Avsnitt
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Sean Illing speaks with poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht, whose book The Wonder Paradox asks: If we don't have God or religion, what — if anything — do we lose? They discuss how religion accesses meaning — through things like prayer, ceremony, and ritual — and Jennifer speaks on the ways that poetry can play similar roles in a secular way. They also discuss some of the "tricks" that poets use, share favorite poems, and explore what it would mean to "live the questions" — and even learn to love them — without having the answers.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Jennifer Michael Hecht (@Freudeinstein), poet, historian; author
References:
The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives by Jennifer Michael Hecht (FSG; 2023)
Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht (HarperOne; 2004)
Rainer Maria Rilke, from a 1903 letter to Franz Kappus, published in Letters to a Young Poet (pub. 1929)
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (1855)
"Why do parrots live so long?" by Charles Q. Choi (LiveScience; May 23, 2022)
"The survival of poetry depends on the failure of language," from The Tree of Meaning: Language, Mind, and Ecology by Robert Bringhurst (Counterpoint; 2009)
"Traveler, There Is No Road" ("Caminante, no hay camino") by Antonio Machado (1917)
"A Free Man's Worship" by Bertrand Russell (1903)
Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority by Emmanuel Levinas (1961)
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How is the origin of our universe like an improvised saxophone solo? This week, Sean Illing talks to Stephon Alexander, a theoretical physicist and world-class jazz musician. Alexander is the author of The Jazz of Physics and his most recent book, Fear of a Black Universe. This episode features music by Stephon Alexander throughout, from his latest 2024 album Spontaneous Fruit and his 2017 EP True to Self.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Stephon Alexander (@stephstem), theoretical physicist, Brown University
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Sean Illing talks with Glory Liu, the author of Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher became an Icon of American Capitalism. Smith is most well-known for being the “father of capitalism,” but as Liu points out in her book, his legacy has been misappropriated — especially in America. They discuss his original intentions and what we can take away from his work today.Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray AreaGuest: Glory Liu (@miss_glory), author; lecturer, Harvard UniversityReferences:Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher became an Icon of American Capitalism by Glory Liu (Princeton; 2022)Adam Smith: An Enlightened Life by Nicholas Phillipson (Yale; 2012)Free to Choose: A Personal Statement by Milton & Rose Friedman (Harcourt; 1980)“Adam Smith’s ‘History of Astronomy’ and view of science” by Kwangsu Kim (Cambridge Journal of Economics v. 36; 2012)Works by Adam Smith:The Wealth of Nations (1776)Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)Lectures on Jurisprudence (1763)Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.Be the first to hear new episodes of The Gray Area by following us in your favorite podcast app. Links here: https://www.vox.com/the-gray-areaSupport The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcastsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Sean Illing speaks with marriage and family therapist Vienna Pharaon, whose book 'The Origins of You' aims to help us identify and heal the wounds that originated from our family, which shape our patterns of behavior in relationships and throughout our lives. Sean and Vienna talk about how we can spot and name our "origin wounds," discuss practical wisdom to help break free from the ways these pains grip us, and Sean directly confronts some real issues from his upbringing and family life.Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray AreaGuest: Vienna Pharaon (@mindfulmft), marriage & family therapist; authorReferences: The Origins of You: How Breaking Family Patterns Can Liberate the Way We Live and Love by Vienna Pharaon (G.P. Putnam's Sons; 2023)When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress by Dr. Gabor Maté (Wiley; 2011) Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.Be the first to hear new episodes of The Gray Area by following us in your favorite podcast app. Links here: https://www.vox.com/the-gray-areaSupport The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcastsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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In an Orwellian twist, the word “Orwellian” has been misused so much over the decades that it’s essentially lost its meaning. But George Orwell, author of the classics Animal Farm and 1984, was very clear in his beliefs. While he was progressive and prescient in many ways, he wasn’t without his flaws. This week, Sean Illing explores the real George Orwell with Laura Beers, the author of Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Laura Beers
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The US Constitution is a brilliant political document, but it’s far from perfect. This week’s guest, Erwin Chemerinsky, argues that many of today’s threats to democracy are a direct result of compromises made by the Founding Fathers centuries ago. Those mistakes have come back to haunt us, and they might destroy our democracy.
Erwin Chemerinsky’s latest book is No Democracy Lasts Forever.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Erwin Chemerinsky
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You can’t drop an f-bomb on the radio, but fortunately for our guest, you can say anything you want in a podcast. This week, host Sean Illing talks to philosopher Rebecca Roache, author of For F*ck’s Sake: Why Swearing Is Shocking, Rude, and Fun about the philosophy and linguistics of swearing, and why certain four-letter words hold the magical power to both offend and delight.
Warning: In case it’s not obvious, this episode contains swearing.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Rebecca Roache (@rebecca_roache)
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Sean Illing talks with political science professor Matt McManus about the political thought of Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th-century German philosopher with a complicated legacy, despite his crossover into popular culture. They discuss how Nietzsche's work has been interpreted — and misinterpreted — since his death in 1900, how his radical political views emerge from his body of work, and how we can use Nietzsche's philosophy in order to interpret some key features of our contemporary politics.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Matt McManus.
