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
451
What deliberative democracy can, and can’t, do ...
Ezra interviews Jane Mansbridge
51 min
452
Rod Dreher on America’s post-Christian culture ...
110 min
453
White threat in a browning America (Jennifer Ri...
73 min
454
Behind the panic in white, Christian America
91 min
455
An enlightening, frustrating conversation on li...
105 min
456
The cognitive cost of poverty (with Sendhil Mul...
93 min
457
Failing towards Utopia
20 min
458
Why liberals and conservatives create such diff...
90 min
459
Stacey Abrams and Lauren Groh-Wargo (Live!)
59 min
460
This changed how I think about love (with Aliso...
93 min
461
The plan behind Elizabeth Warren’s plans
49 min
462
Michael Lewis reads my mind
101 min
463
How Mitch McConnell convinced Michael Bennet to...
73 min
464
How the brains of master meditators change
68 min
465
Why good people are easily corrupted (with Lawr...
79 min
466
The art of attention (with Jenny Odell)
85 min
467
Matt Yglesias and Jenny Schuetz solve the housi...
Matt Yglesias and Jenny Schuetz solve the housing crisis
59 min
468
What kind of news is cable news? (With Brian St...
82 min
469
Contrapoints on taking the trolls seriously
75 min
470
The purpose of political violence
75 min
471
Ask Ezra Anything 3: Endgame
Ezra answers listener questions
90 min
472
The disillusionment of David Brooks
93 min
473
Emily Oster schools me on parenthood
51 min
474
Lessons from Vox’s first 5 years
90 min
475
Work as identity, burnout as lifestyle
79 min