The Gray Area with Sean Illing

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A philosopher's psychedelic encounter with reality May 04, 2023

Show notes

Why don't more philosophers take psychedelic drugs seriously as a means of examining reality? Sean Illing talks with Justin Smith-Ruiu, professor of philosophy, whose recent essay "This Is a Philosopher on Drugs" tells of how experimenting with psilocybin and other substances led to a radical reevaluation of nearly everything in his life — including his views on the nature of reality. They discuss the roots of an alternative worldview in the thought of German polymath G.W. Leibniz, what it means to say — as Socrates does — that philosophy is "preparation for death," and why psychedelics aren't more often explored in contemporary philosophy.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Justin Smith-Ruiu, philosopher; author

References:

"This Is a Philosopher on Drugs" by Justin E.H. Smith (Wired; Mar. 7)
Justin Smith-Ruiu's Hinternet (Substack)
The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is by Justin E.H. Smith (Princeton; 2022)
"The brutal mirror: What the psychedelic drug ayahuasca showed me about my life" by Sean Illing (Vox; Nov. 2, 2019)
G.W. Leibniz, "The Monadology" (1714)
René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)
Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason by Justin E.H. Smith (Princeton; 2019)
Plato, Phaedo(for Socrates's claim that philosophy is preparation for death)
Reality+ by David Chalmers (W.W. Norton; 2022)
David Chalmers on The Gray Area (Jan. 10, 2022)
Justin's review of David Chalmers: "The World as a Game" (Liberties, vol. 2 no. 4)
"The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Leo Tolstoy (1886)
How to Change Your Mindby Michael Pollan (Penguin; 2018)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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The project of Socratic love with Agnes Callard May 01, 2023

Show notes

What happens when you apply the Socratic method to personal relationships? Philosopher Agnes Callard joins Sean Illing to discuss how Socrates inspires her public philosophy project —including the decision to share the details of her love life and how these pursuits have created a more thoughtful and meaningful life.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Agnes Callard, (@agnescallard), philosopher, University of Chicago

References:

“Agnes Callard’s Marriage Of The Minds” by Rachel Aviv (Mar. 2023, The New Yorker)
”Everyone Desires the Good: Socrates' Protreptic Theory of Desire” by Agnes Callard (June 2017, The Review of Metaphysics)
“A Philosopher Gets Fed Up With Profundity” by Agnes Callard (Mar. 2023, The Atlantic)
Plato, Gorgias
Plato, Symposium
Plato, Meno

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This episode was made by:

Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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The chemistry of connection Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

Could our brains make us less lonely? Sean Illing talks with psychiatrist and author Julie Holland, whose new book Good Chemistry takes on the crisis of disconnectedness we face today. They discuss the brain chemistry of attachment and human connection, how psychedelics can be used both in therapeutic contexts and to help us feel more connected to others, and the toll that this crisis of isolation can take on us — emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Julie Holland, MD (@BellevueDoc), psychiatrist; medical advisor to MAPS; author

References:

Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection from Soul to Psychedelics by Julie Holland (Harper; 2022)
"Work and the Loneliness Epidemic" by Vivek Murthy (Harvard Business Review; Sept. 26, 2017)
"Loneliness in U.S. Subsides From Pandemic High" by Dan Witters (Gallup; Apr. 4)
The Red Bookby Carl Jung (written from 1914–1930; pub. Norton; 2009)
"People would rather be electrically shocked than left alone with their thoughts" by Nadia Whitehead (Science; July 3, 2014)
"Mammalian central nervous system trace amines" by Mark D. Berry (Journal of Neurochemistry; vol. 90 (2), July 2004)
"The connection between oxytocin and autism, explained" by Peter Hess (Spectrum; Jan. 6, 2022)
Moody Bitches by Julie Holland (Penguin; 2016)
"Youth Suicide Risk Increased Over Past Decade" by Farzana Akkas (Pew; Mar. 3)
"MAPS predicts FDA approval for MDMA-assisted therapy in 2024" by Brian Buntz (Drug Discovery & Development ; Jan. 27)
"Psychedelics May Be Part of U.S. Medicine Sooner Than You Think" by Jamie Ducharme (TIME; Feb. 8)
Alex & Allyson Grey
"Can magic mushrooms unlock depression?" by Dr. Rosalind Watts (Medium; Feb. 28, 2022)
How Psychedelics Can Help Save the World by Stephen Gray; foreword by Julie Holland (Park Street Books; 2022)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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What a slow civil war looks like Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

Sean Illing is joined by reporter Jeff Sharlet, whose new book The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War takes readers on the ground across America right now, as all kinds of people seem to be preparing for a violent fight with other Americans. They discuss the killing of Ashli Babbitt on Jan. 6 and how the story of her death has evolved, the religious nature of some "fringe" political beliefs, and what life is like living in what Jeff calls "the Trumpocene."

