Keen On America

Andrew Keen

Nobody asks sharper or more impertinent questions than Andrew Keen. In KEEN ON, Andrew cross-examines the world’s smartest people on politics, economics, history, the environment, and tech. If you want to make sense of our complex world, check out the daily questions and the answers on KEEN ON. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best-known technology and politics broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running show How To Fix Democracy and the author of four critically acclaimed books about the future, including the international bestselling CULT OF THE AMATEUR. Keen On is free to listen to and will remain so. If you want to stay up-to-date on new episodes and support the show please subscribe to Andrew Keen’s Substack. Paid subscribers will soon be able to access exclusive content from our new series Keen On America. keenon.substack.com

  1. HÁ 7 H

    The World's Worst Bet: How America Gambled Dumbly on Globalization and Lost

    Dumb globalization: America’s worst bet. That, at least, is the view of the Washington Post financial writer David J Lynch and author of The World’s Worst Bet. From Clinton to Bush, Lynch argues, America has bet stupidly on globalization and, not surprisingly, has lost. It’s no coincidence, he suggests, that the American dream has also unraveled in this tumultuous period. While globalization lifted billions from poverty worldwide and enriched coastal elites, Lynch contends that America's failure to help displaced manufacturing workers created the resentment that ultimately put Trump in the White House. The promised assistance to globalization's losers never materialized, leaving entire communities devastated by both catastrophic job losses and the equal catastrophe to tens of million Americans of the 2008 financial crisis. So what to do? Lynch argues that both Trump's tariffs and Biden's industrial policy are fighting yesterday's battles. Instead, America needs robust labor market policies—wage insurance, place-based economic development, and real safety nets for workers displaced by trade, automation, or AI. The missing piece has always been helping people transition, not futile attempts to resurrect lost manufacturing jobs. Smart globalization: America’s best bet. 1. The Unappreciated Gamble America bet it could reap all of globalization's benefits without addressing its costs. Politicians from Clinton onward promised help for displaced workers that never materialized, while prioritizing balanced budgets, wars, and bank bailouts over struggling communities. 2. The Obama-to-Trump Pipeline is Real Counties that voted for Obama by 59% flipped to Trump by 56%. These voters saw both as outsiders promising change. When "hope and change" failed to deliver, they turned to "Make America Great Again" - two sides of the same anti-establishment coin. 3. We're Going Backwards, Not Forward U.S. tariffs are now at their highest level since the 1930s. Both Trump's tariffs and Biden's industrial policy are fighting yesterday's battles, trying to resurrect manufacturing jobs that economists agree won't return at any reasonable cost. 4. The Financial Crisis Was the Breaking Point The 2008 crash wasn't just another recession - it was the second devastating blow to communities already reeling from job losses. Watching banks get bailed out while losing their homes cemented the perception that the system was rigged. 5. AI Makes This Urgent The next wave of displacement won't hit factory workers - it'll hit the coastal elites. Doctors, lawyers, and knowledge workers face AI disruption, possibly creating the political will for the safety nets America should have built decades ago. 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

    44min

  2. HÁ 1 DIA

    Demystify Science and Humanize Scientists: How to Rebuild Scientific Trust in our Angry MAHA Times

