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.
51
The jazz musician’s guide to the universe
A cosmologist uses jazz to help make sense of the multiverse
49 min
52
Revisiting the "father of capitalism"
What we get wrong about moral philosopher Adam Smith
47 min
53
Breaking our family patterns
How our "origin wounds" from childhood hold us back, according to an acclaimed marriage and family therapist
58 min
54
Why Orwell matters
The author of Animal Farm and 1984 is now an adjective. But what does "Orwellian" actually mean?
48 min
55
The timebomb the founding fathers left us
The Constitution is the crisis
48 min
56
Swear like a philosopher
Sean Illing talks to philosopher Rebecca Roache about why swear words hold the power to offend and delight.
41 min
57
Taking Nietzsche seriously
Sean Illing talks with political science professor Matt McManus about the political thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th-century German philosopher with a complicated legacy.
58 min
58
What India teaches us about liberalism — and it...
Zack Beauchamp is joined by scholar Pratap Bhanu Mehta to discuss the past and present of Indian liberalism and what it says about the future of global politics.
43 min
59
1992: The year politics broke
Writer John Ganz joins Sean to discuss the conservative movement of the 1990s and how it foreshadowed the MAGA movement and the hyper-partisan politics of today.
41 min
60
The existential struggle of being Black
Nathalie Etoke joins Sean to talk about how the struggle for Black liberation is inextricable from the philosophical tradition of existentialism.
51 min
61
The world after nuclear war
Journalist Annie Jacobsen scares the hell out of Sean by describing the terrifying realities of a nuclear missile attack.
53 min
62
Gaza, Camus, and the logic of violence
Professor Robert Zaretsky joins Sean to discuss Albert Camus’s thoughtful response to the French-Algerian conflict and how those lessons might apply to the ongoing war in Gaza.
51 min
63
This is your kid on smartphones
Professor Jonathan Haidt joins Sean to discuss the effects of smartphones and social media on the mental health of young people.
50 min
64
Life after death?
Journalist Sebastian Junger has never been a New Age mystic. But a brush with death forced him to question the fundamental nature of reality.
49 min
65
The world after Ozempic
Journalist Johann Hari breaks down the research surrounding the weight loss drug, his personal experience using it, and what he fears might happen to young women, the culture, and the people who need it most.
47 min
66
UFOs, God, and the edge of understanding
Religious studies professor Diana Pasulka joins Sean to talk about alleged alien encounters, how they parallel religious experiences, and how our current moment is shaping the discussion around extraterrestrial life.
42 min
67
How to listen
The essential art of listening and how it’s different from simply hearing
51 min
68
Everything's a cult now
Writer Derek Thompson on how absolutely everything feels like a cult. And why we’re never going back.
50 min
69
Fareed Zakaria on our revolutionary moment
Fareed Zakaria reflects on the modern history of revolution and explains why we’re living in a uniquely consequential period.
41 min
70
Life is hard. Can philosophy help?
MIT professor Kieran Satiya on how philosophy can help us understand and survive life’s most difficult times.
47 min
71
The American dream is a pyramid scheme
Journalist Jane Marie joins Sean to discuss the history and pervasiveness of multilevel marketing schemes and how they fit into the mythology of America.
42 min
72
The chaplain who doesn't believe in God
Devin Moss is a chaplain who doesn’t believe in God. He recently spent one year counseling a death row inmate through his final days.
45 min
73
Can a friend be our most significant other?
Guest host Sigal Samuel is joined by her friend and journalist Rhaina Cohen, author of The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center.
47 min
74
The power of climate fiction
Stephen Markley is the author of the novel, “The Deluge.”
43 min
75
The denial of death
Filmmaker Jef Sewell discusses his new documentary on the work and thought of anthropologist Ernest Becker.
42 min