
The Numberphile Podcast
Interviews with people who love numbers and mathematics. Hosted by Brady Haran, maker of the Numberphile series on YouTube.
Episodes
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Interviews with people who love numbers and mathematics. Hosted by Brady Haran, maker of the Numberphile series on YouTube.
Reading the feed…
A growing number of people claim being “test blind” to applicants’ SAT scores is lowering standards at the University of California. Math Professor Zvezda Stankova is among the academics calling for SATs to be re-introduced to the admissions process. Jane Street intern applications (episode sponsor): https://jane-st.co/internships2027-NumberphilePod Here’s the Open Letter signed by over 3000 people at UC (including five Nobel laureates, they are keen to point out): https://ucstudentsuccess.org/ This New York Times editorial gave the issue extra prominence: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/op
Destin Sandlin discusses missile testing, astronaut applications, and why he created the wildly popular YouTube channel Smarter Every Day. YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/Anmaky0Kksw Listen to the latest Signals & Threads podcast episode: https://jane-st.co/Numberphile-ST-WillWilson Check out other episodes Signals & Threads here: https://jane-st.co/Numberphile-SignalsandThreads Destin’s YouTube channel is Smarter Every Day: https://www.youtube.com/smartereveryday We also co-hosts the podcast No Dumb Questions: https://www.nodumbquestions.fm/ With thanks to the Ben Delo Found
Dan Harris is a chief meteorologist at the UK Met Office - https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ See him talking weather equations on Numberphile - https://youtu.be/YmZiq00CO60 Dan's websites - https://www.roostweather.com/ and https://istheukhotrightnow.com/ Check out some Met Office archive stuff at Brady's Objectivity channel - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd5y2WfrtsPrauSfrdFfkE7iZ-KG9pCzO Weather videos on Brady's Sixty Symbols channel - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcUY9vudNKBNpsv8AWUvJxbOl6S2pw8so Numberphile is supported by Jane Street - https://www.numberphile.com/jane-stre
The ups and downs of winning the coveted Fields Medal, with 2022 winner Hugo Duminil-Copin. See our main video from this interview - https://youtu.be/JWtD0O-zSWY Hugo is based at the University of Geneva and IHES - https://www.ihes.fr/~duminil/ More Numberphile interviews and videos with Fields Medallists - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5AfwLFPxWIDErJihuPX2S7E-0rnkaeu With thanks to Nils Berglund for visualisations of percolation - https://www.youtube.com/c/NilsBerglund Fields Medal 2022 - https://www.mathunion.org/imu-awards/fields-medal/fields-medals-2022 Numberphile is supported
Sashko Olenchenko is doing a masters in mathematical physics with a sideline making videos on YouTube - occasionally interrupted by drone attacks from Russia. Here is his YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@aremathukr And you can support his work on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/Aremath The YouTube version of this podcast has captions available - https://youtu.be/Nd813Dg93Bs Numberphile is supported by Jane Street - https://www.numberphile.com/jane-street You can support Numberphile on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/numberphile Here are our Patrons - https://www.numberphile.com/p
Brady answers all manner of viewer questions about Numberphile - and a few unrelated topics too. Learn more about Jane Street’s Internships at - https://jane-st.co/internship-numberphile-pod-25 A YouTube version of this episode - https://youtu.be/prT2YRwKc9w Breakfast Sound Checks - https://youtu.be/IMItxzSZs0E A list of Brady’s channels - https://www.bradyharanblog.com/projects Rubik interview - https://youtu.be/zkRxfmECWSM Zeeman Medal Lecture - https://youtu.be/tsZkzxEhpHk The fastest ever snooker 147 - https://youtu.be/9D2rFMPN9js Graham’s Number - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt
Chris Oates is a professor of statistics at Newcastle University - he got there despite being somewhat indecisive about his career. This episode was made possible by the Leverhulme Trust, a UK-based organisation which funds ambitious blue skies research across various disciplines - https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk Professor Oates was the recipient of prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize - https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/philip-leverhulme-prize-winners-2023 See a video with Professor Oates on Numberphile describing the Stein Paradox - https://youtu.be/FUQwijSDzg8 Chris Oates webpage - https://oate
Po-Ling Loh is an American theoretical statistician based at the University of Cambridge. She discusses her childhood, choosing a university, and her path to higher dimensional statistics and differential privacy. She also compares life as an academic in the US and UK. This episode was made possible by the Leverhulme Trust, a UK-based organisation which funds ambitious blue skies research across various disciplines - https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/ Professor Loh was the recipient of a Philip Leverhulme Prize. More about her prize here - https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/philip-leverhulme-prize-w
