The Gray Area with Sean Illing

On one hand I really enjoy most of the interviewees and the conversational style of the interviews. The subject matter is usually relevant and interesting- and even when I'm not particularly engaged I still take some aspects away with me to think about. When Sean forgets to do his Ezra Klein impersonation he is a compelling and animated interviewer, and those moments set this show apart from the many others which seek to follow the same type of script. On the other hand, I find the way that Sean breaks his sentences up and takes oddly long pauses for seemingly no reason (ie in the middle of a sentence containing a simple thought) to be off-putting, and find myself discarding episodes because this stylistic choice overwhelms the content of conversations; this is possibly my own issue, because I have trouble buying someone as well-read as Sean, with that much lived experience, as someone who struggles to get a thought out without pausing ten times (slight exaggeration for dramatic effect). I would love to see a shift to a less contrived style, but I'm still a dedicated listener.

I appreciate the depth and breadth of Vox interviews. Still listen to Ezra Klein’s new podcast too, and like them both. I just listened to the latest interview about the new podcast “70 over 70”. With parents in this age range, now facing impending end of life due to serious medical issues, it’s been surprising to me how they do seem afraid to talk about it. This despite the fact that they are people of faith, who have practiced it their whole lives. I’ll be checking out the podcast. One thing that seems like it’s been on the increasing trend is the use of profanity in podcasts that I listen to, particularly American ones like this one and “Political Gabfest”. I guess it’s meant to impart being grounded and down to earth, “keeping it real” so to speak, or perhaps to emphasize emotions or just being more emphatic in what’s being commented on. But I do find it off putting and it does make me less impressed with whomever is using those choices, as in, “Really, your verbal fluency couldn’t have led you to a better word than that? Or is it a maturity issue?” Maybe it’s me - I’m a 50 year old Canadian healthcare professional, and perhaps my views don’t reflect the majority of listeners on this. But maybe they do...

This episode should be re-edited to piece together only Ta-Nehisi speaking. The value would be the same.

Sean is a great host - he is very thoughtful and actually engages with his guests without either just asking questions or making it about him. I appreciate he has a background in philosophy and really cares about the topics he covers. Even though I’m not interested in every episode initially, I listen anyway and he usually manages to turn it around for me. Some of these episodes have really changed the way I try to show up in the world (and this podcast is not preachy) - so for me I can’t give it a better review.