Keen On America

If the American dream died in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963, then who killed it? According to the crime novelist Terrence McCauley, the JFK assassination was carried out by organized crime. That’s the heart of his new novel, Twilight Town, in which McCauley reexamines the JFK assassination in Dallas. But this wasn't Oliver Stone style CIA or shadowy government conspirators, pulling well-oiled strings from their deep state offices. Instead, McCauley argues it was something far more mundane yet chilling: a street-level contract hit executed by mob-connected criminals with intelligence ties. These were the same underworld figures who ran guns to Cuba, operated training camps for Bay of Pigs veterans, and had both the means and motive to eliminate a President they saw as soft on communism and hard on organized crime. In McCauley's vision, America's Camelot ended not through some grand operatic conspiracy, but through the banal efficiency of professional killers.1. The JFK Assassination Was a "Street Crime," Not a High-Level Government Plot "I approach it as the way I thought it was. And that is a contract hit and a street crime, which is ultimately what happened on the streets of Dallas that morning." McCauley argues the assassination was carried out by mob-connected criminals with intelligence ties, not CIA masterminds in smoke-filled rooms.2. Only a Small Group Knew the Full Plan "I think maybe 10 or 20 at the most who knew all the details and much fewer than that who knew exactly what was going to happen and when." McCauley believes the conspiracy was deliberately kept small, citing FBI recordings of Joseph Milteer who said such operations only work with minimal participants.3. Lee Harvey Oswald Didn't Pull the Trigger "I never was able to put a gun in Oswald's hands that day... I don't think he did. No, I think he was involved with the people who did." McCauley argues Oswald was connected to the plotters but wasn't the actual shooter, pointing to inconclusive gunpowder residue tests.4. The Assassination Marked "The End of American Innocence" "It was certainly the end of American innocence, where we thought we were always the good guys, where we were the liberators, and where we were one hope of the world against the ongoing threat of communism." McCauley sees November 22, 1963, as the moment America lost its post-WWII optimism.5. The Cover-Up Happened Because Intelligence Agencies Recognized Their Own Assets "The coverup happened because these organizations looked into it. They realized, well, so-and-so could have this off, and we worked with them for 10 years, let's back away from that." McCauley suggests the cover-up wasn't planned but emerged when agencies discovered their own connected operatives were involved.The American Dream has more lives than cats. It was supposed to have died in November 1963 in Dallas, then in 1968 with the assassinations of MLK and RFK, then in the Fall of Saigon, then at the Watergate Building, then at the Twin Towers on 9/11. And then, of course, there is Trump, who is supposed to have slain the American Dream not once but twice. And yet today, a couple of days before Independence Day, my sense is that the Dream is alive all over America. The promise of individual agency continues to inspire new generations of both native and immigrant Americans. JFK might be gone, but the Dream remains the defining quality of the American experience. Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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

If everything is propaganda (even this show), then we are forever engaged in a war to control other people's minds. That, at least, is the view of the self-described “freedom fighter”, Connor Boyack, the libertarian author of the best-selling Tuttle Twins series of children books. In his latest piece of Tuttle Twins propaganda, A Guide to the World’s Worst Ideas, Boyack argues against all forms of government welfare, drug prohibition and foreign military engagement. And yet there's one institution that the Utah based Boyack religiously supports. The family, he says, offers protection for children and should be actively protected by the government. Children of the world unite, some might respond, you’ve got nothing to lose but your parents. 1. Everything is Propaganda - And That's Fine "Tuttle twins, quote me now, is libertarian propaganda. And I use that word intentionally because what is propaganda? Propaganda is just propagating an idea from one person's mind to another. It is persuasion. It is education. Everything is propaganda."2. America Isn't Really Free "I'm quite a libertarian and everywhere I look, there's a lot of reasons to think we're not independent. We threw off the shackles of Britain so long ago and if those same patriots and founding fathers who were part of constructing a new country could see all the heavy programs and taxes and all the things now, I think they'd have a thing or two to say about it."3. Foreign Intervention Creates More Problems "Look at Iran. Everyone's freaking out about Iran. But Iran, the whole conflict started in 1953 when the CIA waged a coup along with the UK and overthrew the democratically elected leader that led to the hostage crisis in 79, which led to of the destruction in the decades since."4. Family is the Natural Form of Government "I see the family and parents as the breeding ground of freedom, the natural form of governance... between Totalitarianism on the one hand and the naked individual on the other looms the first line of resistance against totalitarianism, and that is the economic and politically independent family."5. Drug Prohibition Mirrors Failed Alcohol Prohibition "Look prohibition, I think there's common like there's there's general consensus that the alcohol prohibition of a century ago didn't work But it's that same sentiment that fuels the drug war today, which of course has led to cartels It's led to fentanyl. It's lead to all of these problems where people are being harmed and dying."When somebody claims that everything is propaganda, you know that something isn’t. There’s always some ideological “truth” at the heart of all everything-is-ideology messages. For the freedom fetishizing Boyack, it’s the “natural” truth of the family. But I’m not convinced. As Philip Larkin wrote, “They f**k you up, your mum and dad.” Equally troubling, they infect you with bad ideas. So my message this July 4 week to all American kids: don’t trust anything your mom or dad reads to you. It’s bound to be propaganda. Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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

