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. From the Vox Media Podcast Network.
476
Best of: The age of "mega-identity" politics
A conversation with Lilliana Mason about identity politics
75 min
477
Because podcast
Gretchen McCulloch on how the internet revolutionized language
77 min
478
There’s more to life than profit
Yancey Strickler on climate change, founding Kickstarter and the perils of profit
89 min
479
Having a bad day? Dave Eggers can help.
Dave Eggers and I discuss satire, the Trump presidency and the importance of disconnecting.
80 min
480
How Whole Foods, yoga, and NPR became the hallm...
Elizabeth Currid-Halkett and Ezra Klein discuss why today’s rich are far less materialistic, but a far greater threat to equality
68 min
481
How social media makes us antisocial
Andrew Marantz explains the symbiotic relationship between social media platforms and the alt-right
89 min
482
ICYMI: Edward Norton’s theory of mind, movies, ...
107 min
483
Introducing Reset
Arielle Duhaime-Ross hosts Reset - the new tech podcast from Recode.
42 min
484
What a smarter Trumpism would sound like
Michael Lind discusses the new class war, China, and his theory of political settlement
82 min
485
The climate crisis is an oceans crisis
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson explains why oceans are essential to human life and how we are killing them.
69 min
486
We live in The Good Place. And we’re screwing i...
How bad is climate change? Scientist Kate Marvel explains.
81 min
487
Neoliberalism and its discontents
Wendy Brown and Noah Smith try to define one of the most confusing concepts in modern political discourse
89 min
488
The four words that will decide impeachment
Ezra Klein and Gene Healy discuss the meaning of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors"
52 min
489
We don’t just feel emotions. We make them.
A mind-blowing conversation with Lisa Feldman Barrett on how emotion is made
90 min
490
How politics became a war against reality
Peter Pomerantsev on modern propaganda, post-truth politics, and the authoritarian resurgence
84 min
491
The loneliness epidemic
A deeply personal conversation with Vivek Murthy about loneliness and its impact on the mind, body, and soul
76 min
492
Ibram X. Kendi wants to redefine racism
Is racism solely about policies that widen racial inequality? Ibram X. Kendi and Ezra Klein discuss.
85 min
493
Malcolm Gladwell’s Stranger Things
Ezra Klein and Malcolm Gladwell discuss Cuban spies, talking to strangers, the process of creative storytelling, and much more
91 min
494
An inspiring conversation about democracy
Danielle Allen and Ezra Klein discuss what a democratic policy agenda would looks like, how to talk to strangers, and why we need to reform civic education.
87 min
495
Samantha Power’s journey from foreign policy cr...
A conversation about human nature, China, and the blurry line between morality and strategy in US foreign policy
87 min
496
When meritocracy wins, everybody loses
Is meritocracy responsible for rampant inequality, waning social mobility, and widespread dissatisfaction? Ezra Klein and Daniel Markovits discuss.
85 min
497
Nikole Hannah-Jones on the 1619 project, choosi...
Ezra Klein and Nikole Hannah-Jones discuss America's founding contradiction, racial segregation, capitalism and more
98 min
498
Randall Munroe, the genius behind XKCD
A quirky, weird, illuminating, curious trip through the mind of a genius
82 min
499
Julián Castro's quiet moral radicalism
Why Julián Castro wants to decriminalize migration, admit climate refugees, reimagine our relationship with the homeless, and protect animals.
61 min
500
Political animals (with Leah Garcés)
Leah Garcés and Ezra Klein discuss how building coalitions with unlikely allies may just be the key to reducing animal suffering
87 min