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.

Philosophy
Politics
News Commentary
1
A moment for silence
Pico Iyer on finding silence in a noisy world
43 min
2
How to change your personality
35 min
3
Is ignorance truly bliss?
30 min
4
Is America broken?
46 min
5
The cost of spending time alone
Do Americans have too much 'me time?'
37 min
6
Attention pays (with Chris Hayes)
47 min
7
How to be happy
63 min
8
The screens between us
42 min
9
The importance of failure
42 min
10
What to do with your sadness, pain, and grief
53 min
11
What do animals feel?
44 min
12
Are men okay?
44 min
13
How to feel alive
49 min
14
The antidote to climate anxiety
47 min
15
America’s reactionary moment
70 min
16
Well this is awkward
54 min
17
What just happened, and what comes next
Your election questions answered
47 min
18
Does being "woke" do any good?
Musa al-Gharbi helps us untangle the concept of "wokeness"
49 min
19
Is America collapsing like Ancient Rome?
42 min
20
The world according to Werner Herzog
53 min
21
Ta-Nehisi Coates on complexity, clarity, and tr...
We revel in complexity. But does our desire to understand that complexity sometimes over-complicate an issue?
66 min
22
Your mind needs chaos
Oshan Jarow speaks with philosopher of neuroscience Mark Miller about how our minds actually work and why we thrive on creativity and chaos.
49 min
23
Musician Laraaji on the origin of creativity
Sean revisits his interview with musician Laraaji, a pioneer of new age music who has recorded more than 50 albums since he was discovered busking in a park by Brian Eno.
44 min
24
Is AI creative?
The first conversation in our three-part series about creativity
38 min
25
Happiness isn’t the goal
Are we wired to worry?
51 min