

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

Sep 8, 2022 • 30min
Douglas Rushkoff: What the Escape Fantasies of Tech Billionaires Reveal About Our Apocalyptic Age
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Douglas Rushkoff, author of Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires.Douglas Rushkoff is professor of media theory and digital economics at Queens/CUNY. Named one of the world’s ten most influential intellectuals by MIT, he hosts the Team Human podcast and has written many award-winning books. He lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Sep 7, 2022 • 34min
Josh Chin: Why China's "Surveillance State" Is More Nuanced Than Either China Lovers or Haters Would Have Us Believe
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Josh Chin, author of Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control.Josh Chin is Deputy Bureau Chief in China for the Wall Street Journal. He previously covered politics and tech in China as a reporter of the newspaper for more than a decade. He led an investigative team that won the Gerald Loeb Award for international reporting in 2018 for a series exposing the Chinese government’s pioneering embrace of digital surveillance. He was named a National Fellow at New America in 2020 and is a recipient of the Dan Bolles Medal, awarded to investigative journalists who have exhibited courage in standing up against intimidation. Born in Utah, he currently splits time between Seoul and Taiwan.

Sep 7, 2022 • 30min
Ross Dawson: How Can We Be Sure That This "Futurist" Author Isn't, In Fact, a Smart Machine?
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Ross Dawson, author of Thriving on Overload: The 5 Powers for Success in a World of Exponential Information.Ross Dawson is a world-leading futurist, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker. He is Founding Chairman of the Advanced Human Technologies group of companies, with clients including industry leaders, such as Boston Consulting Group, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Google, Interpublic Group, Microsoft, News Limited, Oracle, Procter & Gamble, PwC, Visa, and Walmart. Dawson is in strong demand globally, having delivered keynote speeches and strategy workshops to business and government leaders in over 30 countries. He appears frequently in media, such as ABC TV, BBC, The Guardian, New York Times, and VICE, among many others.

Sep 7, 2022 • 29min
David Livermore: How to Get Along With People That You Want to Eradicate
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by David Livermore, author of Digital, Diverse & Divided: How to Talk to Racists, Compete with Robots, and Overcome Polarization.David Livermore, PhD, is a social scientist devoted to the study of cultural intelligence and global leadership and the author of several award-winning books. He is a cofounder of the Cultural Intelligence Center in East Lansing, Michigan, and a visiting research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Prior to leading the Cultural Intelligence Center, Livermore spent twenty years in leadership positions with a variety of nonprofits and taught in five universities. He is a frequent speaker and adviser to leaders in Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and governments, and he has worked in more than one hundred countries.

Sep 7, 2022 • 25min
Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell: Feminist or Feminine? A Twentieth-Century History of Skirts
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, author of Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century.Dr. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell is an award-winning fashion historian, curator, and journalist. She has worked as a consultant and educator for museums and universities around the world. She is the author of Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, Worn on This Day: The Clothes That Made History, The Way We Wed: A Global History of Wedding Fashion, and Red, White, and Blue on the Runway. She frequently writes about fashion, art, and culture for scholarly journals and news outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Politico, and has appeared on NPR, the Biography Channel, Reelz, and numerous podcasts. She lives in Los Angeles.

Sep 6, 2022 • 38min
Louise Perry: No More Sex? A "Feminist" Case Against the Sexual Revolution
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Louise Perry, author of The Case Against the Sexual Revolution.Louise Perry is a writer, New Statesman columnist, and campaigner against male sexual violence.

Sep 6, 2022 • 42min
Jonathan Darman: How FDR Learned to Be FDR: The Personal Crisis That Transformed Him Into a Historic Leader
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Jonathan Darman, author of Becoming FDR: The Personal Crisis That Made a President.Jonathan Darman is the author of Landslide: LBJ and Ronald Reagan at the Dawn of a New America. He is a former correspondent for Newsweek, where he covered national politics, including John Kerry’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns.

Sep 6, 2022 • 30min
A.M. Homes: Why American Novelists Need to Not Just Keep Up With But Also Overtake Reality
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by A.M. Homes, author of The Unfolding.A.M. Homes is the author of thirteen books, among them the best-selling memoir The Mistress' Daughter; the novels This Book Will Save Your Life, The End of Alice, and Jack; and the short story collections Days of Awe, The Safety of Objects and Things You Should Know. She also writes for film and television and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University.

Sep 6, 2022 • 39min
Helen Rappaport: In Search of Mary Seacole, a Quite Remarkable Black Cultural Icon
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Helen Rappaport, author of In Search of Mary Seacole: The Making of a Black Cultural Icon and Humanitarian.Helen Rappaport is the author of The Romanov Sisters, The Last Days of the Romanovs, and many other critically acclaimed titles. She has been a full-time writer for more than twenty-three years, and in 2003 discovered and purchased an 1869 portrait of Mary Seacole that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, sparking a long investigation into Seacole’s life and career.

Sep 5, 2022 • 28min
Neal Wooten on Life Growing Up on a Pig Farm in the Alabama Mountains: Nasty, Brutish, and Short
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Neal Wooten, author of With the Devil’s Help: A True Story of Poverty, Mental Illness, and Murder.Neal Wooten grew up on a pig farm on Sand Mountain in the northeast corner of Alabama. The first person in the history of his family to go to college, Neal went on to graduate from Auburn University with a B.S. in applied mathematics. He became a math teacher and director of a math school in Milwaukee, winning numerous math awards. He is now the managing editor for Mirror Publishing, a contributor to the Huffington Post, columnist for the Mountain Valley News, creator of the popular Facebook comic strip Brad’s Pit (known as Pancho el Pit Bull in South America), and a stand-up comedian.


