Keen On America

EPISODE 1409 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the Cornell historian and author of STAY COOL, Aaron Sachs, about why dark comedy matters so much in the fight against climate change Aaron Sachs is a professor of history and American studies at Cornell University and an award-winning environmental journalist. “STAY COOL: Why Dark Comedy Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change” (2023) is hi...

EPISODE 1408 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of GEORGE VI AND ELIZABETH, Sally Bedell Smith, about the 20th century royal marriage that , she believes, saved the British monarchy Sally Bedell Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of eight biographies. Her latest , George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy (Random House 2023) is the definitive biogra...

EPISODE 1407: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of I CAN'T SAVE YOU, the Harvard and Emory university trained Dr Anthony Chin-Quee, about why he gave up his successful career in medicine and how this "saved" him Anthony Chin-Quee, M.D. , is a board-certified otolaryngologist with degrees from Harvard University and Emory University School of Medicine. An award-winning storyteller wi...

EPISODE 1406: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of UNWIRED, Gaia Bernstein about how society has an addictive technology problem and how we can grain control over this tech Gaia Bernstein is the Technology, Privacy and Policy Professor of Law, Co-Director of the Institute for Privacy Protection, and Co-Director of the Gibbons Institute of Law Science and Technology at Seton Hall Uni...

EPISODE 1405: In this regular KEEN ON show with Keith Teare, the author of the THAT WAS THE WEEK tech newsletter, Andrew talks to Keith about the absurdity of trying to put generative artificial intelligence on pause and why we should be optimistic about an AI future in which none of us will have to work Keith Teare is a Founder and CEO at SignalRank Corporation. Previously he was Executive Chairm...

EPISODE 1404: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of RETRACING THE IRON CURTAIN, Timothy Phillips, about his 3,000-mile journey through the end and afterlife of the Cold War Timothy Phillips is the author of The Secret Twenties: British Intelligence, the Russians, and the Jazz Age (Granta, 2017) and Beslan: The Tragedy of School No. 1 (Granta, 2008). He grew up in Northern Ireland and...

EPISODE 1403: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE SHORTEST HISTORY OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE, Michael Scott-Baumann, about the world's most intractable political problem - the Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and Palestine. Michael Scott-Baumann is a graduate of Cambridge University and has an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He lives in Chelten...

EPISODE 1402 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of A LIVING REMEDY: A MEMOIR, Nicole Chung about her experience of family, class and grief in an increasingly unequal America Nicole Chung is the author of the forthcoming memoir A Living Remedy (April 4, 2023) and the national bestseller All You Can Ever Know (2018). Named a Best Book of the Year by over twenty outlets, including NPR...

EPISODE 1401 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE LAST CATASTROPHE, Allegra Hyde, about her new story collection that focuses on how humanity grapples in a world transformed by climate change Allegra Hyde is the author of ELEUTHERIA, which was named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker. She is also the author of the story collection, OF THIS NEW WORLD, which won the John Si...

EPISODE 1400: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of CREATORS TAKE CONTROL, Edward Lee, about the health of the Web3 digital economy, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and the seductive promise of creators taking control of their work A leading legal expert on NFTs, Edward Lee is a professor of Law and co-director of Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Center for Design, Law, and Technology, the f...

EPISODE 1399: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the Stanford Business School professor and author of SELFLESS, Brian Lowery, about the American mythology of rugged individualism and how we should be recognize the social dimensions of our selves BRIAN LOWERY, PhD, is the Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Lowery’s...

EPISODE 1398 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the editor of HOW TO SAVE DEMOCRACY, Eli Merritt, who offers advice and inspiration from 95 (mostly) democratic world leaders on how to save our democracy Eli Merritt is a political historian at Vanderbilt University where he researches the ethics of democracy, the interface of demagogues and democracy, and the founding principles of the United...

