What just happened? It’s been almost two weeks since the presidential election, and many Americans are still grappling with the result.... more

Philosopher Alexandra Plakias says there are no awkward people, only awkward situations. In her book, Awkwardness: A Theory, Plakias explains the... more

This has been an unusual week. Sean and the TGA team are still sifting through it all and figuring out... more

What does it mean to be "woke"? It's become a catchall term to smear or dismiss anything that has any... more

What can ancient Rome teach us about American democracy? The Roman Republic fell for a lot of reasons: The state became... more

Sean Illing speaks with one of his heroes: Werner Herzog. Herzog is a filmmaker, poet, and author of the memoir Every... more

How important is complexity? At The Gray Area, we value understanding the details. We revel in complexity. But does our desire... more

In part three of our series on creativity, guest host Oshan Jarow speaks with philosopher of neuroscience Mark Miller about how our minds actually... more

Sean revisits his interview with musician Laraaji, a pioneer of new age music who has recorded more than 50 albums since... more

What is the relationship between creativity and artificial intelligence? Creativity feels innately human, but is it? Can a machine be... more

Children live with a beginner’s mind. Every day is full of new discoveries, powerful emotions, and often unrealistically positive assumptions... more

Sean Illing has a special message for all you listeners: Look at me! We’ve made our first-ever video episode. See Sean... more

Climate change has become synonymous with doomsday, as though everyone is waiting for the worst to happen. But what is... more

Humans are good learners and teachers, constantly gathering information, archiving, and sharing knowledge. So why, after building the most sophisticated... more

There’s a certain glamor to cynicism. As a culture, we’ve turned cynicism into a symbol of hard-earned wisdom, assuming that... more

Sean Illing speaks with poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht, whose book The Wonder Paradox asks: If we don't have... more

How is the origin of our universe like an improvised saxophone solo? This week, Sean Illing talks to Stephon Alexander,... more

Sean Illing talks with Glory Liu, the author of Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher became an Icon of American Capitalism.... more

Sean Illing speaks with marriage and family therapist Vienna Pharaon, whose book 'The Origins of You' aims to help us... more

In an Orwellian twist, the word “Orwellian” has been misused so much over the decades that it’s essentially lost its... more

The US Constitution is a brilliant political document, but it’s far from perfect. This week’s guest, Erwin Chemerinsky, argues that... more

You can’t drop an f-bomb on the radio, but fortunately for our guest, you can say anything you want in... more

Sean Illing talks with political science professor Matt McManus about the political thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th-century German philosopher... more

Authoritarian tendencies have been on the rise globally and the liberal world order is on the decline. One hotspot of... more

We’re living in an era of extreme partisan politics, rising resentment, and fractured news media. Writer John Ganz believes that... more

Nathalie Etoke joins The Gray Area to talk about existentialism, the Black experience, and the legacy of dehumanization.  Host: Sean Illing... more

A mile of pure fire. A flash that melts everything — titanium, steel, lead, people. A blast that mows down... more

Albert Camus was a Nobel-winning French writer and public intellectual. During Algeria’s bloody war for independence in the 1950s, Camus... more

Old people have always worried about young people. But psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes something genuinely different and troubling is happening... more

Sebastian Junger came as close as you possibly can to dying. While his doctors struggled to revive him, the veteran... more

Ozempic and other new weight loss drugs are being touted as potential miracle cures for diabetes and obesity. Journalist Johann... more

Religious studies professor Diana Pasulka was a total nonbeliever in alien life, but she began to question this after speaking... more

Most of us don’t know how to truly listen, and it’s causing all sorts of problems. Sean Illing is joined... more

The internet has fractured our world into a million little subcultures catering to the specific identities and habits of everyone... more

Is it possible that we are living through one of the most revolutionary periods in human history? CNN’s Fareed Zakaria... more

Philosophy may seem like a theoretical or abstract discipline in which unanswerable questions are debated to the point of tedium.... more

Jane Marie is an expert in American bullshit. Her podcast The Dream explores life coaching, wellness, marketing, and other fraudulent... more

As a non-believer, Devin Moss never thought he would become a chaplain or a spiritual adviser, much less one who... more

Journalist Rhaina Cohen believes that modern culture undervalues friendships and discusses the ways in which deep friendships are distinct from... more

Stephen Markley’s novel, “The Deluge,” is an ambitious and terrifyingly realistic look at our collective future on a warming planet.... more