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
351
Rebecca Solnit on Harvey Weinstein, feminism, a...
The radical wisdom of Rebecca Solnit
102 min
352
Weeds 2020: The Bernie electability debate
Welcome to Weeds 2020! Every other Saturday Ezra and Matt will be exploring a wide range of topics related to the 2020 race.
55 min
353
Tracy K. Smith changed how I read poetry
America’s two-time poet laureate on love, language, and erasure
84 min
354
Barbara Ehrenreich on UBI, class conflict, and ...
Ezra Klein and Barbara Ehrenreich discuss our most pervasive cultural myths from rugged individualism to positive thinking
62 min
355
What Donald Trump got right about white America
AEI's Tim Carney on how social breakdown killed the American Dream
69 min
356
Ta-Nehisi Coates on my “cold, atheist book”
Ezra is joined by Ta-Nehisi Coates to discuss "Why We're Polarized" live from Brooklyn, NY.
70 min
357
If God is dead, then … socialism?
Philosopher Martin Hagglund and Vox's Sean Illing discuss the meaning of life
59 min
358
Tim Urban on humanity’s wild future
The Wait But Why creator thinks the human species is at an existential fork-in-the-road. Is he right?
84 min
359
Jill Lepore on what I get wrong
Easily the toughest interview of my book tour so far
79 min
360
Is Tom Steyer the solution to our dysfunctional...
Why the presidential candidate thinks we need another billionaire to beat Trump
60 min
361
Why We're Polarized, with Jamelle Bouie (live!)
In conversation with Jamelle Bouie on my new book, "Why We're Polarized"
70 min
362
Antisemitism now, antisemitism then
Antisemitism is called “the oldest hatred.” But what is it, and where, exactly, does it come from?
86 min
363
Book excerpt: A better theory of identity politics
A special preview of Ezra's book; Why We're Polarized.
58 min
364
The war on Muslims (with Mehdi Hasan)
Mehdi Hasan on the rise of global Islamophobia
85 min
365
Post-debate special!
Matt Yglesias and I unpack the debate that did, and didn't happen.
54 min
366
An “uncomfortable” conversation with Cory Booker
Cory Booker is one of most promising candidates in the 2020 Democratic field. So, why is his campaign struggling?
88 min
367
The conservative mind of Yuval Levin
The AEI scholar discusses human nature, the conservative movement, and the case against socialism
75 min
368
How an epidemic begins and ends
A preview of season 3 of Vox's The Impact
37 min
369
Nathan Robinson’s case for socialism
The editor of Current Affairs discusses Bernie Sanders, libertarian socialism, utopian thinking and more
97 min
370
How to topple dictators and transform society (...
Harvard political scientist Erica Chenoweth on why nonviolent resistance succeeds -- and fails
47 min
371
Ask Ezra Anything
Ezra answers listener questions about free will, polarization, capitalism, Twitter and more
88 min
372
Best of: Work as identity, burnout as lifestyle
Anne Helen Petersen and Derek Thompson on what happens when work becomes an identity, and capitalism becomes a religion.
77 min
373
Republicans vs. the planet
Vox's Dave Roberts on the politics of climate change
97 min
374
The geoengineering question
Jane Flegal on the idea that could shatter the link between emissions and global warming
71 min
375
How to solve climate change and make life more ...
Entrepreneur Saul Griffith on why we have all the tools we need to fix climate change
91 min