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About Jim Stein

NBN Episodes hosted by Jim:

Mathematics December 18, 2022

Who's Counting?

Uniting Numbers and Narratives with Stories from Pop Culture, Puzzles, Politics, and More

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 math and science know …
Mathematics November 23, 2022

The Secret Lives of Numbers

Numerals and Their Peculiarities in Mathematics and Beyond

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 book I’ve ever seen written by a mathematician that …
Mathematics November 11, 2022

Mathematical Tools for Real-World Applications

A Gentle Introduction for Students and Practitioners

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) – it’s a book about how engineers and scientists …
Mathematics October 31, 2022

The Story of Proof

Logic and the History of Mathematics

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 significant and defining features of mathematical …
Mathematics August 30, 2021

Math Tricks

The Surprising Wonders of Shapes and Numbers

Alfred S. Posamentier

Hosted by Jim Stein
Alfred S. Posamentier's Math Tricks: The Surprising Wonders of Shapes and Numbers (Prometheus Books, 2021) has a lovely assortment of puzzles from all areas of mathematics. Some will be familiar to …
Mathematics April 2, 2021

The Raven's Hat

Fallen Pictures, Rising Sequences, and Other Mathematical Games

Jonas Peters and Nicolai Meinshausen

Hosted by Jim Stein
Games have been of interest to mathematicians almost since mathematics became a subject. In fact, entire branches of mathematics have arisen simply to analyze certain games. The Raven's Hat: Fallen …
Mathematics February 22, 2021

Math Without Numbers

Milo Beckman

Hosted by Jim Stein
One of the questions I am often asked is exactly what do mathematicians do. The short answer is that they look at different mathematical structures, try to deduce their properties …
Mathematics January 25, 2021

Games for Your Mind

The History and Future of Logic Puzzles

Jason Rosenhouse

Hosted by Jim Stein
Jason Rosenhouse's Games for Your Mind: The History and Future of Logic Puzzles (Princeton UP, 2020) is about a panoply of logic puzzles. You’ll find Mastermind and sudoku discussed early on, and …
Mathematics November 11, 2020

The Joy of Geometry

Alfred S. Posamentier

Hosted by Jim Stein
Alfred S. Posamentier's The Joy of Geometry (Prometheus, 2020) is a book for someone who has taken geometry but wants to go further. This book, as one might expect, is …
Mathematics September 9, 2020

Mathematics Entertainment for the Millions

Alfred Posamentier

Hosted by Jim Stein
The book being discussed is Mathematics Entertainment for the Millions (World Scientific Publishing Co.), by Alfred Posamentier. In reading this book, it occurred to me that it might equally well …
Mathematics August 13, 2020

Mage Merlin's Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries

Satyan Devadoss and Matt Harvey

Hosted by Jim Stein
There are very few math books that merit the adjective ‘charming’ but Mage Merlin's Unsolved Mathematical Mysteries (MIT Press, 2020) is one of them. Satyan Devadoss and Matt Harvey have …
Science April 27, 2020

Extraterrestrials

Wade Roush

Hosted by Jim Stein
Everything we know about how planets form and how life arises suggests that human civilization on Earth should not be unique. We ought to see abundant evidence of extraterrestrial activity―but …
Mathematics April 22, 2020

Beautiful Symmetry

A Coloring Book about Math

Alex Berke

Hosted by Jim Stein
Alex Berke's Beautiful Symmetry (MIT Press, 2020) is both a fascinating book and a concept -- it's like no other book I’ve ever read. It's a coloring book about math …
Mathematics April 3, 2020

Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons

From the Mathematics of Heat to the Development of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable

Paul J. Nahin

Hosted by Jim Stein
Hot Molecules, Cold Electrons: From the Mathematics of Heat to the Development of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable (Princeton University Press, 2020), by Paul Nahin, is a book that is meant …
Mathematics March 30, 2020

Sleight of Mind

75 Ingenious Paradoxes in Mathematics, Physics, and Philosophy

Matt Cook

Hosted by Jim Stein
Paradox is a sophisticated kind of magic trick. A magician's purpose is to create the appearance of impossibility, to pull a rabbit from an empty hat. Yet paradox doesn't require …
Mathematics March 10, 2020

Math Makers

The Lives and Works of 50 Famous Mathematicians

Alfred S. Posamentier

Hosted by Jim Stein
Today I talked to Alfred S. Posamentier, a co-author (with Christian Spreitzer) of Math Makers: The Lives and Works of 50 Famous Mathematicians (Prometheus, 2020). This charming book is more …
Mathematics January 28, 2020

Conundrum

Crack the Ultimate Cipher Challenge

Brian Clegg

Hosted by Jim Stein
The book we are discussing is by Brian Clegg, a well-known author of books on math and science -- but this is not exactly a book on math or science …
Mathematics December 3, 2019

How Charts Lie

Getting Smarter about Visual Information

Alberto Cairo

Hosted by Jim Stein
We’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, but what if we don’t understand what we’re looking at? Social media has made charts, infographics, and diagrams ubiquitous―and …
Mathematics November 15, 2019

Curves for the Mathematically Curious

An Anthology of the Unpredictable, Historical, Beautiful, and Romantic

Julian Havil

Hosted by Jim Stein
Today I talked to Julian Havil about his latest book Curves for the Mathematically Curious: An Anthology of the Unpredictable, Historical, Beautiful, and Romantic (Princeton University Press, 2019). You don’t …
Science November 5, 2019

Six Impossible Things

The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World

John Gribbin

Hosted by Jim Stein
Today's podcast is on the book Six Impossible Things: The ‘Quanta of Solace’ and the Mysteries of the Subatomic World (Icon Books, 2019) by the noted author John Gribbin. Although …
Mathematics October 30, 2019

Tales of Impossibility

The 2000-Year Quest to Solve the Mathematical Problems of Antiquity

David S. Richeson

Hosted by Jim Stein
David S. Richeson's book Tales of Impossibility: The 2000-Year Quest to Solve the Mathematical Problems of Antiquity (Princeton University Press, 2019) is the fascinating story of the 2000 year quest …
Mathematics September 16, 2019

Tools to Help Your Children Learn Math

Strategies, Curiosities, and Stories to Make Math Fun for Parents and Children

Alfred Posamentier

Hosted by Jim Stein
Our guest today is Al Posamentier, the lead author of Tools to Help Your Children Learn Math (WSPC, 2019). Helping your children with math is one of the most important …
Science July 18, 2019

Your Place in the Universe

Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence

Paul M. Sutter

Hosted by Jim Stein
In Your Place in the Universe: Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence (Prometheus, 2018), Paul Sutter presents an in-depth yet accessible tour of the universe for lay readers, while conveying the …
Fantasy May 31, 2019

Bobby Ether and the Jade Academy

R. Scott Boyer

Hosted by Jim Stein
When sixteen-year-old Bobby Ether is abducted and brought to the secluded Jade Academy in Tibet, monks teach him and other special students how to tap into their Anima—the universal energy …