Podcast · 56 episodes
Within Reason, page 2
by Alex J O'Connor · English
For the curious. A philosophy podcast that sometimes flirts with other disciplines, Within Reason has featured guests including Richard Dawkins, Douglas Murray, William Lane Craig, Peter Singer, Konstantin Kisin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
All episodes, page 2
Atheist Slogans You Should Stop Using - Joe SchmidThis episode of the "Within Reason" podcast features host Alex O'Connor and guest Joe Schmid, a philosophy PhD student at Princeton, as they explore common atheist slogans and their philosophical…8 Feb 2026 · 2 h 56 min · 58 chapters
#141 Stoicism: Everything You Need to (Actually) Know - John SellarsIn this episode of the podcast "Within Reason," host Alex O'Connor engages in a deep conversation with philosopher John Sellars about Stoicism, its historical context, key concepts, and its relevance…3 Feb 2026 · 1 h 42 min · 38 chapters
#140 Sean Carroll - The Limits of Scientific ExplanationIn this episode of *Within Reason*, host Alex O'Connor speaks with theoretical physicist Sean Carroll about the limits of scientific explanation, exploring the intersection of science, philosophy,…26 Jan 2026 · 1 h 20 min · 31 chapters
#139 David Bentley Hart - All Things Are Full of GodsDavid Bentley Hart argues that nature is not mechanistic and mindless; it is pervaded by primordial intentionality/consciousness (“all things are full of gods”).18 Jan 2026 · 1 h 49 min · 37 chapters
#138 Rhett McLaughlin - How to Save Christianity From ChristiansRhett McLaughlin discusses “advice for Christians” during a modern church revival, arguing that Christianity is being kept (and lost) by how it’s defended.11 Jan 2026 · 1 h 36 min · 31 chapters
#137 Debunking Arguments for God - Graham OppyDebunking popular arguments for God, focusing on cosmological arguments (contingency/necessity, principle of sufficient reason, infinite regress) and briefly addressing Kalam and fine-tuning.4 Jan 2026 · 1 h 41 min · 36 chapters
#136 Why Did The World Get So Ugly? - Alain de BottonWhy modern cities and buildings feel “ugly,” and what causes the decline in public taste and accountability; how beauty relates to psychology, politics, and architecture’s calming function.26 Dec 2025 · 1 h · 29 chapters
#135 Christmas Isn't What You Think - John NelsonMisconceptions about Christmas—especially whether the birth narratives are historical, where/when Jesus was born, and what the virgin birth and “no room” details mean in their original contexts.20 Dec 2025 · 1 h 19 min · 24 chapters
1.75m QnA - Triangles, Getting Owned by GodLogic, and Douglas Adams' PuddleA subscriber milestone Q&A mixing personal updates with philosophy.19 Dec 2025 · 1 h 2 min · 26 chapters
#133 Hank Green on God, Science, and ConsciousnessHank Green discusses the Fermi paradox and “rare Earth” ideas; why Earth-like conditions (especially water/land) may be uncommon; what makes humans distinctive; how culture evolves like biology; and…7 Dec 2025 · 2 h 13 min · 46 chapters
#132 Vsauce - Does Anything Exist?Whether “things” (tables, chairs, ships, even persons) truly exist or are just labels for arrangements of “stuff,” and how that connects to life, consciousness, personal identity, free will, and…30 Nov 2025 · 1 h 35 min · 34 chapters
#131 Toby Ord - Will AI Destroy Humanity?Toby Ord discusses existential risks from AI, updating his 2020 book The Precipice.27 Nov 2025 · 1 h 2 min · 16 chapters
#130 Philip Goff - Why I'm a Heretical ChristianPhilip Goff explains how he moved from atheist to “heretical” Christian by combining panpsychism/cosmopsychism (the universe is fundamentally conscious) with a theistic response to fine-tuning and…16 Nov 2025 · 1 h 18 min · 26 chapters
#129 Will MacAskill - We're Not Ready for Artificial General IntelligenceWill MacAskill argues society is not prepared for artificial general intelligence (AGI).9 Nov 2025 · 1 h 19 min · 30 chapters
#128 Bernardo Kastrup - Materialism is Complete NonsenseBernardo Kastrup argues that materialism is “complete nonsense” and that reality is fundamentally mental.2 Nov 2025 · 1 h 54 min · 45 chapters
#127 Bear Grylls - Retelling Jesus' Life as a ThrillerBear Grylls discusses his book retelling Jesus’ life as a thriller, told through first-person perspectives (Mary, Thomas, Simon, John, Mary Magdalene).26 Oct 2025 · 1 h 1 min · 22 chapters
#126 Was Jesus an Ancient Magician? - Religion for BreakfastWhether Jesus should be called an “ancient magician,” and how “miracle” vs “magic” categories depend on who’s judging.19 Oct 2025 · 1 h 12 min · 23 chapters
#125 Emily Qureshi-Hurst - Does God Know What Time It Is?Whether biblical creation and Christian theology can be reconciled with modern cosmology and physics, especially Big Bang timing, creation ex nihilo vs “formless void,” and what God’s relationship to…12 Oct 2025 · 1 h 2 min · 25 chapters
#124 Sisyphus 55 - So You're Having an Existential CrisisThe episode explains what an existential crisis is and how it relates to meaning, identity, free will, and “the absurd.” It argues existential crises often begin with pain/suffering and awareness of…5 Oct 2025 · 1 h 31 min · 22 chapters
#123 Candida Moss - Were Early Christians Really Persecuted by Rome?The episode argues that “martyrdom” is a complex concept whose meaning shifts, and that the common Christian narrative of widespread early Christian persecution by Rome—especially under Nero after…28 Sep 2025 · 1 h 21 min · 25 chapters
#122 Robert Greene - Near-Death Experiences and the Mind Apart From the BrainRobert Greene discusses his book-in-progress about “the sublime,” arguing it means stepping outside the “circle” of cultural/personal conventions that condition how we think.21 Sep 2025 · 1 h 24 min · 26 chapters
#121 John Cottingham - The Father of Modern Philosophy: René DescartesRené Descartes’ life and philosophy, focusing on how he tries to ground knowledge via methodic doubt, the cogito, and arguments for God that secure reliable “clear and distinct” thinking.16 Sep 2025 · 1 h 40 min · 32 chapters
#120 Brant Pitre - Jesus DID Claim to be GodBrant Pitre argues that Jesus (in the Synoptic Gospels and John) made implicit, Jewish-style claims to divine identity, which helps explain why early Christians quickly developed “high”/divine…10 Sep 2025 · 2 h · 31 chapters
#119 Jim Al-Khalili - The Strange World of Quantum PhysicsQuantum physics’ “mystery” (especially the double-slit experiment) and why quantum mechanics lacks a single agreed interpretation; how quantum weirdness fades at macroscopic scales via decoherence;…1 Sep 2025 · 1 h 6 min · 22 chapters