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
301
Patricia Lockwood's big, beautiful internet brain
51 min
302
Who is the real George Soros?
53 min
303
Introducing Unexplainable
A new podcast from Vox about everything we don’t know.
26 min
304
The border, explained by someone who knows it i...
51 min
305
"Wintering," wisdom, and weathering life's dark...
62 min
306
Reframing America's race problem
49 min
307
Who owns the Western?
45 min
308
A Watchmen writer on race, TV, and tech giants
52 min
309
Uncovering the history of psychedelics in Chris...
48 min
310
Biden's immigration architect on racism, reform...
58 min
311
The Capitol Siege and American Revolution
41 min
312
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
313
The Joe Biden experience
Ezra Klein and Evan Osnos discuss our new president
61 min
314
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
315
Peter Kafka and Kevin Roose on big tech's power...
26 min
316
Sam Sanders and Olivia Nuzzi on President Trump...
41 min
317
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
318
Best of: Ending the age of animal cruelty, with...
75 min
319
Best of: The moral philosophy of The Good Place
98 min
320
Best of: Michael Lewis reads my mind
101 min
321
Best of: Tracy K. Smith changed how I read poetry
85 min
322
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
323
Best of: An inspiring conversation about democr...
67 min
324
Michael Pollan on the psychedelic society
70 min
325
Best of: Robert Sapolsky on the toxic intersect...
75 min