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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Political scientist Eitan Hersh explains how “political hobbyism” is ruining politics on The Ezra Klein Show.
Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein discuss potential Biden and Sanders foreign policy approaches, staffing decisions, and more on The Ezra Klein Show.
“One of the great activist-essayists of our age” joins The Ezra Klein Show.
The two-time American poet laureate joins The Ezra Klein Show for a powerful conversation on love, language, and more.
AEI’s Tim Carney discusses how social breakdown killed the American dream on The Ezra Klein Show.
Ta-Nehisi Coates and Vox’s Ezra Klein discuss cultural power, demographic change, and Ezra’s “cold, atheist book.”
The Wait But Why creator thinks the human species is at an existential fork in the road.
Jill Lepore and I discuss my new book, Fox News, the missing party in American politics, and more on The Ezra Klein Show.
AEI scholar Yuval Levin discusses what conservatism is and where the conservatism movement went awry on The Ezra Klein Show podcast.
Why the 2020 presidential candidate thinks we need another billionaire businessman to beat Trump.
Listen to this episode of The Ezra Klein Show to hear a live conversation with Jamelle Bouie on Ezra Klein’s new book, Why We’re Polarized.
The geniuses behind TV’s most philosophically inclined sitcom join The Ezra Klein Show podcast to discuss what it means to be a good person.
Is anti-Semitism making a comeback? This episode of The Ezra Klein Show zooms in.
Listen to an exclusive preview of my new book, Why We’re Polarized, on The Ezra Klein Show podcast.
Mehdi Hasan discusses the rise of global Islamophobia on The Ezra Klein Show.
An “uncomfortable” conversation with Booker, recorded just before he dropped out.
Listen to the editor of Current Affairs on Bernie Sanders, libertarian socialism, utopian thinking, and more on this episode of The Ezra Klein Show.
Nonviolent resistance scholar Erica Chenoweth explains the key ingredients of successful social movements.
The Nobel prize-winning economist explains it all.
The radical idea that could shatter the link between emissions and global warming.
We already have all the tools we need to fix climate change. We just need to use them.
The Nobel-prize winning economist doesn’t think Democrats should pay for all their programs. Here’s why.
Why living ethically is so incredibly difficult.
Wayne Hsiung has spent the last half decade rescuing sick, dying animals from factory farms. Now, he’s facing prison time of up to 60 years.
Linguist Gretchen McCulloch explains how the internet transformed language for the better on The Ezra Klein Show.
Former Kickstarter CEO Yancey Strickler discusses climate change, founding Kickstarter and the perils of profit on The Ezra Klein Show.
David Eggers and I discuss satire, the Trump presidency, and the importance of disconnecting from technology on The Ezra Klein Show.
Elizabeth Currid-Halkett explains why today’s rich are far less materialistic, but a far greater threat to equality.
Andrew Marantz and I discuss the symbiotic relationship between social media platforms and the alt-right.
Michael Lind and I discuss class warfare, China, Trumpism, and the possibility of political compromise on The Ezra Klein Show.
A new book outlines how meritocracy imprisons us all.
Ezra Klein and Mercy for Animals President Leah Garcés discuss what animal rights activism can teach us about navigating political divides.
Ezra Klein and Nir Eyal, author of Hooked and Indistractable, disagree over the role of technology in hijacking our attention.
A conversation with Varshini Prakash, the activist leading the charge for the Green New Deal.
Where George Will thinks America went wrong.
The professor came on The Ezra Klein Show to talk about parenting, friendships, marriage, and schooling.
The author shares book recommendations and his writing process with The Ezra Klein Show.
The scientist joins The Ezra Klein Show to discuss what he learned from bringing the Dalai Lama to his lab.
The artist and author talks to Ezra Klein about overstimulation and the difference between productivity and creativity.
The South Bend mayor turned 2020 hopeful talked to Ezra Klein about how being a mayor has prepared him for national office and his vision for the country.