this year's National Book Awards, which will take place in mid-November. This week, we are running Rushdie's conversation with Ezra Klein from earlier this ... Show More
1 h
Sep 2021
Salman Rushdie: Touchstones with Razia Iqbal
Acclaimed novelist Salman Rushdie joins journalist Razia Iqbal to take us back in time and discuss three influential touchstones of his life: a silver ingot engraved with an unpartitioned map of India, Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine man’, and James Joyce’s ‘The Dead’, a slightly int ... Show More
56m 47s
Jun 2021
Salman Rushdie on Truth, Language and the Power of Stories
Salman Rushdie, internationally bestselling author and ‘Best of the Booker’ winner, is a storyteller of the highest order, illuminating truths about our society and culture through his dazzling prose. Best known as a novelist, he is also a compelling essayist and last month he ca ... Show More
55m 58s