Alex O'Connor

Reality Has No Foundation - Carlo Rovelli

320K views · 1w ago · 1:39:03

Guests: Carlo Rovelli, Reality Has No Foundation

Come to my North American tour this November To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Carlo Rovelli, an Italian theoretical physicist, is known mainly for his contributions to research in the field of quantum gravity. He is a found of loop quantum gravity, and writes extensively on the physics and philosophy of time, quantum mechanics, and ultimate reality.

Topics: Tour · The Ongoing Revolution in Science · Interpreting the Quantum World · Can a Person Be in Superposition? · Everything is Relative · The Relational Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Are Plants Conscious? - Michael Pollan

359K views · 1mo ago · 1:29:31

Guest: Michael Pollan

Come to my North American tour this November To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Michael Pollan is an American journalist and the first Lewis K. Chan Arts Lecturer at Harvard University. LINKS Get "A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness"

Topics: North America Tour · The Solar Eclipse · What Is It Like To Be A Plant? · Are Neurons Overrated? · Is This All Complete Nonsense? · The Strange Behaviour of Plants

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

All Things Are Empty - Intro to Madhyamaka Buddhism

724K views · 2mo ago · 1:44:37

Guest: All Things Are Empty

Come to my North American tour this November To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Jan Westerhoff is a German philosopher and orientalist with specific interests in metaphysics and the philosophy of language. He is currently Professor of Buddhist Philosophy in the Faculty of Theology and Religion of the University of Oxford.

Topics: Nāgārjuna, The “Second Buddha” · The Middle Way · Ontological Nihilism · Are Madhyamaka Buddhists Nihilists? · How Emptiness Escapes Causal Arguments for God · Preempting Immanuel Kant?

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

A Priest Challenges Me About Jesus

1.8M views · 2mo ago · 8:50

This clip is taken from "An Evening With Alex O'Connor", live in Manchester on the 2nd of March 2026. The show is coming to North America this November! CONNECT The Within Reason Podcast Brand enquiries: David@

When Catholic Actor and Protestant Director Disagree - The Chosen

183K views · 2mo ago · 13:13

Come to my North American tour this November VIDEO NOTES LINKS Watch the trailer for season six of The Chosen Season six premieres November 15th on Prime Video, with three episodes at launch and new episodes weekly through December 6th. And the story doesn't end on streaming — the season finale arrives as a feature film, exclusively in theaters, on March 12th, 2027.

I Don't Care About the Reaction - The Chosen Creator Dallas Jenkins

237K views · 2mo ago · 2:15:15

Get tickets to my North American Tour To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES LINKS Watch the trailer for season six of The Chosen Season six premieres November 15th on Prime Video, with three episodes at launch and new episodes weekly through December 6th. And the story doesn't end on streaming — the season finale arrives as a feature film, exclusively in theaters, on March 12th, 2027.

Topics: North America Tour · What is The Chosen’s Purpose? · Is It Appropriate to Embellish the Story of Jesus? · Harmonising the Gospel Accounts · Do Actors Sometimes Theologically Disagree? · Controversial Additions to the Show

The Chosen: A Tour of the Set

218K views · 2mo ago · 54:34

Watch my podcast with Dallas Jenkins on Substack To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Dallas Jenkins is the creator and director of "The Chosen". In this video, he shows me around the show's Midlothian set. LINKS

Topics: Not a Podcast · Capernaum Synagogue · Capernaum · Fake Environment · Indoor Spaces · Dealing With Pride

Religion is an Obligation - NYT Columnist Ross Douthat

207K views · 3mo ago · 1:48:52

Guest: NYT Columnist Ross Douthat

Come to my North American tour this November To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Ross Douthat is an American journalist who is a correspondent for the CBS News program 60 Minutes. Prior to joining CBS, he was a conservative columnist at The New York Times, a senior editor at The Atlantic, and film critic for National Review. He has written on religion, politics, and society.

