The Gray Area
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 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.
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The scholar and pundit discusses China’s rise, Biden’s changes, and Trump’s impulses on The Ezra Klein Show.
Political scientist Leah Stokes explains how to craft a climate bill that will actually work.
Political scientist Suzanne Mettler on why the threat to American democracy is perhaps greater now than ever before.
How polarization is cracking America apart — and what to do about it
Vox’s Matt Yglesias on Twitter, climate change, and 1 billion Americans.
Phillip Atiba Goff explains what we know — and don’t know — about racial bias in policing.
A Harvard epidemiologist offers a framework.
The former presidential candidate discusses universal basic income, artificial intelligence, and his next job in politics.
Historian Leah Wright Rigueur explains why Republicans consistently fail to attract Black voters.
The former presidential candidate explains on The Ezra Klein Show what he learned from 2020.
Robert Draper on the enduring relevance of America’s disastrous Iraq invasion.
The US has the technology to decarbonize by 2035. Here’s a plan to do it.
The award-winning author on living in the shadow of America’s caste system.
Rep. Barbara Lee on why rebuilding the economy should mean investing in our kids.
The comedian reflects on navigating a world that wasn’t built for her mind on The Ezra Klein Show.
What the 20th century’s most influential economist can teach us about rebuilding the US economy.
In “It Was All a Lie,” one of the GOP’s campaign operatives turns on the party he once helped build.
A conversation about truth and reconciliation in the US.
American Compass founder Oren Cass on why conservatives need to challenge free-market economic orthodoxy.
Can American democracy survive Donald Trump?
Harvard political theorist Danielle Allen discusses the US’s founding, prison abolition, and the future of democracy.
Nicholas Carr on deep reading and digital thinking.
Ezekiel Emanuel discusses global health care, pandemic response, and presidential leadership on The Ezra Klein Show.
The Times columnist discusses American decline, utopian ambition, and the Catholic right on The Ezra Klein Show.
The author of Between the World and Me on why this isn’t 1968, the Colin Kaepernick test, police abolition, nonviolence and the state, and more.
How the power of social pressure could revolutionize economics and solve our hardest problems.
SIEU president Mary Kay Henry on essential jobs, organizing, and the future of work.
How the artist and writer is thinking about this moment.
The co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus on how to save the economy, and the harsh realities of Congress.
Covid-19 exposed weaknesses in our media ecosystem. Can we fix them?
Bill Gates saw the coronavirus coming. Here’s his plan to beat it.
An epic conversation with one of the most acclaimed novelists of our generation on The Ezra Klein Show.
7 takeaways from a conversation with progressive data expert Sean McElwee on The Ezra Klein Show.
The former FDA commissioner doesn’t think the US is going to return to normal anytime soon.
“When you have a plan and people can see it, they can start making their plans,” Warren says.
Sociologist Eric Klinenberg on why social distancing isn’t enough.
Annie Lowrey explains what the coronavirus means for the US economy — and how we can respond — on The Ezra Klein Show.
Top Biden adviser Ron Klain explains why the coronavirus is here to stay — and what that means for us.
The organizer, scholar, and writer gives a master class in political organizing on The Ezra Klein Show.
The former Obama White House staffer explains why Donald Trump is a symptom of deeper problems in America on The Ezra Klein Show.