The Numberphile Podcast

By Brady Haran

Natural Sciences Science & Medicine Education Social Sciences Educational Technology

What's The Numberphile Podcast about?

Interviews with people who love numbers and mathematics. Hosted by Brady Haran, maker of the Numberphile series on YouTube.

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The Numberphile Podcast episodes:

01.16.2024
A Very Bad Estimator - with Donald Knuth
Donald Knuth is unquestionably a legend of computer science and mathematics - but he is bad at estimation and grew up with a “rhinoceros attitude”. Don Knuth’s homepage - https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/ The Art of Computer Programming (books) - https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/taocp.html On Amazon - https://amzn.to/4aUkkeT 3:16 (book)...
10.12.2023
The Math of Movies - with Walt Hickey
Data journalist Walt Hickey looks deep into the numbers behind movies, TV shows, and all types of popular culture. Walt’s new book is You Are What You Watch - https://amzn.to/3F8SwVo Walt’s Website - https://walthickey.com Numlock News - https://www.numlock.com Dr Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park...
08.23.2023
Finding Your Place - with Federico Ardila
Federico Ardila is a combinatorialist at San Francisco State University. He’s Colombian and in this episode he talks candidly about the struggles and prejudice encountered by people from different backgrounds as they try to make their mark in academia. And...
08.02.2023
Yes, I accept the Fields Medal - with James Maynard
Oxford mathematician James Maynard explains why he feared accidentally refusing the most famous prize in mathematics. Watch this full interview on YouTube - https://youtu.be/yz-5BY_TTNI Full 2022 Fields Medal Winners - https://www.mathunion.org/imu-awards/fields-medal/fields-medals-2022 See our Fields Medal Playlist - https://bit.ly/Fields_Playlist More James Maynard videos - https://bit.ly/JamesMaynard James...
02.21.2023
An A-Class Reject - with Ed Copeland
He dreamed of being a great cricketer - but his love for equations led Ed Copeland to a career in theoretical physics.Check out opportunities with episode sponsor Jane StreetEd Copeland at the University of NottinghamNumberphile videos with EdSome physics videos...
01.18.2023
A Chain of Chance - with Michael Merrifield
Episode sponsored by Jane Street - check out their latest opportunities - https://www.janestreet.com/join-jane-street/overview/ Professor Michael Merrifield - https://about.me/michael.merrifield Mike's Twitter - https://twitter.com/AstroMikeMerri Mike Merrifield Video Playlist - http://bit.ly/Merrifield_Playlist Sixty Symbols - Physics videos, many featuring Mike - https://www.youtube.com/user/sixtysymbols Deep Sky Videos - https://www.youtube.com/user/deepskyvideos Messier Objects Playlist...
12.13.2022
Finding a Path - with Tatiana Toro
Professor Toro is the new director of the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute (SL Math). SL Math website - https://www.msri.org/ Announcement of Professor Toro's appointment - https://www.msri.org/web/msri/communications/tatiana-toro-msri-director-2022 MSRI is renamed SL Math - https://www.msri.org/web/msri/communications/msri-press-release-may-19-2022 Professor Toro's University of Washington webpage - https://sites.math.washington.edu/~toro/ Podcast with David...
07.11.2022
An Educated Adult - with Tadashi Tokieda
Tadashi at Stanford - https://mathematics.stanford.edu/people/tadashi-tokieda Tadashi videos on Numberphile - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5AfwLFPxWI9eDSJREzp1wvOJsjt23H_ Lev Davidovich Landau - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Landau You can support Numberphile on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/numberphile) like these people - https://www.numberphile.com/patrons With thanks to MSRI - https://www.msri.org
05.29.2022
The Orchid Room and Cancer - with Hannah Fry
Professor Hannah Fry discusses her cervical cancer diagnosis - and subsequent attempt to make sense of it all. Making Sense of Cancer - Showing on BBC2 on June 2 and then on BBC iPlayer - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017wzq Telegraph Article - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/prof-hannah-fry-calculating-risks-cancer-treatment-would-have/ Hannah Fry website...
04.18.2022
A Passion for Big Numbers (and Liverpool FC) - with Tony Padilla
Tony Padilla is known on Numberphile for tackling the big numbers... But by day he's a cosmologist at the University of Nottingham. Tony's also a life-long fan of Liverpool FC. Brady joined him at Anfield for a game against Watford. Tony...
03.14.2022
The First and Last Digits of Pi
