Author Salman Rushdie captures the chasm of culture between Eastern and Western societies intertwined with a touch of mysticism and historical fiction. His 1981 novel Midnight's Children earned him a Booker Award; in 1983 he was inducted to the Royal Society of Literature. 1988's Satanic Verses earned him an order of execution from Iran's Ayatollah Khomeni for percieved blasphamy against the Q'uran. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2007.

Smart Talk talks with Rushdie about his latest novel, The Golden House, which illustrates the lives of an eccentric family against the backdrop of political turmoil eerily similar to very real events in Washington. Rushide will be signing copies at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg Friday evening at 8:15.

Also, while most high schoolers are content to work at a mall or in fast food, Bob Buhrig took a job his senior year that had him driving hearses and comforting grieving families at Myers Funeral Home in Mechanicsburg. Bob found something he was passionate about, describing his mission "to provide thoughtful service and compassionate care." Buhrig bought the business from the Myers in 2011 and has served as the owner/operator and funeral director at the Myers-Buhrig Funeral Home since.

Buhrig, along with George Foley, a funeral service consultant with Matthews International, also speaks candidly to groups about death and making arrangements for our passing. They often take a jocular approach in an effort to get people to open up about their fears, concerns and questions about happens after.

Bob Buhrig and George Foley will join Smart Talk to discuss life after life and answer your questions about death and dying and salve your curiosity about the funeral industry.

Later, Dauphin County saw 85 opioid-related deaths in 2016, county commissioners are responding by filing a suit against the manufacturers and marketers of the addictive prescription pharmaceuticals. The county claims the companies understated the addictive nature of these drugs while overplaying their benefits.

Dauphin County Commissioner Jeff Haste will join Smart Talk to discuss the impact these prescription opioids have had in the communities in and around Harrisburg and what role the commissioners feel the pharmaceutical companies played in exacerbating the crisis.