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Booker Prize-winner Julian Barnes has a bibliography that would keep a reader happy for many months, even years, but with mention that his latest book, Departure(s), might be his last, we were determined to speak with him about his approach to fiction, the passage of time, and the very special relationship between writer and reader.

In May 1986, a new airport opened in Knock in the west of Ireland. It was the dream of an Irish priest, Monsignor James Horan, who raised millions to have it built.

The location for the airport seemed impossible – set in the boggy, foggy hills of rural County Mayo.

However, Knock attracts more than a million pilgrims every year, who come to visit the supposed site of an apparition by the Virgin Mary and other saints.

So, Horan convinced politicians that this remote western landscape could host a gateway to the world, and service the pilgrims who come to visit the shrine of Knock.

Pearce Concannon was working at the local Knock Shrine when the airport opened and remembers when Horan asked him to quit his job and become a firefighter at his new airport. He speaks to Colm Flynn.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

(Photo: Monsignor James Horan in front of the first plane to arrive at the airport. Credit: Ireland West Airport)

Billy Collins has contributed frequently to Rattle over the years, including an interview in issue 15. He is the author of 16 collections of poetry, including Sailing Alone Around the Room, Aimless Love and, most recently, Dog Show. He served two terms as United State Poet Laureate and is a former Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College and New York State Poet. He is a New York Public Library Literary Lion and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is currently “between dogs,” his most recent an Australian Shepherd mix named Jeannine. He lives in Winter Park, Florida, with his wife Suzannah.

If trust in politicians is broken and the political system isn't delivering, then how might we go about fixing things? Can we revive faith in democratic government by doing things differently?

Author and broadcaster Phil Tinline explains why he thinks politicians need to start thinking and talking about power again if they are to stand a chance of delivering on their promises. He argues that if nothing ever changes, then we need to understand who has too much power and who has too little and be prepared to do something about it.

Michael Gove is the editor of The Spectator and a member of the House of Lords. He has extensive experience of government, serving in cabinet under four prime ministers between 2010 and 2024. It is widely acknowledged among, both his admirers and his critics, that he rapidly got to grips with his department's brief and knew exactly how to drive an agenda for change. He reflects on his experiences.

Producer: Ruth Watts

Unarguably tall comedian Pierre Novellie uses his unique style of erudite bafflement to focus on the deep and the shallow in a comedic answer to In Our Time. In this episode, all about why we can’t stop eating, Pierre discusses the misuse of soap, weaponised crisps, Saint Aetholwold, and George Orwell vs the pizza.

As Pierre says, “I’m delighted to be given the chance to perform my own comedy on the BBC, the original source of my obsession with comedy as a child. It’s a chance to bring my stand up to a hypothetically grateful nation.”

Written and performed by Pierre Novellie and produced & directed by David Tyler (Cabin Pressure, One Person Found This Helpful, Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive)

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4

The Irish writer Rob Doyle speaks to Take Four Books about his new novel Cameo, and, together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. Cameo is the life story of an invented Irish novelist called Ren Duka who has an unexpected and runaway success with a prolific series of autofictional novels.

Rob's three chosen influences for this episode are: Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, from 1944; Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolano from 1996; and Memoirs of Hadrian, by Margeurite Youcenar, from 1951.

Producer: Dominic Howell

Joseph O’Neill reads his story “Light Secrets,” from the January 26, 2026, issue of the magazine. O’Neill is the author of a story collection and five novels, including “Netherland,” which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 2009, “The Dog,” and “Godwin,” which was published in 2024.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that US President Donald Trump’s threat to take Greenland would spell the end of Nato, the trans-Atlantic defence alliance. So who is the woman standing toe to toe with Trump?

A career politician in the truest sense, she was first elected as a member of the Danish Parliament in 2001, the day after her 24th birthday. After nearly two decades at the heart of the country’s politics, where she held roles including Justice Minister and Minister for Employment, she was elected Prime Minister of Denmark in June 2019, aged 41, the youngest leader in Danish history.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing - her premiership has survived a pandemic, an early election, and inflation driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now, as the jam-making mother-of-two faces her biggest international challenge to date - Stephen Smith looks back at the life and career of the woman named the ‘second most powerful person in Europe in 2026’ by Politico.

Contributors:

Producers: Laurie Kalus, Katie Solleveld and Keiligh Baker

Archive:

We are one year into Trump’s second term. And it feels like so much has happened – more than the human mind, or the country, can absorb. But how much has Trump really accomplished? What policies have changed the country in a way that will last?

My guest Yuval Levin is one of the smartest thinkers on the right, and his verdict is: not that much. “There’s an important story to tell about the absence of action in the past year, too,” he tells me.

Levin is the director of social, cultural and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute, the founder and editor of National Affairs and the author of several books on policy and political theory, including “American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation – and Could Again.”

Mentioned:

Charts

Buckley by Sam Tanenhaus

Book Recommendations:

Insecure Majorities by Frances E. Lee

Making the Presidency by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

Last Branch Standing by Sarah Isgur

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected].

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

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