

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

Jun 5, 2023 • 24min
Body Neutrality: Jessi Kneeland on the psychology and spirituality of escaping body self-hatred
EPISODE 1524: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jessi Kneeland, the author of BODY NEUTRAL, about her revolutionary new guide to overcoming body image issuesJessi Kneeland (they/them) is a coach, writer, and speaker dedicated to helping people overcome the suffering associated with body anxiety, insecurity, and negativity, and to improve their relationship with their bodies. After working as a personal trainer for a decade in New York City, Kneeland became an iPEC certified life coach and launched a coaching practice centered around the meaningful work of self-acceptance. Their innovative approach allows them to partner with clients individually and in groups to help them find body acceptance, a strong sense of self-worth, and true confidence. They are committed to the pursuit of body neutrality—a philosophy predicated on the idea that how we look is the least interesting and important thing about us. Their work has been featured in Women’s Health, Shape, Pop Sugar, Refinery29, BuzzFeed, Hello Giggles, and more, and their TED talk has been viewed by over 50,000 people. They live in North Carolina with their partner and cat. They are the author of BODY NEUTRAL (2023)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.

Jun 4, 2023 • 30min
The Search for Justice in America: Jared Fishman on the cold-blooded murder of Henry Glover by the New Orleans Police Department after Hurricane Katrina
EPISODE 1523: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jared Fishman, the author of FIRE ON THE LEVEE, about the New Orleans police murder of Henry Glover and the search for justice after Hurricane KatrinaJared Fishman is the founder and executive director of Justice Innovation Lab, an organization that designs data-driven solutions for a more equitable, effective, and fair justice system. Justice Innovation Lab uses a collaborative approach to help justice system decision-makers identify and fix inequities in their jurisdictions. Prior to founding Justice Innovation Lab, Mr. Fishman served for 14 years as a senior civil rights prosecutor at the US Department of Justice, where he led some of the most complex civil rights prosecutions in the country, securing convictions in high-profile cases involving police misconduct, hate crimes and human trafficking. He received multiple awards from the Department of Justice for distinguished service, including the Civil Rights Division’s highest award for excellence in legal advocacy. Mr. Fishman began his career at the US Department of State, where he worked to rebuild legal systems in post-war Kosovo. He has also served as a line prosecutor at the Washington, DC US Attorney’s Office, where he handled domestic violence and sex offense cases. He regularly speaks on issues of data-driven criminal justice reform, police accountability, hate crimes, and human trafficking. He serves as adjunct faculty at Georgetown University and at the George Washington University Law School. He is also the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of a middle-aged dad garage band. His latest book is FIRE ON THE LEVEE (2023)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.

Jun 4, 2023 • 33min
The Survivor's Story of a Gay Activist: Paul Burston on how we can all be heroes, just for one day
EPISODE 1522: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of WE CAN HEROES, Paul Burston, about his survival story as a prominent British gay activist, journalist and novelistPaul Burston was born in York, raised in South Wales and now divides his time between London and Hastings. From the age of 23, he was an AIDS activist with ACT UP London and also worked for the gay police monitoring group GALOP before becoming a journalist. For 20 years he edited what became known as the LGBT section at Time Out London, documenting the changing cultural and political landscape. In 1994 he co-founded Attitude Magazine. He has written for many other publications including the Guardian and the Times. He also wrote and presented documentaries for Channel 4. His books include 'Shameless' (shortlisted for the State of Britain Award 2001), 'Lovers and Losers' (shortlisted for the Stonewall Award 2007), 'The Gay Divorcee' (2009, optioned for television) and 'The Black Path' (long listed for the Guardian's Not The Booker Prize, 2016) His latest novel is the social media psychological thriller 'The Closer I Get'. His memoir 'We Can Be Heroes' will be published by Little A on June 1, 2023 and is available to preorder now. The podcast 'We Can Be Heroes with Paul Burston' is available now on Acast, Apple, Spotify and other platforms. He is the founder of Polari literary salon and The Polari Book Prize for LGBTQ+ writing. Visit his website at www.paulburston.net Follow him on Twitter @paulburston or Instagram @paulburston1. For information on Polari and the Polari Prize awards, please visit www.polarisalon.comNamed 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.

Jun 4, 2023 • 33min
Secrets from a Victorian Woman's Wardrobe: Kate Strasdin on fashion, fabric and femininity in 19th century England
EPISODE 1521: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kate Strasdin, the author of THE DRESS DIARY OF MRS ANNE SYKES, about fashion, fabric and femininity in 19th century EnglandKate Strasdin is a dress historian who has been fascinated by old clothes since she was a child. She is a lecturer in Cultural Studies at Falmouth University and is a freelance consultant for dress and textile exhibitions. She has appeared on The Great British Sewing Bee as an expert. In 2016 she was given an anonymous album full of annotated dress swatches that had been kept in a trunk for over fifty years, its original keeper unknown. She spent the next six years unlocking its secrets. She lives in Devon with her husband and two children. Her latest book is The Dress Diary of Mrs Anne Sykes: Secrets from a Victorian Woman’s Wardrobe (2023)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.

