Keen On America

Andrew Keen
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Aug 23, 2023 • 29min

Why today's "Polycrisis" is akin to living in a hospice: Anya Kamenetz untangles the environmental, psychological, epidemiological, economic and political crises of our age

EPISODE 1667: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Anya Kamenetz, author of THE STOLEN YEAR, about the environmental, psychological, epidemiological, economic and political crises of our ageAnya Kamenetz is a journalist focused on generational justice. Her current projects include a kids’ climate podcast for Noggin (Nickelodeon's educational brand) and work with K12 Climate Action to include climate in children’s storytelling. Anya has previously worked as an education correspondent for NPR and a staff writer for Fast Company magazine. She's contributed to the New York Times, Washington Post, New York Magazine, and Slate, and has won multiple awards for her reporting on education, technology, and innovation. She is the author of four books: Generation Debt, DIY U, The Test, and The Art of Screen Time. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.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
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Aug 23, 2023 • 41min

Why Big Tech threatens our civil rights, economy and democracy: Silicon Valley insider Tom Kemp warns about the existential dangers of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple

EPISODE 1666: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to  Tom Kemp, the author of CONTAINING BIG TECH, about the existential political and economic dangers of Google, Facebook, Amazon and AppleNamed 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.Tom Kemp is a Silicon Valley–based CEO, entrepreneur, and investor. Tom was the founder and CEO of Centrify (renamed Delinea in 2022), a leading cybersecurity cloud provider that amassed over two thousand enterprise customers, including over 60 percent of the Fortune 50. For his leadership, Tom was named by Ernst & Young as a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year in Northern California. Tom is also an active Silicon Valley angel investor, with seed investments in over a dozen tech start-ups. In addition, Tom has served as a technology policy advisor for political campaigns and advocacy groups, including leading the campaign marketing efforts in 2020 to pass California Proposition 24―the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)―and co-drafting bills such as the California Delete Act of 2023. Tom writes extensively on technology policy on his blog (tomkemp.ai) and has been interviewed by the Guardian, Politico, the Washington Post, CNBC, Fox News, and others. Tom holds a bachelor of science degree in computer science and in history from the University of Michigan. You can follow Tom on Twitter at @TomKemp00. 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
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Aug 22, 2023 • 33min

Can there be liberty in the Greater Middle East without democracy? Robert D. Kaplan on why Singapore offers a palatable political model for countries lying between the Mediterranean and China

EPISODE 1665: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Robert D. Kaplan, author of THE LOOM OF TIME, about why Singapore offers a palatable political model for countries in the "Greater Middle East"ROBERT D. KAPLAN is the bestselling author of twenty-two books on foreign affairs and travel translated into many languages, including The Loom of Time, The Tragic Mind, Adriatic, The Good American, The Coming Anarchy, Balkan Ghosts, Asia’s Cauldron, and The Revenge of Geography. He holds the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. For three decades he reported on foreign affairs for The Atlantic. A senior adviser at Eurasia Group, he was chief geopolitical analyst at Stratfor, a visiting professor at the United States Naval Academy, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and a member of both the Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board and the U. S. Navy's Executive Panel. Foreign Policy magazine twice named him one of the world’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers.” New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has called Kaplan among the four “most widely read” authors defining the post-Cold War (along with Stanford Professor Francis Fukuyama, Yale Professor Paul Kennedy, and the late Harvard Professor Samuel Huntington). Kaplan's article, “The Coming Anarchy,” published in the February, 1994 Atlantic Monthly, about how population rise, ethnic and sectarian strife, disease, urbanization, and resource depletion is undermining the political fabric of the planet, was hotly debated in foreign-language translations around the world. So was his December, 1997 Atlantic cover story, “Was Democracy Just A Moment?” That piece argued that the democracy now spreading around the world would not necessarily lead to more stability. According to U. S. News & World Report, “President Clinton was so impressed with Kaplan, he ordered an interagency study of these issues, and it agreed with Kaplan’s conclusions.” In the 1980s, Kaplan was the first American writer to warn in print about a future war in the Balkans. Balkan Ghosts was chosen by The New York Times Book Review as one of the “best books” of 1993. The Arabists, The Ends of the Earth, An Empire Wilderness, Eastward to Tartary, and Warrior Politics were all chosen by The New York Times as “notable” books of the year. An Empire Wilderness was chosen by The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times as one of the best books of 1998. The Wall Street Journal named The Arabists one of the five best books ever written about America’s historical involvement in the Middle East. The Financial Times named Asia’s Cauldron one of the ten best political books of 2014. Besides The Atlantic, Kaplan’s essays have appeared on the editorial pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times, as well as in all the major foreign affairs journals, including cover stories in Foreign Affairs. He has been a consultant to the U. S. Army’s Special Forces Regiment, the U. S. Air Force, and the U. S. Marines. 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 presenti 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
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Aug 22, 2023 • 38min

