Draft:Alex O'Connor
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Alex O'Connor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) O'Connor in 2018 | |
| Born | 27 March 1999 |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Oxford |
| Website | https://www.alexoconnor.com/ |
Alex J. O'Connor, known online by his handle CosmicSkeptic, is an English YouTuber and host of the Within Reason podcast. He primarily uploads debates and arguments about religion, philosophy, morality, and formerly veganism.[1]
Career
[edit]O'Connor started his YouTube channel in 2013, and after first uploading music videos, later switched to videos on athiesm. In 2019 he became a vegan, and began campaigning for veganism and animal rights.[2] In 2023, he announced he was no longer vegan.[3] He has spoken in support of free speech.[4]
Guests on his podcast have included Richard Dawkins, Konstantin Kisin, Douglas Murray, Sam Harris, Destiny, Rory Sutherland, William Lane Craig, Matt Dillahunty, Peter Singer and Rory Stewart.[5]
On the 2nd of May 2019, O'Connor took part in a debate (with Colin Brewer) against Mohammed Hijab and Abdullah al Andalusi at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, organised by the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA),[6] which he criticised for censorship of the comments and when his microphone cut out when he referenced a verse in the Quran about wife-beating. O'Connor later tweeted a video of Hijab saying that the Cowley area of Oxford was "All Muslim" and that "you don't want to make enemies".[citation needed]
In October 2023, O'Connor interviewed journalist and author Peter Hitchens for his Within Reason podcast, but during the recording, Hitchens abruptly stood up and declared "I really have decided in the past hour I really do not like you at all [...] I had no opinions of you before, and now I actively dislike you.", and later storming out.[7]
On the 30th of September 2024, he moderated a debate between Richard Dawkins and Jordan Peterson.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Alex was born on March 27, 1999 and grew up in Blackbird Leys, Oxford.[9] He was raised Catholic.[10] When he first did his A-levels, he got DDDU grades. He then took them again with different subjects, and got A*AA, the grades he needed to get into the University of Oxford.
References
[edit]- ^ Sturge, Elliot (8 August 2020). "Cancel culture and pandemic prevention with The Cosmic Skeptic". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Stuart, Verity (18 January 2020). "In Conversation: Alex J. O'Connor, Cosmic Skeptic". The Oxford Student. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Cockshaw, Rory (23 February 2023). "Is Veganism Healthy? A Response to Alex O'Connor (Cosmic Skeptic)". Viva! The Vegan Charity. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Axelsson, Pelle (3 May 2020). "Alex "Cosmic Skeptic" O'Connor | Moral Philosophy". IntellectInterviews. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Within Reason". Apple Podcasts. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Team MDI (15 May 2019). "Big Oxford University Debate: "Does Islam explain reality better than Atheism?"". The Muslim Debate Initiative. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Norman, Matthew (10 October 2023). "Famous journalist tells Oxford podcaster 'I don't like you' before storming off". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Inside the Jordan Peterson-Richard Dawkins debate". UnHerd. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "21st Birthday Quarantine Livestream QnA". YouTube. 27 March 2020.
- ^ "Why I, an atheist, am afraid of hell". YouTube. 16 November 2016.