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About Jim Stein
NBN Episodes hosted by Jim:
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 …
Literature
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 …
Art
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 …
Communications
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 …
Language
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 …
Biography
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 …
Economics
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 …
Intellectual History
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 …
History
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 …
Education
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 …
Mathematics
May 2, 2019
Quantum Computing for Everyone
Chris Bernhardt
Hosted by Jim Stein
Today I talked with Chris Bernhardt about his book Quantum Computing for Everyone (MIT Press, 2019). This is a book that involves a lot of mathematics, but most of it …
Economics
March 12, 2019
A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence
How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control
Kartik Hosanagar
Hosted by Jim Stein
Our guest today is Kartik Hosanagar, the author of A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control (Viking, 2019) …
Public Policy
November 9, 2018
Is That a Big Number?
Andrew C. A. Elliott
Hosted by Jim Stein
Andrew C. A. Elliott's Is That a Big Number? (Oxford University Press, 2018) is a book that those of us who feast on numbers will absolutely adore, but will also …
Mathematics
October 8, 2018
The Mathematics of Everyday Life
Al Posamentier and Christian Speitzer
Hosted by Jim Stein
Today I talked to Al Posamentier about his books (co-authored with Christian Speitzer) The Mathematics of Everyday Life (Prometheus Books, 2018). We all are told – practically from the moment …
Music
July 18, 2018
Music by the Numbers
From Pythagoras to Schoenberg
Eli Maor
Hosted by Jim Stein
Most of us have heard of the math-music connection, but Eli Maor's Music by the Numbers: From Pythagoras to Schoenberg (Princeton University Press, 2018) is THE book that explains what …
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