    In our angry MAHA times, how can we get people trusting science and scientists again. According to MIT’s Alan Lightman, one of America’s greatest scientific writers, we need to both demystify science and humanize scientists. Lightman is the co-author, with Martin Rees, of The Shape of Wonder, a timely collection of essays about how scientists think, work, and live. We need to learn from scientists like Albert Einstein, Lightman - himself the author of the 1993 classic Einstein’s Dreams, suggests. He argues that Einstein's "naive" willingness to challenge millennia of thinking about time exemplifies the wonder that drives great science. Lightman discusses why scientists have become entangled with "elite establishments" in our populist moment, and argues that critical scientific thinking—from balancing checkbooks to diagnosing a child's fever—belongs to everyone, not just scientists. So make America smart again (MASA), by demystifying science and humanizing scientists. 1. "Naive" questioning drives breakthrough science Einstein revolutionized physics at 26 by refusing to accept millennia of received wisdom about time—showing that great science requires childlike willingness to challenge fundamental assumptions. 2. Scientists are victims of populist backlash The mistrust of science isn't really about science—it's part of a global populist movement against "elite establishments," fueled by social media, immigration fears, and growing wealth inequality. 3. Wonder requires discipline, not just awe Unlike a child's wonder, scientific wonder comes with tools—both experimental and theoretical—for actually understanding how things work, making it "disciplined wonder." 4. Scientists shouldn't be authorities beyond science Even Einstein or Nobel laureates like Geoffrey Hinton have no special authority on ethics, philosophy, or politics—they're just smart people with opinions like everyone else. 5. Critical thinking belongs to everyone When you balance your checkbook or diagnose a child's fever, you're using scientific thinking. Science isn't an elite activity—it's a method we all already practice in daily life. 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

    42min

  3. HÁ 2 DIAS

    From Borges to Brain Scans: How our Minds Invent Reality

    The human brain is so unbelievably complex that we barely understand its most basic functions. According to the British neuroscientist Daniel Yon, our brains - which some speculate are the most mysteriously complicated things in the universe - might even have minds of their own. In his latest book, A Trick of the Mind, Yon argues that our brains quite literally create our own realities. So is all reality entirely subjective, then? Not quite. Yon describes the brain as functioning like a scientist, constantly generating predictive models based on past experiences to interpret ambiguous sensory data. Rather than passively receiving information, we actively construct our perceptions through these mental frameworks. This isn't pure subjectivity, though—it's what he calls a "duet" between external stimuli and internal predictions. Our brains need these biases and preconceptions to make any sense of the world's overwhelming complexity. Without them, we'd be lost in what Yon calls "chaotic, volatile, unstable mystery." It all sounds like something out of a particularly fabulistic Jorge Luis Borges short story. Maybe it is. 1. Your brain acts like a scientist, not a camera The brain doesn't passively receive reality—it actively generates theories and predictions about the world based on past experiences. We're constantly creating models to interpret ambiguous sensory data, making perception an active construction rather than passive reception. 2. Some biases are actually rational necessities Contrary to behavioral economics' focus on "irrational" biases, Yon argues that preconceptions and biases are often essential for making sense of an ambiguous world. Without these mental frameworks, we'd be overwhelmed by raw sensory data—lost in "chaotic, volatile, unstable mystery." 3. We're "prisoners of our own pasts" Our brains use past experiences to predict and interpret the present, creating a self-perpetuating cycle. This explains why changing entrenched thought patterns is so difficult—we literally perceive the world through filters created by our history, both personal and cultural. 4. Knowledge-seeking has the same neural currency as basic survival drives The brain treats new information and understanding with the same reward systems it uses for food or water. This explains why humans pursue knowledge even at personal risk (like students studying philosophy under Communist surveillance)—our "wanderlust" is biologically encoded. 5. Mental health differences reflect alternative predictive models, not deficits Depression, anxiety, and neurodivergent conditions can be understood as different ways the brain models reality rather than as illnesses or deficits. In unpredictable environments, anxiety might be a perfectly rational response to perceived instability. 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

    46min

  4. HÁ 2 DIAS

    The Hypocrisy of Trump's War on Universities: How Wealthy Families Game the College Admission Process