As we transition from the social media age (the internet of trolls) to the AI epoch (the internet of tolls), has the publishing apocalypse finally arrived? That’s the question Keith Teare and I discuss in our That Was the Week summary of tech news. Two major court cases this week—Getty Images vs. Stability AI and the Anthropic lawsuit—have fundamentally shifted the legal landscape around AI and copyright. The courts ruled that AI systems can legally "learn" from published content without copying it, essentially giving artificial intelligence a free pass to consume human creativity at scale. Meanwhile, publishers are scrambling to find new business models as search traffic evaporates and AI “answers” replace traditional web browsing. From CloudFlare's proposed toll system to the rise of AI browsers like DIA, Keith and I explore how traditional link economics are being completely reimagined—and whether human creators can survive the transformation. Dead Links Walking everyone. It’s going to be a bloody entertaining spectacle. * AI Won the Legal Battle: Two major court cases (Getty Images vs. Stability AI and the Anthropic lawsuit) ruled that AI systems can legally "learn" from copyrighted content without permission, as long as they're not directly copying it. This distinction between learning and copying has massive implications for content creators.* The Search-to-AI Shift is Killing Publisher Revenue: As consumers increasingly use AI instead of search engines, publishers are losing the traffic that drives their advertising-based business models. Google's own CEO admits about two-thirds of their revenue still comes from search ads—a model that's under threat.* The "Internet of Tolls" is Coming: Publishers will be forced to return to pre-internet subscription models, putting content behind paywalls. CloudFlare is even developing technology to charge AI systems for accessing content at the network level, creating micro-transactions for publishers.* Links Are the New Currency: The future monetization model for publishers may depend on getting AI systems to surface and properly compensate for links to original content, rather than just providing direct answers.* We're Still Waiting for Native AI Products: Despite all the hype, we haven't yet seen the "Netscape moment" for AI—a truly native, intuitive product that isn't just AI bolted onto existing technology. The real transformation is still coming.“The tollbooths are rising”, Keith ends his That Was The Week editorial, “the road ahead is ours to choose”. I think he’s wrong. Yes, he’s right, of course, that the AI revolution is inaugurating a new toll economy of walled garden AI leviathans. But the future isn’t ours to choose. We - and I mean the broad content industry from individual producers to larger publishers - are spectators to this epochal change. Agency no longer exists. We don’t shape the future; it shapes us. Maybe that was always the case. But in the age of trillion dollar AI start-ups, we don’t matter. As I said earlier, it’s going to be a bloody entertaining spectacle. Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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

Rachel Laryea, a Yale PhD and wealth manager at JPMorgan Chase, shares insights from her book 'Black Capitalists.' She discusses leveraging capitalism to create social good, not just profit. The conversation highlights the intersection of race and class within America’s economic system, advocating for a redefined approach to empower Black communities. Laryea also delves into the challenges of Black entrepreneurship, contrasting her Ghanaian roots with the Black American experience, and emphasizes the need for self-reliance and innovative solutions in addressing wealth disparities.

Philip Kadish, a Professor of American Studies and author, dives into the chilling deceptions behind America's racist history in his latest work. He reveals that many supposedly scientific theories were actually deliberate frauds by opportunists, not misguided beliefs. Kadish discusses the pivotal role of the 1840 Census in cementing scientific racism, highlighting how authority often triumphed over actual expertise. He also explores the profit-driven media narratives that perpetuate these harmful ideologies, weaving a compelling tale of manipulation and societal impact.

Brenda Wineapple, a historian and author, dives into the complexities of the 1925 Scopes Trial, revealing it wasn't just a battle between science and religion. Instead, it highlighted America's anxieties about immigration, race, and women's rights during the Roaring Twenties. Wineapple argues that the real conflict lay in competing visions of American identity, resonating today amidst ongoing debates about education and civil rights. Her insights remind us that the struggles from a century ago continue to shape modern America.

Cultural critic Jessica Crispin, author of 'What Is Wrong with Men,' examines masculinity through the lens of Michael Douglas films. She argues that modern men are trapped between a dying patriarchy and an unwillingness to adapt, leading to insecurity masked as aggression. Crispin highlights how even the richest men seek validation through physical transformation, revealing deep vulnerabilities. She suggests that men could benefit from creating support systems akin to those women have developed, instead of expecting the world to revolve around them.

Armin Rosen, a staff writer at Tablet magazine specializing in international affairs, takes a hard look at Bill Gates’ $200 billion philanthropic pledge to Africa. He argues that Gates’ top-down approach often disregards local needs, citing instances in Kenya where initiatives like the Alliance for a Green Revolution imposed unwanted agricultural technologies. While acknowledging the successes in health initiatives, Rosen raises critical questions about whether billionaires truly empower local communities or undermine democratic governance.

Rafia Zakaria, a Pakistani-American lawyer and author, discusses her views on the Trump administration's immigration policies, which she claims act as a form of terrorism against communities. She passionately argues that these policies are designed to create fear and pain, leading to the dismantling of democratic values. Zakaria connects domestic immigration tactics to global issues, emphasizing the dehumanization of marginalized groups. She also critiques the erosion of dissent in society and the complexities of racial narratives affecting those in Gaza and Iran.

Political theorist Natasha Piano from UCLA, author of 'Democratic Elitism', reinterprets Italian thinkers like Pareto and Mosca in a groundbreaking discussion. She argues that these elite theorists actually critiqued elite power rather than endorsed it, revealing how equating elections with democracy obscures plutocratic influences. Piano challenges the foundations of American political science, warning against the dangers of demagogic manipulation. Her insights urge a reevaluation of democratic practices amidst today's political landscape.