

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

Aug 30, 2022 • 39min
Tim Higgins on the Tesla Story: Is Elon Musk the Hero, The Villain, or Just an Accidental Footnote to the Company's Remarkable Engineers and Workers?
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 Tim Higgins, author of Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century.Tim Higgins is an automotive and technology reporter for The Wall Street Journal. He appears regularly as a contributor on CNBC. His writing has won several awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, and he is a five-time finalist for the Livingston Awards. After almost a decade reporting on the car business from Detroit, he now lives in San Francisco.

Aug 30, 2022 • 27min
Mansi Choksi on An Alternative Passage to India: Rebelling Against Conventional Love, Marriage, and Sexuality in Modi's India
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 Mansi Choksi, author of The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India.Mansi Choksi is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and two-time Livingston Award Finalist. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and more. She lives in Dubai with her husband and son. The Newlyweds is her first book.

Aug 29, 2022 • 36min
Dahlia Lithwick: Is There a Supreme Court Plot to Destroy America?
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 Dahlia Lithwick, author of Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America.Dahlia Lithwick is the senior legal correspondent at Slate and host of Amicus, Slate’s award-winning, biweekly podcast about the law. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and Commentary, among other places. Lithwick won a 2013 National Magazine Award for her columns on the Affordable Care Act. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in October 2018.

Aug 28, 2022 • 25min
Dana Milbank: How the Republicans Have Become the Destructionist Party and How This Might Destroy American Democracy
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 Dana Milbank, author of The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party.Dana Milbank is a nationally syndicated op-ed columnist for the Washington Post. He has also been a contributor to CNN and MSNBC and is the author of the national bestseller Homo Politicus, Tears of a Clown, O Is for Obama, and Smashmouth. He lives in Washington, DC.

Aug 27, 2022 • 27min
Dimitris Xygalatas: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living
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 Dimitris Xygalatas, author of Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living.Dimitris Xygalatas is a pioneering anthropologist and cognitive scientist who runs the Experimental Anthropology Lab at the University of Connecticut. He has published over 100 articles across various disciplines, and has been interviewed about his groundbreaking work by the New York Times, The Guardian, PBS, the History Channel, National Geographic, and numerous other outlets.

Aug 27, 2022 • 33min
Anna DeForest: How American Medicine, With Its Reliance on the Scientific "Data," Does Such a Bad Job of Dealing With Life's Greatest Mystery: Death
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 Anna DeForest, author of A History of Present Illness.Anna DeForest is a neurologist and palliative care physician in New York City. Her writing has appeared in the Alaska Quarterly Review, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Paris Review. This is her first novel.

Aug 27, 2022 • 34min
Mia Baytop Russell: How to Confront Corporate Burnout and Make Work Meaningful Again
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 Mia Baytop Russell, author of Fired Up! A Guide to Transforming Your Team from Burnout to Engagement.Mia Baytop Russell, PhD has served in various roles across nonprofit, academic, and corporate sectors. Currently, as lecturer in the Center for Leadership Education at Johns Hopkins University, she teaches leadership and management courses. Drawing from personal interests and challenges with work-life integration and work-family conflict, Mia has spent decades exploring well-being in multiple contexts. Her research focuses on the sustainability of well-being, specifically family economic well-being and career/work-related well-being. As a contributor to the field of financial education and organizational behavior, Mia has published dozens of interdisciplinary articles, developed programs, and consulted with organizations.

Aug 26, 2022 • 37min
Benjamin Cunningham: The Wife-Swapping Czech Double Agent Whose Sad Saga Captured the Nihilism of the Cold War Era
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 Benjamin Cunningham, author of The Liar: How a Double Agent in the CIA Became the Cold War’s Last Honest Man.Benjamin Cunningham is a Barcelona-based writer. He is a former correspondent for The Economist, editor in chief of the Prague Post, and copy boy at the Saginaw News. In addition he contributes to The Guardian, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Aspen Review, Le Monde Diplomatique, and is an opinion columnist for Sme, Slovakia’s main daily newspaper. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Barcelona.

Aug 26, 2022 • 36min
Phillip Levine: Why Biden's Student Debt Forgiveness Proposal Isn't the Solution to the Real Economic Injustices of the American College System
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 Phillip Levine, author of A Problem of Fit: How the Complexity of College Pricing Hurts Students–And Universities.Phillip B. Levine is the A. Barton Hepburn and Katharine Coman Professor of Economics at Wellesley College, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is the author, coauthor, or coeditor of five books devoted to statistics and the analysis of social policy and its effect on individual behavior.

Aug 26, 2022 • 41min
Christian Busch: Is the "Serendipity" of "Good Luck" Just More Neo-Liberal Pseudo-Science From Our Business School Elite?
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 Christian Busch, author of Connect the Dots: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck.Dr. Christian Busch is an internationally known expert in the areas of innovation, purpose-driven leadership, and serendipity. He is the director of the CGA Global Economy Programme at New York University (NYU), and also teaches at the London School of Economics (LSE). A cofounder of Leaders on Purpose and the Sandbox Network—and a former director of LSE’s Innovation Lab —he has worked with senior executives and governments around the world. He is member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Expert Forum, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and on the Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 thinkers “most likely to shape the future.” His work has been featured by outlets such as the Strategic Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, The Guardian, and the BBC.


