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
1
Whatever this is, it isn’t liberalism
What exactly is the basis for democracy?
50 min
2
A new way to listen
1 min
3
The beliefs AI is built on
47 min
4
Stop comparing yourself to AI
53 min
5
Democrats need to do something
47 min
6
How to live in uncertain times
45 min
7
How to sink into silence
Pico Iyer on finding quiet in a noisy world
43 min
8
How to change your personality
35 min
9
Is ignorance truly bliss?
30 min
10
Is America broken?
46 min
11
The cost of spending time alone
Do Americans have too much 'me time?'
37 min
12
Attention pays (with Chris Hayes)
47 min
13
How to be happy
63 min
14
The screens between us
42 min
15
The importance of failure
42 min
16
What to do with your sadness, pain, and grief
53 min
17
What do animals feel?
44 min
18
Are men okay?
44 min
19
How to feel alive
49 min
20
The antidote to climate anxiety
47 min
21
America’s reactionary moment
70 min
22
Well this is awkward
54 min
23
What just happened, and what comes next
Your election questions answered
47 min
24
Does being "woke" do any good?
Musa al-Gharbi helps us untangle the concept of "wokeness"
49 min
25
Is America collapsing like Ancient Rome?
42 min