The Gray Area Creators & Guests

Fabiola Cineas is a writer for Vox and author of the article Juneteenth, Explained.

Ezra Klein is a journalist, blogger, and political commentator. He is a co-founder of Vox and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. Today he is well known for his podcast, The Ezra Klein Show.

Constance Grady is a culture writer for Vox.

Marin Cogan is a journalist. Currently, she is a senior correspondent for Vox, focusing on narrative features. She is also a co-director of the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, a journalism and college mentoring program for rising high school seniors from diverse and low-income backgrounds.Previously, Cogan has been a contributing editor for New York Magazine and a features writer for ESPN The Magazine, GQ, National Journal, POLITICO and The New Republic, and more.Cogan's work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Elle, and other publications.

Emily St. James (formerly Emily VanDerWerff) is a critic, journalist, podcaster, and writer. Currently, she is the Critic at Large for Vox. Prior to 2019, she published under her old name, Todd VanDerWerff.St. James started her career by working for the student newspaper while studying at South Dakota State University. In 2004, she graduated and began working for newspapers, writing and copy editing, while maintaining her TV blog. Later, she wrote for the A.V. Club, first as a freelance writer, and then as an editor.

Andrea Silenzi is the new host of The Longest Shortest Time. On the show she tells the stories of kids and families while exploring her own journey towards becoming a parent.

Alexander Abad-Santos is a writer. He is currently Senior Culture Reporter for Vox

Emily Stewart is a business & politics reporter at Vox.

Anna North is a writer, editor, and reporter who specializes in gender-related issues. She is currently a senior reporter at Vox Media.Prior to working for Vox, North was a contributor and member of the editorial board at the New York Times from, and headed the segment "This Week In Hate." Her work has appeared in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, and Salon.North is also the author of two novels, "America Pacifica," published in 2011, and "The Life and Death of Sophie Stark," published in 2015.

Julia Furlan is an independent podcasting consultant, podcast host, and a professor at The New School.Most recently, Furlan has hosted a series of podcasts for NPR. Before that, she was the head of the BuzzFeed News PodSquad. She has written and produced audio for places like WNYC, Latino USA, and Slate.Furlan received her M.A. in Journalism and Latin American Studies from New York University.

Alissa Wilkinson writes about film, pop culture, postmodernity, and religion. Currently, she is a film critic for Vox Media. She is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle.Before joining Vox, Wilkinson was the chief film critic at Christianity Today. Her work has appeared at Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Vulture, RogerEbert.com, The Atlantic, Books & Culture, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Paste, and Pacific Standard.Wilkinson is an associate professor of English and humanities at The King's College in New York City. She teaches criticism, cinema studies, writing, and cultural theory. She is the co-author with Robert Joustra, of "How to Survive the Apocalypse: Zombies, Cylons, Faith, and Politics at the End of the World."Wilkinson received her M.A. in humanities and social thought from New York University and her M.F.A. in creative nonfiction writing from Seattle Pacific University.

Jamil Smith is journalist who investigates political and cultural topics such as race, gender, national politics, and pop culture. Currently, he is a senior writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. He has also been a senior editor at The New Republic, a senior national correspondent at MTV News, a television segment producer for NFL Films, and a producer for The Rachel Maddow Show and Melissa Harris-Perry.

Anne Helen Petersen is a writer and journalist.

Rebecca Jennings is a journalist who focuses on internet culture. Currently, she writes for The Goods at Vox Media.Previously, Jennings was a video producer and host at Racked, and before that she covered fashion, New York City retail, and local goings-on at Brooklyn Magazine, The L Magazine, and Time Out New York.

Sean Illing is a journalist, author, philosopher, and public speaker. Currently, he is the Interviews Writer for Vox Media, and a host of the Vox Conversations podcast.Prior to joining Vox, he taught politics and philosophy at a university. Before that, he served in the United States Air Force.

Sigal Samuel is a novelist, journalist, essayist, and playwright. She is currently Staff Writer at Vox.Samuel previously worked as Religion Editor at The Atlantic, Opinion Editor at the Forward, and Associate Editor at the Daily Beast. Her work has also appeared in the Rumpus, BuzzFeed, Electric Literature, Refinery 29, Il Sole 24 Ore, Haaretz, Tablet, and the Walrus. She has appeared on NPR, BBC, CBC, and Huffington Post Live.Her six plays have been produced in theaters from Vancouver to New York. Her first novel, "The Mystics of Mile End," was published in 2015. Sigal earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and her BA in Philosophy from McGill University. She was raised in Montreal.

Benji Jones is an environmental reporter. Currently, he reports for Vox.com, where he writes about the science and politics of the biodiversity crisis.Previously, Jones covered the energy industry as a senior reporter at Business Insider. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Audubon Magazine.Before becoming a journalist, Jones was a researcher in the environmental sector.Jones received his M.S. in Ecology and Evolution from Stanford University.

Zack Beauchamp is a reporter specializing in global politics and ideology. He is currently a senior correspondent for Vox Media, and he hosts the podcast "Worldly" on foreign policy and international relations. Beauchamp's work focuses on the rise of the populist right across the West, the role of identity in American politics, and how fringe ideologies shape the mainstream. Before coming to Vox, he edited TP Ideas, a section of Think Progress devoted to the ideas shaping our political world. He has an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics.

Dylan Matthews is a journalist. Currently, he is a correspondent for Vox.com, where he was one of the initial founders in 2014.