From World Science Festival.

Why do stories endure across centuries—and what do they reveal about the essence of being human? Brian Greene sits down with Booker Prize–winning author Ian McEwan to explore the timeless power of storytelling, the evolution of human nature, and the future of creativity in the age of artificial intelligence.

They examine how literature and science both search for truth and meaning—how we can still understand texts from Shakespeare & Homer hundreds or thousands of years later, and why our shared human emotions remain unchanged. McEwan reflects on mortality, memory, and beauty as central to storytelling, while Greene draws striking parallels between narrative, physics, and the pursuit of knowledge.

This program is part of the Big Ideas series, supported by the John Templeton Foundation.

Participant: Ian McEwan
Moderator: Brian Greene

00:00 – Introduction
01:40 – The Intuitive Evolution of Storytelling Through Time
09:35 – Storytelling as a Means of Confronting Mortality
17:33 – The Central Role of Women in Literary Readership
27:33 – Creative Process: Structured Design vs. Spontaneous Flow
36:00 – Exploring the Essence of Human Nature
45:55 – The Necessity of Truth in the Human Experience
53:50 – Unpacking the True Nature of Originality
01:00:44 – Rethinking the Meaning of Intelligence
01:08:40 – Closing Reflections and Credits

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