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. From the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Philosophy
Politics
News Commentary
276
Even Better: Don't call it a budget
45 min
277
The quest for authenticity
Better living through the existentialism of Simone de Beauvoir
46 min
278
Even Better: Setting your boundaries
43 min
279
Your gut instinct is usually wrong
A data scientist on how to make decisions
49 min
280
Even Better: Workplace equality 2.0
51 min
281
Why we're still postmodern (whatever that means)
53 min
282
Even Better: Activism when you don't know where...
47 min
283
The Supreme Court's power grab
60 min
284
How middlemen took over the economy
60 min
285
The necessity — and danger — of free speech
Free speech is essential for democracy. It may also be democracy's downfall.
50 min
286
Hacking coral sex to save the reefs
49 min
287
The price of keeping secrets
47 min
288
Does China control Hollywood?
58 min
289
Steve Bannon is still at war
45 min
290
The Fortress of Solitude saw it all coming
Constance Grady talks with author Jonathan Lethem about his prescient 2003 novel
34 min
291
The Philosophers: Stoic revival
59 min
292
Station Eleven's creator on the end of the world
Showrunner Patrick Somerville on why hope is necessary for survival
47 min
293
The racist origins of fat phobia
49 min
294
The fight for Ukraine — and democracy
49 min
295
The war on trans people
49 min
296
Michael Ian Black on being a better man
50 min
297
Carmen Maria Machado's haunted feminine
36 min
298
The rise and fall of America's monuments
45 min
299
The Philosophers: America's philosophy, with Co...
55 min
300
Why accidents aren't accidental
47 min