Alex O’Connor on Death, Meaning & Why Our Brains Lie to Us

Get ready for a collective existential crisis.

TommyInnit puts on his big brain thinking cap as Cosmic Skeptic Alex O’Connor joins the Shut Up I’m Talking podcast for a mind-bending deep dive into consciousness, free will, fear of death, religion, and why our brains lie to us.

↓ LISTEN TO THE SECOND HALF ON PATREON ↓ https://www.patreon.com/c/shutupimtalking

↓ BUY MERCH HERE! FINAL STOCK REMAINING: ↓

https://suitmerch.store/

The boys dig into Alex’s Catholic upbringing, how he got from three U grades to Oxford University via his YouTube channel and how debating Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens shaped him.Tom admits he’s terrified of death, Jack questions whether meaning is something we create or discover, and Alex explains philosophical zombies, panpsychism, and what it feels like to lose your sense of self on psychedelics.

They explore consciousness, blind sight, ego death, split-brain experiments, why the self might be an illusion, and whether a worm or a bat experiences reality anything like we do. Alex also opens up about burnout, grounding himself, and trying to keep philosophy fun rather than content-driven.

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

02:20 - Alex O’Connor introduces himself

04:25 - Alex’s worst moment of the week

06:30 - Early life & journey into philosophy and theology

11:15 - What happens when we die?

15:10 - How to stop fearing death

19:40 - What is meaning?

23:50 - Alex’s view on purpose

27:00 - Conscious experience and why it exists

29:23 - The Philosophical Zombie

30:14 - Do plants feel pain?

33:00 - What is consciousness?

37:55 - What is Jack Manifold?

41:28 - Ego death and psychedelic experiences

44:12 - Left brain & right brain

46:01 - Crazy split brain experiments

51:00 - Alien hand syndrome

52:00 - Does Alex get tired of debating?

53:15 - How to switch off from thinking so deeply

54:20 - How Alex winds down

55:55 - Playing Warzone whilst talking about the bible

58:30 - Bruce Springsteen & free will

1:00:00 - How philosophy can help with anxiety

1:02:00 - Everyone is going to play PUBG together

1:03:40 - Content, social media & control

1:04:42 - How’s the worm doing?

1:05:35 - How to get into philosophy

1:05:56 - The mystery of consciousness

1:07:24 - ‘Mary’s Room’ thought experiment

1:09:38 - TommyInnit invites Alex O’Connor for a pint

1:09:50 - Transition over to Patreon

Written & presented by: Tom Simons & Jack Manifold

Executive producer: Mirren Mace

Directed by: Mirren Mace

Producer: Russell Noon

Production coordinator: Tori Sheard

Social media: Tori Sheard

Camera, sound & lighting: Owen Rogers & Hazar Ayyildiz

Editor: Owen Rogers

Shorts editor & Thumbnail: Snikrep

Set design: Mirren Mace

This podcast episode was recorded on 25/10/25

Follow us on social media:

IG: https://instagram.com/shutuplmtalking

X: https://x.com/shutup1mtalking

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/shutup1mtalking