Salman Rushdie

Kurt Andersen and his guest Gregory Maguire, who wrote Wicked, hear about the new opera Haroun and the Sea of Stories, based on Salman Rushdie’s tale about a boy who sets out to save his village from sadness. We find out why at Christmas, America turns into “Nutcracker Nation.” And Tonya Pinkins, star of the […]

You may think you know the story, but Kurt Andersen and guests will take you to places in the land of Oz that are more wonderful, and weirder, than you ever imagined. We’ll meet the original man behind the curtain, L. Frank Baum, who had all the vision of Walt Disney, but none of the […]

Once upon a time, there was a radio program trapped in the tall tower of a stone building. . . Studio 360 falls under the spell of fairy tales. Kurt Andersen and Gregory Maguire, who wrote Wicked, talk about why at Christmas, America turns into “Nutcracker Nation.” They hear about Haroun and the Sea of […]

Salman Rushdie’s new children’s book, Luka and the Fire of Life, tackles dark themes in a short, funny way. A NASA aerospace engineer moonlights in nightclubs as “DJ Scientific.” And our American Icons series continues with a look back at Jimi Hendrix’s legendary Woodstock performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

Kurt Andersen talks with Salman Rushdie. His new memoir chronicles the stranger-than-fiction decade he spent under threat of the Ayatollah Khomeni’s fatwa. We revisit the golden age of MTV. And Andy Warhol turns a can of Campbell’s soup into an American icon.(Segments in this week’s show aired previously.)

Kurt Andersen follows the yellow brick road through America’s favorite story and discovers places in the Land of Oz more wonderful, and weirder, than you ever imagined.

It’s been over seventy years since movie audiences first watched The Wizard of Oz. Meet the original man behind the curtain, L. Frank Baum, who had all the vision of Walt Disney, bu…