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Professor of Mathematics Marcus du Sautoy reveals the personalities behind the calculations and argues that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Mathematician biographies and rivalries • Foundations: calculus, infinity, chaos, group theory, statistics • Geometry of relativity • Prime numbers and cryptography • Fourier analysis, sound, radio • Euler graphs, search engines • Links to physics, medicine, internetThis podcast is a narrative history of mathematics told through the lives, rivalries, and ideas of influential mathematicians and mathematical movements from the late 17th century into the modern era. Hosted by Professor Marcus du Sautoy, it connects major advances in pure theory—such as calculus, the nature of infinity, foundational approaches to structure, and the limits of what mathematics can prove—to their later impact on science and technology.
Across the series, the focus is on how abstract concepts become practical tools. Listeners are guided through developments that underpin modern physics (including the geometry needed for relativity and mathematical frameworks used in describing fundamental particles), as well as ideas that shape today’s digital world, from the mathematics behind encryption and internet security to methods related to search and information networks. The podcast also explores mathematical thinking that led to chaos theory and other ways of understanding complex systems.
Alongside the technical legacy, the show emphasizes the human side of discovery: collaborative identities and pseudonymous authorship, personal ambition, and disputes over priority, as well as the struggle to have new ideas accepted. Statistical thinking and the role of probability appear as part of the story of how mathematics informs medicine and broader societal questions. Overall, the episodes present mathematics as a central driver of modern science, tracing how landmark insights continue to influence contemporary research and everyday life.
| Episodes: |
Nicolas Bourbaki2010-Oct-01 14 minutes |
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Hardy and Ramanujan 2010-Oct-01 14 minutes |
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Henri Poincaré 2010-Sep-30 14 minutes |
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Georg Cantor 2010-Sep-30 14 minutes |
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The Mathematicians Who Helped Einstein 2010-Sep-29 13 minutes |
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Carl Friedrich Gauss 2010-Sep-29 13 minutes |
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Evariste Galois 2010-Sep-28 13 minutes |
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Joseph Fourier 2010-Sep-28 14 minutes |
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Leonhard Euler 2010-Sep-27 13 minutes |
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Newton and Leibniz 2010-Sep-27 14 minutes |