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
51
Stop comparing yourself to AI
53 min
52
Democrats need to do something
47 min
53
How to live in uncertain times
45 min
54
How to sink into silence
Pico Iyer on finding quiet in a noisy world
43 min
55
How to change your personality
35 min
56
Is ignorance truly bliss?
30 min
57
Is America broken?
46 min
58
The cost of spending time alone
Do Americans have too much 'me time?'
37 min
59
Attention pays (with Chris Hayes)
47 min
60
How to be happy
63 min
61
The screens between us
42 min
62
The importance of failure
42 min
63
What to do with your sadness, pain, and grief
53 min
64
What do animals feel?
44 min
65
Are men okay?
44 min
66
How to feel alive
49 min
67
The antidote to climate anxiety
47 min
68
America’s reactionary moment
70 min
69
Well this is awkward
54 min
70
What just happened, and what comes next
Your election questions answered
47 min
71
Does being "woke" do any good?
Musa al-Gharbi helps us untangle the concept of "wokeness"
49 min
72
Is America collapsing like Ancient Rome?
42 min
73
The world according to Werner Herzog
53 min
74
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
75
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