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.
26
What do animals feel?
44 min
27
Are men okay?
44 min
28
How to feel alive
49 min
29
The antidote to climate anxiety
47 min
30
America’s reactionary moment
70 min
31
Well this is awkward
54 min
32
What just happened, and what comes next
Your election questions answered
47 min
33
Does being "woke" do any good?
Musa al-Gharbi helps us untangle the concept of "wokeness"
49 min
34
Is America collapsing like Ancient Rome?
42 min
35
The world according to Werner Herzog
53 min
36
Ta-Nehisi Coates on complexity, clarity, and tr...
We revel in complexity. But does our desire to understand that complexity sometimes over-complicate an issue?
66 min
37
Your mind needs chaos
Oshan Jarow speaks with philosopher of neuroscience Mark Miller about how our minds actually work and why we thrive on creativity and chaos.
49 min
38
Musician Laraaji on the origin of creativity
Sean revisits his interview with musician Laraaji, a pioneer of new age music who has recorded more than 50 albums since he was discovered busking in a park by Brian Eno.
44 min
39
Is AI creative?
The first conversation in our three-part series about creativity
38 min
40
Happiness isn’t the goal
Are we wired to worry?
51 min
41
A message from Sean
Sean Illing has a special message for all you listeners: Look at me!
1 min
42
What if we get climate change right?
A marine biologist tells Sean why he shouldn't be a "climate sad boy"
45 min
43
Yuval Noah Harari on the eclipsing of human int...
79 min
44
Why cynicism is bad for you
Psychologist Jamil Zaki explains why cynicism is a trap, and how to avoid it
55 min
45
Poetry as religion
The paradoxes of living a meaningful life are worth exploring... even if there's no God
51 min
46
The jazz musician’s guide to the universe
A cosmologist uses jazz to help make sense of the multiverse
49 min
47
Revisiting the "father of capitalism"
What we get wrong about moral philosopher Adam Smith
47 min
48
Breaking our family patterns
How our "origin wounds" from childhood hold us back, according to an acclaimed marriage and family therapist
58 min
49
Why Orwell matters
The author of Animal Farm and 1984 is now an adjective. But what does "Orwellian" actually mean?
48 min
50
The timebomb the founding fathers left us
The Constitution is the crisis
48 min