Author: The Gray Area with Sean Illing

July 8, 2021

What makes a great conversation?
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What makes a great conversation?
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What makes a great conversation?
Here’s a look ahead at what’s to come for Vox Conversations. Vox’s Sean Illing welcomes colleague Jamil Smith to the podcast as an additional regular host. They talk about what drew each of them into journalism, their shared craft of interviewing, and about what qualities make for great conversations. Plus, they share some of the ideas and upcoming guests they’re looking forward to in the coming weeks.

Look for new episodes of Vox Conversations twice a week, starting Monday, July 12th.

Hosts: Sean Illing (@seanilling) & Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith)

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July 1, 2021

Introducing: Now & Then
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Introducing: Now & Then
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Introducing: Now & Then
Now & Then is a new podcast from CAFE hosted by award-winning historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman. Every Tuesday, Heather and Joanne use their encyclopedic knowledge of US history to bring the past to life. Together, they make sense of the week in news by discussing the people, ideas, and events that got us here today.

Learn more: https://cafe.com/now-and-then/

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6wDS3Y2t0RyQ3ncCUxiNs6?si=nx7w7exNRZ-AWHLv9T1qZg&dl_branch=1

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1567665859

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June 24, 2021

The science of dating
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The science of dating
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The science of dating
Relationships journalist and podcast host Andrea Silenzi talks with Logan Ury, behavioral scientist-turned-dating coach, and author of How to Not Die Alone. They discuss the decision-making that gets in the way of our dating lives, the case for finding a life partner, and what dating looks like in a post-pandemic, app-driven world.

Host: Andrea Silenzi (@andreasilenzi), podcast host

Guest: Logan Ury (@loganury), author; director of relationship science, Hinge

References:
- How to Not Die Alone by Logan Ury (2021; Simon & Schuster)
- Irrational Labs
- Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find — and Keep — Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller (2010; TarcherPerigee)
- Why Oh Why, podcast
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

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Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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June 17, 2021

Honoring Juneteenth with Ibram X. Kendi
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Honoring Juneteenth with Ibram X. Kendi
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Honoring Juneteenth with Ibram X. Kendi
In this special edition of Vox Conversations in honor of the Juneteenth holiday, Vox race reporter Fabiola Cineas spoke with author and podcast host Ibram X. Kendi before a virtual audience about the big ideas around being antiracist. They discussed where we are after a year protesting racism and police brutality, Kendi’s approach to defining and fighting racism, and how we all can work to enact change.

Host: Fabiola Cineas (@FabiolaCineas), Reporter, Vox

Guest: Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram), Author; director and founder of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research

References:
- Be Antiracist with Ibram X. Kendi (Pushkin)
- How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (One World; 2019)
- “Juneteenth, explained” by Fabiola Cineas (June 16; Vox)
- The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee (One World; 2021)
- Dying of Whiteness by Jonathan Metzl (Basic Books; 2019)
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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June 10, 2021

Digital dictatorship
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Digital dictatorship
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Digital dictatorship
The internet was first conceived as a tool to promote free expression, to foster and enliven debate, and to strengthen democratic ideals. But it didn’t quite work out that way. In this episode, Vox’s Zack Beauchamp talks with Steven Feldstein, author of The Rise of Digital Repression, about how governing regimes use digital technology to repress their citizens; the threats posed by surveillance, disinformation, and censorship; and how democracies can backslide into authoritarianism.

Host: Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Guest: Steven Feldstein (@SteveJFeldstein), Author; senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment

References:
- The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance by Steven Feldstein (Oxford University Press; 2021)
- “Maria Ressa: Philippine journalist found guilty of cyber libel” (June 15, 2020; BBC)
- “[Senator Leila] De Lima’s four-year struggle in prison” by Vince Ferreras (Mar 16; CNN Philippines)
- “Sandvine Technology Used to Censor the Web in More Than a Dozen Nations” by Ryan Gallagher (Oct. 8, 2020; Bloomberg)
- “Social media is rotting democracy from within” by Zack Beauchamp (Jan. 22, 2019; Vox)
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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June 3, 2021

The man who proposed reparations in the 1860s
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The man who proposed reparations in the 1860s
Vox’s Dylan Matthews talks with historian Bruce Levine about his book Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary and Fighter for Racial Justice. They discuss how Stevens — a person with anti-racist ideals so far outside the mainstream of his time — managed to be so effective, how he developed those ideals in the first place, and how to continue his fight today.

