Alex O'Connor

Alex J. O'Connor (born 27 March 1999), also known as CosmicSkeptic, is an English podcaster and YouTuber. He is known for his videos on philosophy on YouTube, most notably on the subjects of ethics, religion and atheism.

Early life and education Alex J. O'Connor was born on 27 March 1999. He grew up in Blackbird Leys, a civil parish and ward in Oxford, with divorced parents. He attended St John's College at the University of Oxford and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and theology in 2021.

Career O'Connor started his career by uploading videos on skateboarding to YouTube. By age seventeen, he was making videos on his channel CosmicSkeptic commenting on philosophy, religion and political topics like the 2016 United States presidential election. He started the Within Reason podcast (formerly called The Cosmic Skeptic Podcast) in 2019. His guests include Richard Dawkins, David Deutsch, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Carlo Rovelli and Slavoj Žižek. He often describes himself as an emotivist. He is a British republican, a subject he has spoken publicly on, including with Piers Morgan. O'Connor is a former vegan.