Ian McEwan on Speculative Fiction, Lost Poems and What We Can Know

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ian McEwan is the critically acclaimed author of nineteen novels and two short story collections. His novels include Atonement, Enduring Love, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach, and he is the recipient of many awards including the Booker Prize, the Somerset Maugham Award and the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award. In this episode, McEwan sits down with author and journalist Alex Preston to discuss the enduring power of the novel, the challenges of writing climate fiction and his new book What We Can Know. What We Can Know is a work of speculative fiction set in 2119. It is a book about poetry, archives, rising sea levels and the plight of humanity in the vast natural world, and is available now online or in bookstores near you. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:00.5	I'm Alex Preston.
1:02.1	I'm here today with the critically acclaimed author of 19 novels
1:05.9	and two short story collections, Ian McEwan.
1:10.1	Ian's work includes Atonement, Enduring Love, Lessons,
1:14.5	and on Chesel Beach. He's the winner of numerous prizes, including The Booker, the Somerset
1:20.6	Mourn Prize, the Whitbread Book of the Year. And today we'll be discussing Ian's latest
	...

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