Keen On America

Episode 1881: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Rafi Kohan, author of TRASH TALK, about Muhammed Ali, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Elon Musk and why talking smack is as old as the bible Rafi Kohan is an Atlanta-based writer, editor, and creative leader. He is the author of Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn’t Total Garbage, which is available for pre-order now (pub d...

EPISODE 1880: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jill Walker Rettberg, author of MACHINE VISION,  about how algorithms are changing the way we see and are seen by the world Jill Walker Rettberg is Professor of Digital Culture and Co-Director of the Center for Digital Narrative (CDN), a Norwegian Center of Research Excellence that has received a €15 million grant from the Norwegian Research Coun...

EPISODE 1879: In the KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to  Ben Lerner, the Poetry Editor of Harper's Magazine, about the dangers of falling in love once again with the supposed democratizing power of digital technology Ben Lerner is “the poetry editor of Harper's Magazine, and author of Harper's December cover story: “The Hofmann Wobble: Wikipedia and the problem of historical memory,” His latest book is...

EPISODE 1878: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jennifer Burns, author of THE LAST CONSERVATIVE, the most controversial American economist of the 20th century Jennifer Burns is an Associate Professor of History at Stanford University and a Research Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. She is the author of Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative (November, 2023)...

EPISODE 1877: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kliph Nesteroff, author of OUTRAGEOUS, about the history of American showbiz and its perennial culture wars Kliph Nesteroff was born and raised in a pacifist community in rural British Columbia. After being permanently expelled from high school for the content of a speech he delivered during a campaign for school president, he moved to Toronto an...

EPISODE 1876: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bulent Atalay, author of BEYOND GENIUS, about how Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Newton, Beethoven and Einstein all shared the same kind of transgressive minds Described by the Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, NPR and PBS as a “Modern Renaissance Man,” Bulent Atalay is a scientist, artist and author. After his participation in a scientifically inco...

EPISODE 1875: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the anti Trump conservative Peter Wehner about the nihilism of the evangelical right in America today Peter Wehner is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. His books include The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump, City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era, which he co-wro...

EPISODE 1874 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Lauren Grodstein, author of WE MUST NOT THINK OF OURSELVES, about why she changed her mind about writing a novel about the Holocaust Lauren Grodstein is the author of five novels, including the New York Times bestseller A Friend of the Family and the Washington Post Book of the Year The Explanation for Everything.  Her forthcoming novel We Must...

EPISODE 1873: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Peter Slen, Executive Producer of the CSPAN series, 10 BOOKS THAT SHAPED AMERICA, about why the "Words of Cesar Chavez" still matter Peter Slen is the senior executive producer and a host at C-SPAN, a television and radio network known for its unbiased coverage of government proceedings. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine...

EPISODE 1872: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Peter Slen, Executive Producer of the CSPAN series, 10 BOOKS THAT SHAPED AMERICA, about the impact of Rose and Milton Friedman's 1980 defense of free market capitalism, "Free to Chose" Peter Slen is the senior executive producer and a host at C-SPAN, a television and radio network known for its unbiased coverage of government proceedings. Named a...

PISODE 1871: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to William B. Eimicke, author of LEVELING THE LEARNING CURVE, about to how to create a more inclusive and connected university William B. Eimicke is co-author of Leveling the Learning Curve: Creating a More Inclusive and Connected University by William B. Eimicke, Soulaymane Kachani, and Adam Stepan (Columbia University Press, 2023).  He is professor...

EPISODE 1870: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jason Pack, the co-host of The Disorder podcast, about Qatar, Iran, Biden, Hamas, Israel and the road to order in the disordered Middle East Jason Pack is the Founder of Libya-Analysis LLC , and the co-host of Disorder , a geopolitics podcast co-produced with Goalhanger Podcasts. He is a Senior Analyst for Emerging Challenges at the NATO Defence...

