Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
A mathematics podcast from ACMEScience featuring the best math stories from the world of mathsThemes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ mathematical storytelling • history/biographies • math in society and policy: elections, gerrymandering, policing, funding • equity, representation, math education • publishing, peer review, citations • applied modeling: disease, cancer, networks, cities • math communication in books, media, art/music/gamesThis podcast presents narrative-driven explorations of mathematics as a human activity, combining historical storytelling, interviews, and occasional live recordings. Across its episodes, it treats mathematics not only as a collection of ideas but as a culture shaped by people, institutions, and public life. Many installments profile mathematicians and math-adjacent creators, including figures from the history of science as well as contemporary researchers, educators, librarians, and communicators, often emphasizing the paths by which they entered the field and how they work.
A recurring theme is mathematics in society and democracy. The show frequently connects quantitative reasoning to real-world systems such as elections and representation, including the design of voting methods and the mathematical detection of gerrymandering. It also examines how mathematics intersects with government and policy, and how the field itself is supported and constrained through funding structures and professional infrastructure.
The podcast also gives sustained attention to equity, inclusion, and representation in mathematics. Conversations highlight the experiences of Black mathematicians and educators, the role of mentorship and community, and efforts to broaden participation through programs, resources, and outreach. Alongside this, there are episodes about teaching practice and public-facing math communication: how authors write for general audiences, how educators share resources, and how mathematical ideas can be communicated beyond lectures and textbooks.
Another thread is “behind the scenes” mathematics: how research moves from idea to publication, how peer review works, how mathematical literature is organized and searched, and how scholarly influence can be measured over time. Interspersed are stories about mathematical applications and crossovers—modeling disease, understanding cancer and immunotherapy, analyzing cities and traffic, studying networks, or using topology to describe DNA.
The show regularly explores mathematics through art and media as well, including interactive fiction, film, poetry, and music, using these formats to illuminate mathematical thinking and the stories people tell about it.
| Episodes: |
Relatively Prime Seminar: Funding2025-Mar-25 66 minutes |
Carry the Two: Mathematics & Voting2024-Oct-30 58 minutes |
#BlackInMathWeek2020-Nov-09 35 minutes |
Black Girl Mathgic2020-Nov-01 36 minutes |
The Somervilles2020-Mar-31 26 minutes |
3 Scenes from the Life of Benjamin Banneker2020-Feb-29 10 minutes |
Truthiness2020-Feb-15 44 minutes |
2019 Year End Review2019-Dec-31 32 minutes |
Authors2019-Nov-01 26 minutes |
Citation Aging2019-Oct-01 19 minutes |
|
A Beauty Cold and Austere 2019-Aug-31 27 minutes |
|
2019-Jul-31 60 minutes |
Mathematical Objects2019-Jun-29 46 minutes |
EDGE2019-May-01 16 minutes |
Mathematically Gifted & Black2019-Mar-31 31 minutes |
3 2 1…Action2019-Feb-28 49 minutes |
|
Jem’s Gems 2019-Jan-31 17 minutes |
|
A Year (1811) In Review 2018-Dec-31 17 minutes |
|
All the Math Podcasts-Bonus 2018-Dec-20 40 minutes |
|
Cycle of Mathematics: Around 20 Papers 2018-Nov-30 14 minutes |
|
Cycle of Mathematics: Orange Volumes on a Shelf (On the Internet) 2018-Oct-31 25 minutes |
|
Cycle of Mathematics: Verify, Revise, Repeat 2018-Oct-01 17 minutes |
Cycle of Mathematics: The Six Handshakes2018-Aug-31 27 minutes |
|
The Big Internet Math Off (Updated) 2018-Jul-25 42 minutes |
|
Math Off 4: Checkers 2018-Jul-24 63 minutes |
|
Math Off 3: Gerrymandering 2018-Jul-19 9 minutes |
|
Math Off Round 2: Quaternions 2018-Jul-12 12 minutes |
|
Math Off Round 1: Why Your Friends Have More Friends than You Do 2018-Jul-02 8 minutes |
|
Girls Talk Math 2018-May-31 23 minutes |
|
The Right Bucket 2018-May-01 20 minutes |
|
Diegetic Plots: Chapter 3 2018-Mar-31 11 minutes |
|
Tick & Lice & Relapsing & Fevers 2018-Feb-28 18 minutes |
|
Science Sparring Society 2018-Jan-31 26 minutes |
|
Formulaic Perfection 2017-Dec-22 33 minutes |
Cold and Flu2017-Nov-30 15 minutes |
|
Knotty Helix 2017-Oct-31 19 minutes |
|
Their Favorite Theorem 2017-Sep-29 33 minutes |
|
Re District 2017-Aug-31 44 minutes |
|
All The Gerrys Mandered(Encore) 2017-Aug-31 23 minutes |
|
Outside the Equation 2017-Jul-27 49 minutes |
|
Talking the Talk – Mathematics Communication 2017-Jun-29 35 minutes |
|
You Have the Right 2017-May-26 19 minutes |
|
Steiner Biopsy 2017-Apr-29 33 minutes |
|
#TryPod – The Other Half 2017-Mar-24 40 minutes |
|
Origins LIVE! 2017-Feb-16 52 minutes |
|
On the Hill 2017-Jan-16 27 minutes |
|
Lottery Daze 2016-Dec-21 30 minutes |
|
Diegetic Plots: Chapter 2 2016-Feb-24 51 minutes |
|
f(θ)=1-sin(θ) 2016-Feb-17 63 minutes |
|
Principia Metropolica 2016-Feb-11 71 minutes |
|
Other Duties as Assigned 2016-Feb-04 57 minutes |
|
Diegetic Plots: Chapter 1 2016-Jan-28 76 minutes |
|
Mathematistan 2016-Jan-20 56 minutes |
|
Your Daily Recommended Math 2016-Jan-13 53 minutes |
|
The Lexicon 2016-Jan-03 74 minutes |
|
1+1=2 2012-Oct-08 62 minutes |
|
0,1,2,3… 2012-Oct-05 76 minutes |
|
Erdos 2012-Sep-23 62 minutes |
|
The Score 2012-Sep-22 66 minutes |
|
The Shape of Things 2012-Sep-21 65 minutes |
|
The Unexpected 2012-Sep-19 58 minutes |
|
The Toolbox 2012-Sep-18 58 minutes |
|
Chinook 2012-Sep-17 62 minutes |