    According to former college president Beverly Daniel Tatum, Trump’s war on university admissions is deeply hypocritical. On the one hand, she argues, his attack on affirmative action admissions policy is made in the populist language of “anti-woke” egalitarianism; but on the other, wealthy families are already gaming college admissions through clever manipulation of the system. A Harvard study revealed that athletes, legacies, donors' children, and faculty offspring—categories overwhelmingly benefiting affluent white families—receive admission advantages far exceeding any diversity program. Yet while demanding universities abandon "racial proxies," Trump's administration simultaneously insists on counting student demographics, exposing the contradiction in claims of colorblind meritocracy. Tatum’s new book, Peril and Promise: College Leadership in Turbulent Times, draws from her extensive experience as President of both Mount Holyoke College and Spelman College. Tatum discussed her controversial decision to eliminate NCAA sports at Spelman, redirecting resources toward wellness programs for all students rather than competitive athletics for a few. She also addressed the broader challenges facing higher education, from AI's potential to transform teaching and reduce costs to the ongoing mental health crisis on campuses, presenting herself as both a trustworthy insider and experienced observer of college education in our unusually turbulent times. Even opponents of affirmative action might learn something from the wise Dr Tatum. * The Real Admissions Advantage Goes to Wealth, Not Race - A Harvard study shows that "ALDCs" (Athletes, Legacies, Donors' children, faculty Children) receive far greater admissions boosts than any affirmative action program ever provided, with these categories disproportionately benefiting affluent white families. * Trump's "Colorblind" Approach Is Contradictory - While demanding universities stop using "racial proxies" and claiming to want merit-based admissions, the administration simultaneously insists on counting and tracking student demographics by race. * 2025 Is Uniquely Turbulent for Higher Education - Tatum, who lived through the Vietnam era and other crisis periods, believes the current government intervention in university operations represents the most intense challenge to academic freedom she's experienced in decades. * College Sports Often Drain Resources from Student Wellness - Tatum eliminated NCAA sports at Spelman College, redirecting funds toward fitness and wellness programs that benefit all students rather than the small percentage who compete, especially given data showing young Black women's sedentary lifestyles. * AI Will Transform College Costs and Teaching - While startup costs for AI implementation are significant, early experiments show promise for reducing expenses and improving learning outcomes, such as AI tutors available 24/7 that outperformed traditional teaching methods in physics classes. 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

    40min

  5. HÁ 3 DIAS

    Borders are Back, Baby: From Trump and Transylvania to Brexit and Bolivia's Navy

    Globalization is dying, maybe even dead. Borders are back, baby. That’s the message in Jonn Elledge’s sparkling Brief History of the World in 47 Borders. In this romp around world history , Elledge introduces us to 47 of the world’s oddest borders including particularly weird ones in Detroit, Kaliningrad and Bolivia. So should be celebrating or mourning the rebirth of the border? Elledge is in mourning. A self-described progressive who grew up on Star Trek dreams of planetary unity, he sees nationalism's resurgence since 2016 as "quite a bad thing." He blames economic stagnation—when the pie stops growing, generous approaches to migration and distribution become much harder to sustain. I’m more sanguine. Whatever globalist bureaucrats at the UN or EU promised us, borders were never going away. As a species, we humans are agoraphobic. The Trekkies are wrong. The claustrophobia of the border is what gives us our sense of space. 1. Borders are having a political moment - The "liberal hegemony" that promised borderless globalization has been collapsing since 2016 (Brexit, Trump), making nationalism and territorial division the dominant political force again. 2. Economic stagnation drives border obsession - When economies aren't growing and people aren't getting richer, generous policies on migration and wealth distribution become much harder to sustain politically. 3. Maps shape leaders' minds - Trump's fixation on his Oval Office Ukraine map shows how visual representations of territory directly influence foreign policy decisions and geopolitical thinking. 4. Most "historic" borders are recent inventions - What we assume are natural, ancient boundaries (like the Berlin Wall, Bangladesh, or even Germany's division) are often just decades old, showing how arbitrary our sense of "normal" geography really is. 5. Borders create unexpected consequences - From Bolivia maintaining a navy despite being landlocked to Detroit's expansion bankrupting the city, where you draw lines has profound, often unintended effects on politics, economics, and culture for generations. 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

    38min

  6. HÁ 4 DIAS

    Beware of another Silicon Valley Win-Win-Win: Can users, publishers and tech companies really all benefit from the AI revolution?