Three One Four: A Number of Notes - http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/pi/piday2022/ The project is a collaboration between Martin, Gregory Coles, and Emma Beauxis-Aussalet On Bandcamp - https://ecstaticquiet1.bandcamp.com/album/three-one-four-a-number-of-notes YouTube track playlist - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLewycy5dwN_nDZVW9fPcTRhGiGMEXqoxs YouTube album discussions and score analysis - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLewycy5dwN_k_nAU9bhbTaDAKW3YAo_WW Martin Krzywinski - http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca 62.8 trillion digit computation...
02.13.2022
An Infinite Debt - with Christopher Havens (Prisoner #349034)
Catch this episode on YouTube - https://youtu.be/DPyWf4cI548 The Prison Mathematics Project - https://www.prisonmathproject.org/about/ The Paper: Linear fractional transformations and non-linear leaping convergents of some continued fractions - https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.12644 Article by Marta Cerruti on The Conversation - https://theconversation.com/an-inmates-love-for-math-leads-to-new-discoveries-130123 You can support Numberphile on Patreon -...
01.13.2022
The Little Star - with Zvezdelina Stankova
Mathematician Zvezdelina Stankova was born in Bulgaria and is now a teaching professor at UC Berkeley. Zvezda's webpage - https://math.berkeley.edu/~stankova/ Zvezda videos on Numberphile - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5AfwLFPxWIbAPK1oJgRIpe0sWiPKkQ4 The Legend of Question Six - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y30VF3cSIYQ Berkeley Math Circle - https://mathcircle.berkeley.edu This episode was supported by G-Research, a...
12.02.2021
Google's 'DeepMind' does Mathematics
A breakthrough paper is published about using artificial intelligence to do mathematics - we discuss it with DeepMind's Alex Davies and Professor Marcus du Sautoy. DeepMind - https://deepmind.com DeepMind blog on this topic - https://deepmind.com/blog/article/exploring-the-beauty-of-pure-mathematics-in-novel-ways Nature article on the topic - https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03593-1 Article from...
08.28.2021
Making Sense of Infinity - with Asaf Karagila
From high school drop-out to set theorist, Asaf Karagila shares his journey towards infinity. Asaf is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the University of East Anglia. Asaf's blog - http://karagila.org Asaf's Twitter - https://twitter.com/AsafKaragila Some Infinity stuff on Numberphile - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5AfwLFPxWKORZ3UeTKlJiJa-89BBz3t You can...
07.26.2021
A Chance at Immortality - with Marcus Du Sautoy
Mathematical greatness can strike at any time - even on the train between Oxford and London. Marcus is the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University - https://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk Marcus' author page on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3eJNd1Z I is a Strange...
05.31.2021
The Naked Mathematician - with Tom Crawford
Dr Tom Crawford has been known to strip to his underwear in the interests of math education. He is an Early Career Teaching and Outreach Fellow at Oxford University. Tom's page at St Edmund Hall - https://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/people/tom-crawford Tom Rock's Maths YouTube Channel...
04.03.2021
Beauty in the Messiness - with Philip Moriarty
Experimental physicist Phil Moriarty works with temperamental microscopes and individual atoms. Today's topics include Ireland, mathematics, failing at university, microscopy, academic gripes... and music. Professor Moriarty's university page - including links to some of his papers Phil's book: When the Uncertainty Principle...
02.25.2021
The High Jumping Cosmologist - with Katie Mack
Astrophysicist Katie Mack discusses Twitter, athletics, mathematics, and the small matter of the fate of the Universe. Katie Mack's website And her Twitter @AstroKatie The End of Everything - Dr Mack's book on Amazon This episode was supported by G-Research, a world-leading quantitative finance...
02.02.2021
Rockstar Epidemiologists - with Adam Kucharski
Adam Kucharski is among a number of epidemiologists who has suddenly been thrust into the limelight. We discuss his career and the current state of the coronavirus pandemic. This episode was supported by G-Research, a world-leading quantitative finance research firm, hiring...
12.11.2020
Statistics and Saving Lives - with Jennifer Rogers
Professor Jennifer Rogers discusses coronavirus vaccinations, the media, and her own path to medical statistics. Jennifer Rogers website, with links to all sorts of things Jennifer's TEDx Talk Jennifer has written about cornavirus vaccinations on the Phastar blog here and here For some previous...
12.08.2020
Why Study Mathematics - with Vicky Neale
