Episode 2097: Keen On America featuring Francis S. Barry
As America braces itself for the upcoming Presidential election, a growing army of coastal commentators are agonizing over the health of the country’s democracy. In contrast with many of these desk bound pundits, the Bloomberg editorial director Frank Barry bought an RV and drove from New York City to San Francisco on the backroads of old Lincoln Highway. His new book, Back Roads and Better Angels, is an account of this journey into the heart of American democracy and, as Barry told me when I visited him at the Bloomberg offices in New York City, this trip has made him cautiously optimistic about the health of American democracy.
Frank Barry is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering national affairs. He is the author of Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey Into the Heart of American Democracy.
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
Jo-Ann Mort: How Poets Could Bring Peace to Israel and Palestine
Michael Blanding: Was Shakespeare a Plagiarist?
Charles Dellheim: How Jews Made the Art World Modern
Vegard Skirbekk: Why We Need to Bring Down Global Birth Dates and Have Fewer Children
Rowan Hooper: How to Save the World For Just a Trillion Dollars
Levi Vonk: The Moral Case for Demilitarizing the Southern Border
Nick Marx: Can Conservatives Be Funny?
Danica Roem: Why We Should Judge All Politicians Through the Prism of Authenticity
Sam W. Haynes: How Everyone—Left and Right—Has Misrepresented the History of Texas
Alice Sherwood: Should We Really Want to Reclaim "Reality" in Our Counterfeit World?
Tripp Mickle: How Apple Appears to Have Lost Its Soul in the Post-Steve Jobs Era
Scott Hershovitz: How to Nurture the Philosopher In All Our Kids
John A. List: Why Quitting Good Ideas Is Often a Winning Strategy