top of page
  • YouTube

Alex J. O’Connor is founder of the Cosmic Skeptic YouTube channel, podcast and blog, 
Alex is an international public speaker and debater, having delivered addresses in multiple continents at conferences, universities and local drinking groups, as well as debated ethics, religion and politics with a number of high-profile opponents before college audiences, on radio talk shows and on national television.

Alex’s online videos have been viewed more than twenty million times, attracting nearly three hundred thousand people to subscribe to his regular content. He has produced videos with notable experts in respected fields, such as Peter Singer, Lawrence Krauss, and Michael Shermer.

Alex is an outspoken atheist, vegan, and free speech advocate, regularly discussing these topics on his online platforms. He is an avid reader and book collector, a musician and a singer, and spends much of his free time playing poker or snooker and sampling exotic alcoholic beverages. He also, sometimes and rarely, works on his degree.

  • YouTube

Drew McCoy of Genetically Modified Skeptic is a secular activist and YouTuber who produces content in opposition of religion and alternative medicine. He’s set out to demonstrate the similarities between the practices of both, and invite those skeptical of one to extend their skepticism to the other. Drew was raised as an Independent Fundamental Baptist in North Texas, where religious fundamentalism is common. He was homeschooled for religious reasons for much of his childhood but went to a Christian private school for middle school and early high school. Always extremely interested in science, he devoured every science book at his disposal throughout his childhood. Unfortunately, every book made available further indoctrinated him with faith in creationism and disdain for the theory of evolution. This indoctrination went unchallenged until Drew studied astronomy in college and discovered the evidence for an ancient universe. In his senior year at his (Christian) university, he began questioning his faith altogether, eventually becoming an agnostic atheist. After just two years as an atheist and less than one year on YouTube, Drew has grown a community around his channel which is dedicated to spreading skepticism and promoting constructive discourse. He’s produced video essays on the practices of pseudoscience, the American supplement industry, popular biblical interpretation, refutations of arguments for religion, creationism, and alternative medicine, and debunked misconceptions about atheism. Ultimately, he hopes to reach beyond his YouTube channel to make a difference felt around the secular community. This may take the form of organizing conferences like Faithless Forum, starting a secular charity, or publicly speaking about the issues addressed in his videos. Drew recognizes that a productive community is not simply found, but must be intentionally built through the dedication of its members. As such, he’s determined to build the community needed to usher us into a more rational world.

  • YouTube

Thomas Westbrook is the founder of Holy Koolaid LLC – a pro-science/anti-cult organization with a weekly YouTube show. He’s a world traveler & autodidact who grew up in a former Soviet, Muslim county and speaks 3 languages fluently. He graduated with honors from Texas A&M with a double major in International Studies & Russian and a Political Science concentration. He worked in IT for 5 years as a security administrator & web developer while simultaneously working on his own tech startup ideas before becoming a full-time media producer, science communicator, and secular activist. He’s a board member of the Atheist Community of Tulsa, co-host of The Here and How Podcast along with Rachel Oates and Rationality Rules, and creator of the Science-loving Skeptics Facebook group.

“I’m not afraid to question the status quo, but try to do it with tongue-in-cheek humor. I don’t like to live under a cloud of hate, but I despise pseudoscience, cults (and people/organizations that use cult-like manipulation tactics), and superstition. I believe in freedom of and from religion and the separation of church and state. The universe is not only knowable, but it’s too magnificent not to explore it. So let’s dare to be curious!”

Atheist/Skeptic/Free Thought background

As a former missionary kid, youth pastor, church camp counselor, and worship leader, Thomas was a closeted atheist for two years before founding Holy Koolaid in 2015 out of frustration over the negative stigma displayed towards atheists. It was Thomas’ way of normalizing atheism while fighting against cult-like manipulation tactics that stymie curiosity, growth, and exploration. At Holy Koolaid, curiosity is king and no idea is sacred because truth withstands scrutiny. Thomas has brutally gone after everyone from fundamentalist preachers and cult leaders, to psychic vultures preying on the vulnerable, to pseudoscience-peddling snake oil salesmen hawking their wares to desperate cancer patients. In addition to garnering over 70,000 subscribers and 6.8 million views on Holy Koolaid, Thomas has made dozens of media appearances on other channels, podcasts, and blogs and put together a community of atheist/skeptic YouTubers to encourage mentoring/collaboration.

bottom of page