Salman Rushdie, the distinguished author of books such as Midnight’s Children, The Satanic Verses, and Joseph Anton: A Memoir, joins Brian this week to discuss his latest novel Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights, the themes of alienation and truth that often lie beneath the surface in his work, and why, in a world gone mad, fiction matters. Plus, Salman talks about his rocky start as a writer, an unforgettable night at Madison Square Garden, and how religious fascists are waging a war on pleasure. Topics mentioned on today’s show include: Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie Joseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman Rushdie The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie Candide by Voltaire Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie The Arabian Knights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights The animal fables of The Panchatantra The Hamzanama Ocean of the Streams of Stories Grimus by Salman Rushdie Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie Salman Rushdie slams critics of PEN’s Charlie Hebdo tribute Tenth of December by George Saunders The Illusionist Eisenheim the Illusionist by Steven Millhauser Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser “One” by U2 ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape by Rukmini Callimachi People mentioned on today's show: Christopher Hitchens Joyce Carol Oates Joan Didion Ibn Rushd Kierkegaard Gustave Flaubert Thorstein Veblen Ian McEwan Martin Amis Julian Barnes Kazuo Ishiguro Jane Austen Walt Whitman Penn Jillette Jonathan Franzen Steven Milhauser William Kennedy James Salter H.L. Mencken This episode of The Moment is brought to you by Open Account, a podcast series created by SuChin Pak and Umpqua Bank. Open Account explores, through honest and sometimes comical interviews, our uncomfortable silence around money. Open Account is available now on iTunes. And by Braintree. Looking to set up payments for your business? Braintree gives your app or website a payment solution that accepts just about every payment method with one simple integration. Plus, we’ll give you your first $50,000 in transactions fee-\xadfree. To learn more, visit BraintreePayments.com/Moment. Email: themomentbk@gmail.com Twitter: @BrianKoppelman iTunes: itunes.com/themoment To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices