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
276
Was the cruelty the point?
55 min
277
How seashells shaped the world — and predict ou...
52 min
278
Bill Maher on free speech, comedy, and his haters
45 min
279
Robert Reich wants you to take on the system
48 min
280
Marty Baron on the future of news
49 min
281
The death of cool
43 min
282
We need to talk about UFOs. Seriously.
Professor Alex Wendt tells Sean Illing why he thinks the aliens might already be here
57 min
283
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
284
Fareed Zakaria on the fate of democracy
65 min
285
Jane Goodall on the power of hope
The world's foremost expert on chimps wants us to remember we're animals, too
56 min
286
Why we love drugs
Michael Pollan on humans, plants, and the coming psychedelic revolution
58 min
287
The rugged majesty of revision
Jamil Smith in conversation with author Kiese Laymon on revision, restoration, and repair
54 min
288
How to forgive
53 min
289
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
290
Introducing: Now & Then
A new history podcast from CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network
57 min
291
The science of dating
52 min
292
Honoring Juneteenth with Ibram X. Kendi
Ibram X. Kendi on racism, systemic change, and whether an antiracist America is even possible
47 min
293
Digital dictatorship
54 min
294
The man who proposed reparations in the 1860s
Abe Lincoln's forgotten abolitionist ally
62 min
295
What pandemic recovery should look like
54 min
296
The gift of getting old
52 min
297
Freedom, and what it means to have a body
50 min
298
Why are we so worried about Satan?
58 min
299
How to be wrong less often
48 min
300
The complicated history of wildlife conservation
What can the past tell us about the future of fighting extinction?
65 min