There’s a new largest known prime number and we speak to all the key players, including the discoverer Luke Durant. Also featured in the podcast are George Woltman from GIMPS, James Grime, and Matt Parker. Extended interviews (as videos) can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5AfwLFPxWIWS5Jd3k5QHdc0kxwfnZMg Matt Parker’s epic video on Stand-up Maths is here: https://youtu.be/zsyGRDrDfbI Numberphile’s main video on the discovery is here: https://youtu.be/Yp4ilFOtoeg The GIMPS press release is here: https://www.mersenne.org/primes/?press=M136279841 GIMPS: https://www.mersenn
Ellen Eischen is a professor of mathematics at the University of Oregon. Here she discusses creativity, collaboration - and a “secret” journal she has kept since childhood. Ellen Eischen website (includes some links to the teaching we discussed): http://www.elleneischen.com Women in Numbers: https://awm-math.org/research-networks/win/ Creativity Counts museum exhibit: https://jsma.uoregon.edu/CreativityCounts Ellen on Numberphile discussing Faulhaber's Fabulous Formula (and Bernoulli Numbers): https://youtu.be/83NFR7JDlww Numberphile is supported by Jane Street - https://www.numberphile.com/ja
Catch a video version of this episode at: https://youtu.be/xMAiBBxQGZI Danica McKellar is best-known for portraying girl-next-door Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years - but she has also proven a math theorem (which bears her name) and writes books to inspire future mathematicians. Check out her math website and books at: https://mckellarmath.com And Danica’s general website at: https://danicamckellar.com Danica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danicamckellar/ Danica’s books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VQdzny Danica’s co-authored paper which led to the Chayes–McKellar–Winn theorem: https:/
This podcast marks the passing of James Harris Simons, better-known as Jim. The interviewees are John Ewing, David Eisenbud and Andrew Millis. The Simons Foundation - https://www.simonsfoundation.org Simons Foundation article about Jim’s life - https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2024/05/10/remembering-the-life-and-careers-of-jim-simons/ Brady’s interview with Jim for Numberphile (full hour-log version) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNznD9hMEh0 Shorter 18-minute version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjVDqfUhXOY Math For America - https://www.mathforamerica.org The Simons Laufer Mathematic
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) - https://amzn.to/4aRs9lH Knuth’s questions for Chat GPT - https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/chatGPT20.txt Knuth videos on Numberphile - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5AfwLFPxWLfLjzHzmFO6T8jCZdipvQc Brady’s video on John
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 - https://jurassicpark.fandom.com/wiki/Ian_Malcolm Does Hollywood ruin books? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUD8h9JpEVQ Math and Movies (Animation at Pixar) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX0NB9IyYpU The problem in Good Will Hunting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW_LkYiuTKE Numberphile is sup
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 just so you know there’s happy ending in sight - this episode of the podcast will conclude with a stirring musical finale. Federico’s site - https://fardila.com SFSU page - https://math.sfsu.edu/faculty/ardila SLMath supports Numberphile - https://www.slmath.org You can support Numberphile on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/numberphile Her
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 Maynard - https://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/discover/people/professor-james-maynard/ You can support Numberphile on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/numberphile Here are our Patrons - https://www
An A-Class Reject - with Ed Copeland Numberphile Podcast Download 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 Street Ed Copeland at the University of Nottingham Numberphile videos with Ed Some physics videos with Ed A trilogy of longer videos with Ed You can support Numberphile on Patreon With thanks to SLMath
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 - http://bit.ly/MessierObjects Ralph Merrifield - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Merrifield Ralph M
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 Eisenbud - Professor Toro's predecessor - https://www.numberphile.com/podcast/david-eisenbud
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
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 - https://hannahfry.co.uk/ Hannah Fry books - Amazon - https://amzn.to/3PzW4nz Numberphile videos with Hannah - http://bit.ly/hannah_vids Hannah previously on the podcast - https://www.numberphile.com/podcast/hannah-fry
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 at the University of Nottingham - https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/physics/people/antonio.padilla Order Tony's book Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them: A Cosmic Quest from Zero to Infinity Amazon US - https://amzn.to/3JYQbws Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3M3yvB8 MacMillan US - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374600570/fantasticnumbersandwheretofindthem Peng
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 of Pi - https://www.fhgr.ch/en/specialist-areas/applied-future-tech
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 - https://www.patreon.com/numberphile) like these people - https://www.numberphile.com/patrons With thanks to MSRI - https://www.msri.org
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 world-leading quantitative finance research firm, hiring the brightest minds to tackle the biggest questions in finance - learn more at gresearch.co.uk/numberphile/