When fictional characters turn out to be more authentic than real people: Lang Leav on anti Asian racism in Australia and her love of the early internet as a place where she could escape how she looks

EPISODE 1700: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Lang Leav, author of  OTHERS WERE EMERALDS, about fiction and authenticy, anti Asian racism in Australia and her love of the early internet as a place where she could escape how she looks

Novelist and poet Lang Leav was born in a refugee camp when her family were fleeing the Khmer Rouge Regime. She spent her formative years in Sydney, Australia, in the predominantly migrant town of Cabramatta. Among her many achievements, Lang is the winner of a Qantas Spirit of Youth Award, Churchill Fellowship and Goodreads Reader’s Choice Award. Her first book, Love & Misadventure (2013) was a break out success, and her subsequent poetry books have all been international bestsellers. In 2016, Lang turned her attention to fiction, and her debut YA novel Sad Girls shot to #1 on the Straits Times and other bestseller charts internationally.

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.

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