Math Therapy

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Ever wonder what it would be like if your math teacher was like, the editor of TMZ and like, if your textbook was filled with juicy goss about all of those seemingly-boring-actually-scandalous mathematicians that plagued your high school existence? Today Vanessa talks to Sunil Singh about how different our relationship to math would be if we humanized mathematics through storytelling, and - he spills the TEA, bigtime!

About Sunil: (Twitter)

Sunil Singh was a high school math and physics teacher for 19 years and has taught every grade level in places from Canada to Switzerland.  He is the author of Pi of Life: The Hidden Happiness of Mathematics and Math Recess: Playful Learning in an Age of Disruption. He is also a co-editor at Q.E.D., a very popular blog for "disruptive" math writing, and was also a regular writer for The New York Times Numberplay section.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

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You’d think by 2020 we’d finally be done with the archaic views society has traditionally held on women and math ... um, not quite.  Today Vanessa chats with Feminist Book Club founder Renee Powers about the different ways that boys and girls perceive mathematical intelligence, why women get a bad rep when it comes to reading maps, and how feeling confident with math might actually be the secret to tackling economic equality.

About Renee (Website) & Feminist Book Club (Website, Instagram)

Renee M. Powers is a feminist speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur who founded Feminist Book Club in 2018, named one of the best book subscription boxes by Oprah Magazine, Shondaland, Glamour, and Forbes. As a PhDropout, she leans on her academic training in feminist theory to create and cultivate this monthly subscription box and podcast. She lives, thrives, and topples the patriarchy in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Have you ever had the feeling that you might have peaked too early? Meet Mike: a math-dropout-turned-software-cloud-architect. He chats with Vanessa about faking it til’ you make it, learning that it’s ok to admit you don’t know everything, and that #selflove can sometimes be way harder than #SOHCAHTOA.

About Mike

Mike is a big phony who is somehow able to achieve all of his dreams and is waiting for it all to come crashing down.  Is it luck?  Is he just so innocently charming that you can't help but give him a shot?  Is the bar for his dreams shockingly low?  All of the above.  He didn't pass grade 12 math and yet he can still afford to pay his rent.  Mike is a Cloud Consultant working at one of the coolest tech companies in the world.  How is that even possible?!

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Welcome to our most intense (and successful!) math therapy session yet!  Has your inability to fit into that mythical “math person” category haunted you for your entire life?  Today Vanessa talks to Tamica Marcano about how being labelled ADHD led to mega feelings of inadequacy, especially when it comes to math, and they discover what’s truly possible when we leap out of the boxes we once forced ourselves into. Ready to hear math therapy legit transform Tamica’s life? Let’s do this!

About Tamica

Follow Tamica on Instagram @tamicatoutlemonde and Twitter @TamicaMarcano

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Ever dream of quitting your job and starting over again? Today Vanessa talks to Jill Waddell, a nutritionist who decided to finally face her fear of math to become a friggin POWER ENGINEER! AT 40!! Crazy, right?! From crying in the bathroom, to melting down in front of her husband, to doing everything in her power to keep her eye on the prize - this episode has it all so BUCKLE UP KIDS.

About Jill: (Instagram)

At the age of 40, with three children at home and following a lengthy career in the fitness and nutrition field, Jill did a complete 180. She dove in head first to the world of Power Engineering, spending countless hours practicing math, seeking out her daughters high school math tutor for help, watching YouTube videos, and shedding more than a few tears!  With her newfound confidence in math and herself, Jill wants to play a big role in the power generation industry in New Brunswick.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

What would you do if your high school math teacher told you that the only thing you were capable of doing was flipping burgers? Ummm ... become the king of the kitchen, of course! Today Vanessa talks to Miguel about how he went from killing it in the restaurant industry to a career 180 as a stats analyst rockstar with the Ontario government, all while battling some deep math trauma and persistent imposter syndrome. If you’re ready to turn your fear of failure into your greatest motivator, then this episode is for you!

About Miguel

Miguel Escobar is a Senior Business Analyst with the Government of Ontario and is a graduate of George Brown College where he completed the Hospitality Management program with honours. Miguel has had a love/hate relationship with math going all the way back to high school. From failing many, many times to being told he’d never get it, he struggled with numbers and avoided them at all costs. Now, some 20+ years later, he has embraced math and uses it almost every single day in his job.  The fear and anxiety that came with being labeled “not a math person” is in the past and he now looks for every opportunity to help others who might struggle through the same things he did.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Last week we brought you a discussion about the need for greater diversity in math education, and today we have a conversation about how to lift up marginalized voices if you are in a position of privilege.  Vanessa talks to Canadian thought leader Dr. Imogen Coe about what it’s like to advocate for equality in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), fields traditionally dominated by white men, and what it actually means to use your privilege for good.

About Imogen (Website, Instagram, LinkedIn)

Dr. Imogen R. Coe was the founding dean of the Faculty of Science from 2012 to 2018 at Ryerson University in Toronto. She is currently a professor of Chemistry and Biology at Ryerson. She is also an affiliate scientist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, where her research group studies the proteins responsible for the import of anti-cancer drugs.  In addition to her work as a research scientist, Dr. Coe is internationally recognized as a Canadian thought leader in the area of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

A couple months ago we had picked today as the launch date for Season 2, but we've been glued to the news as I'm sure you've been and we know that math is not exactly the topic on everyone's mind this week.  We considered delaying the launch, but we realized that an episode we had planned to release later in the season, a conversation with Michole Washington, was actually very topical.

Michole is currently working on a PhD at the University of Michigan researching common experiences of Black people in math education, and she spoke with Vanessa back in February about diversity (or lack thereof) in math and what it felt like to be only the 9th Black woman to have EVER earned a B.S. from Atlanta’s Georgia Tech University in 2016.  This was a fascinating and at times challenging conversation and we hope you enjoy it.

About Michole:

Michole Washington is an expert on equitable and interactive design for K-16 STEM enrichment programs. She critically examines how undergraduate math courses can better support students, especially Black students. In particular, she focuses on relationship building in the math classroom as a method to increase STEM engagement.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Season 2 starts June 4th but today we're sharing some of the inspiring stories that listeners have sent us!  From math traumas to math triumphs, we were SO inspired by the courage in these submissions.  Follow Vanessa on all socials @themathguru for updates and get pumped for Season 2!

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply)

Not sure what to do with all the COVID-conspiracy theories flying around? Finding yourself arguing on social media while your blood pressure rises and your friend/follower count drops?!?!  Um, I FEEL YA.  

So I called up my dear friend and legit science super-star, Dr. Samantha Yammine (aka Science Sam on Instagram and YouTube), to break down exactly why #fakenews spreads so easily and what we can do to constructively and compassionately champion facts based in real math and science - something we have the power and responsibility to fight for.

Contact us:

• Vanessa Vakharia: Instagram, TikTok, Email
• Math Therapy: Text the Podcast

More Math Therapy:

• Join the Facebook group
• Get the book: Corwin, Amazon
• Audiobook: Audible, Spotify
• Merch store: Shop here