The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Finn Brunton discusses his Harper’s Magazine piece on prediction markets, contrasting Robin Hanson’s utopian vision of collective wisdom with Timothy…

In this episode, host Christine Emba interviews Daniel Cox, author of *Generation Uncoupled*, to explore the widening gender divide and crisis of human connection in America.

In this episode, host Miles Bryan interviews journalist Pamela Koloff about her book *To Catch a Devil*, which investigates the death penalty in Florida and the role of jailhouse informants.

In this episode of The Gray Area, host Sally Hershko sits in for Sean Illing to interview philosopher Jason Brennan, author of *Why It Is Okay to Want to Be Rich*.

This episode of Unexplainable explores the moral dilemma of killing invasive spotted lantern flies, a pest that has sparked public "kill orders" in the Northeast.

Cultural theorist Katherine Lew argues that the modern "trauma script" originated from 19th-century railway spine diagnoses, transforming personal suffering into a marketable identity.

Daniel Koitz discusses his new Baffler essay, "Paid Phones," which chronicles his displacement from freelance SEO writing by AI and subsequent reliance on predatory payday loan apps.

Theo Baker, a Stanford student and youngest George Polk Award winner, discusses his book "How to Rule the World," which exposes the university's secretive "Stanford inside Stanford" subculture.

In this episode of The Gray Area, host Christine Emba sits down with author Anna Louisa Sussman to discuss her new book, *Inconceivable*, which…

Host Jonny Hill sits in for Sean Illing to discuss the evolving nature of the midlife crisis with columnist Emil Nazzi.

Sean Illing revisits a conversation with Olga Kazan, author of "Me, But Better," to explore the science and promise of personality change.

Brian Walsh interviews Manoush Zomorodi, host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour, about her book *Body Electric*.

Host John Glenn Hill interviews Adam Kirsch, author of *We Want to Believe*, about the cultural shift surrounding UFOs and UAPs.

Host Jonquellyn Hill interviews Playboy senior editor Magdalene J.

Guest host Brian Walsh speaks with Nobel laureate Al Roth about his book *Moral Economics*, exploring controversial markets like kidney sales and drug legalization.

Sean Illing interviews neuroscientist Sharon Ranganath about her book *Why We Remember*, exploring how memory reconstructs rather than records the past.

Sean Illing interviews neuropsychologist Mark Solms, who argues that Freud’s focus on subjectivity and the unconscious remains scientifically valid.

Host John Glenn Hill interviews Sarah Jones about "heteropessimism," the growing sentiment among straight women that dating men is embarrassing or futile.

Host John Glenn Hill interviews Atlantic writer Rose Horwich about her article "The Age of Reading is Over," which argues society is entering a "post-literate" era.

Sean Illing introduces a Vox Unexplainable episode where host Noam Hassenfeld and reporter Seagal Samuel debate the ethics of genetic embryo screening.

Sean Illing discusses identity with neuroscientist Gregory Burns, who argues that the self is a constructed narrative rather than a fixed entity.

Vox’s Zach Beech joins host Brian Walsh to discuss the "hot dog man" phenomenon, where right-wing figures like Ben Shapiro and Thomas Massy panic…

Host Christine Emba interviews Financial Times data reporter John Byrne Murdoch about the global fertility crisis and its potential link to smartphone adoption.