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This episode was made by:
Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
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Authoritarian tendencies have been on the rise globally and the liberal world order is on the decline. One hotspot of this tension lies in India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi employs autocratic language and tactics to maintain power. But a recent election may indicate that voters are losing interest in this style of rule. Guest host Zack Beauchamp talks with scholar Pratap Bhanu Mehta about the past of the Indian liberal tradition and what the current politics of the world’s largest democracy say about the state of global politics.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Pratap Bhanu Mehta
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This episode was made by:
Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
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We’re living in an era of extreme partisan politics, rising resentment, and fractured news media. Writer John Ganz believes that we can trace the dysfunction to the 1990s, when right-wing populists like Pat Buchanan and white supremacist David Duke transformed Republican politics. He joins Sean to talk about the 1990s and how it laid the groundwork for Trump. His book is When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: John Ganz (@lionel_trolling). His book is When the Clock Broke.
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This episode was made by:
Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
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Nathalie Etoke joins The Gray Area to talk about existentialism, the Black experience, and the legacy of dehumanization.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Nathalie Etoke. Her book is Black Existential Freedom.
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This episode was made by:
Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
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A mile of pure fire. A flash that melts everything — titanium, steel, lead, people. A blast that mows down every structure in its path, 3 miles out in every direction. Journalist Annie Jacobsen spent years interviewing scientists, high-ranking military officials, politicians, and other experts to find out how a nuclear attack would be triggered, the devastation it would cause, the ruptures it would create in the social fabric, and how likely it is to happen today. She wrote about all of this in her new book Nuclear War: A Scenario. Jacobsen spends the hour clearly laying out the horrifying yet captivating specifics for Sean, and the prospects for avoiding catastrophe.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Annie Jacobsen. Her book is Nuclear War: A Scenario
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Albert Camus was a Nobel-winning French writer and public intellectual. During Algeria’s bloody war for independence in the 1950s, Camus took a measured stance, calling for an end to the atrocities on each side. He was criticized widely for his so-called “moderation.” Philosophy professor Robert Zaretsky joins Sean to discuss Camus’s thoughts on that conflict and the parallels with the present moment.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Robert Zaretsky
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Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
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Old people have always worried about young people. But psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes something genuinely different and troubling is happening right now. He argues that smartphones and social media have had disastrous effects on the mental health of young people, and derailed childhood from real world play to touchscreens. He joins Sean to talk about his research and some of the criticisms of it.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Jonathan Haidt (@jonhaidt). His book is The Anxious Generation.
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Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
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Sebastian Junger came as close as you possibly can to dying. While his doctors struggled to revive him, the veteran reporter and avowed rationalist experienced things that shocked and shook him, leaving him with profound questions and unexpected revelations. In his new book, In My Time of Dying, Junger explores the mysteries and commonalities of people’s near death experiences. He joins Sean to talk about what it’s like to die and what quantum physics can tell us about living that countless religions can’t.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Sebastian Junger. His new book is In My Time of Dying.
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Engineer: Patrick Boyd
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Ozempic and other new weight loss drugs are being touted as potential miracle cures for diabetes and obesity. Journalist Johann Hari experimented with the drug and dropped 40 pounds. In his new book, Magic Pill, Hari discusses his experience with Ozempic and speaks to many of the leading scientists to better understand how the drug works. He joins Sean to talk about what he’s learned and the complicated trade-offs involved in the decision to take these drugs.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Johann Hari (@johannhari101). His new book is Magic Pill.
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This episode was made by:
Producer: Jon Ehrens
Engineer: Cristian Ayala
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Religious studies professor Diana Pasulka was a total nonbeliever in alien life, but she began to question this after speaking with many people who claim to have had otherworldly encounters. She also noticed how these accounts parallel the foundational texts of many religions. She has since written two books on the topic, the most recent of which is Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences. She joins Sean to talk about extraterrestrial life, God, angels, and the renewed interest in UFOs.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Diana Pasulka (@dwpasulka). Her new book is Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences.
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Most of us don’t know how to truly listen, and it’s causing all sorts of problems. Sean Illing is joined by journalist Kate Murphy, the author of You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters, to discuss what it means to be a good listener, the problems that are caused when we don’t listen to each other, and the positive impacts on our health when we do.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Kate Murphy, author of You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters
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Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall
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The internet has fractured our world into a million little subcultures catering to the specific identities and habits of everyone online. Writer Derek Thompson believes this has led to a widespread cult-like mentality that has crept into all facets of modern life — pop culture, media, politics, and religion itself. He joins Sean to explain this theory, and why it’s maybe not such a bad thing.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Derek Thompson (@dkthomp). His podcast is Plain English, and he writes for The Atlantic.
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Is it possible that we are living through one of the most revolutionary periods in human history? CNN’s Fareed Zakaria believes that we are and argues that the convergence of AI and the global backlash against liberal democracy are upending political orders around the world. He joins Sean to talk about how this period relates to history’s most impactful revolutions, both political and technological.
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Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Fareed Zakaria (@fareedzakaria). His new book is Age of Revolutions.
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