The Gray Area with Sean Illing

The case for failure

Listen Later

Is our society's fixation with success hindering our ability to find humility? Sean Illing speaks with Costica Bradatan about his new book In Praise of Failure: Four Lessons in Humility, which explores failure through the lives of historical figures like Gandhi and the philosopher Simone Weil. They discuss the benefits of engaging with our limits and what we can learn from those who've embraced failure.

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

Guest: Costica Bradatan, Professor at Texas Tech University and Honorary Research Professor of Philosophy at University of Queensland in Australia, Religion/Philosophy editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books, and author of In Praise of Failure: Four Lessons in Humility.

References: 

  • In Praise of Failure: Four Lessons in Humility by  Costica Bradatan (Harvard University Press, 2023)
  • The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, translated by Justin O'Brien (Vintage Books, 1991)
  • The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche, translated by Walter Kaufman (1872)
  • The Trouble with Being Born by E.M. Cioran, translated by Richard Howard (Arcade Publishing, 1973)


    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

      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store
      The Gray Area with Sean IllingBy Vox
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5
      • 4.5

      4.5

      10,590 ratings

      More shows like The Gray Area with Sean Illing

      View all
      The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

      The New Yorker Radio Hour

      6,787 Listeners

      The Political Scene | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

      The Political Scene | The New Yorker

      4,045 Listeners

      Explain It to Me by Vox

      Explain It to Me

      7,846 Listeners

      Switched on Pop by Vulture

      Switched on Pop

      2,684 Listeners

      Pivot by New York Magazine

      Pivot

      9,522 Listeners

      Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley

      Gastropod

      3,660 Listeners

      Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

      Decoder with Nilay Patel

      3,148 Listeners

      The Daily by The New York Times

      The Daily

      112,060 Listeners

      Good One by Vulture

      Good One

      1,484 Listeners

      Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

      Radio Atlantic

      2,270 Listeners

      The Atlantic Interview by The Atlantic

      The Atlantic Interview

      2,133 Listeners

      Today, Explained by Vox

      Today, Explained

      10,212 Listeners

      Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

      Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

      7,232 Listeners

      Throughline by NPR

      Throughline

      16,341 Listeners

      Land of the Giants by Vulture

      Land of the Giants

      2,165 Listeners

      Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

      5,985 Listeners

      Unlocking Us with Brené Brown by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

      23,579 Listeners

      A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe by Vox Media Podcast Network

      A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe

      729 Listeners

      Hard Fork by The New York Times

      Hard Fork

      5,506 Listeners

      Good Noticings by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Good Noticings

      6,474 Listeners

      The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

      The Ezra Klein Show

      15,853 Listeners

      Unexplainable by Vox

      Unexplainable

      2,308 Listeners

      Cover Story by New York Magazine

      Cover Story

      1,219 Listeners

      The Interview by The New York Times

      The Interview

      1,580 Listeners

      Not Just Football with Cam Heyward by Cam Heyward

      Not Just Football with Cam Heyward

      152 Listeners

      On with Kara Swisher by Vox Media

      On with Kara Swisher

      3,518 Listeners

      Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF by Vivian Tu

      Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

      1,748 Listeners

      Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Prof G Markets

      1,417 Listeners

      The Opinions by The New York Times Opinion

      The Opinions

      606 Listeners

      Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird by Sue Bird

      Bird's Eye View with Sue Bird

      439 Listeners

      Solutions with Henry Blodget by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Solutions with Henry Blodget

      31 Listeners