The Gray Area with Sean Illing
Society & Culture:Philosophy
Sean Illing talks with Michael Sacasas, an author and teacher exploring the relationship between technology and society in his newsletter, The Convivial Society. This conversation is all about attention: what it exactly is, what its purpose is, and how it is under threat by the technology of modern society and its ubiquitous distractions. Michael calls upon venerated philosophers (like Simone Weil and Iris Murdoch) as well as contemporary writers (like Nicholas Carr and Jenny Odell) to make the case that figuring out how to command our attention is a matter of great moral significance, and is a crucial component of living a good life.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: L. Michael Sacasas (@LMSacasas), author of the newsletter The Convivial Society on Substack; associate director, Christian Study Center of Gainesville
References:
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:
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The necessity — and danger — of free speech
Hacking coral sex to save the reefs
The price of keeping secrets
Does China control Hollywood?
Steve Bannon is still at war
The Fortress of Solitude saw it all coming
The Philosophers: Stoic revival
Station Eleven's creator on the end of the world
The racist origins of fat phobia
The fight for Ukraine — and democracy
The war on trans people
Michael Ian Black on being a better man
Carmen Maria Machado's haunted feminine
The rise and fall of America's monuments
The Philosophers: America's philosophy, with Cornel West
Why accidents aren't accidental
Rethinking the "end of history"
Anita Hill finally gets even
Elites have captured identity politics
The moral dangers of dirty work
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Today, Explained
Re/Code Decode
The Vergecast
Shutdown Fullcast
The Impact