Keen On America

EPISODE 1384 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to BOTTOMS UP AND THE DEVIL LAUGHS author Kerry Howley about her journey through the Deep State and what this suggests about the existence of "truth" and "reality" in contemporary America Kerry Howley is an essayist, screenwriter, and the author of Thrown, a New York Times Notable Book , New York Times Editor’s Choice, and pick for best-of-the-year...

EPISODE 1383: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to NEXT author Joanne Lipman about how to successfully reinvent how we live, work and lead. Joanne Lipman has served as Editor-in-Chief of USA Today , USA Today Network, Conde Nast Portfolio , and The Wall Street Journal 's Weekend Journal, leading those organizations to six Pulitzer Prizes. She is also author of the No. 1 bestseller "That's What...

EPISODE 1382: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to ARID EMPIRE author Natalie Koch about the weirdly entangled fates of Arizona and Saudi Arabia Natalie Koch is a Professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at Syracuse University. She is a political geographer specializing in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula region, where she has worked since 2012. Her latest book is ARID EMPIRE: T...

EPISODE 1381: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to productivity consultant and author of COMING UP FOR AIR author Nick Sonnenberg about a practical guide to increasing productivity at work Nick Sonnenberg is the founder and CEO of Leverage , a business efficiency consultant, Inc. columnist and author of the upcoming book, Come Up For Air: How Teams Can Leverage Systems and Tools to Stop Drowning...

EPISODE 1380: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to true crime addict and author of HOW I'LL KILL YOU Ren DeStefano on female serial killers and why everyone, yes everyone, might have a murder in them. Ren DeStefano lives in Connecticut, where she was born and raised. When she’s not writing thrillers, she’s listening to true crime podcasts and crocheting way too many blankets. Her latest novel is...

EPISODE 1379 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the editor of GREAT KINGDOMS OF AFRICA, John Parker about the great precolonial kingdoms of Africa that have been marginalized throughout history John is Senior Lecturer in the History of Africa at SOAS. He is the author of ‘Making the Town: Ga State and Society in Early Colonial Accra’, ‘Tongnaab: The History of a West African God’ and ‘African...

EPISODE 1378 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the psychologist and author of PRESENCE, Ben Alderson-Day, about the universal feeling that someone or something is there when we are alone Dr. Ben Alderson-Day is an Associate Professor in Psychology and a Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing at Durham University. A specialist in atypical cognition and mental health...

EPISODE 1377: In this KEEN ON, Andrew is interviewed by the Bulgarian journalist and Digitalk conference organizer Yoan Zapyranov about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, ChatGPT4 and the general state of tech in 2023. Digitalk Conference is an event for game changers and entrepreneurs with breakthrough ideas that will take place at Sofia Event Center & ONLINE on 18 May 2023. For more: https...

EPISODE 1376 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of DUST CHILD ,Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, about Vietnamese Amerasians, the role of literature in healing trauma, and why female novelists like herself should appropriate the voices of men  Born and raised in Việt Nam, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is the author of The Mountains Sing , runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the...

EPISODE 1375 : In this regular weekly KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to THAT WAS THE WEEK author and SignalRank CEO Keith Teare about the banking crisis, the launch of ChatGPT4 and the broader crisis of trust in contemporary ideas and institutions  Keith Teare is a Founder and CEO at SignalRank Corporation. Previously he was Executive Chairman at Accelerated Digital Ventures Ltd - A UK based global in...

EPISODE 1374 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the artist, filmmaker and author of PINATA Leopoldo Gout about the horror genre and why modern Mexico City is an place layered by the living dead A visual artist, filmmaker, and writer who hails from Mexico City, LEOPOLDO GOUT studied sculpture at Central St. Martins School of Art in London. His work belongs to multiple collections and has been...

EPISODE 1373: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the UC Berkeley economist and author of SLOUCHING TOWARD UTOPIA author Brad Delong about today's banking crisis, ChatGPT4 and the new economic laws of our social media age Brad DeLong is a professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, where he teaches economic history, political economy, macroeconomies, and occasional other...