Remembering the Digital Future: Ethan Zuckerman on the history of blogging, the Arab Spring and why there will never be another Twitter

EPISODE 1664: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ethan Zuckerman, author of MISTRUST, about he history of blogging, the Arab Spring and why there will never be another TwitterEthan Zuckerman is an associate professor of public policy, communication, and information, as well as director of the UMass Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, focused on reimagining the internet as a tool for civic engagement. Prior to coming to UMass, Zuckerman was at MIT, where he served as director of the Center for Civic Media and associate professor of practice in media arts and sciences at the MIT Media Lab. His research focuses on the use of media as a tool for social change, the role of technology in international development, and the use of new media technologies by activists. The author of Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection, he will publish a new book, Mistrust: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them (W.W. Norton), in early 2021. In 2005, Zuckerman co-founded Global Voices, which showcases news and opinions from citizen media in more than 150 nations and 30 languages. Through Global Voices, and as a researcher and fellow for eight years at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Zuckerman has led efforts to promote freedom of expression and fight censorship in online spaces. In 1999, Zuckerman founded Geekcorps, an international, nonprofit, volunteer organization that sent IT specialists to work on projects in developing nations, with a focus on West Africa. Previously, he helped found Tripod.com, one of the web's first "personal publishing" sites. In addition to authoring numerous academic articles, Zuckerman is a frequent contributor to media outlets such as The Atlantic, Wired, and CNN. He received his bachelor's degree from Williams College and, as a Fulbright scholar, studied at the University of Ghana at Legon.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
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Aug 21, 2023 • 38min

The Silicon Valley Playbook for Existential Success: Behnam Tabrizi on why some companies succeed and others fail in the perpetual struggle to survive in today's innovative economy

EPISODE 1663: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Behnam Tabrizi, author of GOING ON OFFENSE, on why some companies succeed and others fail in the struggle to survive in today's perpetually innovative economyBehnam Tabrizi is a world-renowned expert in organizational transformation, best-selling author, and an award-winning teacher, scholar, and global advisor. He has taught at Stanford University and its executive programs for 25 years. He is the author of ten books on leading innovation and transformation, and served as an advisor to many large global companies, the U.S. President, and governmental agencies.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
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Aug 21, 2023 • 42min

On the Disinformation of Trump, RFK Jr and Putin: Lee McIntyre explains how we can fight for truth and protect democracy

EPISODE 1662: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Lee McIntyre, author of ON DISINFORMATION, how we can fight back against propagandists on behalf of truth and thereby protect democracyLee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He is the author of Dark Ages: The Case for a Science of Human Behavior, Post-Truth, and The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience, all published by the MIT Press. His latest book is ON DISINFORMATION (2023)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
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Aug 21, 2023 • 40min

What, exactly, is female beauty? Celeste Marcus on Bardot and Barbie as rival and perhaps incompatible types of beautiful women

EPISODE 1661: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Celeste Marcus, LIBERTIES Managing Editor, explains why the "threat isn't Ken, it's Kavanaugh" in terms of contemporary conceptions of female beautyCeleste Marcus is the managing editor of Liberties. She is writing a biography of Chaim SoutineNamed 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
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Aug 21, 2023 • 42min

Liberal Saint or Monty Pythonesque Sinner? D.J. Taylor uncovers a "New Life" for George Orwell that resurrects the iconic 20th century writer for a 21st century audience

EPISODE 1660: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to D.J. Taylor, author of ORWELL: THE NEW LIFE, about Orwell's attitude to women, art, socialism, conservatism and, above all, England.D. J. Taylor is the author of The Lost Girls; Derby Day (nominated for the Booker Prize); and Orwell: The Life (2003), winner of the Whitbread Biography Award. D. J. is a book critic for several British newspapers and lives in LondonNamed 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
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Aug 18, 2023 • 33min

8 inspiring non-fiction reads for the summer: Bethanne Patrick on books about New York City sex cults, the oceanic underworld, Ghanian confidence tricksters and American women, fathers and sons

Andrew talks to Bethanne Patrick, the LA Times book critic, about new non-fiction books including Valiant Women by Lena Andrews, which explores the contributions of women in WWII. They also discuss The Salivaneans, a book about an American commune and its downfall, and a book about Dr. John Akable Miesa's swindle in Ghana. The conversation also delves into books on geography and ocean exploration, highlighting investigations of the ocean's depths and the lack of exploration funding.
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Aug 18, 2023 • 39min

What history teaches us about the future of venture capitalism: Keith Teare on how being a good investor requires us to overcome our emotions

EPISODE 1658: In this regular weekly show with THAT WAS THE WEEK newsletter author Keith Teare, Keith explains how being a good investor requires us to overcome our emotions in today's roller-coaster of a marketKeith 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 founder at the Palo Alto incubator, Archimedes Labs. Archimedes was the original incubator for TechCrunch and since 2011has invested, accelerated or incubated many Silicon valley startups including 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

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