Keen On America

EPISODE 1919: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Dominique Shelton Leipzig, author of TRUST, who offers protection from the high risk dangers of AI malfunction  Dominique Shelton Leipzig is a Privacy & Cybersecurity Partner at Mayer Brown. She is an authority on how companies can transform their governance to be responsible data leaders by focusing on legal trends in AI, privacy and cyber....

EPISODE 1918: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bec Evans, co-author of WRITTEN, about how to turn writing into a habit that lasts Bec Evans is an award-winning writer, speaker and business founder. With a background in innovation she turned her side hustle into a startup and now helps people make their ideas happen. Her book How to Have a Happy Hustle won its category in the Business Book Awa...

EPISODE 1917: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Colin Mayer, author of CAPITALISM AND CRISES, about the social responsibility of business in every industry, from oil to tobacco to AI Colin Mayer CBE FBA is Emeritus Professor of Management Studies and Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Centre for Economic Policy Research and the European C...

EPISODE 1916: In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of  the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter,  Keith gets out his crystal ball to predict the major political, economic and technological developments for 2024 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 compan...

EPISODE 1915: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Dr. Annie Zimmerman, author of YOUR POCKET THERAPIST, about how therapy can allow to break free from old patterns and transform our lives Annie Zimmerman is a psychotherapist and TikTok personality, working with clients from a psychodynamic approach. She has a PhD in psychology and has completed her studies at the Guild of Psychotherapists. Her e...

EPISODE 1914: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to David Newhoff, the author of WHO INVENTED OSCAR WILDE? about why we don't need GenerativeAI to make good art David Newhoff is a writer, communications professional, rights advocate, and entrepreneur. Through Adastra Creative, he has provided creative communications and video production services for clients in multiple sectors. Since 2011, he has...

EPISODE 1913: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to new media artist Eryk Salvaggio who sifts through the debris of an AI age in which we can no longer trust anything we see Eryk Salvaggio is an interdisciplinary design researcher and new media artist. His work explores emerging technologies through a critically engaged lens, testing their mythologies and narratives against their impacts on social...

EPISODE 1912: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Marzio G. Mian, author of the Harper's piece "Behind the New Iron Curtain", about what it's like to be a Russian these days Marzio G. Mian is an award-winning correspondent and author. For seven years, he was deputy editor-in-chief of Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera's weekly magazine. Mian is now a contributor to Corriere della Sera, Report...

EPISODE 1912: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Michael J. Gerhardt, author of THE LAW OF PRESIDENTIAL IMPEACHMENT, about how the threat of impeachment remain indelible stains on the Presidencies of Nixon, Clinton and Trump Michael J. Gerhardt is Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina Law School, resident scholar at the National Constitution...

EPISODE 1911: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Rafat Ali, founder & CEO of Skift, about the impact of AI on the travel industry. Rafat Ali is the CEO/Founder of Skift, the largest business intelligence and marketing platform in travel, providing news, information, data, and services to all sectors of the world’s largest industry. Previously, he was the founder/CEO of paidContent and Conte...

Tim O’Reilly won’t get fooled again. Or maybe he will. While he is fearful of the winner-take-all nature of current AI economics, he still has some faith that the system can be reformed. So what’s the alternative to the vicious cycles of Silicon Valley capitalism? How can we change the script so that history won’t repeat itself once again? This is the first of a two part conversation with Tim. Ple...

EPISODE 1910: In the first part of conversation with the noted tech writer and thinker Tim O'Reilly, Tim explains why OpenAI has an Uber problem and how successful tech companies depend on successful ecosystems Tim O’Reilly is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of O’Reilly Media, the company that has been providing the picks and shovels of learning to the Silicon Valley gold rush for the past thirty-f...

This is a conversation with former mobster now mafia historian Louis Ferrante about his intriguing new book BORGATA: RISE OF EMPIRE . The former “chop shop” small time thug now erudite Ferrante is like a cross between Sonny Corleone & Niall Ferguson. Essential viewing/listening. Transcript below. AK ( 00:18 ): Hello everybody. It is Tuesday, January the second, 2024. We're in a new year, but o...

EPISODE 1909: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Louis Ferrante, author of BORGATA: RISE OF EMPIRE, the meteoric rise of the Cosa Nostra from 1860s Sicily to 1960s America Louis Ferrante is a former Mafia associate and heist expert who served eight years in prison after refusing to incriminate his fellow Gambino family members. His last book, Mob Rules (HarperCollins), was an international best...

EPISODE 1908: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Alix Olson and Alex Zamalin, co-authors of THE ENDS OF RESISTANCE, about radically new and historically trusted strategies for resisting neo-liberalism Alix Olson is an assistant professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Emory University’s Oxford College. Before her academic career, she toured internationally as a spoken word artist....

Happy New Year everyone! Substack are automating the transcripts now of video interviews. It’s free (at the moment), so no apologies if the transcripts are worthless. But more to come on this front in 2024. I enjoyed listening to Kunzru. Hope you will too. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subsc...

EPISODE 1907:  In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of  the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter,  Keith explains why predicting the future is for fools and looks back at 2023 while refusing to make hard predictions about 2024 Keith Teare is a Founder and CEO at SignalRank Corporation. Previously he was Executive Chairman at Accelerated Digital Ventures Ltd - A UK-based global i...

EPISODE 1907: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the novelist and Harper's magazine columnist Hari Kunzru, about our nostalgia for vinyl records and the reappearance of ethnic nationalism in Italy. HARI KUNZRU is the author of six novels, Red Pill, White Tears, Gods Without Men, My Revolutions, Transmission, and The Impressionist. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and...

EPISODE 1906: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Noa Yedlin, author of STOCKHOLM: A NOVEL, explains why literary humor isn't a funny thing and imagines the kind of character Netanyahu might be in a novel Noa Yedlin is an Israeli author, the recipient of the Sapir Prize (the Israeli Man Booker) and the Prime Minister's Literature Award and author of the bestselling House Arrest, Stockholm, Peopl...

EPISODE 1905: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Gerard Epstein, author of BUSTING THE BANKERS' CLUB, about why bankers represents both the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of American capitalism and how to create a more equitable financial system for the rest of us Gerald Epstein is Professor of Economics and a founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of M...

EPISODE 1904: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Charles Crowson, author of JAM TOMORROW?, about why time really matters in economics Charles Crowson is a finance professional with over twenty years’ experience in the investment industry. Having spent a decade running the London office of a large, US event-driven hedge fund, he has more recently been involved in asset management, working as a g...

EPISODE 1903: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to renowned futurist Kevin Surace about why creative artists must master AI technology in 2024 Kevin Surace is a Silicon Valley innovator, serial entrepreneur, CEO, TV personality and EDUTAINER. Kevin has been featured by Businessweek, Time, Fortune, Forbes, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, FOX News, and has keynoted hundreds of events, from INC5000 to TED and the...

EPISODE 1902: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the LA Times book critic, Bethanne Patrick, about her six favorite novels of the year 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 appears frequentl...

EPISODE 1901: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Charles Kupchan, author of ISOLATIONISM, about the illusional idealism shaping American foreign policy Charles Kupchan is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and professor of international affairs at Georgetown University in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and Department of Government. From 2014 to 2017, Kupchan served a...

EPISODE 1900: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kishore Mahbubani, author of THE ASIAN 21st CENTURY, about the end of Western domination and the rise of Asian societies, economies and philosophies Kishore Mahbubani is a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS). Mr Mahbubani has been privileged to enjoy two distinct careers, in diplomacy...