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
201
Even Better: Workplace equality 2.0
51 min
202
Why we're still postmodern (whatever that means)
53 min
203
Even Better: Activism when you don't know where...
47 min
204
The Supreme Court's power grab
60 min
205
How middlemen took over the economy
60 min
206
The necessity — and danger — of free speech
Free speech is essential for democracy. It may also be democracy's downfall.
50 min
207
Hacking coral sex to save the reefs
49 min
208
The price of keeping secrets
47 min
209
Does China control Hollywood?
58 min
210
Steve Bannon is still at war
45 min
211
The Fortress of Solitude saw it all coming
Constance Grady talks with author Jonathan Lethem about his prescient 2003 novel
34 min
212
The Philosophers: Stoic revival
59 min
213
Station Eleven's creator on the end of the world
Showrunner Patrick Somerville on why hope is necessary for survival
47 min
214
The racist origins of fat phobia
49 min
215
The fight for Ukraine — and democracy
49 min
216
The war on trans people
49 min
217
Michael Ian Black on being a better man
50 min
218
Carmen Maria Machado's haunted feminine
36 min
219
The rise and fall of America's monuments
45 min
220
The Philosophers: America's philosophy, with Co...
55 min
221
Why accidents aren't accidental
47 min
222
Rethinking the "end of history"
56 min
223
Anita Hill finally gets even
55 min
224
Elites have captured identity politics
52 min
225
The moral dangers of dirty work
54 min