    When somebody says “win-win” in Silicon Valley, check your pockets. It’s usually some elaborate prelude to a sales pitch. And the only thing dodgier than a two-way win is the “win-win-win” narrative that my friend Keith Teare is selling this week. “User, Publishers and AI: Everybody Wins” is the title of Keith’s That Was The Week newsletter this week. And to be fair, what he’s selling is the dream of an AI world in which the publishers, consumers and manufacturers of information all win. Who wouldn’t want that? Our conversation this week is built around the AI ethics showdown by Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz which has shaken Silicon Valley this week. The battle centers on whether AI agents should identify themselves when accessing publisher content - a seemingly technical question that reveals broader tensions about who controls information in the age of artificial intelligence. Y Combinator’s Garry Tan called new authentication requirements an "axis of evil" while Andreessen Horowitz’s Martin Casado argued they represent common sense infrastructure. But the ever-optimistic Keith (who seems to believe that all progress is good, even for its victims) thinks everyone can win - users, publishers and tech companies. Presumably even Garry Tan and Martin Casado. If you believe that, then I might have some beautiful, no-risk Las Vegas beachfront real-estate for you. 1. The "Axis of Evil" Fight Is Really About Anonymous Access When Y Combinator's Garry Tan attacked Cloudflare and Browserbase's AI authentication system as an "axis of evil," he revealed Silicon Valley's preference for consequence-free data harvesting. The technical dispute over AI agent identification masks a deeper question: should AI companies remain anonymous when accessing publisher content, or must they become accountable? 2. Publishers Need Influence, Not Just Traffic The conversation exposed a crucial distinction between advertising models that require massive scale and sponsorship models that reward targeted influence. Quality audiences matter more than raw pageviews - an insight that could reshape how content creators think about monetization in the AI era. 3. The "Virtuous Circle" Depends on AI Companies Acting Against Self-Interest Keith's vision of AI systems surfacing attribution links back to original sources requires companies to voluntarily complicate their user experience. Why would ChatGPT or Claude choose to send users away to read original articles when seamless summarization is their core value proposition? 4. "Bad Publishers Deserved to Fail" Sidesteps Structural Questions Keith's argument that only inferior publishers lost to digital disruption ignores how entire categories of valuable journalism - particularly local news - faced structural economic challenges regardless of quality. This reveals the limitations of purely market-based explanations for technological displacement. 5. Trust May Be Irrelevant in the Post-Truth Era My observation that "nobody cares about trust anymore" challenges the entire premise of authentication systems. If users don't demand source verification, then the economic incentives for Keith's proposed "trusted third party" infrastructure may not exist. 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

    46min

  7. HÁ 5 DIAS

    Every Day, Computers are Making People Easier to Use: The Return of IN FORMATION

    It’s only been a quarter century, but IN FORMATION magazine is now back. Published by David Temkin with the tagline “Every Day, Computers are Making People Easier to Use”, IN FORMATION was originally designed in 1998 as the “Anti-Wired” - a glossily skeptical anti-tech publication for Silicon Valley insiders. And now, as more tech hysteria grips the Valley, IN FORMATION has - like the promise of AI itself - magically reappeared. This third issue, costing the Orwellian sum of $19.84, features contributions from former Google VPs, cryptography experts, and Silicon Valley veterans like Temkin who helped build the original internet. The San Francisco-based Temkin, now at PayPal after stints at Apple and Google, sees AI as another "step function change" in the way that computers are, indeed, making people easier to use. Just in the nick of time, in my not-so-humble opinion. Everyone should subscribe. 1. The Power Dynamic Has Flipped Temkin's tagline "Every Day, Computers are Making People Easier to Use" captures how technology's original promise to empower users has reversed. What began as making computers accessible has evolved into making humans predictable and manipulable—from requiring "computer literacy" to creating addictive, frictionless experiences. 2. AI Follows Historical Tech Patterns Temkin sees AI as another "step function change" following personal computers, the internet, and smartphones. He expects AI will likely crash before achieving mainstream success, similar to the dot-com bubble. The hype cycles are familiar, but the stakes may be higher. 3. Insider Critique Beats Outside Commentary Information differentiates itself by featuring people who built these technologies—former Google VPs, cryptography experts, Apple engineers—rather than external cultural critics. Their perspective comes from understanding how the technology actually works and evolves from the inside. 4. Physical Media as Resistance The magazine's tactile nature (160 pages, 1.3 pounds, $19.84) represents deliberate resistance to digital consumption patterns. Like vinyl's resurgence, physical magazines offer a curated, composed reading experience that screens can't replicate. 5. The Stakes Have Escalated While the 1990s tech promises seemed "simultaneously laughable and very threatening," Temkin notes we've moved from early warning signals to full realization of those threats. AI represents another inflection point where the technology could be genuinely beneficial or catastrophically destructive—and unlike nuclear weapons, everyone has immediate access to experiment with it. 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

