Exposing Hollywood's most notorious interwar celebrity spy
In episode 1957 of KEEN ON, Andrew talks to Ronald Drabkin, author of BEVERLY HILLS SPY, about the First World War hero who helped Japan attack Pearl Harbor
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Ronald Drabkin is the author of Beverly Hills Spy and peer-reviewed articles on Japanese espionage. His obsession with espionage history started when he was as a child in Los Angeles, where he vaguely understood that his father had been working for the US military in counterintelligence. Later he discovered that his grandfather had also been in “the business,” and it drove a voyage of discovery into previously classified documents on three continents. His career prior to writing was at early stage startups in the US, where he was an early adopter of Google and Facebook advertising. He currently lives in Tokyo.
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.
Keen On 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
On Fire for the God Con
How Jefferson Seduced America
The Man Who Made Books Random
Gaza: The Dream and the Nightmare
Old School Principles for the New Century: What if the Right isn't Wrong about Education?
Melting Ice & Vanishing Cultures: The Chilling Costs of the New Cold War in the Artic
Trump and 25th Amendment: Why Removal will NEVER happen
Lindsey
The School of Misery: The Children of a Manufactured Miracle
WTF Will Happen in 2026?
Why Smart People Still Believe in God
The All-Collar Crisis: When White Collar Work Meets Blue-Collar Reality
Keen on America: Andrew Reflects on 2025 & 2026