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
Was the cruelty the point?
55 min
252
How seashells shaped the world — and predict ou...
52 min
253
Bill Maher on free speech, comedy, and his haters
45 min
254
Robert Reich wants you to take on the system
48 min
255
Marty Baron on the future of news
49 min
256
The death of cool
43 min
257
We need to talk about UFOs. Seriously.
Professor Alex Wendt tells Sean Illing why he thinks the aliens might already be here
57 min
258
Philadelphia's progressive prosecutor
District attorney Larry Krasner talks about his reform agenda, rising gun violence, and how to take on the system
49 min
259
Fareed Zakaria on the fate of democracy
65 min
260
Jane Goodall on the power of hope
The world's foremost expert on chimps wants us to remember we're animals, too
56 min
261
Why we love drugs
Michael Pollan on humans, plants, and the coming psychedelic revolution
58 min
262
The rugged majesty of revision
Jamil Smith in conversation with author Kiese Laymon on revision, restoration, and repair
54 min
263
How to forgive
53 min
264
What makes a great conversation?
Hosts Sean Illing and Jamil Smith introduce themselves and reintroduce Vox Conversations, a podcast exploring big ideas and hard questions together with bright minds and deep thinkers.
21 min
265
Introducing: Now & Then
A new history podcast from CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network
57 min
266
The science of dating
52 min
267
Honoring Juneteenth with Ibram X. Kendi
Ibram X. Kendi on racism, systemic change, and whether an antiracist America is even possible
47 min
268
Digital dictatorship
54 min
269
The man who proposed reparations in the 1860s
Abe Lincoln's forgotten abolitionist ally
62 min
270
What pandemic recovery should look like
54 min
271
The gift of getting old
52 min
272
Freedom, and what it means to have a body
50 min
273
Why are we so worried about Satan?
58 min
274
How to be wrong less often
48 min
275
The complicated history of wildlife conservation
What can the past tell us about the future of fighting extinction?
65 min