Keen On America

EPISODE 1953: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Patrick Winn, author of NARCOTOPIA, about a south-east Asian nation the size of Belgium which controls the region's $60 billion meth trade.Patrick Winn is an award-winning investigative journalist. He mostly covers rebellion and black markets in Southeast Asia. Winn is the author of two narrative non-fiction books:Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel that Survived the CIA (PublicAffairs / Icon Books) & Hello, Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia (Icon Books). Winn is currently the Asia correspondent for The World, a radio program broadcast on more than 300 NPR stations across America. His writing and short documentaries have appeared in or on The New York Times, NBC News, the BBC, The Atlantic, NPR and many other outlets. He has received the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (also known as the ‘poor man’s Pulitzer’) and a National Press Club award. He’s also a three-time winner of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Press Awards among other prizes. Winn has appeared on screen as an expert source on two documentaries.Narco Wars (National Geographic, broadcast on Hulu), Season Three, Episode Two: “Prince of Death” & The Business of Drugs (Netflix), the “Meth” episode. Winn was an associate producer on Hope Frozen, a Netflix original documentary, and a field producer for the debut Myanmar episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Both won Emmys. Winn was raised in Eden, a dwindling North Carolina factory town that once manufactured carpets and beer. He graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2003 with a journalism degree. His early reportage explored economic decay in the American south and crime within the US military. Since 2008, Winn has lived in Bangkok and reported on Southeast Asia. He reads and speaks Thai — and occasionally sings it, badly, in upcountry karaoke joints.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1952: Andrew talks to Leon Wieseltier, editor of LIBERTIES QUARTERLY, about how to protect traditional liberal values against both right and left wing intolerance.Leon Wieseltier (born June 14, 1952) is an American critic and magazine editor. From 1983 to 2014, he was the literary editor of The New Republic. He was a contributing editor and critic at The Atlantic until 2017. In 2020, he became the editor of Liberties, a quarterly literary review. He is the author of the essay "Savagery and Solidarity" in the Winter volume of Liberties. 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1951: In this KEEN ON show, I talk to the Israeli author and clinical psychologist Ayelet Gundar-Goshen about the impact of October 7 on a people trained in both remembering and forgetting their own history.AYELET GUNDAR-GOSHEN was born in Israel in 1982. She is a practicing clinical psychologist, has been a news editor on Israel’s leading newspaper and has worked for the Israeli civil rights movement. “One Night, Markovitch”, her first novel, won the Sapir Prize for best debut. Her novel “Waking Lions” was a New York Times Book of the Year and won the Wingate Prize, and her novel Liar was Editor’s Choice in People magazine. Her latest book is “The Wolf Hunt: A Novel” (2023)Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Celeste Marcus, Liberties Quarterly managing editor, is in the news today. In the Winter 2024 volume of Liberties, she wrote “After Rape: A Guide for the Tormented” - a piece about her own experience of a 2021 rape. And today, she revealed the identity of her rapist on X. “I will not be raped with impunity”, she wrote today to explain why she’s gone public with his identity. As it happens, I sat down with Marcus last week at the Liberties office in Washington DC to talk about “After Rape”. Our conversation is as raw as the piece, particularly in the context of today’s news. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1949: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Scott Gac, author of BORN IN BLOOD, about why violence is the defining feature of American historyScott Gac is Director of American Studies and Associate Professor of American Studies and History at Trinity College and the author of Singing for Freedom: The Hutchinson Family Singers and the Nineteenth-Century Culture of Reform.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1948: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Nicholas B. Dirks, author of CITY OF INTELLECT, about why American universities need to reinvent themselves in our disruptive age of social media and AINICHOLAS B. DIRKS is an internationally recognized historian and anthropologist, and an important leader in higher education. Well-known for his commitment to and advocacy for accessible, high-quality undergraduate education, to the globalization of the university, and to interdisciplinary innovation and collaboration, he was named in November 2012 as the 10th Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, where he is still a Professor of History and Anthropology in the Graduate School. In June 2020, Dirks assumed leadership of the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) as President and Chief Executive Officer. 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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1947: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ernest Scheyder, author of THE WAR BELOW, about the new economic war between China and the West to control critical minerals like lithium, copper and cobaltErnest Scheyder is a senior correspondent for Reuters covering the clean energy transition and critical minerals, as well as the author of the forthcoming book "The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power our Lives." Early reviewers are calling it an “illuminating” and “essential” narrative that reveals the complex choices facing our world as the energy transition accelerates. The book is available now for preorder: https://bit.ly/3R1kzNL. A native of Maine, Scheyder previously covered the U.S. shale oil revolution, politics, and the environment. His interest in journalism and writing began when he founded his high school newspaper. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and Columbia Journalism School.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1946: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Mike Chen, author of A QUANTUM LOVE STORY, about why scientific truth might be infinitely weirder than science fictionMike Chen is a critically acclaimed science fiction author based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. His debut novel HERE AND NOW AND THEN was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice, CALIBA Golden Poppy, and Compton Crook awards. His other novels include A BEGINNING AT THE END, WE COULD BE HEROES, LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME, and STAR WARS: BROTHERHOOD. He has also contributed to the STAR WARS: FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW anthology and covers geek culture for sites like Nerdist, StarTrek.com, and The Mary Sue. In previous lives, Mike worked as a sports journalist covering the NHL, DJ, musician, and aerospace engineer. He lives with his wife, daughter, and many rescue animals.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1945:  In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of  the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter,  Keith defends Elon Musk's decision to go to Auschwitz and bemoans the breakdown of civility in our social media ageKeith Teare is a Founder and CEO at SignalRank Corporation. Previously he was Executive Chairman at Accelerated Digital Ventures Ltd - A UK-based global investment company focused on startups at all stages. He was also previously the founder at the Palo Alto incubator, Archimedes Labs. Archimedes was the original incubator for TechCrunch and since 2011 has invested, accelerated or incubated many Silicon Valley startups including Around (sold to Miro), Millicast (Sold to Dolby), InFarm, Miles, Quixey; M.dot (sold to GoDaddy); chat.center; Loop Surveys; DownTown and Sunshine. Teare has a track record as a serial entrepreneur with big ideas and has achieved significant returns for investors.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. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 1944: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ehud Shapiro, a computer scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, about the egalitarian architecture necessary to build genuine digital democracy Ehud Shapiro is a multi-disciplinary scientist, artist, entrepreneur and a Professor of Computer Science and Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. With international reputation, he made fundamental contributions to many scientific disciplines. Ehud was also an Internet pioneer, a successful Internet entrepreneur, and a pioneer and proponent of e-democracy. Ehud is the founder of the Ba Rock Band and conceived its original artistic program. He is a winner of two European Research Council Advanced Grants. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe