

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

May 4, 2023 • 29min
Remembering the Beginnings of our Social Media Age: Julia Angwin on her earliest memories of the blogging "revolution"
EPISODE 1474: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the veteran tech journalist Julia Angwin about her memories of 9/11 and why she was never quite taken by the blogging "revolution"Julia Angwin is an award-winning investigative journalist and New York Times contributing Opinion writer. She founded The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the impacts of technology on society, and is Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Journalism School’s Brown Institute. Julia was a previously a senior reporter at the independent news organization ProPublica, where she led an investigative team that was a Finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting in 2017 and won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2018. From 2000 to 2013, she was a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where she led a privacy investigative team that was a Finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting in 2011 and won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2010. In 2003, she was on a team of reporters at The Wall Street Journal that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting for coverage of corporate corruption. She is also the author of “Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance” (Times Books, 2014) and “Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America” (Random House, March 2009). She earned a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Chicago, and an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University.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.

May 4, 2023 • 37min
Uncovering the Sad Truth about Wonder Boy: Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans on Tony Hsieh and Silicon Valley's happiness myth
EPISODE 1473: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the authors of WONDER BOY, Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans, about Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the myth of happiness in Silicon ValleyAngel Au-Yeung, co-author of Wonder Boy, is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and a former staff writer for Forbes. She was born in Hong Kong and grew up in California, the youngest of three sisters. She attended UC San Diego for her undergraduate studies as a cognitive neuroscience major and Columbia University for her graduate degree in journalism. She currently lives in San Francisco. David Jeans is a senior writer at Forbes, where he covers tech. He is also co-author of WONDER BOY: Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley published by Henry Holt & Co. in April 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.

May 4, 2023 • 28min
Turning the Traditional Super-Hero Narrative Upside Down: Leah Johnson on why it's more important for kids to save themselves than to save the world
EPISODE 1472: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Leah Johnson, the author of ELLIE ENGLE SAVES HERSELF!, about why it's more important for kids to save themselves than to save the worldLeah Johnson is an eternal midwesterner and author of award-winning books for children and young adults. Her bestselling debut YA novel, You Should See Me in a Crown, was a Stonewall Honor Book, and the inaugural Reese's Book Club YA pick. In 2021, TIME named You Should See Me in a Crown one of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Leah's essays and cultural criticism can be found in Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan among others. Her debut middle grade, Ellie Engle Saves Herself is forthcoming from Disney-Hyperion in May 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.

May 4, 2023 • 27min
Why Social Media Still Matters: Jeff Jarvis on the origins of blogging , what went wrong at Twitter and Facebook, and how he still believes in the social potential of the Internet
EPISODE 1471: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the social media theorist Jeff Jarvis about the origins of blogging , what went wrong at Facebook and Twitter, and why he still believes in the social potential of the InternetJeff Jarvis is the Director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism and The Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation He is a national leader in the development of online news, blogging, the investigation of new business models for news, and the teaching of entrepreneurial journalism. He writes an influential media blog, Buzzmachine.com. He is author of “Geeks Bearing Gifts: Imagining New Futures for News” (CUNY Journalism Press, 2014); “Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live” (Simon & Schuster, 2011); “What Would Google Do?” (HarperCollins 2009), and the Kindle Single “Gutenberg the Geek.” He has consulted for media companies including The Guardian, Digital First Media, Postmedia, Sky.com, Burda, Advance Publications, and The New York Times company at About.com. Prior to joining the Newmark J-School, Jarvis was president of Advance.net, the online arm of Advance Publications, which includes Condé Nast magazines and newspapers across America. He was the creator and founding managing editor of Entertainment Weekly magazine and has worked as a columnist, associate publisher, editor, and writer for a number of publications, including TV Guide, People, the San Francisco Examiner, the Chicago Tribune, and the New York Daily News. His freelance articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country, including the Guardian, The New York Times, the New York Post, The Nation, Rolling Stone, and BusinessWeek. Jarvis holds a B.S.J. from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He was named one of the 100 most influential media leaders by the World Economic Forum at Davos.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.

May 4, 2023 • 27min
The 1963 Birmingham Campaign: Paul Kix on the ten weeks that changed America
EPISODE 1470: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Paul Kix, the author of YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO DIE BEFORE YOU CAN BEGIN TO LIVE, about the 1963 Birmingham Campaign - ten weeks that would shape the course of the Civil Rights Movement and the future of AmericaPaul Kix is an author whose last book was The Saboteur, a bestselling and critically acclaimed true story of the most daring man in World War II. His writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, GQ, and ESPN The Magazine, among other publications. He lives in Connecticut with his family. His latest book is YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO DIE BEFORE YOU CAN BEGIN TO LIVE: Ten Weeks in Birmingham that Changed America (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.

