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
The joy of uncertainty
Maggie Jackson, author of Uncertainty: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure, explains why the feeling of uncertainty is actually a pathway to better understanding and empathy.
45 min
27
A pro-worker work ethic
Political philosopher Elizabeth Anderson explains how “the biggest killjoys in European history” hijacked the way we think about work.
37 min
28
How psychedelics can reinvent learning
Guest host Sigal Samuels interviews neuroscientist Gul Dolen about her groundbreaking research, which points to a future where psychedelics might be the master key that unlocks conditions from strokes and autism to deafness and blindness… while helping us all to learn like little kids again.
33 min
29
Seeing ourselves through the darkness
A philosopher's new book on dark moods aims to help us escape the damage of our culture's most pervasive metaphor
52 min
30
Living Mindfully
Jon Kabat-Zinn has been a mindfulness pioneer since the 1970s. He joins us to reflect on its skyrocketing popularity.
37 min
31
Taking anarchism seriously
Philosopher Sophie Scott-Brown tells us why she is an anarchist
47 min
32
3,000 years of The Iliad
Emily Wilson on why the poem persists and what it teaches us about death
33 min
33
Late-stage liberalism
A discussion with political philosopher John Gray about his new book, The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism.
50 min
34
The case against free will
A discussion about whether or not free will exists and what it means for our society.
55 min
35
A Jew and a Muslim get honest about Israel and ...
How to think humanely about the Israel-Gaza horror.
56 min
36
How to keep panic from attacking
A discussion about panic and anxiety with Matt Gutman, the chief national correspondent for ABC News and the author of No Time to Panic: How I Curbed My Anxiety and Conquered a Lifetime of Panic Attacks.
46 min
37
We Are What We Watch
A conversation about how entertainment affects us mentally and physically, and why that’s okay.
53 min
38
Werner Herzog’s ecstatic truth
A conversation with Werner Herzog about the difference between facts and truth, and why he believes his writing will outlive his films.
53 min
39
The lessons of Sam Bankman-Fried
A discussion of why the world fell for a crypto billionaire.
52 min
40
Is America getting meaner?
A discussion with David Brooks about his essay, “How America Got Mean.”
51 min
41
Naomi Klein on her doppelganger (and yours)
What it’s like to journey into the “Mirror World.”
53 min
42
Should we press pause on AI?
A discussion about AI and the issue of control.
53 min
43
Democracy’s existential crisis
A case for connecting democracy and the human condition.
47 min
44
Conservative socialism?
A conservative makes the case for democratic socialism.
52 min
45
The benefits of utopian thinking
Why it’s not unreasonable to imagine a better future.
50 min
46
What Clarence Thomas really thinks
And why he's the most misunderstood Supreme Court justice, according to the author of The Enigma of Clarence Thomas.
60 min
47
The new crisis of masculinity
How to redefine what it means to be a man.
58 min
48
How we all became a brand
A brief history of how self-invention became personal branding.
49 min
49
The therapeutic potential of MDMA
How did MDMA go from club drug to breakthrough therapy?
44 min
50
Is the journey to self-discovery pointless?
What does it mean to know ourselves, and are modern methods like personality tests helping?
49 min