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.

Philosophy
Politics
News Commentary
176
Rethinking the "end of history"
56 min
177
Anita Hill finally gets even
55 min
178
Elites have captured identity politics
52 min
179
The moral dangers of dirty work
54 min
180
Did the sexual revolution go wrong?
53 min
181
Who decides how to conserve nature?
55 min
182
The Philosophers: Loneliness and totalitarianism
58 min
183
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 4: The fut...
59 min
184
Michael Lewis on why Americans distrust experts
52 min
185
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 3: The nuc...
51 min
186
The case for regret
45 min
187
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 2: Sanctions
56 min
188
The spirituality of parenting
43 min
189
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 1: Why did...
55 min
190
The Philosophers: Resisting despair
How can Albert Camus help us understand the war in Ukraine, post-pandemic life, and the absurdity of our modern world?
51 min
191
What happened to American conservatism?
55 min
192
The limits of forgiveness
46 min
193
The madness behind The Method
62 min
194
David Cross is disappointed in you guys
44 min
195
Author Kiley Reid on why we read novels
42 min
196
The conversation about guns we're not having
59 min
197
Why does middle school suck?
60 min
198
Russia's war with Ukraine — and reality
33 min
199
Robert Glasper on why Black Radio is back
The 4-time Grammy winner is creating a new genre of music
51 min
200
Could we lose delicious foods forever?
60 min