Why Has Children's Literature Become So Politicized? Kelly Yang on Roald Dahl, Ron DeSantis and the new culture wars over kids' books

In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to FINALLY SEEN author Kelly Yang about Roald Dahl, Ron DeSantis and why children's literature has become so politicized.

KELLY YANG, Founder, is the New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of FRONT DESK and winner of the 2018 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. FRONT DESK is a debut middle grade novel published by Scholastic Inc, the publishers of Harry Potter, about a 10 year-old Chinese American immigrant girl who manages the front desk of a motel while her parents clean the rooms. In 2018, FRONT DESK was awarded the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature as well as the Parents’ Choice Gold Medal. In addition, FRONT DESK is a Children’s History Book Prize Honor Book, a E.B. White Honor Book, and has earned numerous other recognitions including being named an Amazon Best Book of the Year, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a NPR Best Book of the Year, a NBC Best Book of the Year, and a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of the Year. In 2019, it was announced that FRONT DESK is a 2019 Global Read Aloud, connecting 1.5 million children around the world through one book.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.