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.

Philosophy
Politics
News Commentary
501
Failing towards Utopia
20 min
502
Why liberals and conservatives create such diff...
90 min
503
Stacey Abrams and Lauren Groh-Wargo (Live!)
59 min
504
This changed how I think about love (with Aliso...
93 min
505
The plan behind Elizabeth Warren’s plans
49 min
506
Michael Lewis reads my mind
101 min
507
How Mitch McConnell convinced Michael Bennet to...
73 min
508
How the brains of master meditators change
68 min
509
Why good people are easily corrupted (with Lawr...
79 min
510
The art of attention (with Jenny Odell)
85 min
511
Matt Yglesias and Jenny Schuetz solve the housi...
Matt Yglesias and Jenny Schuetz solve the housing crisis
59 min
512
What kind of news is cable news? (With Brian St...
82 min
513
Contrapoints on taking the trolls seriously
75 min
514
The purpose of political violence
75 min
515
Ask Ezra Anything 3: Endgame
Ezra answers listener questions
90 min
516
The disillusionment of David Brooks
93 min
517
Emily Oster schools me on parenthood
51 min
518
Lessons from Vox’s first 5 years
90 min
519
Work as identity, burnout as lifestyle
79 min
520
How social democrats won Europe — then lost it
64 min
521
In defense of white-backlash politics
96 min
522
Identity, nationalism, and fatherhood
103 min
523
An ex-libertarian’s quest to rebuild the center...
81 min
524
How whiteness distorts our democracy, with Eddi...
86 min
525
Pete Buttigieg’s theory of political change
56 min