The Origins Podcast is now a part of the Origins Project Foundation.

Please consider supporting the podcast and the foundation by going to www.orgensproject

foundation.org.

Hello, and welcome to the Origins Podcast. I'm your host Lawrence Krause. In this episode, I have the

wonderful opportunity to have had a discussion with Ian McEwen, who's surely one of the greatest

writers in the English language, also one of the most erudite and well-informed writers, with a broad

spectrum of books on a wide variety of topics.

One of the things that's always attracted me to Ian's writing, besides the clarity and beauty of the

writing and ingenuity of some of the plots, is the fact that Ian epitomizes the artist who's also

interested in science. Many of his books involve scientific questions,

climate change, nature of science, in many, many different ways. And I thought it would be a fun chance to have a conversation with him about that relationship between art and science.

And also the deeper questions, because I know he's interested in overcoming

myth and superstition. Recently, when we carried out this conversation, actually a while ago,

before the pandemic at his home in London, he had just come out with a new book that was a takeoff

in some sense of Franz Kafka's book. It's called The Cockroach, which

is not about a man turning into an insect, but rather an insect turning into a man, with clearly

satirical references to what was going on and what is still going on with Brexit.

So the conversation remains topical and prescient, and it was a true pleasure

to spend time again with Ian, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did having the conversation.

With no further ado, here is Ian McEwen. Ian, thank you for having us in your abode here.

It's a pleasure to be able to talk to you again.

Well, it's very nice to have you.

...