Dr Vicky Neale's latest book is about why people should study mathematics - but why did SHE study mathematics? Dr Neale's website - with links to her work and books and craft Why Study Mathematics - book on Amazon Vicky's author page on...
11.25.2020
Club Automatic - with Alex Bellos
Author and puzzle guru Alex Bellos talks about mathematics, writing, reviews, and his early days running a nightclub. Check out Alex's books on Amazon including his latest, The Language Lover's Puzzle Book Alex's website has more information and links to his work...
10.23.2020
Quiz Shows and Math Anxiety - with Bobby Seagull
School teacher Bobby Seagull is well-known for appearing on a quiz show - but there's much more to his story. Episode sponsored by Brilliant - brilliant.org/numberphile Bobby Seagull's website Bobby on Twitter Bobby's book The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers National Numeracy West Ham Utd Watch Bobby on...
10.05.2020
Nursery Rhymes and Numbers - with Alan Stewart
Nursery Rhymes and Numbers - with Alan Stewart A team of composers and musicians have joined forces to re-imagine classic nursery rhymes with new counts, timings and tempos. It's dubbed Tuplets for Toddlers, and has been led Numberphile's resident composer Alan...
09.12.2020
The Importance of Numbers - with Tim Harford
Economist Tim Harford on the importance of numbers and statistics. Tim Harford's website has links to most of his projects Tim's book How to Make the World Add Up - signed copies on Maths Gear Tim Harford books on Amazon Tim's video on Numberphile Support...
08.08.2020
Why Did The Mathematician Cross The Road? - with Roger Penrose
Sir Roger Penrose is one of the biggest names in mathematics AND physics. Here he talks about sibling rivalry, Stephen Hawking, having ideas, and toilet paper. Roger Penrose Wikipedia Roger Penrose books - Amazon The Order of Merit The Theory of Everything - 2014...
07.23.2020
The Third Cornet - with Katie Steckles
Dr Katie Steckles is a mainstay of the mathematics communications scene and a regular in our videos. Here she discusses her life at school, university, and now as a freelance maths communicator. Plus life as a pirate. Katie Steckles website Follow Katie...
07.13.2020
The Mathematical Showman - Ron Graham (1935-2020)
Tributes to mathematician Ronald Graham - a man of many talents. Our guests include Steve Butler, Tom Leighton, and Joe Buhler Ron Graham 'fan' webpage Ron Graham papers Ron Graham on Numberphile A collection of Numberphile videos about Graham's Number Tom Leighton written tribute to Ron Steve...
07.01.2020
The Numeracy Ambassador - with Simon Pampena
Speaking with Simon Pampena, Australia's National Numeracy Ambassador who once dreamed of being a Jedi. Simon Pampena website Videos with Simon on Numberphile Epic Circles and The Legend of Question Six Simon on Twitter Beyond 2000 The Malls' Balls are also discussed in our Quiz Episode...
05.27.2020
The Happy Twin - with Ben Sparks
Our guest is Ben Sparks - teacher, math populariser, and Numberphile regular. Ben Sparks website Videos with Ben on Numberphile Video of Tim Sparks performing Your Own Idea - Nikko Fir and here's Tim's website A pic of Ben and Tim The Bill Clinton picture Ben's...
05.21.2020
The Parker Quiz - with Matt Parker
Matt Parker takes a quiz prepared by Brady. The YouTube version of this quiz contains a few visuals. Do you like quizzes and puzzles and interactive courses? Then definitely check out episode sponsor Brilliant - and go to brilliant.org/numberphile for 20%...
04.19.2020
The Accidental Streamer - with 3blue1brown
Grant Sanderson from 3blue1brown returns to the podcast to talk about live-streaming lessons, tracing coronavirus, and a technical mishap. Support this podcast and Numberphile on Patreon Grant's channel - 3blue1brown Grant's first live lesson Exponential Growth - 3 blue1brown Simulating an epidemic - 3blue1brown The Coronavirus...
04.13.2020
The Legendary John Conway (1937-2020)
We pay tribute to John Horton Conway - with clips from the man himself, plus contributions from Siobhan Roberts, David Eisenbud, Colm Mulcahy and Tony Padilla. Genius at Play by Siobhan Roberts John Conway Numberphile Playlist Does John Conway hate his Game of...
04.10.2020
Crystal Balls and Coronavirus - with Hannah Fry
Dr Hannah Fry made a film two years ago which predicted the coronavirus pandemic with chilling accuracy. Dr Hannah Fry's website - links to all her stuff The BBC Contagion special on iPlayer If it doesn't work on iPlayer, this is a version...
03.31.2020
Gondor Calls For Aid - with Kit Yates
Mathematical biologist Kit Yates discussing the coronavirus pandemic. Kit Yates website Kit on Twitter The Royal Society's call to arms for mathematicians NHS advice on Coronavirus and COVID-19 Ben Sparks on Numberphile - The Coronavirus Curve 3blue1brown on the exponential growth of epidemics Simulating an epidemic with...
