Keen On America
Andrew Keen
Nobody asks sharper or more impertinent questions than Andrew Keen. In KEEN ON, Andrew cross-examines the world’s smartest people on politics, economics, history, the environment, and tech. If you want to make sense of our complex world, check out the daily questions and the answers on KEEN ON.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best-known technology and politics broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running show How To Fix Democracy and the author of four critically acclaimed books about the future, including the international bestselling CULT OF THE AMATEUR.
Keen On is free to listen to and will remain so. If you want to stay up-to-date on new episodes and support the show, please subscribe to Andrew Keen’s Substack. Paid subscribers will soon be able to access exclusive content from our new series Keen On America – keenon.substack.com
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best-known technology and politics broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running show How To Fix Democracy and the author of four critically acclaimed books about the future, including the international bestselling CULT OF THE AMATEUR.
Keen On is free to listen to and will remain so. If you want to stay up-to-date on new episodes and support the show, please subscribe to Andrew Keen’s Substack. Paid subscribers will soon be able to access exclusive content from our new series Keen On America – keenon.substack.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 26, 2026 • 44min
How Stories Can Save Us: Colum McCann on Narrative Four, Einstein, Freud, and the Power of Empathy
Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning novelist and founder of Narrative Four, uses story exchange to build empathy worldwide. He discusses the exchange-and-retelling method, its measurable effects on reducing polarization, real-world impacts connecting unlikely communities, and how art, science, and even AI shape the future of storytelling.
Mar 25, 2026 • 50min
Politics in the Age of Total Control: Jacob Siegel on the Information State that Came Home
Jacob Siegel, a former Army intelligence officer and author of The Information State, traces how battlefield surveillance tools migrated to daily life. He discusses the Obama-era institutionalization of surveillance, contrasts technocratic and overt control styles, and explores how digital infrastructure enabled a Kafkaesque system that keeps expanding despite repeated failures.
Mar 25, 2026 • 33min
America's Suez Moment? Soli Özel on Why Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again
Soli Özel, a Istanbul-based professor of international relations and columnist, offers a blunt take on the Iran crisis. He questions why war was chosen over diplomacy. He explains Iran’s unexpected resilience, the shifting Gulf security balance, and how Russia and China gain while U.S. influence wanes. He also discusses regional mediation efforts and the risks of wider military involvement.
Mar 24, 2026 • 39min
How to Be Agreeably Disagreeable: Julia Minson on How to Argue with Your MAGA Father-in-Law
Julia Minson, Harvard public policy professor and author of How to Disagree Better, studies disagreement, persuasion, and communication. She recounts conversations with her conservative father-in-law and explores why silence and assumptions make conflict worse. Topics include how backgrounds shape views, storytelling to reduce hostility, social media’s echo chambers, power imbalances, and practical ways to invite dissent.
Mar 23, 2026 • 41min
Let’s Ban Billionaires: Noam Cohen on the Know-It-Alls 2.0
Noam Cohen, former New York Times technology columnist and author of The Know-It-Alls, critiques Silicon Valley power and how tech elites shape politics. He reflects on career fallout from the internet, condemns AI as a mass scraping theft of knowledge, and debates reforms from wealth taxes to breaking up or nationalizing big tech.
8 snips
Mar 22, 2026 • 39min
Was St. Francis of Assisi the First Silicon Valley Critic? Dan Turello on 800-Years of Tech Anxiety
Dan Turello, cultural historian of medieval Italy and photographer, explores tech as anything that extends the body. He traces modern tech anxiety to medieval reactions like St. Francis’s counterculture and Dante’s nostalgia. Conversation jumps from mindful photography and agency to worries about AI’s lack of provenance and how technology shapes who controls narratives.
Mar 21, 2026 • 34min
A Willing Philadelphia Story: Richard Vague on the Wealthiest & Most Invisible American Founding Father
Richard Vague, financial historian and author, explores Thomas Willing — Philadelphia’s richest banker who financed the Revolution he opposed. Short episodes cover Willing’s smuggling of gunpowder, his bank’s role funding the war, his influence on Hamilton and the Constitution, ties to slave trading, and how elite finance shaped early American politics.
Mar 20, 2026 • 42min
Symbolic Capitalism vs. Symbolic Democracy: Will the $10 Trillion AI Startup Change Everything?
Keith Teare, serial entrepreneur and investor who writes the newsletter That Was The Week, joins the conversation. He predicts staggering AI valuations and debates whether giant AI firms could shift power from governments. They unpack market signals like Fundrise, Anthropic’s clash with regulators, and the rise of “symbolic capitalism” embodied by figures such as Altman and Musk.
Mar 19, 2026 • 38min
Nature's Last Dance: Natalie Kyriacou on Ecocide, Oiled Penguins, and Why We Need to Watch the Birds
Natalie Kyriacou, Australian environmentalist and author of Nature's Last Dance, explores biodiversity loss and community responses to ecological crises. She recounts the massive volunteer rescue of 90,000 oiled penguins. She links war, oil and military emissions to ecological collapse. She urges birdwatching, local action and systemic change while imagining a diminished future if we fail to act.
Mar 19, 2026 • 46min
What Came First: Stories or Language? Kevin Ashton on the Story of Stories
Kevin Ashton, technologist and author who coined “Internet of Things” and wrote The Story of Stories, argues that stories came before language. He claims humans invented language to share narratives around ancient fires. Conversation on how story structure shapes thought, how writing and tech scaled narratives, and why AI can mimic story form without true meaning.
