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.
376
The transformative power of restorative justice
sujatha baliga on how to radically reimagine our criminal justice system
72 min
377
Ross Douthat and I debate American decadence
Ross Douthat on American decline, utopian ambition, and the Catholic right
89 min
378
A serious conversation about UFOs
A religion scholar on UFOs, belief systems, and purgatory
88 min
379
A former prosecutor's case for prison abolition
Paul Butler on how our criminal justice system is broken — and how to fix it
64 min
380
Why Ta-Nehisi Coates is hopeful
The award-winning author on police violence, protest, and "the public"
89 min
381
Are humans fundamentally good? (with Rutger Bre...
Rutger Bregman on human nature, hierarchy, and hunter-gatherer societies
94 min
382
From politician to priest
Why Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib is giving up elected office and joining the Jesuits
118 min
383
Robert Frank's radical idea
Using contagion economics to solve our hardest problems
69 min
384
Why “essential” workers are treated as disposable
Mary Kay Henry on essential jobs, organizing, and the future of work
66 min
385
"The world’s scariest economist” on coronavirus...
Mariana Mazzucato on her "plan to fix capitalism".
79 min
386
A mind-bending conversation about quantum mecha...
Sean Carroll answers my dumb quantum mechanics questions — and yours.
76 min
387
Why the coronavirus is so deadly for black America
David R. Williams on the science behind Covid-19’s massive racial disparities
76 min
388
Jenny Odell on nature, art, and burnout in quar...
A truly cathartic conversation with Jenny Odell
63 min
389
An unusually honest conversation about wielding...
Rep. Pramila Jayapal on stimulus negotiations, the economy, and progressive power.
81 min
390
What should the media learn from coronavirus?
Coronavirus exposed weaknesses in our media ecosystem. Can we fix them?
91 min
391
Bill Gates’s vision for life beyond coronavirus
Bill Gates saw coronavirus coming. Here’s his plan to beat it.
48 min
392
An epic conversation with Madeline Miller
Madeline Miller on myth, translation, and writing a perfect sentence
77 min
393
The loneliness pandemic/Betraying “essential wo...
We have something a bit different today. Two episodes from our extraordinary colleagues at Today, Explained, both of them close to my heart.
44 min
394
Why Bernie Sanders lost and how progressives ca...
Sean McElwee on what the left got wrong in 2020
96 min
395
Scott Gottlieb on how, and when, to end social ...
When will social distancing end? When will life return to “normal”? And what will it take to get there?
45 min
396
Toby Ord on existential risk, Donald Trump, and...
81 min
397
Elizabeth Warren has a plan for this, too
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on coronavirus, leadership, and intergenerational justice.
47 min
398
What social solidarity demands of us in a pandemic
Social distancing isn’t enough. We need social solidarity.
62 min
399
Coronavirus has pushed US-China relations to th...
What’s happening between the US and China is truly scary
56 min
400
Is the cure worse than the disease?
Are we overreacting to coronavirus? An economist and a bioethicist weigh in.
62 min