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 Capitol Siege and American Revolution
41 min
252
Why fascism in Post-Trump America isn't going away
Vox's Sean Illing and Yale professor Jason Stanley discuss why American democracy provides such fertile soil for fascism
40 min
253
The Joe Biden experience
Ezra Klein and Evan Osnos discuss our new president
61 min
254
What it means to be a "good" rich person
Exploring the anxieties of wealthy people and their desire to be seen as "middle class."
46 min
255
Peter Kafka and Kevin Roose on big tech's power...
26 min
256
Sam Sanders and Olivia Nuzzi on President Trump...
41 min
257
Best of: We don’t just feel emotions. We make t...
A mind-blowing conversation with Lisa Feldman Barrett on how emotion is made
90 min
258
Best of: Ending the age of animal cruelty, with...
75 min
259
Best of: The moral philosophy of The Good Place
98 min
260
Best of: Michael Lewis reads my mind
101 min
261
Best of: Tracy K. Smith changed how I read poetry
85 min
262
What I’ve learned, and what comes next.
Ezra reflects on his time with Vox, what he's learned, and what comes next.
38 min
263
Best of: An inspiring conversation about democr...
67 min
264
Michael Pollan on the psychedelic society
70 min
265
Best of: Robert Sapolsky on the toxic intersect...
75 min
266
Joe Biden and "the new progressivism"
58 min
267
Best of: Frances Lee on why bipartisanship is i...
57 min
268
The most important book I've read this year
91 min
269
Best of: Alison Gopnik changed how I think abou...
92 min
270
Best of: Vivek Murthy on America’s loneliness e...
76 min
271
What Democrats got wrong about Hispanic voters
60 min
272
Antitrust, censorship, misinformation, and the ...
How 2020 changed Facebook and Twitter for the better
55 min
273
The crisis isn’t Trump. It’s the Republican Party.
60 min
274
The Joe Biden experience
63 min
275
Chris Hayes and I process this wild election
Polarization, polling error, and the Latino vote
59 min