Keen On America

EPISODE 1849: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Lisa Gornick, author of ANA TURNS, about writing a New York City novel in the philistine age of the Taliban and Donald Trump Lisa Gornick has been hailed by NPR as “one of the most perceptive, compassionate writers of fiction in America…immensely talented and brave.” She is the author of four previous novels—most recently The Peacock Feast and Lo...

EPISODE 1848: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Rob Copeland, author of THE FUND, about Ray Dalio, the billionaire Big Brother of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet Rob Copeland is a finance reporter for the New York Times. He was previously the longtime hedge-fund beat reporter at the Wall Street Journal, and has also covered Silicon Valley and the hidden worlds of t...

EPISODE 1847: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to John Gray, author of THE NEW LEVIATHANS, about our post-liberal future John Gray is a political philosopher and author. His books include Seven Types of Atheism, False Dawn: the Delusions of Global Capitalism, and Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and The Death of Utopia. His latest book is The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism Named as on...

EPISODE 1846: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to Major Garrett, host of the AGENT OF BETRAYAL podcast, about the Robert Hanssen, the FBI spy and weaver of a web of lies Major Garrett was named CBS News' chief Washington correspondent in December 2018. As chief Washington correspondent, Garrett reports for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. Garrett is also the host of "The Takeout," a wee...

EPISODE 1845: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ben Wildavsky, author of THE CAREER ARTS, about how to use college to successfully build a career Ben Wildavsky is a veteran higher education writer, strategist, and speaker, host of the Higher Ed Spotlight podcast and author of The Career Arts: Making the Most of College, Credentials, and Connections. A frequent keynote speaker and moderator at...

EPISODE 1844: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ben Austen, author of CORRECTION, about parole, prison and the near impossibility of change in the current American criminal justice system Ben Austen is a writer from Chicago. He is the co-host of the podcast Some of My Best Friends Are and the author of High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing. High-Risers was long-lis...

EPISODE 1843: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Peter Slen, Executive Producer of the C-SPAN series BOOKS THAT SHAPED AMERICA, about Willa Cather's "My Antonia", the 1918 novel that nailed the ideal of immigrant middle America 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...

EPISODE 1842: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bethanne Patrick, book critic at the Los Angeles Times, about new feminist takes on George Orwell, the man and the writer. 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...

EPISODE 1841: In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of  the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter  Keith talks about Sam Bankman-Fried and Palo Alto, Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak, and Space X and X  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 1840: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Lisa M.P. Munoz, author of WOMEN IN SCIENCE NOW, about implicit bias, leaky pipelines, tokenization and other explanations for the persistent gender gap in science As president of SciComm Services, Inc., Lisa Munoz develops, leads, and executes communication strategies for science groups, including VC funds, sci-tech startups, scientific societie...

EPISODE 1839: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the French-Israeli filmmaker and writer Pierre Rehov  what he believes are Ianian financed sleeper-cells in US universities and why he admires Hamas' "evil mind" Pierre Rebov is a French-Israeli novelist, journalist and documentary filmmaker. Born in Algiers, he had to flee his native country with his family in 1961, at the end of the French-Alge...

EPISODE 1838: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Juliet Hooker, author of BLACK GRIEF/WHITE GRIEVANCE, about why American democracy is in desperate need of an radical expansion of its political imagination Juliet Hooker is Professor of Political Science at Brown University. She is a political theorist specializing in racial justice, Latin American political thought, Black political thought, and...

EPISODE 1837: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ronald C. White, the author of ON GREAT FIELDS, about the life of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the unlikely hero of Gettysburg. Ronald C. White is the author of two New York Times bestselling presidential biographies. USA Today said of A. Lincoln: A Biography [2009], “If you read one book about Lincoln, make it A. LINCOLN.” American Ulysses: A Li...

EPISODE 1836: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Daniel Finkelstein, author of HITLER, STALIN, MUM AND DAD: A FAMILY MEMOIR OF MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL, about the extraordinary coincidences enabling the survival of his family in World War Two DANIEL FINKELSTEIN is a weekly political columnist at The Times of London. Formerly an adviser to Prime Minister John Major, he was appointed to the House of L...

EPISODE 1835: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks William Deresiewicz, author of THE DEATH OF THE ARTIST, about the fate of the creative artist when , in our digital economy, the price of content has been driven down to zero  William Deresiewicz is an award-winning essayist and critic, a frequent speaker at colleges, high schools, and other venues, and the author of five books including the New Yor...

EPISODE 1834: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ruy Teixeira, co-author of WHERE HAVE ALL THE DEMOCRATS GONE?, needs to tone down the volume on cultural issues if its to rediscover its political soul Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and co-founder and politics editor of the Substack newsletter, The Liberal Patriot. His forthcoming book, with John B. Judis, i...

EPISODE 1833: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Maciej Kisilowski, editor of LET'S AGREE ABOUT POLAND, about the promise and peril of democracy in a post authoritarian Poland after what he calls its "almost miraculous" October election  Maciej Kisilowski is a frequent commentator on issues of political-economy of East-Central Europe, contributing (among others) to Project Syndicate, The Wall S...

EPISODE 1832: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Antonello Provenzale, author of HISTORY OF CLIMATE CHANGE, about whether today's climate change crisis represent an existential threat to humanity Antonello Provenzale is Director of the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources at the National Research Council of Italy. His latest book is History of Climate Change: From the Earth's Origins to...

EPISODE 1831: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to John Kampfner, author of IN SEARCH OF BERLIN, about the enigmatic German capital on the edge of the world John Kampfner has had a 30-year career in international public life spanning media, global affairs, politics and arts. He is the author of seven books. He began his journalistic career as a foreign correspondent with the Daily Telegraph, f...

EPISODE 1830: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Michael Muthukrishna, author of A THEORY OF EVERYTHING, about how humans are a new kind of animal and why we need to transform the world into the most efficient laboratory possible Michael Muthukrishna is Associate Professor of Economic Psychology at the London School of Economics. He is also Affiliate of the Developmental Economics Group at STIC...

EPISODE 1829: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jeff Kosseff, author of LIAR IN A CROWDED THEATER, about the protection of free speech in our digital age of misinformation Jeff Kosseff is an associate professor of cybersecurity law in the United States Naval Academy’s Cyber Science Department. He is the author of four books and more than 20 academic journal articles. In fall 2023, Johns Hopkin...

EPISODE 1828: In this regular KEEN ON show with LA Times book critic Bethane Patrick, Bethanne talks about eight scary new books to keep you awake this Halloween 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. He...

EPISODE 1827: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the filmmaker, artist and writer Hito Steyerl about what she calls the "pyramid schemes", "on-boarding" tools and the "mean" creativity of our AI age Hito Steyerl (born 1 January 1966) is a German filmmaker, moving image artist, writer, and innovator of the essay documentary. Her principal topics of interest are media, technology, and the global...

EPISODE 1826: In this regular weekly KEEN ON with  Keith Teare, THAT WAS THE WEEK newsletter author, Keith tries to separate the hyperbole from the hysteria of VC  techno-optimism   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 startups at all stages. He was also...

EPISODE 1825: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Peter Slen, Executive Producer of the C-SPAN series BOOKS THAT SHAPED AMERICA, about Mark Twain's 1884 novel HUCKLEBERRY FINN, the adventurous story of a youthful nation on a great and not-so-great adventure Peter Slen is the senior executive producer and a host at C-SPAN, a television and radio network known for its unbiased coverage of governme...