The chaplain who doesn't believe in God
As a non-believer, Devin Moss never thought he would become a chaplain or a spiritual adviser, much less one who counsels hospital patients with terminal illnesses and inmates on death row. Devin join...
25 Mar 202448min
Can a friend be our most significant other?
Journalist Rhaina Cohen believes that modern culture undervalues friendships and discusses the ways in which deep friendships are distinct from but no less meaningful than romantic partnerships. Gue...
18 Mar 202450min
The power of climate fiction
Stephen Markley’s novel, “The Deluge,” is an ambitious and terrifyingly realistic look at our collective future on a warming planet. He joins Sean to talk about the 10-year process of writing the book...
11 Mar 202447min
The denial of death
It’s been 50 years since Ernest Becker’s breakthrough book The Denial of Death was first published, and its thesis has become more relevant than ever. Filmmaker Jef Sewell is the co-creator of a new d...
4 Mar 202445min
A brief history of extinction panics
Silicon Valley is in the middle of an AI frenzy, and many of its leaders believe this technology could eventually result in human extinction. Tyler Austin Harper breaks down the most outlandish predic...
26 Feb 202450min
The new(ish) world order
America solidified its dominant posture in the international order following World War II and largely held that position for the following half-century. But as problems have accumulated at home and ab...
19 Feb 202442min
The free-market century is over
Sean Illing talks with economic historian Brad DeLong about his new book Slouching Towards Utopia. In it, DeLong claims that the "long twentieth century" was the most consequential period in human his...
12 Feb 202454min
Music and mysticism
Musician Laraaji joins Sean to talk about improvisation as meditation, the transcendent nature of laughter, and lessons from a long life in sound and spirit. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, T...
5 Feb 202447min
