

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 7, 2022 • 30min
Samit Basu: Why India, and Not China or the US, Represents the Most Chilling Vision of Our High-Tech Dystopian Future
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 Samit Basu, author of The City Inside.Samit Basu is an Indian novelist. He’s published several novels in a range of speculative genres, all critically acclaimed and bestselling in India, beginning with The Simoqin Prophecies (2003). The City Inside was shortlisted (as Chosen Spirits) for the JCB Prize, India’s biggest literary award. He also works as a director-screenwriter (Netflix, 2019), a comics writer, and a columnist. He lives in Delhi, Mumbai, and on the internet.

Jun 7, 2022 • 35min
Abi Morgan: How to Write a Memoir About Personal Catastrophe Without Sounding Pitiful
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 Abi Morgan, author of This Is Not a Pity Memoir.Abi Morgan is a playwright and screenwriter. Her plays include Skinned, Sleeping Around, Splendour (Paines Plough), Tiny Dynamite (Traverse), Tender (Hampstead Theatre), Fugee (National Theatre), 27 (National Theatre of Scotland), Love Song (Frantic Assembly), and The Mistress Contract (Royal Court Theatre). Her television work includes My Fragile Heart, Murder, Sex Traffic, Tsunami—The Aftermath, White Girl, Royal Wedding, Birdsong, The Hour, River and The Split. Her film writing credits include Brick Lane, Iron Lady, Shame, The Invisible Woman, and Suffragette. She has a number of films currently in development and has won a number of awards, including Baftas and an Emmy for her film and TV work.

Jun 6, 2022 • 31min
Victoria Finlay on Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World
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 Victoria Finlay, author of Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World.Victoria Finlay is the critically acclaimed author of Color: Travels Through the Paintbox and the former arts editor of the South China Morning Post. She studied social anthropology and has traveled around the world in search of stories about her subjects, from color to jewels and fabric. As well as writing, she has worked in international development.

Jun 5, 2022 • 33min
John Allore: How a Brother's Determination to Find His Sister's Killer Lead Him to a Canadian Serial Killer
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 John Allore, author of Wish You Were Here: A Murdered Girl, a Brother’s Quest and the Hunt for a Canadian Serial Killer.John Allore hosts the podcast Who Killed Theresa?, which concentrates on unsolved murders in Quebec, and other justice issues. He launched one of the first crime blogs and the website theresaallore.com, which is now a trove of information on unsolved cases in Canada and the US. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Jun 4, 2022 • 46min
Ada Ferrer: How the 300-Year-Old Cuba-America Relationship Could Have Been Written By a Latin American Novelist
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 Ada Ferrer, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Cuba: An American History.Ada Ferrer is Julius Silver Professor of History and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University, where she has taught since 1995. She is the author of Insurgent Cuba: Race, Nation, and Revolution, 1868-1898, winner of the Berkshire Book Prize for the best first book by a woman in any field of history, and Freedom’s Mirror: Cuba and Haiti in the Age of Revolution, which won the Frederick Douglass Book Prize from the Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale University as well as multiple prizes from the American Historical Association. Born in Cuba and raised in the United States, she has been traveling to and conducting research on the island since 1990.

Jun 4, 2022 • 43min
Bo Seo: How Good Debate Can Save 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 Bo Seo, author of Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard.Bo Seo is a two-time world champion debater and a former coach of the Australian national debating team and the Harvard College Debating Union. One of the most recognized figures in the global debate community, he has won both the World Schools Debating Championship and the World Universities Debating Championship. Bo has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and many other publications. He has worked as a national reporter for the Australian Financial Review and has been a regular panelist on the prime time Australian debate program, The Drum. Bo graduated from Harvard University and received a master’s degree in public policy from Tsinghua University. He is currently a Juris Doctor candidate at Harvard Law School.

Jun 3, 2022 • 40min
Julie Lythcott-Hains: How to Successfully Grow Up and Become an Adult
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 Julie Lythcott-Hains, author of Your Turn: How to Be an Adult.Julie Lythcott-Haims is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult and Real American. She holds a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard Law School, and an MFA from California College of the Arts. She resides in the Bay Area with her partner, their two itinerant young adults, and her mother.

Jun 3, 2022 • 38min
Peter Wehner: Why a Post-Trump America Remains Very Sick and How to Improve Its Health
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 Peter Wehner, author of The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump.Peter Wehner, former deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives, is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He writes widely on political, cultural, religious, and national security issues for Commentary, the Weekly Standard, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications.

Jun 2, 2022 • 34min
Kimberly Wolf: Why Fathers Need to Talk Talk Talk to Their Daughters
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 Wolf, author of Talk with Her: A Dad’s Essential Guide to Raising Healthy, Confident, and Capable Daughters.Kimberly Wolf, M.Ed., is an educator, speaker, and educational consultant with an undergraduate degree in gender studies from Brown University and a master’s degree in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her experiences growing up in Los Angeles and attending an all-girls school sparked her passion for equipping girls with the wisdom and skills they need to succeed in all areas of life during the school years and beyond.Fifteen years into her career, through conversations with friends, colleagues, and collaborators who were fathers of daughters, Wolf realized she was in a unique position to demystify girlhood for dads, helping them communicate better with their daughters, maximize their parental impact, and inspire young women to reach their potential. In addition to being an expert in her field, she is also a daughter with a deep personal belief in the transformative power of strong father-daughter relationships. Talk with Her is her first book.

Jun 2, 2022 • 35min
Anna Malaika Tubbs: How the Mothers of MLK, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped 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 Anna Malaika Tubbs, author of The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation.Anna Malaika Tubbs is a multidisciplinary expert on current and historical understandings of race, gender, and equity. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a BA in anthropology, Anna earned her MA in gender studies and her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Cambridge as a Bill and Melinda Gates Cambridge Scholar. She lives with her husband, Michael Tubbs, and their children Michael Malakai and Nehemiah Neven.


