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  • Summary

  • 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.
    © 2019 Vox Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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Episodes
  • Happiness isn’t the goal

    Happiness isn’t the goal
    Sep 30 2024
    Children live with a beginner’s mind. Every day is full of new discoveries, powerful emotions, and often unrealistically positive assumptions about the future. As adults, beginner’s mind gives way to the mundane drudgeries of existence — and our brains seem to make it much harder for us to be happy. Should we be cool with that? We wrap up our three-part series on optimism with Paul Bloom, author of Psych: The Story of the Human Mind and Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning. He offers his thoughts on optimism and pessimism and walks Sean Illing through the differences between what we think makes us happy versus what actually does. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling) Guest: Paul Bloom (@paulbloom), psychologist, author and writer of the Substack Small Potatoes Support The Gray Area by becoming a Vox Member: https://www.vox.com/support-now Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    54 mins
  • A message from Sean

    A message from Sean
    Sep 27 2024
    Sean Illing has a special message for all you listeners: Look at me! We’ve made our first-ever video episode. See Sean in conversation with Yuval Noah Harari. Watch it with your friends and family and your friend’s families and their family friends. It’s on YouTube right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhx1sdX2bow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 min
  • What if we get climate change right?

    What if we get climate change right?
    Sep 23 2024
    Climate change has become synonymous with doomsday, as though everyone is waiting for the worst to happen. But what is this mindset doing to us? Is climate anxiety keeping us from confronting the challenge? Ayana Elizabeth Johnson thinks so. In part two of our “Reasons to Be Cheerful” series, she talks to Sean Illing about her new book, What If We Get It Right? and makes the case that our best chance for survival is acting as though the future is a place in which we want to live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    48 mins
Philosophy Political Science Social Sciences
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Featured Article: The Best Interview Podcasts to Listen to Right Now


The interview has been a powerful form of entertainment and revelation since long before podcasts came around. There's little as compelling as listening to an in-depth and intimate conversation between a skilled interviewer and someone with a story to share. Interviews can teach us about ourselves and the world; introduce us to new ideas and ways of thinking; offer insight into smart, fascinating people; provide new perspectives, and so much more.

Featured Article The Best Interview Podcasts to Listen to Right Now

What listeners say about The Gray Area with Sean Illing

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Intellectually Stimulating

Every conversation features intricate knowledge and stimulates so much thought. I always feel like I understand the world a little more after every episode

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great conversation

great questions and dialogue! What a treasure to find this podcast, and I look forward to listening to more.

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Good Food for Thought

I’ve never heard of this author and really enjoyed the episode. Having spent a life walking the line of science and “alternative” healing, he’s given me a fresh perspective and a lot to research and think about.

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