    48min

  8. HÁ 5 DIAS

    Is Roman Polanski really worth defending?

    Is the convicted sex criminal Roman Polanski worth defending? Particularly in the context of “An Officer and a Spy”, his vaguely autobiographical 2019 movie about the Dreyfus case, the first Polanski film in a decade to be shown in the United States. Writing in Liberties Quarterly, Charles Taylor answers yes, intelligently making the case that we should concentrate on evaluating Polanski’s art rather than his crimes. But I wonder about the wisdom of Polanski making a film about, of all things, the Dreyfus Affair - the celebrated 19th century French case of the persecution of an innocent Jewish military officer. Taylor’s Liberties piece is entitled “Polanski’s Nation of Pain” in reference to the manifold tragedies of the filmmaker’s life. But there’s also the unimaginable pain Roman Polanski has inflicted on any number of innocent women and girls. No, I don’t think I’ll be paying to see “An Officer and a Spy”. Not even if it’s a good movie. 1. The Separation Dilemma Can we truly separate art from artist? Taylor argues yes - judging work solely on artistic merit regardless of the creator's character. But this becomes harder when the artist may be using their platform to craft narratives about innocence and persecution. 2. Subject Matter Matters Polanski's choice to make a film about the Dreyfus Affair - a famous case of false accusation and the persecution of an innocent man - feels particularly tone-deaf given his own history of victimizing others. The "what" an artist chooses to explore can't be divorced from the "who" is exploring it. 3. Cultural Gatekeeping vs. Access There's tension between those who believe controversial artists' work should still be available to audiences (let people decide for themselves) and those who argue that some crimes should disqualify someone from cultural participation and profit. 4. The Victim's Paradox Even Samantha Geimer, Polanski's victim, has spoken against his continued prosecution - yet this doesn't resolve the broader question of accountability. Individual forgiveness doesn't necessarily translate to cultural rehabilitation. 5. Economic Ethics Beyond just artistic judgment lies the question of financial support. You can acknowledge artistic skill while refusing to economically reward it - choosing not to pay for tickets becomes a form of moral statement separate from aesthetic evaluation. 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

    33min
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Sobre

Nobody asks sharper or more impertinent questions than Andrew Keen. In KEEN ON, Andrew cross-examines the world’s smartest people on politics, economics, history, the environment, and tech. If you want to make sense of our complex world, check out the daily questions and the answers on KEEN ON. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best-known technology and politics broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running show How To Fix Democracy and the author of four critically acclaimed books about the future, including the international bestselling CULT OF THE AMATEUR. Keen On is free to listen to and will remain so. If you want to stay up-to-date on new episodes and support the show please subscribe to Andrew Keen’s Substack. Paid subscribers will soon be able to access exclusive content from our new series Keen On America. keenon.substack.com

Informações

  • Criado por
    Andrew Keen
  • Anos de atividade
    2019 - 2025
  • Episódios
    999
  • Classificação
    Livre
  • Copyright
    © andrew
  • Site do podcast
    Keen On America

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