May 3, 2023 • 32min
Is American Capitalism Irredeemably Rotten? Brendan Ballou on Private Equity's Plan to Pillage and Plunder the United States
EPISODE 1469: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of PLUNDER, Brendan Ballou, about Private Equity's Plan to Pillage AmericaBrendan Ballou is a federal prosecutor and served as Special Counsel for Private Equity in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. Previously, he worked in private practice, and before that, in the National Security Division of the Justice Department, where he advised the White House on counterterrorism and other policies. He graduated from Columbia University and Stanford Law School. His latest book is PLUNDER: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America (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.

May 3, 2023 • 41min
HELL TO PAY: Michael Lind explains how the suppression of wages and unions is destroying America
EPISODE 1468: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of HELL TO PAY, Michael Lind, about how the suppression of wages and unions is destroying AmericaMichael Lind is the author of more than a dozen books of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, including The New Class War, The Next American Nation, and Land of Promise. He is a columnist for Tablet and has been an editor or staff writer for The New Yorker, Harper’s, The New Republic, and The National Interest. He has taught at Harvard and Johns Hopkins and is currently a professor of practice at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. His latest book is HELL TO PAY: How the Suppression of Wages is Destroying America (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.

May 3, 2023 • 29min
From Solitaire to Heartstopper: Alice Oseman on asexuality, authentic story telling and book banning
EPISODE 1467: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Alice Oseman, the author of SOLITAIRE and the HEARTSTOPPER series, about asexuality, the importance of authentic story telling and the dangers of book banningAlice Oseman is an award-winning author, illustrator, and screenwriter, and was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She has written four YA contemporary novels about teenage disasters: Solitaire, Radio Silence, I Was Born for This, and Loveless. She is the creator of LGBTQ+ YA romance webcomic Heartstopper, which is now published in physical form by Hachette Children’s Group, and she is the writer, creator, and executive producer for the television adaptation of Heartstopper, which is set to be released on Netflix. Alice’s first novel Solitaire was published when she was nineteen. Her YA novels have been nominated for the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, the Carnegie Medal, and the Goodreads Choice Awards.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.

May 2, 2023 • 32min
The First Lady of World War II: Shannon McKenna Schmidt on Eleanor Roosevelt's remarkable heroism during the War
EPISODE 1466: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of THE FIRST LADY OF WORLD WAR II, Shannon McKenna Schmidt, on Eleanor Roosvelt's historic journey in 1943 to the Pacific frontline.Shannon McKenna Schmidt is the author of The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt's Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back (Sourcebooks/May 2023). She is also the co-author of Novel Destinations: A Travel Guide to Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen’s Bath to Ernest Hemingway’s Key West, 2nd ed. (National Geographic) and Writers Between the Covers: The Scandalous Romantic Lives of Legendary Literary Casanovas, Coquettes, and Cads (Plume/Penguin Random House). In addition, Shannon has written for National Geographic Traveler, Shelf Awareness, DailyBeast.com, NPR.org, and other websites and publications, including an Arrive magazine cover story featuring President Bill Clinton. She has been a guest on the Leonard Lopate Show/WNYC and the Travel Show with Arthur & Pauline Frommer, and has spoken at the New York Public Library, the Texas Book Festival, the Dallas Museum of Art, and other venues, including bookstores, libraries, and historic sites. From 2010 through 2017, Shannon traveled full-time—first in the United States by RV and then backpacking around the globe. Now, when she's not on the road, she lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.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.

May 2, 2023 • 34min
The Miracle That the United States Needs Right Now: John Blake's personal story on how to get beyond race and racism in America today
EPISODE 1465: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the author of MORE THAN I IMAGINED, John Blake, about his memoir of rediscovering his white mother and what this tells us about getting beyond race and racism in America todayJohn Blake is an award-winning CNN journalist. He has been honored by the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Academy of Religion, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Religion Communicators Council. A recipient of the GLAAD Media Award, he has spoken at high schools, colleges, and symposiums, and in documentaries on race, religion, and politics. Blake is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. His latest book is MORE THAN I IMAGINED: What a Black Man Discovered about a White Mother He Never KnewNamed 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.


