After 9/11, the writer and essayist Pankaj Mishra lost faith in journalism’s ability to convey the complexity and nuance of the era. Much of what he knew of the world, he realised, from history to political psychology, had originally been gleaned from fiction. Since then, Mishra has published several novels, including last year’s Run And Hide, as well as many essays and non-fiction books exploring ideas about empire, globalisation, populism and the Buddha. He joins John Merrick on Novara FM to talk about his recent return to fiction and why novels are indispensable for anyone hoping to make sense of their time. They also discuss the culture of Hindu nationalism, the promise of socialist fiction, and why class is so often ignored by contemporary novelists and critics. Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support