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.
1
Swear like a philosopher
Sean Illing talks to philosopher Rebecca Roache about why swear words hold the power to offend and delight.
41 min
2
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
3
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
4
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
5
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
6
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
7
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
8
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
9
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
10
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
11
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
12
How to listen
The essential art of listening and how it’s different from simply hearing
51 min
13
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
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
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
18
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
19
The power of climate fiction
Stephen Markley is the author of the novel, “The Deluge.”
43 min
20
The denial of death
Filmmaker Jef Sewell discusses his new documentary on the work and thought of anthropologist Ernest Becker.
42 min
21
A brief history of extinction panics
Tyler Austin Harper joins Sean to talk about who’s panicking about AI, what they actually believe, and how panics of the past compare to the current moment.
46 min
22
The new(ish) world order
Journalist Alex Ward describes how foreign policy consensus is beginning to crack.
38 min
23
The free-market century is over
Sean Illing is joined by economist and author Brad DeLong, whose new book tells the economic history of mankind's most consequential era — and explains how and why it just ended
51 min
24
Music and mysticism
New Age music pioneer Laraaji on the mysticism of music and the sanctity of laughter.
43 min
25
The case for banning...millionaires?
Sean talks with political philosopher Ingrid Robeyns, whose new book Limitarianism makes the case for imposing limits on personal wealth.
50 min