Host: Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Guest: Bruce Levine, Author; Professor (emeritus) of History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

References:
- Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary and Fighter for Racial Justice by Bruce Levine (Simon & Schuster; 2021)
- Lincoln (2012; directed by Steven Spielberg; written by Tony Kushner, based on Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns-Goodwin)
- The Birth of a Nation (1915; directed by D.W. Griffith; written by D.W. Griffith and Frank E. Woods)
- Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy (1956)
- The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution that Transformed the South by Bruce Levine (2014; Random House)
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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May 27, 2021

What pandemic recovery should look like
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What pandemic recovery should look like
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What pandemic recovery should look like
Vox’s Emily Stewart talks with Janelle Jones, chief economist at the Labor Department, about what’s actually going on with the US economy — and who are the workers most dramatically affected by the pandemic. They discuss the tasks ahead in an economic recovery, who should receive the most help, and how to put policies in place that do more than just return to the status quo.

Host: Emily Stewart (@EmilyStewartM), Senior Reporter, Vox

Guest: Janelle Jones (@janellecj), Chief Economist, Department of Labor

References:
- “U.S. Labor Shortage? Unlikely. Here’s Why” by Heidi Shierholz (May 4, The Commons blog, Initiative for Public Discourse)
- “Lumber mania is sweeping North America” by Emily Stewart (May 3, Vox)
- “Black workers have made no progress in closing earning gaps with white men since 2000” by Elise Gould, Janelle Jones, and Zane Mokhiber (Sept. 12, 2018, Working Economics Blog)
- “The U.S. economy could use some ‘overheating’” by Josh Bivens (Jan. 14, Working Economics Blog)
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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May 20, 2021

The gift of getting old
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The gift of getting old
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The gift of getting old
Vox’s Sean Illing talks with Max Linsky, host of the new podcast 70 Over 70, which features intimate conversations with people over 70 years old. They discuss Max’s relationship with his aging father, the sometimes desperate search for wisdom, and the contradictions inherent in embracing life, while accepting the inevitable reality of death.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), Interviews Writer, Vox

Guest: Max Linsky (@maxlinsky), Host, 70 Over 70 podcast; co-founder, Pineapple Street Studios

References:
- 70 Over 70 on Apple Podcasts
- Arthur Schopenhauer, “On the Sufferings of the World” (1913)
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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May 13, 2021

Freedom, and what it means to have a body
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Freedom, and what it means to have a body
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Freedom, and what it means to have a body
Vox’s Anna North talks with author Olivia Laing about her book Everybody: A Book About Freedom. Through the surprisingly connected lives of artists, activists, psychoanalysts, and sexologists, they discuss the different ways our bodies are persecuted, imprisoned, and policed — and the ways our physical selves can be liberated.

Host: Anna North (@annanorthtweets), Senior Reporter, Vox

Guest: Olivia Laing, Author

References:
- Everybody: A Book About Freedom (Picador, 2021)
- The Lonely City (Picador, 2017)
- “Wilhelm Reich: the man who invented free love” by Christopher Turner (The Guardian, July 8, 2011)
- Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor (1978)
- “Overlooked No More: Ana Mendieta, a Cuban Artist Who Pushed Boundaries” by Monica Castillo (New York Times, Sept. 19, 2018)
- Agnes Martin, 1912–2004 (MoMA)
- Philip Guston, 1913–1980 (MoMA)
- “Cloudbusting” by Kate Bush (1985), music video dir. by Julian Doyle
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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May 6, 2021

Why are we so worried about Satan?
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Why are we so worried about Satan?
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Why are we so worried about Satan?
Vox’s Sean Illing talks with Sarah Marshall, co-host of the You’re Wrong About podcast, about the Satanic Panic of the early 1980s. They discuss America’s penchant for moral panics, why the country latches onto outlandish stories, and what the Satanic panic and its echoes today say about America’s collective psyche.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling) Interviews Writer, Vox

Guest: Sarah Marshall (@Remember_Sarah) Author; host of the You’re Wrong About podcast

References:
- You’re Wrong About, “The Satanic Panic” (May 2018)
- “Why Satanic Panic never really ended” by Aja Romano (Vox, March 31)
- “Michelle Remembers and the Satanic Panic” by Megan Goodwin (The Revealer, Feb. 4)
- “There’s a bear in the woods” (Ronald Reagan campaign ad, 1984)
- The McMartin preschool trial
- “Baseless Wayfair child-trafficking theory spreads online” by Amanda Seitz and Ali Swenson (AP, July 2020)
- The Mann Act (a.k.a. “White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910”)
Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:
- Producer: Erikk Geannikis
- Editor: Amy Drozdowska
- Engineer: Paul Mounsey
- VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson
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