Acclaimed author Salman Rushdie talks about drawing on Cervantes and pop culture for his new novel Quichotte. He describes having to consume a massive amount of "trash tv" in preparation for the book, how Quichotte addresses the most pressing issues of our time from opioids to immigration, and why the “the age of anything can happen” may not necessarily a good thing! Rushdie opens up about his early career as a stage actor, his secret longing to be a second rate spy novelist, and why he finally decided to make a novelist a character in one of his stories. Then we talk about the moment when a writer finds his own voice, how he developed his signature style of magical realism, and how it manifests in his latest novel with everything from mastodons to talking crickets. Plus we talk about the fatwa that was issued against him 30 years ago and what it was like to play that scary event for comedy in the latest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Order Salman Rushdie's latest book Quichotte: A Novel on Amazon, Audible, or wherever books are sold. Follow him on Twitter at @SalmanRushdie and visit salmanrushdie.com for a list of his upcoming public appearances (unless your fanatic trying to assassinate him...in which case disregard this). This episode is sponsored by Purotrader and Invitae. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices