Episodes

EPISODE 1909: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Louis Ferrante, author of BORGATA: RISE OF EMPIRE, the meteoric rise of the Cosa Nostra from 1860s Sicily to 1960s America Louis Ferrante is a former Mafia associate and heist expert who served eight years in prison after refusing to incriminate his fellow Gambino family members. His last book, Mob Rules (HarperCollins), was an international bestseller, and his Discovery Channel Series, Inside the Gangsters Code, earned him a Grierson Award nom...

EPISODE 1908: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Alix Olson and Alex Zamalin, co-authors of THE ENDS OF RESISTANCE, about radically new and historically trusted strategies for resisting neo-liberalism Alix Olson is an assistant professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Emory University’s Oxford College. Before her academic career, she toured internationally as a spoken word artist. Olson is the editor of Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution (2007) and is ...

Happy New Year everyone! Substack are automating the transcripts now of video interviews. It’s free (at the moment), so no apologies if the transcripts are worthless. But more to come on this front in 2024. I enjoyed listening to Kunzru. Hope you will too. 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 1907: In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter, Keith explains why predicting the future is for fools and looks back at 2023 while refusing to make hard predictions about 2024 Keith 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 ...

EPISODE 1907: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the novelist and Harper's magazine columnist Hari Kunzru, about our nostalgia for vinyl records and the reappearance of ethnic nationalism in Italy. HARI KUNZRU is the author of six novels, Red Pill, White Tears, Gods Without Men, My Revolutions, Transmission, and The Impressionist. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and writes the “Easy Chair” column for Harper’s Magazine. He is an Honorary Fellow of Wadham College Oxf...

EPISODE 1906: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Noa Yedlin, author of STOCKHOLM: A NOVEL, explains why literary humor isn't a funny thing and imagines the kind of character Netanyahu might be in a novel Noa Yedlin is an Israeli author, the recipient of the Sapir Prize (the Israeli Man Booker) and the Prime Minister's Literature Award and author of the bestselling House Arrest, Stockholm, People Like Us and The Wrong Book. Yedlin was named by Haaretz Magazine one of "66 Israeli Women You Shou...

EPISODE 1905: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Gerard Epstein, author of BUSTING THE BANKERS' CLUB, about why bankers represents both the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of American capitalism and how to create a more equitable financial system for the rest of us Gerald Epstein is Professor of Economics and a founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He received his PhD in Economics from Princeton University in 1981. Epstein h...

EPISODE 1904: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Charles Crowson, author of JAM TOMORROW?, about why time really matters in economics Charles Crowson is a finance professional with over twenty years’ experience in the investment industry. Having spent a decade running the London office of a large, US event-driven hedge fund, he has more recently been involved in asset management, working as a global macro portfolio manager. Charles’ career has spanned the dotcom crash, the global financial cr...

EPISODE 1903: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to renowned futurist Kevin Surace about why creative artists must master AI technology in 2024 Kevin Surace is a Silicon Valley innovator, serial entrepreneur, CEO, TV personality and EDUTAINER. Kevin has been featured by Businessweek, Time, Fortune, Forbes, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, FOX News, and has keynoted hundreds of events, from INC5000 to TED and the US Congress. He was INC Magazines’ Entrepreneur of the Year, a CNBC top Innovator of the Decade, Wor...

EPISODE 1902: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the LA Times book critic, Bethanne Patrick, about her six favorite novels of the year Bethanne Patrick maintains a storied place in the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven on Twitter, where she created the popular #FridayReads and regularly comments on books and literary ideas to over 200,000 followers. Her work appears frequently in the Los Angeles Times as well as in The Washington Post, NPR Books, and Literary Hub. She sits ...

EPISODE 1901: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Charles Kupchan, author of ISOLATIONISM, about the illusional idealism shaping American foreign policy Charles Kupchan is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and professor of international affairs at Georgetown University in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and Department of Government. From 2014 to 2017, Kupchan served as special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs on the staff of the Na...

EPISODE 1900: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kishore Mahbubani, author of THE ASIAN 21st CENTURY, about the end of Western domination and the rise of Asian societies, economies and philosophies Kishore Mahbubani is a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS). Mr Mahbubani has been privileged to enjoy two distinct careers, in diplomacy (1971 to 2004) and in academia (2004 to 2019). He is a prolific writer who has spoken in many corner...

EPISODE 1899: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Miles Johnson, author of CHASING SHADOWS and host of the HOT MONEY podcast, about how today's international criminal gangs mirrors the authoritarian politics of our age Miles Johnson is an investigative reporter for the Financial Times. He has written stories about Russian mercenaries, Mayfair casino heists, money laundering by the Italian mafia, Vatican financial scandals, and covert sanctions busting. He is the author of Chasing Shadows: A Tr...

EPISODE 1898: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Mark Minevich, author of OUR PLANET POWERED BY AI, about how the AI revolution can fix the future of healthcare, education and climate Mark Minevich is the President and founding partner of Going Global Ventures. He is a digital cognitive AI strategist, AI expert, investor, UN Advisor, and advocate with expertise in Artificial Intelligence. Mark is also a Co-Founder and Co-Chair of AI for Planet Alliance with UN Agencies, a Senior Advisor to ...

EPISODE 1897: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Max Marshall, author of AMONG THE BROS, about a Fraternity crime story that reveals the rigged system of money and power in 21st century America Max Marshall Max Marshall is a writer and journalist. Raised in Texas, he attended Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 2016. He served as a Princeton in Asia Media Fellow in Hanoi, Vietnam, and his work has appeared in GQ, Texas Monthly, Sports Illustrated, and...

EPISODE 1896: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary General of International IDEA, about the fragile state of democracy around the world in 2023 Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, PhD has been the Secretary-General of International IDEA since August 2019. Casas-Zamora has more than 25 years of experience in democratic governance as a researcher, analyst, educator, consultant, and public official. He embodies the rare combination of a distinguished academic career—strongly focus...

EPISODE 1895: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the co-editor of PROJECT CENSORED's STATE OF THE FREE PRESS 2024, about how "solutions journalism" offers a more truthful alternative to corporate owned media in America today ANDY LEE ROTH is the associate director of Project Censored. He has co-edited thirteen previous editions of Project Censored’s yearbook, in addition to contributing chapters on Iceland and the commons (Censored 2014), the Military Commissions Act (Censored 2009) and news ...

EPISODE 1894: In our weekly KEEN ON wrap of tech news with Keith Teare, author of the THAT WAS THE WEEK newletter, Keith explains why AI will radically disrupt traditional internet search engines like Google Keith 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. A...

EPISODE 1893: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Jeneva Rose and Drew Pyne about #CrimeTime, their TikTok driven real-life crime audiobook based on a true robbery in the Chicago apartment building Jeneva Rose is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the million-copy bestselling thriller, The Perfect Marriage. Her work has been translated into more than two dozen languages and optioned for film/tv. Originally from Wisconsin, she currently lives in Chicago with her ...

EPISODE 1892: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the Columbia Business School academic, Shai Davidai, about what American universities should be doing to confront anti-semitism and promote a two-state peace between Israelis and Palestinians Shai Davidai is Assistant Professor in the Management Division of Columbia Business School. His research examines people’s everyday judgments of themselves, other people, and society as a whole. He studies the psychological forces that shape, distort, and ...

EPISODE 1891: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Gregory Wallance, author of INTO SIBERIA, about the original George Kennan and his epic journey through the frozen heart of Russia GREGORY J. WALLANCE is a New York-based lawyer (a retired partner at Kaye Scholar and Arnold & Porter), writer, and former federal prosecutor and human rights activist. Gregory is the author of Papa's Game, about the theft of the French Connection heroin, which received a nonfiction nomination for an Edgar Allan Po...

Episode 1890: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Georges Ugeux, author of WALL STREET'S ASSAULT ON DEMOCRACY, about how today's financial markets exacerbate inequalities, increase government debt and foment authoritarianism Georges Ugeux is the founder of Galileo Global Advisors, which offers CEOs, boards of directors and governments independent advice on international business development, mergers and acquisitions, and capital raising. The firm specializes in cross-border transactions to and...

EPISODE 1889: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Judith Tick, author of BECOMING ELLA FITZGERALD, on the jazz singer who transformed both American song and culture Judith Tick is professor emerita of music history at Northeastern University. She has published award-winning books and articles about American music and women’s history in music, including Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer’s Search for American Music. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. Named as one of the "100 most connected me...

EPISODE 1888: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the LA Times book critic Bethanne Patrick about her five favorite non-fiction books of the year Bethanne Patrick maintains a storied place in the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven on Twitter, where she created the popular #FridayReads and regularly comments on books and literary ideas to over 200,000 followers. Her work appears frequently in the Los Angeles Times as well as in The Washington Post, NPR Books, and Literary Hub....