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Jeff Sharlet (@JeffSharlet), reporter; author

References:

The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War by Jeff Sharlet (W.W. Norton; 2023)
The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Powerby Jeff Sharlet (Harper Collins; 2008)
The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton (Vintage; 2005)
A Brief History of Fascist Liesby Federico Finchelstein (University of California; 2020)
"Ashli Babbitt a martyr? Her past tells a more complex story" by Michael Biesecker (AP; Jan. 3, 2022)
"January 6 Was Only the Beginning" by Jeff Sharlet (Vanity Fair; June 22, 2022)
"Man who rested feet on desk in Pelosi's office on Jan. 6 found guilty on 8 counts" by Hannah Rabinowitz and Holms Lybrand (CNN; Jan. 23)
"Marjorie Taylor Greene got into a screaming match with Rep. Cheney over 'Jewish space lasers' comment" by Azmi Haroun (Insider; Oct. 21, 2021)
"If you see an all-black American flag, what does that mean?" by Matt Gregory and Mia Salenetri (WUSA9; Nov. 12, 2021)
"What does the end of Roe mean for IVF?" by Bridgit Bowden (Wisconsin Public Radio; July 6, 2022)
"The Blast That Changed Everything" by Preston Schmitt and Doug Erickson (On Wisconsin magazine; Summer 2020)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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How to listen Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

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,You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters

References:

You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy (Celadon Books, 2020)
“This is your brain on communication” by Uri Hasson (TED, 2016)

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Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:

Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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Why we can't give up on persuasion Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Sean Illing is joined by Anand Giridharadas, author of The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy. Together they discuss how polarity is a threat to our democracy, the organizing efforts that are effective, and why there's hope for a less divisive future in America.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites), author

References:

The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy by Anand Giridharadas (Penguin Random House, 202)
Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (Penguin Random House, 2022)
Amanda Marcotte
“Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right’s outrage machine” by Taylor Lorenz (The Washington Post, Apr. 19th, 2022)
Anat Shenker-Osorio
People’s Action Institute

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Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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Rep. Katie Porter's working-class politics Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Rep. Katie Porter became well-known for using a whiteboard and asking tough questions during Congressional hearings. Her frank questions resonated with the public because they represented the concerns of so many Americans. In this episode, she joins Sean Illing to discuss her "brand" of authenticity, the problem with having so many millionaires in Congress, and her new book, I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter), U.S. Representative from the 47th Congressional District in Orange County, California.

References:

I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan by Representative Katie Porter (Penguin Random House, 2023)

Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:

Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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The climate apocalypse will be televised Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

Guest host Alissa Wilkinson talks with Dorothy Fortenberry, a co-showrunner, executive producer, and writer on Extrapolations, the new star-studded anthology series on Apple TV+ that imagines the ravages of climate change deeper and deeper into the future. Alissa and Dorothy discuss the challenges of making film and television about the climate crisis, the role that religion plays on the show and in addressing the emotional responses to climate change in our lives, and how climate change can rob us not only of our future — but of our past.

Host: Alissa Wilkinson (@alissamarie), senior culture writer, Vox

Guest: Dorothy Fortenberry (@Dorothy410berry), writer/executive producer, Extrapolations on Apple TV+

References:

Extrapolations on Apple TV+
"Laudato Si': On Care for our Common Home," encyclical of Pope Francis (May 24, 2015)
"A Review: The Lotus Paradox at Warehouse Theatre" (Jan. 31, 2022)
"Latin Mass, women priests, celibacy? Climate change will make all the church's arguments pointless" by Dorothy Fortenberry (America; Oct. 27, 2021)

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Help keep this show and all of Vox's journalism free by making a gift to Vox today: bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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A philosopher takes on religious life Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

What would drive someone to renounce all their possessions, relationships, and ambitions to join a religious community? Sean talks with Zena Hitz, whose new book A Philosopher Looks at the Religious Life explores this question — drawing from her own experience. They discuss the occasionally perplexing relationship between faith and reason, why Hitz thinks the act of renunciation is the pinnacle of Christian belief, and why the radicalism at the heart of Christianity seems so absent from mainstream practice.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Zena Hitz, (@zenahitz ) author; tutor, St. John's College

References:

A Philosopher Looks at the Religious Life by Zena Hitz (Cambridge; 2023)
Lost In Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Lifeby Zena Hitz(Princeton; 2020)
The Madonna House in Combermere, Ontario, Canada
Confessionsby St. Augustine (401 AD)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)

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Help keep this show and all of Vox's journalism free by making a gift to Vox today: bit.ly/givepodcasts

This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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Your brain isn't so private anymore Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Guest host Sigal Samuel talks with professor of philosophy and law Nita Farahany about her new book The Battle for Your Brain. In it, Farahany details the new brain-scanning tech that has already arrived, and the risks this poses to our privacy and freedom of thought. Sigal and Nita discuss what this technology can currently do (and what it can't), how new devices might be used by corporations or governments to infringe on our rights, and the prospect of using new technologies to rid ourselves of painful or traumatic memories — even, potentially, before they've been formed.

Host: Sigal Samuel (@SigalSamuel), Senior Reporter, Vox

Guest: Nita Farahany (@NitaFarahany), author; professor of philosophy & Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law, Duke University

References: