The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Lyt til The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Podcast af Vox

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.

Prøv gratis i 60 dage

99,00 kr. / måned efter prøveperiode.Ingen binding.

Prøv gratis

Alle episoder

713 episoder
episode The science of ideology artwork
The science of ideology

What do you do when you’re faced with evidence that challenges your ideology? Do you engage with that new information? Are you willing to change your mind about your most deeply held beliefs? Are you pre-disposed to be more rigid or more flexible in your thinking? That’s what political psychologist and neuroscientist Leor Zmigrod wants to know. In her new book, The Ideological Brain, she examines the connection between our biology, our psychology, and our political beliefs. In today’s episode, Leor speaks with Sean about rigid vs. flexible thinking, how our biology and ideology influence each other, and the conditions under which our ideology is more likely to become extreme. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling [https://x.com/seanilling?lang=en]) Guest: Leor Zmigrod, political psychologist, neuroscientist, and author of The Ideological Brain [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250344595/theideologicalbrain/] Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

05. maj 2025 - 55 min
episode A new analysis of the pandemic artwork
A new analysis of the pandemic

There are lots of stories to tell about the Covid pandemic. Most of them, on some level, are about politics, about decisions that affected people’s lives in different — and very unequal — ways. Covid hasn’t disappeared, but the crisis has subsided. So do we have enough distance from it to reflect on what we got right, what we got wrong, and what we can do differently when the next crisis strikes? Professor Frances E. Lee — co-author of In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us — thinks we do. In this episode, she speaks with Sean about how our politics, our assumptions, and our biases affected decision-making and outcomes during the pandemic. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling [https://x.com/seanilling?lang=en]) Guest: Frances E. Lee, professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton and co-author of In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us [https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691267135/in-covids-wake?srsltid=AfmBOop6Mo_eepXXEKMTocvWiQE_gh3zdapTBZs7c59CQoNOyXTdJoo_] Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

28. apr. 2025 - 51 min
episode Halfway there: a philosopher’s guide to midlife crises artwork
Halfway there: a philosopher’s guide to midlife crises

Philosophy often feels like a disconnected discipline, obsessed with tedious and abstract problems. But MIT professor Kieran Setiya believes philosophical inquiry has a practical purpose outside the classroom — to help guide us through life’s most challenging circumstances. He joins Sean to talk about self-help, FOMO, and midlife crises. This episode originally aired in April 2024. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling [https://x.com/seanilling?lang=en]) Guest: Kieran Setiya, author of Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way and Midlife: A Philosophical Guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

21. apr. 2025 - 54 min
episode Whatever this is, it isn’t liberalism artwork
Whatever this is, it isn’t liberalism

What exactly is the basis for democracy? Arguably Iiberalism, the belief that the government serves the people, is the stone on which modern democracy was founded. That notion is so ingrained in the US that we often forget that America could be governed any other way. But political philosopher John Gray believes that liberalism has been waning for a long, long time. He joins Sean to discuss the great liberal thinker Thomas Hobbes and America’s decades-long transition away from liberalism. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling [https://x.com/seanilling?lang=en]) Guest: John Gray, political philosopher and author of The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374609733/thenewleviathans/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

14. apr. 2025 - 57 min
episode A new way to listen artwork
A new way to listen

We have an exciting announcement! Vox Members now get access to ad-free podcasts. If you sign up, you’ll get unlimited access to reporting on vox.com [http://vox.com/], exclusive newsletters, and all of our podcasts — including The Gray Area — ad-free. Plus, you’ll play a crucial role in helping our show get made. Check it out at vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

11. apr. 2025 - 1 min
En fantastisk app med et enormt stort udvalg af spændende podcasts. Podimo formår virkelig at lave godt indhold, der takler de lidt mere svære emner. At der så også er lydbøger oveni til en billig pris, gør at det er blevet min favorit app.
Rigtig god tjeneste med gode eksklusive podcasts og derudover et kæmpe udvalg af podcasts og lydbøger. Kan varmt anbefales, om ikke andet så udelukkende pga Dårligdommerne, Klovn podcast, Hakkedrengene og Han duo 😁 👍
Podimo er blevet uundværlig! Til lange bilture, hverdagen, rengøringen og i det hele taget, når man trænger til lidt adspredelse.

Prøv gratis i 60 dage

99,00 kr. / måned efter prøveperiode.Ingen binding.

Eksklusive podcasts

Uden reklamer

Gratis podcasts

Lydbøger

20 timer / måned

Prøv gratis

Kun på Podimo

Populære lydbøger