Keen On America

EPISODE 1728: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bent Flyvbjerg, author of HOW BIG THINGS GET DONE, about the suprising factors that determine the fate of every project, from home renovations to space exploration Bent Flyvbjerg is the first BT Professor at Oxford University and the VKR Professor at the IT University of Copenhagen, an economist, and “the world’s leading megaproject expert,” acco...

EPISODE 1727: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Gary John Bishop, author of GROW UP,  on how to become the parent your kids deserve Gary John Bishop is one of the world’s leading personal development experts, and the author of the million-copy New York Times and international bestseller Unfu*k Yourself . His no-frills, no “B.S.” approach has brought him a growing following drawn to the simplic...

EPISODE 1724: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of WEB3, Alex Tapscott, who separates the signal about Blockchain, Crypto, NFTs and other technologies on the internet's next economic and cultural frontier Alex Tapscott is an entrepreneur, business author, and seasoned capital markets professional focused on the impact of emerging technologies, such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies...

EPISODE 1726: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Steven Levitsky, co-author of TYRANNY OF THE MINORITY,  about what America has to learn from the democracies of Brazil and Argentina Steven Levitsky is David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government at Harvard University. He is also Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard....

EPISODE 1725: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Corban Addison, the author of WASTELANDS, about the true story of large-scale farming on trial in North Carolina ​​CORBAN ADDISON is the internationally best-selling author of four novels, A Walk Across the Sun, The Garden of Burning Sand, The Tears of Dark Water (winner of the inaugural Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize), and A Harvest of Tho...

EPISODE 1723: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kashmir Hill, author of YOUR FACE BELONGS TO US, about a secretive startup's quest to end privacy as we know it Kashmir Hill is a journalist at The New York Times and the author of YOUR FACE BELONGS TO US. She writes about the looming tech dystopia and how we can try to avoid it. She got my start in journalism in 2008, as a writer for the legal b...

EPISODE 1722: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bethanne Patrick , the LATimes book critic, about eight of the best novels she recommends for the Fall. 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...

EPISODE 1721: In this regular weekly show with THAT WAS THE WEEK newsletter author Keith Teare, Keith explains why he hopes tech globalization will undermine the economic and political power of the nation-state 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 startu...

EPISODE 1720: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Zeynep Ton, author THE CASE FOR GOOD JOBS, about why companies need to bring dignity, pay and meaning to all their employees' work Zeynep Ton is a professor of the practice at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Previously, she was on the faculty of the Har­vard Business School. Ton received numerous awards for teaching excellence at both schools...

EPISODE 1719: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Maria Ressa, 2021 Nobel laureate and author of HOW TO STAND UP TO A DICTATOR, about courage, honesty, bravery and why we must all fight for our future A journalist in Asia for more than 37 years, Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the top digital only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. As Rappler's CEO and pres...

EPISODE 1718: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Rachel Abrams, co-author of UNSCRIPTED, about on the Redstone dynastic struggle at Paramount/CBS which rivals the show Succession for its shocking sex, lies and betrayals Rachel Abrams is a senior producer and reporter for “The New York Times Presents,” The Times’s award-winning television documentary series for Hulu and FX. In 2022, she was part...

EPISODE 1717: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Naomi S. Baron, author of WHO WROTE THIS?, about how AI and the lure of efficiency is  are stopping us know who we really are as humans Naomi S. Baron is Professor Emerita of Linguistics at American University in Washington, DC. She is the author of Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World , Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digit...

EPISODE 1716:  In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ken Dychtwald PhD, author of RADICAL CURIOSITY, on how to simultaneously stay young and old in an America preoccupied by age As a psychologist, gerontologist, author of 19 books, celebrated public speaker and teacher, successful entrepreneur, documentary filmmaker and CEO of Age Wave, Dr. Ken Dychtwald has been helping people envision their own...

EPISODE 1711: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ken Costa, the author of THE 100 TRILLION DOLLAR WEALTH TRANSFER, about why the handover of wealth from Boomers to Gen Z must revolutionize capitalism For over 40 years Ken Costa has been a leading global investment banker, philanthropist and thought leader. Born in South Africa, he was active in the anti-apartheid movement as a student leader in...

EPISODE 1715:  In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to David L. Rogers, author of THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, about how to rebuild organizations in our age of continuous change David Rogers is the world’s leading expert on digital transformation, a member of the faculty at Columbia Business School, and the author of five books. In his newest book, The Digital Transformation Roadmap (2023), Rogers ta...

EPISODE 1714: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Prit Buttar, author of TO BESIEGE A CITY: LENINGRAD 1941-42 about perhaps the most brutal and gruesome siege in human history ​​Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he worked as a GP, first near Bristol and then in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. He is extensively involved i...

EPISODE 1713: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Mike Rothschilds, author of JEWISH SPACE LASERS, about the Rothschilds and 200 years of anti-semitic conspiracy theories Mike Rothschild is a journalist and conspiracy theory expert whose work has examined scams, frauds, moral panic, conspiracy theories, and how their impact has gone from the online world into everyday life. He has written two pr...

EPISODE 1712: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Simon Johnson, co-author of POWER & PROGRESS, on what we can learn from our 1000-year struggle over technology and prosperity to make our age of Generative AI more equitable SIMON JOHNSON is the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management g...

EPISODE 1710: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Amy Edmondson, author of RIGHT KIND OF WRONG, about why we need to take smart risks which will result in more, rather than fewer, failures Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful en...

EPISODE 1709:  In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Dr Alexander Batthyany, the author of THRESHOLD, about terminal lucidity and our final journey when we cross over the border from life to death Prof. Dr. Alexander Batthyány is Director of the Research Institute for Theoretical Psychology and Personalist Studies at Pázmány Péter University, Budapest and is faculty Professor for Existential Psych...

EPISODE 1708: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Taylor Lorenz, author of EXTREMELY ONLINE, about the untold story of fame, influence, and power on the internet Taylor Lorenz is a technology columnist for The Washington Post 's business section covering online culture and the content creator industry. She was previously a technology reporter for The New York Times business section, The Atlantic...

EPISODE 1707: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Marcie Bianco, author of BREAKING FREE,  about the lie of equality and the feminist fight for freedom Marcie Bianco is a writer, editor, and cultural critic. She has written, taught, and lectured about feminism, ethics, literature, and culture for more than fifteen years. A 2013 Lambda Literary Fellow, her writing has appeared at CNN, NBC Think,...

EPISODE 1706: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Diana B. Henriques, author of TAMING THE STREET, about the New Deal, FDR's fight to regulate American capitalism and its relevance today in Joe Biden's America Diana B. Henriques, an award-winning financial journalist, is the author of A First-Class Catastrophe: The Road to Black Monday, the Worst Day in Wall Street History , released in Septembe...

EPISODE 1705: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Paul Carter, author of RICHARD NIXON: CALIFORNIA'S NATIVE SON, about a successful and tolerant US President whose legacy, Carter believes, has been much misunderstood  Paul Carter is an attorney with more than twenty years of experience in investigation and trial work. He is the author of the biographical map Native Son: Richard Nixon’s Southern...

EPISODE 1704: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ed Conway, author of MATERIAL WORLD, about the six physical commodities that constitute the essential plumbing of our global extractive economy Ed Conway is a writer and broadcaster. He is the Economics and Data Editor of Sky News and a regular columnist for The Times and Sunday Times . He has written two critically acclaimed and bestselling book...