EPISODE 1397: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the distinguished German historian and author of THE SOVIET HISTORY Karl Schlogel about his new encyclopedic and richly detailed history of everyday life in the Soviet Union Karl Schlögel is a historian, essayist, and professor emeritus at Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. His many books include histories of Moscow, Berlin, a...

EPISODE 1396 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to NYU law professor and author of DEMOCRACY UNMOORED, Samuel Issacharoff, about the crisis of democracy around the world and why he is cautiously optimistic about countering the crisis of authoritarian populism Samuel Issacharoff is the Reiss Professor of Constitutional Law. His wide-ranging research deals with issues in civil procedure (especiall...

EPISODE 1395 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of HER LOST WORDS, Stephanie Marie Thornton, about her new novel which reimagines the lives of the 18th century English feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and her 19th century daughter, Mary Shelley, the author of "Frankenstein" Stephanie Marie Thornton is a USA Today bestselling author and a high school history teacher. She lives in Alaska...

EPISODE 1394: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE MERCENARY, the American journalist Jeffrey E. Stern, about a many layered, complexly truthful story of his relationship with his local driver during the Afghanistan war Jeffrey E. Stern is the author of “The Last Thousand: One School’s Promise in a Nation at War”. He has been named both a Pulitzer Center Fellow for Crisis Report...

EPISODE 1393: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to Robert Pearl, MD, about how generative AI represents a Gutenberg moment in the history of medicine and offers five ways that it will revolutionize healthcare in the next few years Dr. Robert Pearl is the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (1999-2017), the nation’s largest medical group, and former president of The Mid-Atlantic Permanen...

EPISODE 1391: In our regular weekly round-up of tech news, Andrew talks to THAT WAS THE WEEK newsletter author Keith Teare about the chilling anti-Chinese and anti-Communist hysteria in Washington DC against TikTok 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 st...

EPISODE 1390: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to behavorial economist and author of MIXED SIGNALS, Uri Gneezy, about how incentives really work in terms of getting people to change how they behave Uri Gneezy is an economist, behavioral scientist, innovative strategist, entrepreneur, professor and author of the critically acclaimed book, The Why Axis . He is particularly interested in the way...

EPISODE 1389: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to THE POWER OF HOPE author, Carol Graham, about why hope matters as a metric of economic and social well-being. Carol Graham is the Leo Pasvolsky Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and College Park Professor at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. She is also a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (I...

EPISODE 1388: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to HAPPILY author Sabrina Orah Mark about how to write a memoir built around fairy tales Raised in Brooklyn, NY, Sabrina Orah Mark earned a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University. She also earned an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and a PhD in English from the University of Georgia. She is the author of the poetry collections Tsim Tsum ,...

EPISODE 1387 : In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to Kevin O'Brien, former Assistant US Attorney to the DOJ, about hush money, Stormy Daniels and the latest farcical chapter of the Donald Trump Show Kevin O'Brien is a former Assistant US Attorney to the DOJ and partner at Ford O’Brien Landy LLP. Having tried over 25 cases and arbitrations to verdict, Kevin has the experience and vast knowledge...

EPISODE 1387 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the HOW DATA HAPPENED co-author Chris Wiggins on a history of data from the Age of Reason to today's Age of Algorithms Chris Wiggins is an associate professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University and the Chief Data Scientist at The New York Times. At Columbia he is a founding member of the executive committee of the Data Science Institu...

EPISODE 1386: I n this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to ALL ELSE FAILED author Dana Sachs about the the unlikely volunteers at the heart of the migrant aid crisis in Greece Dana Sachs was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and spent her childhood there. Throughout those years, she thought Memphis was the most boring city in the world, but she changed her mind when she left for college and realized that not...

EPISODE 1385 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the co-authors of YOUR BRAIN ON ART, Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross about how the arts transform us and how this can improve our health, enable us to flourish, and build stronger communities Susan Magsamen is the founder and director of the International Arts + Mind Lab, Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medic...