Mathematics

Mathematics

episodes

Interviews with mathematicians about their new books.

Ismar Volić, "Making Democracy Count: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation" (Princeton UP, 2024)

February 1, 2024

Making Democracy Count

Ismar Volić
Hosted by Mark Klobas

What's the best way to determine what most voters want when multiple candidates are running? What's the fairest way to allocate legislative seats to d…

Barbara Sattler, "The Concept of Motion in Ancient Greek Thought: Foundations in Logic, Method, and Mathematics" (Cambridge UP, 2020)

August 28, 2023

The Concept of Motion in Ancient Greek Thought

Barbara Sattler
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Barbara M. Sattler's book The Concept of Motion in Ancient Greek Thought: Foundations in Logic, Method, and Mathematics (Cambridge UP, 2020) examines …

Lawrence Goldman, "Victorians and Numbers: Statistics and Society in Nineteenth Century Britain" (Oxford UP, 2022)

August 25, 2023

Victorians and Numbers

Lawrence Goldman
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A defining feature of nineteenth-century Britain was its fascination with statistics. The processes that made Victorian society, including the growth …

The Outer Limits of Reason: What Science, Mathematics, and Logic Cannot Tell Us

July 4, 2023

The Outer Limits of Reason

Noson S. Yanofsky
Hosted by MIT Press
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Many books explain what is known about the universe. This book investigates what cannot be known. Rather than exploring the amazing facts that science…

Turing’s Vision: The Birth of Computer Science

June 9, 2023

Turing’s Vision

Chris Bernhardt
Hosted by MIT Press
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In 1936, when he was just twenty-four years old, Alan Turing wrote a remarkable paper in which he outlined the theory of computation, laying out the i…

Athene Donald, "Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science" (Oxford UP, 2023)

June 7, 2023

Not Just for the Boys

Athene Donald
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Why are girls discouraged from doing science? Why do so many promising women leave science in early and mid-career? Why do women not prosper in the sc…

Justin L. Bergner, "Solving the Price Is Right: How Mathematics Can Improve Your Decisions On and Off the Set of America's Celebrated Game Show" (Prometheus Books, 2023)

April 19, 2023

Solving the Price Is Right

Justin L. Bergner
Hosted by Jim Stein

The Price is Right is television's longest-running game show. Since its inception in 1956, contestants have won cars, tropical vacations, diamond jewe…

Shelly M. Jones, "Women Who Count: Honoring African American Women Mathematicians" (American Mathematical Society, 2019)

April 16, 2023

Women Who Count

Shelly M. Jones
Hosted by Cory Brunson

African-Americans and women are increasingly visible in professional mathematical institutions, organizations, and literature, expanding our mental mo…

Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire and A Prime Number Conspiracy

April 14, 2023

Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire and A Prime Number Conspiracy

Thomas Lin
Hosted by MIT Press

On this episode of the MIT Press podcast, Thomas Lin, Editor-in-Chief of Quanta Magazine, discusses the research and current climate behind the scienc…

Jeffrey Carpenter and Andrea Robbett, "Game Theory and Behavior" (MIT Press, 2022)

January 14, 2023

Game Theory and Behavior

Jeffrey Carpenter and Andrea Robbett
Hosted by Peter Lorentzen

Jeffrey Carpenter and Andrea Robbett's book Game Theory and Behavior (MIT Press, 2022) is an introduction to game theory that offers not only theoreti…

James D. Stein, "Seduced by Mathematics: The Enduring Fascination of Mathematics" (World Scientific, 2022)

December 19, 2022

Seduced by Mathematics

James D. Stein
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Seduction is not just an end result, but a process -- and in mathematics, both the end results and the process by which those end results are achieved…

John Allen Paulos, "Who's Counting?: Who's Counting?: Uniting Numbers and Narratives with Stories from Pop Culture, Puzzles, Politics, and More" (Prometheus, 2022)

December 18, 2022

Who's Counting?

John Allen Paulos
Hosted by Jim Stein

Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos, was first published in 1988. In it the author brilliantly highlighted many of the sorry truths those of us who teach…

Alfred S. Posamentier, "The Secret Lives of Numbers: Numerals and Their Peculiarities in Mathematics and Beyond" (Prometheus Books, 2022)

November 23, 2022

The Secret Lives of Numbers

Alfred S. Posamentier
Hosted by Jim Stein

Alfred S. Posamentier's The Secret Lives of Numbers: Numerals and Their Peculiarities in Mathematics and Beyond (Prometheus Books, 2022) is the first …

Probability

November 22, 2022

Probability

Justin Joque and Júlia Irion Martins

In this episode of High Theory, Justin Joque talks with Júlia Irion Martins about Probability. This conversation is part of our High Theory in STEM se…

Alexandr Draganov, "Mathematical Tools for Real-World Applications: A Gentle Introduction for Students and Practitioners" (MIT Press, 2022)

November 11, 2022

Mathematical Tools for Real-World Applications

Alexandr Draganov
Hosted by Jim Stein

I’ve never read a book like Mathematical Tools for Real-World Applications: A Gentle Introduction for Students and Practitioners (MIT Press, 2022) – i…

Andrew Fiss, "Performing Math: A History of Communication and Anxiety in the American Mathematics Classroom" (Rutgers UP, 2020)

November 9, 2022

Performing Math

Andrew Fiss
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Performing Math: A History of Communication and Anxiety in the American Mathematics Classroom (Rutgers University Press, 2020) by Dr. Andrew Fiss tell…

David Kaiser, "Well, Doc, You're In: Freeman Dyson’s Journey through the Universe" (MIT Press, 2022)

November 2, 2022

"Well, Doc, You're In"

David Kaiser
Hosted by Matthew Jordan

Freeman Dyson (1923–2020)—renowned scientist, visionary, and iconoclast—helped invent modern physics. Not bound by disciplinary divisions, he went on …

John Stillwell, "The Story of Proof: Logic and the History of Mathematics" (Princeton UP, 2022)

October 31, 2022

The Story of Proof

John Stillwell
Hosted by Jim Stein

The Story of Proof: Logic and the History of Mathematics (Princeton UP, 2022) investigates the evolution of the concept of proof--one of the most sign…

Karen Hunger Parshall, "The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920–1950" (Princeton UP, 2022)

September 12, 2022

The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920–1950

Karen Hunger Parshall
Hosted by Marc Goulet

In The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920-1950 (Princeton University Press, 2022) Karen Parshall explores the institutional, financial, social, and…

Brian Cafarella, "Community College Mathematics: Past, Present, and Future" (CRC Press, 2022)

August 23, 2022

Community College Mathematics

Brian Cafarella
Hosted by Marc Goulet

In Community College Mathematics: Past, Present, and Future (CRC Press, 2022), Brian Cafarella addresses the key questions: How can we build a future …