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
The fight for Ukraine — and democracy
49 min
202
The war on trans people
49 min
203
Michael Ian Black on being a better man
50 min
204
Carmen Maria Machado's haunted feminine
36 min
205
The rise and fall of America's monuments
45 min
206
The Philosophers: America's philosophy, with Co...
55 min
207
Why accidents aren't accidental
47 min
208
Rethinking the "end of history"
56 min
209
Anita Hill finally gets even
55 min
210
Elites have captured identity politics
52 min
211
The moral dangers of dirty work
54 min
212
Did the sexual revolution go wrong?
53 min
213
Who decides how to conserve nature?
55 min
214
The Philosophers: Loneliness and totalitarianism
58 min
215
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 4: The fut...
59 min
216
Michael Lewis on why Americans distrust experts
52 min
217
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 3: The nuc...
51 min
218
The case for regret
45 min
219
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 2: Sanctions
56 min
220
The spirituality of parenting
43 min
221
The War in Ukraine, Explained — Part 1: Why did...
55 min
222
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
223
What happened to American conservatism?
55 min
224
The limits of forgiveness
46 min
225
The madness behind The Method
62 min