Photograph: Domenico Stinellis/AP
This week's Science Weekly has a treat for literary fans: Ian McEwan. The award-winning novelist tells us what draws him to science and revels in the genius of some of his scientific heroes, including E.O. Wilson, Voltaire and Charles Darwin.
Citing science as a "marvellous form of engagement with the world", he picks holes in the misconception that, to understand and appreciate science, you need to be a scientist. In the same way you don't need to be a musician to appreciate music or a novelist to enjoy stories, so the work of scientists should not be restricted to scientists alone, he says. "Curiosity is one of the greatest of human attributes and science is codified curiosity."
You can also hear his thoughts on Intelligent Design, whether science is under threat from superstition and blind faith, and how it's possible to get an education in cutting-edge science thanks to what he calls "a golden age in science writing".
Listen to the full interview here.
You can also hear the Science Weekly show for July 30 here. Or head to the archive where you will find interviews with, among others, AC Grayling, Richard Dawkins and Robert Winston.
