Episodes
How to write poetry on a smartphone: Best-selling poet and TikTok sen…
EPISODE 1853: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Whitney Hanson, author of HARMONY, about the anxiety of her generation and how social media makes physical events more "real" Whitney Hanson is the author of Home and Climat...
The dark truth of Mexico as a mostly truant state terrorized by subsi…
EPISODE 1852: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Azam Ahmed, author of FEAR IS JUST A WORD, about he story of a missing daughter, a violent Cartel and a mother's quest for vengeance Azam Ahmed is an international investiga...
Do great leaders make history or does history make great leaders? Mos…
EPISODE 1851: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Moshik Temkin, author of WARRIORS, REBELS, & SAINTS, about the art of leadership from FDR, Malcolm X and MLK to Trump and Biden Moshik Temkin is a fellow at the Middle East ...
How to accurately reconstruct the entire 13.9 billion year history of…
EPISODE 1850: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to David J. Helfand, author of THE UNIVERSAL TIMEKEEPERS, about the power of atomic science to unveil the mysteries of unreachably remote time and space David J. Helfand has s...
Turning Mrs Dalloway into a novel set in the New York City of April 2…
EPISODE 1849: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Lisa Gornick, author of ANA TURNS, about writing a New York City novel in the philistine age of the Taliban and Donald Trump Lisa Gornick has been hailed by NPR as “one of t...
An Unprincipled Man for our Unprincipled Times: Rob Copeland on Ray D…
EPISODE 1848: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Rob Copeland, author of THE FUND, about Ray Dalio, the billionaire Big Brother of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet Rob Copeland is a finance repo...
How early 21st century America resembles late 19th century Russia: Jo…
EPISODE 1847: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to John Gray, author of THE NEW LEVIATHANS, about our post-liberal future John Gray is a political philosopher and author. His books include Seven Types of Atheism, False Dawn:...
The double life of America's most notorious agent of betrayal: Major …
EPISODE 1846: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to Major Garrett, host of the AGENT OF BETRAYAL podcast, about the Robert Hanssen, the FBI spy and weaver of a web of lies Major Garrett was named CBS News' chief Washington...
How to make the most of college: Ben Wildavsky on the art of using co…
EPISODE 1845: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ben Wildavsky, author of THE CAREER ARTS, about how to use college to successfully build a career Ben Wildavsky is a veteran higher education writer, strategist, and speaker...
Why the American mass incarceration system is jarringly unamerican: B…
EPISODE 1844: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ben Austen, author of CORRECTION, about parole, prison and the near impossibility of change in the current American criminal justice system Ben Austen is a writer from Chica...
In defense of literary flyover country: Peter Slen on Willa Cather's …
EPISODE 1843: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Peter Slen, Executive Producer of the C-SPAN series BOOKS THAT SHAPED AMERICA, about Willa Cather's "My Antonia", the 1918 novel that nailed the ideal of immigrant middle Am...
Orwell and his women: Bethanne Patrick on new feminist takes on Georg…
EPISODE 1842: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Bethanne Patrick, book critic at the Los Angeles Times, about new feminist takes on George Orwell, the man and the writer. Bethanne Patrick maintains a storied place in the ...
Guilty by seven crimes and death by a thousand verticals: Keith Teare…
EPISODE 1841: In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter Keith talks about Sam Bankman-Fried and Palo Alto, Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak, and Space X and X Keith Teare i...
How to get more women in science right now: Lisa Munoz on implicit bi…
EPISODE 1840: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Lisa M.P. Munoz, author of WOMEN IN SCIENCE NOW, about implicit bias, leaky pipelines, tokenization and other explanations for the persistent gender gap in science As presid...
Did the KGB really invent the idea of the Palestinian nation in the 1…
EPISODE 1839: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the French-Israeli filmmaker and writer Pierre Rehov what he believes are Ianian financed sleeper-cells in US universities and why he admires Hamas' "evil mind" Pierre Rebo...
Overcoming the politics of black grief and white grievance in America…
EPISODE 1838: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Juliet Hooker, author of BLACK GRIEF/WHITE GRIEVANCE, about why American democracy is in desperate need of an radical expansion of its political imagination Juliet Hooker is...
A remarkable American hero at a time in which many Americans are no l…
EPISODE 1837: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ronald C. White, the author of ON GREAT FIELDS, about the life of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the unlikely hero of Gettysburg. Ronald C. White is the author of two New York...
The problem with stories about the Holocaust is that they are told by…
EPISODE 1836: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Daniel Finkelstein, author of HITLER, STALIN, MUM AND DAD: A FAMILY MEMOIR OF MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL, about the extraordinary coincidences enabling the survival of his family i...
Zero to Zero: William Deresiewicz on what happens when the price of o…
EPISODE 1835: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks William Deresiewicz, author of THE DEATH OF THE ARTIST, about the fate of the creative artist when , in our digital economy, the price of content has been driven down to zero W...
Where have all the Democrats gone? Ruy Teixeira on why the Democratic…
EPISODE 1834: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Ruy Teixeira, co-author of WHERE HAVE ALL THE DEMOCRATS GONE?, needs to tone down the volume on cultural issues if its to rediscover its political soul Ruy Teixeira is a Sen...
How this month's "almost miraculous" Polish election might be a hopef…
EPISODE 1833: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Maciej Kisilowski, editor of LET'S AGREE ABOUT POLAND, about the promise and peril of democracy in a post authoritarian Poland after what he calls its "almost miraculous" Oc...
Does today's climate change crisis represent an existential threat to…
EPISODE 1832: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Antonello Provenzale, author of HISTORY OF CLIMATE CHANGE, about whether today's climate change crisis represent an existential threat to humanity Antonello Provenzale is Di...
An enigmatic city teetering on the edge of the world: John Kampfner o…
EPISODE 1831: In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to John Kampfner, author of IN SEARCH OF BERLIN, about the enigmatic German capital on the edge of the world John Kampfner has had a 30-year career in international public l...
A Theory of Everyone (but not Everything): Michael Muthukrishna on ho…
EPISODE 1830: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Michael Muthukrishna, author of A THEORY OF EVERYTHING, about how humans are a new kind of animal and why we need to transform the world into the most efficient laboratory p...