Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A century from now, how will historians look back on your life? In his latest novel, What We Can Know, Ian McEwan imagines the future in 100 years. In a world altered by climate change and nuclear war, human beings are looking back at our current age with a mix of nostalgia, envy and contempt — and a scholar becomes fixated on finding a lost poem from 2014.
Ian McEwan joined Mattea Roach in Toronto for this wide-ranging conversation. He tells Mattea about crafting his own dystopia, his concerns about AI, his love of poetry, and why we just might be living in a golden age … and shouldn’t take it for granted.
Ian McEwan is one of Britain’s most acclaimed writers. His novels and stories include Atonement, On Chesil Beach and the Booker Prize winner, Amsterdam.
Mattea Roach is the host of CBC Bookends, a podcast featuring writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read. Find Bookends with Mattea Roach wherever you podcast.
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About: Welcome to CBC Arts, your home for the most surprising, relevant and provocative stories featuring artists from diverse communities across Canada. Our job is to fill your feed with the disruptors and innovators changing how we see the country through movement, images and sound — and to inspire you to join in too.
A century from now, how will historians look back on your life? In his latest novel, What We Can Know, Ian McEwan imagines the future in 100 years. In a world altered by climate change and nuclear war, human beings are looking back at our current age with a mix of nostalgia, envy and contempt — and a scholar becomes fixated on finding a lost poem from 2014.
Ian McEwan joined Mattea Roach in Toronto for this wide-ranging conversation. He tells Mattea about crafting his own dystopia, his concerns about AI, his love of poetry, and why we just might be living in a golden age … and shouldn’t take it for granted.
Ian McEwan is one of Britain’s most acclaimed writers. His novels and stories include Atonement, On Chesil Beach and the Booker Prize winner, Amsterdam.
Mattea Roach is the host of CBC Bookends, a podcast featuring writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read. Find Bookends with Mattea Roach wherever you podcast.
»Subscribe to CBC Arts to watch more videos: bit.ly/CBCArtsSubscribe
Find us at: cbc.ca/arts
CBC Arts on Facebook: facebook.com/cbcarts
CBC Arts on Instagram: instagram.com/cbcarts
About: Welcome to CBC Arts, your home for the most surprising, relevant and provocative stories featuring artists from diverse communities across Canada. Our job is to fill your feed with the disruptors and innovators changing how we see the country through movement, images and sound — and to inspire you to join in too.
