Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Salman Rushdie is one of the world’s most celebrated writers. But for more than three decades, his life has also been bound up with arguments about freedom of expression, religious extremism and the threat of violence.

In 2022, that violence caught up with him when he was attacked on stage and nearly killed. His wife, the poet and visual artist Rachel Eliza Griffiths, began filming his recovery, creating an extraordinarily intimate record of what followed.

In this episode of Ways to Change the World, Salman and Rachel Eliza join Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss the attack, anger and forgiveness, the power of love, religious fanaticism, free speech and what it means to rebuild a life after trauma. Salman also reflects on returning to fiction with his new book The Eleventh Hour, and on Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, Alex Gibney’s new documentary built around Rachel Eliza’s remarkable footage of his recovery.

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie will be released in UK and Irish cinemas at the end of September.

Johnny Marr is one of the most influential guitarists of his generation. As a founding member of The Smiths, his distinctive playing helped create some of the most enduring songs in British music.
He joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy, surrounded by the guitars that have soundtracked more than four decades of his life, including the legendary Gibson ES 355 1960, the Gibson Les Paul Standard 1984, and the Martin D28 1971, as he prepares to let much of his collection go.
They talk about the magic of writing with Morrissey, how The Smiths found their sound, why a new generation is discovering their music, and the strange relationship between musicians and their instruments.
Marr also discusses his new album The Age of Everything, politics, inequality and why he believes so many of the world’s problems come back to “unregulated greed and unfairness”.
The auction "Marr's Guitars: The Johnny Marr Collection" is taking place at Christie's in London on 17th September 2026. 0:00 Introduction and highlights0:45 Johnny Marr on selling his guitar collection3:32 Why Marr wants his guitars to be played, not collected4:45 1960 Gibson ES-355 and “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”9:17 Gibson Les Paul: Marr’s most-used Smiths guitar13:46 The Rickenbacker and escaping the blues-rock sound15:54 Rejecting 1970s rock and finding a new guitar sound20:43 How Marr built The Smiths as a guitar band23:20 Writing songs with Morrissey: “It was magic”26:21 Why a new generation is discovering The Smiths29:11 Andy Burnham, Manchester and “Rusholme Ruffians”31:38 The Age of Everything and Marr’s new worldview36:40 Politics, defiance and “reclaiming the world”38:08 Martin D-28: “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” and The Queen Is Dead40:34 The guitars Marr is keeping and his signature Jaguar42:42 The nine-pickup guitar, Noel Gallagher and Kraftwerk44:42 How Johnny Marr would change the world48:06 Gretsch Super Axe and the earliest Smiths songs49:49 The guitars with the most personal history50:51 “How Soon Is Now?”, “The Headmaster Ritual” and the final guitars

Why are so many men feeling angry, lost and without purpose, and what role do algorithms, AI and the collapse of traditional institutions have in this?
Jon Ronson has spent decades investigating the strange corners of modern life. His new book, The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unraveling Men, begins with his son being lured to a mysterious castle in the US and expands into an investigation of masculinity, internet fame, the manosphere, public shaming and the increasingly extreme incentives of social media.
He joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy to discuss his long-running feud with Graham Linehan, why YouTube can push ordinary people towards increasingly extreme behaviour, the seductive promise of becoming a personal brand, and whether AI threatens our sense of purpose. Jon also reflects on his own search for purpose, the impact of his upbringing, and why he believes the answer lies not online, but in reconnecting with communities in the real world.
This episode contains offensive language.

More than three decades after publishing The End of History and the Last Man, political scientist Francis Fukuyama is looking back on the ideas that made him famous, and asking whether democracy can still withstand the forces reshaping the world.

In this episode of Ways to Change the World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy talks to Fukuyama about Donald Trump, the rise of populism, why young men are driving political upheaval across the West, and whether social media has destroyed our shared sense of reality. Through the lens of his new book, In the Realm of the Last Man, they discuss why people are drawn to extreme causes, what Europe should do in a world where America can no longer be relied upon, and whether liberal democracy is entering a period of dangerous turbulence.

Fukuyama also reflects on changing his mind about the Iraq War and free-market economics, the intellectual friendships he lost along the way, and why he believes good thinkers must be willing to abandon ideas when the facts change.

Restaurant critic and writer Jay Rayner says restaurants are much more than a set of tables and chairs. In an age of rising costs, social media trends and pressure on the hospitality industry, he argues that restaurants remain vital spaces for creativity, community and human connection.In this episode of Ways to Change the World, he tells Krishnan Guru-Murthy why he would ban tipping. How restaurants help people connect in ways few other public spaces can. And why he believes going out to eat is good for society. He also discusses the challenges facing the restaurant industry, the rise of influencers and online food culture. And states why there’s nothing wrong with taking that photo of your meal.