Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Katie Steckles and Peter Rowlett chat about some aspect of mathematics using a mathematical object as inspiration.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Object-inspired math chats • geometry/topology curves/tilings • logic, sets, infinity • probability & algorithms (elections, lotteries, PageRank, UUIDs, cryptography) • puzzles/games, education, math-in-everyday items, occasional history/literatureThis podcast is a conversational mathematics show in which hosts Katie Steckles and Peter Rowlett use a single “mathematical object” as a jumping-off point for exploring ideas, stories, and connections. The objects range from classic mathematical constructs and diagrams to everyday items and cultural references, and the discussions use these prompts to move fluidly between intuitive explanation, formal concepts, and playful curiosity.
Across the episodes, listeners can expect frequent encounters with geometry and shape (including unusual curves and surfaces), spatial thinking, and visual reasoning, as well as topics from discrete mathematics such as sets, logic, and combinatorial structure. There are also excursions into probability and decision-making, where physical artifacts like machines, ballots, and auction tools motivate conversations about randomness, voting methods, and strategic behavior. Some episodes touch on algorithms and computation, using recognizable examples from technology and identification systems to introduce mathematical thinking in the modern world, alongside themes from cryptography and coding.
The show regularly broadens beyond pure mathematics into adjacent areas: puzzles and games as vehicles for reasoning, mathematical education and classroom tools, and historical or literary inspirations that frame abstract ideas like infinity in narrative terms. Guests often join the hosts, bringing perspectives from research, communication, teaching, and related fields, and sometimes the conversation moves closer to current research topics while still grounded in the tangible object that started it.
Overall, this podcast offers informal but concept-driven chats that connect mathematical ideas to objects people can picture, hold, or recognize, using them to illuminate how mathematicians think and how mathematics shows up in culture, play, and everyday life.