EPISODE 1372: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the Harvard professor and author of CULTURE Martin Puchner about how culture - from cave art to K-Pop - is the syncretic story of all of us. Nobody has the "right" to it, he says. And we all "own" it. ​Martin Puchner, the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, is a prize-winning author, educato...

EPISODE 1371: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to the author of BURY THE CORPSE OF COLONIALISM, Elisabeth B. Armstrong about the 1949 Asian Women's Conference in Beijing - the most consequential anti-colonial feminist conference that you've never heard of Elisabeth Armstrong teaches courses on feminist political praxis, with a focus on transnational feminist movements seeking social, economic...

EPISODE 1370: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to WALK THE WALK author and Colby College sociologist Neil Gross about three American police chiefs who defied the odds and provided a model for changing cop culture A former patrol officer in the police department in Berkeley, California, Neil Gross is a professor of sociology at Colby College. A frequent contributor to the New York Times, he is th...

EPISODE 1369: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to IN MEMORIUM author Alice Winn about innocence, privilege, violence, sexuality and social class in 1914-18 England and whether or not we are now back in similarly unequal and unjust pre World War One world. ALICE WINN grew up in Paris and was educated in the UK. She has a degree in English literature from Oxford University. She lives in Brooklyn....

EPISODE 1368: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the Japanese based scholar and writer Christopher Hobson about how everything everywhere in the world - from the US and UK to Nigeria, Iraq, Lebanon and South Africa - appears not only broken, but unrepairable  Christopher Hobson is a scholar based in Japan, with a PhD in Political Science and International Relations. He is an Associate Professor...

EPISODE 1367:  In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE LASTE RUSSIAN DOLL, Kristen Loesch, about the Russia of 1917 and 1991 and what inspired her to write her novel about two Russian 20th century women Kristen Loesch grew up in San Francisco. She holds a BA in History, as well as a Master’s degree in Slavonic Studies from the University of Cambridge. Her debut historical novel, TH...

EPISODE 1365 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to THE MONEY REVOLUTION author and financial analyst Richard Duncan on the stimulatory monetary policy that can truly make America great again Richard Duncan is the author of four books analyzing the causes and the effects of the economic crises that have brought the global economy to the brink of collapse during recent decades. His latest book is...

EPISODE 1365: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the artist Tiffany Shlain about her new "Human Nature" exhibit which views the history of women within the expansiveness of nature and time through the lens of feminism, neuroscience, ecology and philosophy. Honored by Newsweek as one of the "Women Shaping the 21st Century,” Tiffany Shlain is an artist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the We...

EPISODE 1364 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to THE POWER OF WONDER author Monica C. Parker on the way in which our sense of wonder can enrich the way we live, learn and work A world-renowned speaker, writer, and authority on the future of work, Monica Parker has spent decades helping people discover how to lead and live wonderfully. The founder of global human analytics and change consultanc...

EPISODE 1363 : In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to DEATH OF POLITICS author Peter Wehner about retribution, vengeance, forbearance and healing in Trump's America. 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 , wh...

EPISODE 1362: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to PLAYING GOD author Mary Jo McConahay about how American Catholic bishops and the big money interests of the religiously fundamentalist far right are a threat to American democracy. Mary Jo McConahay is one of the most prominent Catholic journalists in America. In the 1980s she was a legendary war correspondent covering the Central American insurg...

EPISODE 1361: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to BOOSTRAPPED author Alissa Quart on why and how we can liberate ourselves from the "American Dream" Alissa Quart is the author of five acclaimed books of nonfiction including the forthcoming Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream (Ecco, 2023). They are Squeezed , Republic of Outsiders , Hothouse Kids , and Branded . She is t...

EPISODE 1360: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to MORE THAN A GLITCH author Meredith Broussard on why and how technology is reinforcing inequality and what we can do about it Data journalist Meredith Broussard is an associate professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, research director at the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology , and the author of seve...