12.13.2019
Champaign Mathematician - with Holly Krieger
From Illinois to Cambridgeshire, Holly Krieger’s path to mathematics was an unusual one. Holly’s webpage And her publications Watch Holly on Numberphile Math or Maths? Champaign, Illinois With thanks to MSRI Meyer Sound Podcast Transcripts
12.03.2019
Coffin Problems - with Edward Frenkel
Edward Frenkel's fascinating mathematical journey - from the Soviet Union to the United States. Edward's website Love and Math - Edward's book via Amazon Edward on Twitter His videos on Numberphile Artificial Intelligence: First Person Perspective Coffin Problems paper (aka Jewish Problems) Rites of Love and Math...
11.10.2019
The Badly Behaved Prime - with James Maynard
James Maynard is making waves in the world of prime numbers - we spoke to him in his office at Oxford University. James is appointed a professor And wins the Cole Prize James discusses the Twin Prime Conjecture - Numberphile video Small Gaps Between...
10.22.2019
Fame and Admiration - with Timothy Gowers
Fame and Admiration - with Timothy Gowers Fields Medallist Sir Timothy Gowers discusses his career - and the role of ‘begrudging admiration’ in mathematics. Sir Timothy Gowers webpage at Cambridge Timothy Gowers blog And his Twitter The Fields Medal Terminator 2 The unconditional basic sequence problem Szemerédi's theorem Tim...
08.14.2019
The Number Collector - with Neil Sloane
We speak with Neil Sloane - creator and keeper of the famed ‘On-line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences’. OEIS Sequences we featured from the OEIS included Fibonacci Numbers, A068679, Bell or exponential numbers, A000435 - The Genesis Sequence, Euler totient function, King Louis...
06.17.2019
The C-Word - talking Calculus with Steven Strogatz
We record at the Royal Society in London, with Isaac Newton's original calculus papers. Infinite Powers by Steven Strogatz Steve's author page on Amazon Some bonus video footage we filmed at the Royal Society Hannah Fry with the same documents on Objectivity And the Principia...
05.20.2019
The Singing Banana - with James Grime
From a difficult school to serving two terms as president of the juggling club - James Grime discusses his mathematical journey. James Grime website - includes a section to book his talks A selection of James’ videos on Numberphile James’ own channel -...
05.14.2019
The Offensive Lineman - with John Urschel
John Urschel is studying for a PhD in mathematics - and played three seasons of professional football in the NFL. Mind and Matter - by John Urschel and Louisa Thomas - on Amazon Book on the publisher's website John's math publications John's NFL stats With...
04.07.2019
A Proof in the Drawer - with David Eisenbud
David Eisenbud's entertaining stories about mathematics are a fascinating glimpse into how math works - how it really works. MSRI - where David is director David Eisenbud's MSRI page with some links to publications and other material Google Scholar citations Videos with David on...
02.24.2019
Parker Square - with Matt Parker
Standup mathematician Matt Parker opens his heart to reveal... a standup comedian who loves mathematics. This is the link for 'Humble Pi' - signed first-edition hardback Matt Parker videos on Numberphile Matt's website The notorious Parker Square video Parker Square T-Shirts via Numberphile on Teespring The...
02.11.2019
The Math Storyteller - with Simon Singh
Author and campaigner Simon Singh talks about his fascinating career, a famous legal case, and his attempts to change the way mathematics is taught in UK schools. Simon Singh's website - links to all sorts of stuff Watch Simon's videos on Numberphile parallel...
01.08.2019
The Klein Bottle Guy - with Cliff Stoll
Computer hackers, Klein bottles and searching for a lost teacher - Cliff Stoll is a man with stories to tell. Cliff's Klein bottle website The man with 1000 Klein bottles under this house Cliff Stoll videos on Numberphile The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll Silicon...
12.16.2018
Delicious Problems - with Hannah Fry
Math celebrity Hannah Fry tells us about her life as public intellectual and thought leader - plus her as-yet unreleased novel 'Free as a Bird', written as a schoolgirl. Hannah's website - including links to her papers Numberphile videos featuring Hannah Fry Hannah...
11.22.2018
Fermat’s Last Theorem - with Ken Ribet
Ken Ribet is the president of the American Mathematical Society. He played a key role in the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem. Ken Ribet’s home page The AMS Ken’s famous paper The Wiles Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem Numberphile video with Ken about his work Ken’s...

