The Gray Area with Sean Illing – Let's Evolve Together

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How we built a government that can’t build anythingWhy is it so hard for America to build things? Bridges take years to construct. Housing costs are soaring. […]
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It’s okay to not be okayIt’s not always the most wonderful time of the year. Every December, we’re told to be merry and stay positive. But a lot of us don’t feel […]
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Forgiveness is optionalYou have to forgive people who wrong you…right? The world is filled with injustice and wrongdoing, and to live in the world — to not be con […]
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Across the GooniverseSean’s guest today is Daniel Kolitz, author of a remarkable Harper’s story on “gooning.” They talk about this emerging subculture and how […]
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What counts as progress?We’ve never had more wealth, more data, or more ways to be entertained. So why doesn’t it feel like progress? Sean’s guest today is Bra […]
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You’re not awkward — the world is.We all know what awkwardness feels like. It’s that jolt of discomfort when the social script breaks down, and no one knows what to d […]
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Truth in an age of doublethinkWe use “Orwellian” to describe everything from campus dust-ups to authoritarian crackdowns. But what did George Orwell actually sta […]
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The case against free willWe all think of ourselves as authors of our lives. The difference between our happy ending and someone else’s tragic one are the c […]
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What the climate story gets wrongThe story we tell about climate change is mostly a story about loss. But look to the data, and that story starts to fall apart. […]
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The Great EnshitteningOpen a browser and you can feel it instantly: everything online just feels… worse. Search results that look like ads. Social feeds that y […]
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America chose violence. Now what?Is America at a tipping point? Sean Illing talks with Barbara Walter, one of theRead more
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What’s worth remembering?We like to think of memory as a record of the past. But that’s not really what it is. Memory doesn’t keep the past — it can also remak […]
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Why TikTok mattersThis week, Sean talks with Emily Baker-White, author of Every Screen on the Planet, about why TikTok feels uniquely addictive, how it turned […]
The Gray Area with Sean Illing wrote a new post 4 months ago

The sun will save usBill McKibben has spent four decades warning us about climate change. Much of what he predicted has come true. And yet, his new book Here […]
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How much free speech is too much?Free speech is often treated as a timeless and sacred right. But what if it’s more myth than reality? This week, Sean is joined b […]
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Imagine there’s no billionairesHow much money is too much? In today’s episode, political philosopher Ingrid RRead more
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America’s lawyers vs. China’s engineersAmerica has a hard time building stuff. Roads. Trains. Bridges. Housing. EverythingRead more
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So, what exactly is the “New Right?”A loose movement of radical intellectuals is driving American politics. They’re caRead more