Topics: Is Religious Belief An Obligation? · Pantheism vs Theism · The Connection Between Mind and Universe · The Fine-Tuning Argument · The Problem of Evil · Is Belief in God Enough?

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Why I Got Angry in a Recent Debate - 2 Million QnA

750K views · 3mo ago · 51:07

Come to my North American tour this November To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES CONNECT The Within Reason Podcast Brand enquiries: David@

Topics: My YouTube Watch History · What Do I Want to Be Remembered For? · Will I Do a PhD? · Warzone · How Many Philosophers Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb? · My Music Channel

What an Astronaut Learned About Fate, Duty, and Meaning

70K views · 3mo ago · 57:12

To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Chris Hadfield is a retired Royal Canadian Air Force colonel, test pilot, and CSA astronaut. As the first Canadian to perform extravehicular activity in outer space, he has flown two Space Shuttle missions and also served as commander of the International Space Station.

Topics: Have We Lost Interest in Space Travel? · What Is There To Learn In Space? · Is Space Exploration National Or Global? · Will Civilians Need Training To Go To Space? · The Psychological Challenges of Space Exploration · Are Astronauts Thrill Seekers?

Every Theory of Consciousness

261K views · 4mo ago · 2:20:39

To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Robert Lawrence Kuhn is an American public intellectual and investment banker. He is also an author, television producer, columnist and commentator, especially on topics related to China. Kuhn is the creator of the PBS series @CloserToTruthTV.

Topics: The Landscape of Consciousness Map · Materialism · What Counts As Materialism? · The Difference Between Panpsychism and Materialism · What’s the Difference Between Panpsychism and Idealism? · Idealism and Monism

Aristotle: The World's Greatest Philosopher?

319K views · 4mo ago · 1:24:46

To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES John Sellars is a Reader in philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, a visiting Research Fellow at King's College London and a Member of Wolfson College, Oxford. His books include Lessons in Stoicism, The Fourfold Remedy, Aristotle and his work has been translated into over a dozen languages.

Topics: What’s So Great About Aristotle? · Actuality and Potentiality · Forms: Aristotle vs Plato · The Four Causes · Evolution and Final Causation · Did Aristotle Believe In God?

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Could Consciousness be an Illusion? - Keith Frankish

159K views · 4mo ago · 2:07:29

Guest: Keith Frankish

To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Keith Frankish is a British philosopher specialising in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, and philosophy of cognitive science. LINKS Frankish, "Illusionism as a theory of consciousness" (2016)

Topics: Is Consciousness An Illusion? · Do We Have a Private World? · The Nature of Visual Experience · Is Awareness Behavioural? · Isn’t Introspection Itself a Private Experience? · Philosophical Zombies

How a Blind Man Sees the World - Tommy Edison

151K views · 4mo ago · 1:04:20

Guest: Tommy Edison

To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES @TommyEdisonXP is a blind YouTuber and radio presenter. He got his start online as the “Blind Film Critic”, reviewing movies despite being unable to see them, and thereby offering a unique angle on their storytelling.

Topics: Being a Blind YouTuber · How Do You Understand Blindness If You Are Blind From Birth? · Being Blind in School · Tommy’s Early Life · Has Life Become More Accessible For the Blind? · How Vision is Embedded in Our Language

The Heretics Who Got Too Close to God - What is Mysticism?

158K views · 5mo ago · 1:17:54

To donate to my PayPal (thank you) VIDEO NOTES Simon Critchley is a British philosopher, author and professor at The New School in New York. He is best known for his work on existentialism, mysticism, ethics and continental philosophy, and is the author of books including The Book of Dead Philosophers, Faith of the Faithless and Mysticism.

Topics: Is Mysticism Always Religious? · What is Mysticism? · Unification With the Divine · Mysticism and the Self · Why Are So Many Mystics Women? · The Limits of Language

📚 Book mentioned: Mysticism