What's The Numberphile Podcast about?

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The Numberphile Podcast episodes:

A Very Bad Estimator - with Donald Knuth

The Math of Movies - with Walt Hickey

Finding Your Place - with Federico Ardila

Yes, I accept the Fields Medal - with James Maynard

An A-Class Reject - with Ed Copeland

A Chain of Chance - with Michael Merrifield

Finding a Path - with Tatiana Toro

An Educated Adult - with Tadashi Tokieda

The Orchid Room and Cancer - with Hannah Fry

A Passion for Big Numbers (and Liverpool FC) - with Tony Padilla

The First and Last Digits of Pi

An Infinite Debt - with Christopher Havens (Prisoner #349034)

The Little Star - with Zvezdelina Stankova

Google's 'DeepMind' does Mathematics

Making Sense of Infinity - with Asaf Karagila

A Chance at Immortality - with Marcus Du Sautoy

The Naked Mathematician - with Tom Crawford

Beauty in the Messiness - with Philip Moriarty

The High Jumping Cosmologist - with Katie Mack

Rockstar Epidemiologists - with Adam Kucharski

Statistics and Saving Lives - with Jennifer Rogers

Why Study Mathematics - with Vicky Neale

Club Automatic - with Alex Bellos

Quiz Shows and Math Anxiety - with Bobby Seagull

Nursery Rhymes and Numbers - with Alan Stewart

The Importance of Numbers - with Tim Harford

Why Did The Mathematician Cross The Road? - with Roger Penrose

The Third Cornet - with Katie Steckles

The Mathematical Showman - Ron Graham (1935-2020)

The Numeracy Ambassador - with Simon Pampena

The Happy Twin - with Ben Sparks

The Parker Quiz - with Matt Parker

The Accidental Streamer - with 3blue1brown

The Legendary John Conway (1937-2020)

Crystal Balls and Coronavirus - with Hannah Fry

Gondor Calls For Aid - with Kit Yates

Champaign Mathematician - with Holly Krieger

Coffin Problems - with Edward Frenkel

The Badly Behaved Prime - with James Maynard

Fame and Admiration - with Timothy Gowers

The Number Collector - with Neil Sloane

The C-Word - talking Calculus with Steven Strogatz

The Singing Banana - with James Grime

The Offensive Lineman - with John Urschel

A Proof in the Drawer - with David Eisenbud

Parker Square - with Matt Parker

The Math Storyteller - with Simon Singh

The Klein Bottle Guy - with Cliff Stoll

Delicious Problems - with Hannah Fry

Fermat’s Last Theorem - with Ken Ribet

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