The Gray Area with Sean Illing
The Gray Area with Sean Illing takes a philosophy-minded look at culture, technology, politics, and the world of ideas. Each week, we invite a guest to explore a question or topic that matters. From the the state of democracy, to the struggle with depression and anxiety, to the nature of identity in the digital age, each episode looks for nuance and honesty in the most important conversations of our time. New episodes drop every Monday.
101
Dying with dignity
Sean Illing talks with journalist Katie Engelhart about the morality and legality of physician-assisted dying — asking what a death with dignity really looks like
54 min
102
Finding hope in a world on the brink
Sean talks with philosopher and psychoanalyst Jonathan Lear about how to keep flourishing as human beings in a world that feels like it's falling apart all around us
53 min
103
The new American Reconstruction
Sean Illing talks with author and historian Peniel Joseph about whether we're living in a new era of reconstruction, and the two warring ideas shaping American history
61 min
104
Is America losing its religion?
Sean is joined by religious scholar and bestselling author Reza Aslan to discuss the state of religion in America today
48 min
105
How we got to January 6th
Sean talks with reporter Luke Mogelson, who was amongst the rioters as they broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6, about how it happened, what led up to it, and what comes next
53 min
106
Neil deGrasse Tyson gets political
America's personal astrophysicist takes on our most vexing societal problems. But can science really make political struggles disappear?
53 min
107
Introducing The Gray Area
Embrace uncertainty
1 min
108
Best of: Why America's obsession with rights is...
54 min
109
A GOP insider on why the party went Trump
56 min
110
How do we fix the harm we cause?
45 min
111
A new philosophy of love
55 min
112
The politics of 'Yellowstone'
25 min
113
How society sexualizes us
51 min
114
The Parent Trap
How society is failing parents and children
55 min
115
40 Acres: Reaching reconciliation
28 min
116
40 Acres: The old Jim Crow
43 min
117
40 Acres: $14 trillion and no mules
44 min
118
40 Acres: The original promise
49 min
119
What Clarence Thomas really thinks
And why he's the most misunderstood Supreme Court Justice, according to the author of The Enigma of Clarence Thomas
59 min
120
Even Better: Don't call it a budget
45 min
121
The quest for authenticity
Better living through the existentialism of Simone de Beauvoir
46 min
122
Even Better: Setting your boundaries
43 min
123
Your gut instinct is usually wrong
A data scientist on how to make decisions
49 min
124
Even Better: Workplace equality 2.0
51 min
125
Why we're still postmodern (whatever that means)
53 min