Jun 3, 2023 • 34min
The Most American of Americans: How African-American slaves embraced the new Republic's symbols of freedom in their fight for freedom
EPISODE 1520: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Matthew Clavin, the author of SYMBOLS OF FREEDOM, about the way in which African American slaves were inspired by the American symbols of independence in their fight for true freedomMatthew J. Clavin is Professor of History at the University of Houston and the author of The Battle of Negro Fort: The Rise and Fall of a Fugitive Slave Community, Aiming for Pensacola: Fugitive Slaves on the Atlantic and Southern Frontiers, and Toussaint Louverture and the American Civil War: The Promise and Peril of a Second Haitian Revolution. His latest book is Symbols of Freedom: Slavery and Resistance Before the Civil War (2023)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.

Jun 3, 2023 • 26min
The Twisted Games We Play: Siena Sterling on twisted plots, twisted people and twisted writers like Highsmith and Dostoievski
EPISODE 1519: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Siena Sterling, the author of THE GAME SHE PLAYS CAN TURN DEADLY. about twisted plots, twisted people and twisted writers like Patricia Highsmith and Fyodor DostoievskiSiena Sterling is an American living in London. Before moving to England, she worked at Doubleday bookstore in New York, in political campaigns, and for the Federal Railroad Administration. She has two children. She plays poker and tennis, and has a passion for Jack Russell terriers. Her latest thriller is THE GAME SHE PLAYS CAN TURN DEADLY (2023)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.

Jun 3, 2023 • 27min
The Italian Squad: Paul Moses on the true story of the immigrant cops who fought the rise of the Mafia
EPISODE 1518: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of the ITALIAN SQUAD, Paul Moses, about the true story of the early 20th century New York cops who fought the rise of the MafiaPaul Moses is Professor Emeritus of Journalism at CUNY-Brooklyn College and a former reporter and editor at Newsday. He is the author of An Unlikely Union: The Love-Hate Story of New York's Irish and Italians and The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace. His latest book is The Italian Squad: The True Story of the Immigrant Cops Who Fought the Rise of the Mafia (2023)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.

Jun 3, 2023 • 42min
The Palestine Laboratory: Antony Loewenstein explains how Israel exports the technology of occupation around the world
EPISODE 1517: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE PALESTINE LABORATORY, Antony Loewenstein, about how, in his view, Israel exports the technology of occupation around the worldAntony Loewenstein is an independent journalist, best-selling author, filmmaker and co-founder of Declassified Australia. He's written for The Guardian, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books and many others. His books include Pills, Powder and Smoke, Disaster Capitalism and My Israel Question. His documentary films include Disaster Capitalism and the Al Jazeera English films West Africa's Opioid Crisis and Under the Cover of Covid. He was based in East Jerusalem 2016-2020.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.

Jun 2, 2023 • 33min
The Heartbeat of the Wild: David Quammen's conservationist manifesto from landscapes of wonder, peril and hope
EPISODE 1516: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE HEARTBEAT OF THE WILD, David Quammen, about how to write with both appropriate spiritual reverence and scientific accuracy about the wildernessDavid Quammen is an author and journalist whose eighteen books include Breathless (2022), The Tangled Tree (2018), Spillover (2012), The Song of the Dodo (1996) and, most recently, The Heartbeat of the Wild (2023). Though he began his career as a novelist (To Walk the Line, 1970, and three other works of fiction), in recent decades he has written only nonfiction, focused mainly on science, history of science, and the relationships of humans to landscape and biological diversity. In the past forty years Quammen has also published a few hundred pieces of short nonfiction—feature articles, essays, columns—in magazines such as The New Yorker, National Geographic, Harper’s, Outside, Esquire, The Atlantic, Powder, and Rolling Stone. He writes occasional Op Eds for The New York Times and other newspapers, and book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and The New York Review of Books. Quammen has been honored with an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and is a three-time recipient of the National Magazine Award. His books have received various awards, and Breathless in 2022 was a finalist for the National Book Award. He lives in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Betsy Gaines Quammen (also an author: American Zion and the forthcoming True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America) and their family of three dogs, a cat, and a python.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.

Jun 2, 2023 • 31min
Do You Dream of Electric Sheep? Jordan Crandall on the appropriate literature for our new age of superintelligence
EPISODE 1515: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jordan Crandall, the author of AUTODRIVE, about the imminent age of superintelligence in which we will won't be able to distinguish man and machineJordan Crandall is Professor of Visual Arts at University of California, San Diego. He is the author of five books, including Drive, an anthology of his artworks, media installations, and theoretical writings published by Neue Galerie Graz and ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. In 2011 he was the recipient of the Vilém Flusser Theory Award for outstanding research in media art and digital culture. Autodrive is his first work of fiction.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.


