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
251
The paradox of American freedom
51 min
252
Nonbinary parenthood
55 min
253
John McWhorter, the anti-antiracist
61 min
254
The overwhelming, invisible work of elder care
57 min
255
How Big Tech benefits from the disinformation p...
52 min
256
Fannie Lou Hamer and the meaning of freedom
How a former sharecropper disrupted American politics
54 min
257
What the internet took from us
53 min
258
Trapped inside with Susanna Clarke's Piranesi
43 min
259
Bryan Stevenson on the legacy of enslavement
57 min
260
What's your status?
51 min
261
Is there a hack for enlightenment?
59 min
262
Fighting a world on fire with fire
56 min
263
Revolutionary Love
51 min
264
How to make meaning out of suffering
52 min
265
Ken Burns's latest on The Greatest
62 min
266
The road from 9/11 to Donald Trump
62 min
267
Rep. Pramila Jayapal on immigrants and America ...
45 min
268
Why America's obsession with rights is wrong
52 min
269
The news is by — and for — rich, white liberals
57 min
270
Clint Smith III on confronting the legacy of sl...
55 min
271
Was the cruelty the point?
55 min
272
How seashells shaped the world — and predict ou...
52 min
273
Bill Maher on free speech, comedy, and his haters
45 min
274
Robert Reich wants you to take on the system
48 min
275
Marty Baron on the future of news
49 min