Salman Rushdie is one of the most celebrated novelists of our time. Born to a Muslim family in India and educated in England, he went on to write award-winning books including Midnight’s Children.

But it was his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses that became the flashpoint, when Iran’s supreme leader said the work was blasphemous against Islam and called for Rushdie’s execution.

On this episode of Radio Times Rewind, we revisit Marty Moss Coane’s 2013 conversation with Rushdie, which came after he released his memoir Joseph Anton, detailing life under a death threat.

It’s an interesting look into his mindset at the time.

Things, though, changed again in 2022, when Rushdie was attacked on stage at a literary event by a young man motivated by the fatwa. Rushdie was stabbed several times and lost sight in one eye but narrowly survived the brutal murder attempt.

Knowing how things played out, gives our 2013 interview an added dimension, which Marty reflects on at the end of the episode.