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
226
The paradox of American freedom
51 min
227
Nonbinary parenthood
55 min
228
John McWhorter, the anti-antiracist
61 min
229
The overwhelming, invisible work of elder care
57 min
230
How Big Tech benefits from the disinformation p...
52 min
231
Fannie Lou Hamer and the meaning of freedom
How a former sharecropper disrupted American politics
54 min
232
What the internet took from us
53 min
233
Trapped inside with Susanna Clarke's Piranesi
43 min
234
Bryan Stevenson on the legacy of enslavement
57 min
235
What's your status?
51 min
236
Is there a hack for enlightenment?
59 min
237
Fighting a world on fire with fire
56 min
238
Revolutionary Love
51 min
239
How to make meaning out of suffering
52 min
240
Ken Burns's latest on The Greatest
62 min
241
The road from 9/11 to Donald Trump
62 min
242
Rep. Pramila Jayapal on immigrants and America ...
45 min
243
Why America's obsession with rights is wrong
52 min
244
The news is by — and for — rich, white liberals
57 min
245
Clint Smith III on confronting the legacy of sl...
55 min
246
Was the cruelty the point?
55 min
247
How seashells shaped the world — and predict ou...
52 min
248
Bill Maher on free speech, comedy, and his haters
45 min
249
Robert Reich wants you to take on the system
48 min
250
Marty Baron on the future of news
49 min