EPISODE 1869: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kate Bravery, co-author of WORK DIFFERENT, who offers ten truths about work, jobs and education in the age of AI Kate Bravery is Mercer’s Global Advisory Solutions and Insight Leader and a non-executive director at Digital Frontiers. She oversees HR solutions and insights at Mercer, plus the management of its knowledge across its Health, Wealth,...

EPISODE 1868: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Marga Hoek, author of IMAGINE TECH FOR GOOD, about how tech can solve some of the world's greatest challenges Marga Hoek is the international business and thought leader on sustainable business and capital and the shift form the linear economy to a circular economy. Ranked by Thinkers 50 as one of the top 30 new management thinkers in the world S...

EPISODE 1867:  In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Steven Ujifusa, author of THE LAST SHIPS FROM HAMBURG, about the race to save Russia's Jews on the eve of World War I Steven Ujifusa is a historian and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His third book, The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War I, tells the story of Eastern...

EPISODE 1866: In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of  the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter,  Keith talks about the capitalism versus anti-capitalist fight triggered by the OpenAI brouhaha  Keith Teare is a Founder and CEO at SignalRank Corporation. Previously he was Executive Chairman at Accelerated Digital Ventures Ltd - A UK-based global investment company focused on star...

EPISODE 1865: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bethanne Patrick, the book critic of the LA Times, about 8 brilliant books to give as gifts this Xmas Bethanne Patrick maintains a storied place in the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven on Twitter, where she created the popular #FridayReads and regularly comments on books and literary ideas to over 200,000 followers. Her work a...

EPISODE 1864: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kevin F. Adler, co-author of WHEN WE WALK BY, about the forgotten humanity and broken systems causing today's homelessness crisis in America  Kevin F. Adler is the author of When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America, which will be published on November 7th, 2023, and is ba...

EPISODE 1863: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Margaret Heffernan, author of UNCHARTED, about what we can learn from artists about controlling the insatiability of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like Sam Altman Dr. Margaret Heffernan produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years.  She then moved to the US where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard&...

EPISODE 1862: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Vickor Mayer-Schonberger, author of the upcoming GUARDRAILS, about the need to regulate big data companies like OpenAI Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is the Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford. His research focuses on the role of information in a networked economy. Earlier he spent ten years on the faculty of Harvard’s Kennedy Sch...

EPISODE 1861: In the KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Christopher de Hamel, author of THE MANUSCRIPTS CLUB, about the remarkable literary figures behind a thousand years of medieval manuscripts Christopher de Hamel is the author of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, winner of both the Wolfson History Prize and the Duff Cooper Prize. Over the course of a long career at Sotheby’s he catalogued more...

EPISODE 1860: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks Darrin M. McMahon, author of EQUALITY, about the history of a most elusive ideal Darrin M. McMahon is a cultural and intellectual historian and a leading proponent of a new and revitalized history in ideas. His work encompasses the sweep of Western history from the ancient world to the present day, and spans both sides of the Atlantic, but the fulcr...

EPISODE 1859: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to Anna Pitoniak, author of THE HELSINKI AFFAIR, about the art of espionage and the tradecraft of the spy novelist Anna Pitoniak is the author of The Futures, Necessary People, Our American Friend, and the forthcoming The Helsinki Affair. She graduated from Yale, where she majored in English and was an editor at the Yale Daily News. She worked fo...

EPISODE 1858: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the distinguished Israeli novelist Assaf Gavron about how the events of October 7 might be a game changer in a good way and on why we must "try again" to make peace in the Middle East Assaf Gavron was Born in 1968, and published six novels (Ice, Moving, Almost Dead, Hydromania, The Hilltop and Eighteen Lashes), a collection of short stories (Sex...

EPISODE 1857: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bethanne Patrick, book critic at the Los Angeles Times, about the mavens, mavericks and mythology determining our smart machine future Bethanne Patrick maintains a storied place in the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven on Twitter, where she created the popular #FridayReads and regularly comments on books and literary ideas to o...