Within Reason

Alex J O'Connor

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.

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159 episodes
Updated Friday
Explicit

Episodes159

Newest first

Sep 28, 2025 · 1 hr 21 min
#123 Candida Moss - Were Early Christians Really Persecuted by Rome?
Candida Moss is a historian of Christianity and author of The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 21, 2025 · 1 hr 23 min
#122 Robert Greene - Near-Death Experiences and the Mind Apart From the Brain
Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF with code alexoconnor at https://huel.com/alexoconnor (Minimum $75 purchase). Robert Greene is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written seven international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power. He is working on a book about the concept of the sublime, and speaks today about its relation to near-death experiences, dreaming, consciousness, and religious belief. Buy his books here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 16, 2025 · 1 hr 40 min
#121 John Cottingham - The Father of Modern Philosophy: René Descartes
John Cottingham (born 1943) is an English philosopher. The focus of his research has been early-modern philosophy (especially Descartes), the philosophy of religion and moral philosophy. He is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Reading, Professorial Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford. He is also a current Visiting Professor to the Philosophy Department at King's College, London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 10, 2025 · 1 hr 59 min
#120 Brant Pitre - Jesus DID Claim to be God
Brant Pitre is an American New Testament scholar and Distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute. He has written extensively on the historical Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Paul the Apostle, the origin of the Eucharist, and the canonical Gospels. His book, Jesus and Divine Christology, is available here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 1, 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
#119 Jim Al-Khalili - The Strange World of Quantum Physics
Jim Al-Khalili is an Iraqi-British theoretical physicist and science populariser. He is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 24, 2025 · 1 hr 33 min
#118 Joe Folley - Everything You Need to Know About Logic
EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/withinreason Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee Joe Folley runs the YouTube channel Unsolicited Advice. He graduated from Cambridge University in 202with an MPhil in Philosophy, specialising in logic. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - What is Logic? 5:04 - Aristotelian vs Stoic Logic 12:47 - How Logic Provides Clarity 18:42 Ambiguities in Logical Language 29:07 - Validity vs Soundness in a Logical Argument 39:40 Why Anything Follows From a Contradiction 47:42 - The Law of Non-Contradiction 56:27 - What is Truth and Falsity in Logic? 58:36 - Does Your Mum Know You’re Gay? 1:05:05 What is Fuzzy Logic? 01:08:14 - What is Modal Logic? 01:13:40 - Informal Rules of Logic 01:29:15 - Resources to Learn About Logic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 17, 2025 · 1 hr 28 min
#117 Dan McClellan - The Bible Has More Than One God
Dan McClellan is an American biblical scholar and author of The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues. Timestamps: 0:00 Why Does God Say “We”? 14:36 Does God Create the Universe From Nothing? 28:43 Is This Explained By The Trinity? 34:32 Is There Only One God? 47:39 Fake Idols or Gods? 1:02:50 How English Translations Mislead Us Into Monotheism 01:11:02 The Elevation of YHWH to God of the Universe 1:20:36 Polytheism in the New Testament 01:24:14 The Strongest Case For Monotheism in the Old Testament Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 10, 2025 · 1 hr 56 min
#116 Peter Godfrey Smith - Animal Consciousness: What Can We Know?
Peter Godfrey-Smith is an Australian philosopher of science and writer, who is currently Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. Buy his books here. Timestamps: 0:00 How Many Times Has the Brain Independently Evolved? 4:36 What is a Nervous System? 7:12 The Differences Between the Human and Animal Brains 13:40 What Does an Octopus Brain Look Like? 25:21 What is it Like to be an Octopus? 35:48 Are the Mind and Body Distinct? 42:46 Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious? 55:53 How Do Experiences Combine Into One Consciousness? 01:05:08 Which Animals Feel Pain? What is it Like? 01:16:51 Should We Make Shrimp Farming an Ethical Priority? 01:29:22 Animal Science and Animal Foods 01:35:59 The Ethics of Killing Animals 01:52:13 Are Octopuses Playful? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 4, 2025 · 2 hr
#115 Phil Halper & Niayesh Afshordi - What Came Before The Big Bang?
Niayesh Afshordi is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo. Phil Halper is a science communicator and YouTuber. Together, they have authored a book called "Battle of the Big Bang: The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins", an overview of the state of modern cosmology on the nature of the big bang. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 28, 2025 · 1 hr 21 min
#114 Simon Blackburn - What is Ethical Emotivism?
Simon Blackburn is well-known both as a writer of popular philosophy introductions (like Think), and also a significant figure in non-cognitivist meta-ethics, having invented the term “quasi-realism” to describe his moral philosophy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 21, 2025 · 1 hr
#113 Sabine Hossenfelder - Superdeterminism: Why Are Physicists Scared of It?
Sabine Hossenfelder is a German theoretical physicist, author, science communicator, and YouTuber. She is the author of Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 13, 2025 · 1 hr 54 min
#112 Rick Alan Ross - Do Cult Leaders Believe Their Own Lies?
Rick Alan Ross is an American deprogrammer, cult specialist, and founder and executive director of the non-profit Cult Education Institute. Frequently appearing in the news and other media, discussing groups some consider cults. Ross has intervened in more than 500 deprogramming cases in various countries. (Wikipedia) Get Rick's book, "Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out" here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 6, 2025 · 1 hr 25 min
#111 Helen Bond - The Forgotten Female Disciples of Jesus
Helen Bond is Professor of Christian Origins at the New College, University of Edinburgh, and former head of the School of Divinity there. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2023, she co-authored a book with Joan Taylor called Women Remembered: Jesus’ Female Disciples. Watch the documentary version here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 1, 2025 · 1 hr 16 min
#110 The Cultural Tutor - Why Modern Love Fails and How to Rescue It
Sheehan Quirke is The Cultural Tutor. A writer on history, art, and architecture with millions of followers, he is also the author of the forthcoming The Cultural Tutor: Forty-Nine Lessons You Wish You’d Learned at School, which is currently available for preorder here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 22, 2025 · 1 hr 8 min
#109 David Pakman - The New Threat Donald Trump Poses to America
David Pakman is an American progressive political commentator and host of @thedavidpakmanshow . Buy David's book, The Echo Machine here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 16, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min
#108 Marcus du Sautoy - Do Numbers Exist?
Marcus du Sautoy is a British mathematician, Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Fellow of New College, Oxford and author of popular mathematics and popular science books. Buy Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 12, 2025 · 1 hr 27 min
#107 Dale Allison - Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?
Dale Allison is an American historian and Christian theologian. His areas of expertise include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Jewish literature, and the history of the interpretation and reception of the Bible. Allison is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary (2013- ). (Wikipedia) By Dale Allison's book, The Resurrection of Jesus, here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 29, 2025 · 58 min
#106 Diarmaid MacCulloch - Sex and Christianity: a Tumultuous History
Diarmaid MacCulloch is an English academic and historian, specialising in ecclesiastical history and the history of Christianity. Since 1995, he has been a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford; he was formerly the senior tutor. Buy Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 22, 2025 · 1 hr 42 min
#105 John Lennox - Why Science Needs God
John Lennox is a Northern Irish mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist originally from Northern Ireland. He has written many books on religion, ethics, the relationship between science and God, and has had public debates with atheists including Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 4, 2025 · 1 hr 32 min
#104 Annaka Harris - Is Consciousness Fundamental?
Annaka Harris is an American writer. Her work touches on neuroscience, meditation, philosophy of mind and consciousness. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. Get Annaka Harris’ documentary Lights On here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Within Reason

#123 Candida Moss - Were Early Christians Really Persecuted by Rome?

#122 Robert Greene - Near-Death Experiences and the Mind Apart From the Brain

#121 John Cottingham - The Father of Modern Philosophy: René Descartes

#120 Brant Pitre - Jesus DID Claim to be God

#119 Jim Al-Khalili - The Strange World of Quantum Physics

#118 Joe Folley - Everything You Need to Know About Logic

#117 Dan McClellan - The Bible Has More Than One God

#116 Peter Godfrey Smith - Animal Consciousness: What Can We Know?

#115 Phil Halper & Niayesh Afshordi - What Came Before The Big Bang?

#114 Simon Blackburn - What is Ethical Emotivism?

#113 Sabine Hossenfelder - Superdeterminism: Why Are Physicists Scared of It?

#112 Rick Alan Ross - Do Cult Leaders Believe Their Own Lies?

#111 Helen Bond - The Forgotten Female Disciples of Jesus

#110 The Cultural Tutor - Why Modern Love Fails and How to Rescue It

#109 David Pakman - The New Threat Donald Trump Poses to America

#108 Marcus du Sautoy - Do Numbers Exist?

#107 Dale Allison - Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?

#106 Diarmaid MacCulloch - Sex and Christianity: a Tumultuous History

#105 John Lennox - Why Science Needs God

#104 Annaka Harris - Is Consciousness Fundamental?