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TMiP Podcast

The Talking Maths in Public Podcast is a community podcast for members of the TMiP network, which collects short segments from different people working in maths communication to share their projects, ideas and thoughts, as well as discuss maths communication and education research, and provide a regular opportunity to hear from others in the community.

The podcast will be produced monthly for six-month blocks, in even-numbered years (when no TMiP conference is taking place). This will allow for a more sustained exchange of ideas between events, and produce a resource for TMiP members and other maths communicators to draw on.

Series 1 of the podcast began in July 2024, and episodes were released monthly until December 2024. Each episode consists of three or four segments, each covering a different aspect of maths communication.

The first two series of the TMiP Podcast are funded by a Public Engagement grant from the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences.

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Talking Maths in Public Podcast

Listen to individual episodes below, or subscribe:

Spotify - Apple Podcasts - YouTube - Amazon Music - RSS Feed

Series 1 (2024)

Photo of Hana's multilink cube version of Number City, laid out on a piece of paper on the floor

Episode 1 - Cardboard Boxes, Russell’s Paradox and a Sense of Belonging

In this episode, we’ll be hearing from science communicator and project manager Hana Ayoob, who’s running Matt Parker’s MEGA Grant project for 2024, Number City. We’ll also hear about some recommended popular maths books, discuss mathematical explanations, and find out about some maths communication research.
Episode 1 transcript (.txt)

Photo of musicians in MathsCity, seated in a line against a window through which a shopping centre is visible

Episode 2 - Blaming it on Bernoulli, definitions and debugging Python code

In this episode, we’ll be hearing from maths author and proofreader Sam Hartburn, who has organised a live music night with a mathematical flavour. We’ll also discuss the terms we use to define maths communication, and hear the first part of an interview with YouTuber Grant Sanderson about his work on the 3Blue1Brown channel.
Episode 2 transcript (.txt)

Screenshot of the Big Bang Fair programme in 2016, showing promotional material for the Maths Counts campaign

Episode 3 - Math Exposition, standing around holding a snake, and the World’s Most Interesting Mathematician

In this episode, we’ll hear the second part of our interview with YouTuber Grant Sanderson about his math communication competition, Summer of Math Exposition. We'll also hear some more Obtuse Angles on how people doing more general science communication can support the cause of maths promotion. And we’ll chat to the World’s Most Interesting Mathematician (for 2019) about the Big Internet Math-Off.
Episode 3 transcript (.txt)

Photo of a children's financial literacy activity, involving sorting coins into piles, seen from above with an unseen child holding a coin ready to place

Episode 4 - Imaginary money, maths puzzles and audience segmentation models

In this episode, we’ll hear about RedStart, a charity teaching primary school children about financial literacy, find out how a national science magazine handles maths content, and talk about our audiences and how we define them, whether for research or in deciding how best to communicate with them.
Episode 4 transcript (.txt)

Photo of a stall at a festival, with a sign that says

Episode 5 - Cricket rankings, neuroscience and a holdall with four pockets

In this episode, we’ll hear the first half of an interview with maths communication stalwart Rob Eastaway about his career in mathematical writing, and his work on the Maths Inspiration project. We’ll also hear from a maths and neuroscience crossover project, and chat to some science communication researchers about the idea of Maths Capital.
Episode 5 transcript (.txt)

Screenshot from one of Will's animated videos, showing two adventurers represented by cartoon heads, one at the corner of a square and one on the edge, as described in the podcast

Episode 6 - More books, a life-changing experience and The Theorem We Attribute To Pythagoras

In this episode, we’ll hear the second half of our interview between Rob Eastaway and Colin Beveridge, as well as finding out about the Royal Institution’s Sixth Form to Primary Masterclass project. We’ll also hear about YouTube channel Learn With Will, where Will’s collaborated with education researcher Lucy Rycroft-Smith to add more maths into their videos.
Episode 6 transcript (.txt)

Content

If you'd like to submit content for the podcast, we've created a submission form you can use to send us your ideas. Each episode will consist of four segments of ten minutes, and we will aim to make each segment fit one of the suggested formats below, although alternative formats will be considered. Completing the form will not guarantee your segment's inclusion in the podcast - this is merely a way to suggest content, and editorial decisions will rest with the TMiP team. If you have any questions, please email info@talkingmathsinpublic.uk.

  • My MathsComm Project: a maths communicator describes a project they’ve been involved with and how it went - how it was funded, what their audience was, how the project met its goals and what they learned
  • Research Into Practice: a maths communicator chooses a research paper which discusses an aspect of science communication research relevant to maths, summarises its findings and discusses how it might be applied to the practice of maths communication
  • Obtuse Angles: thoughts and experience sharing from professional maths communicators discussing a particular aspect of maths communication - an approach, a format, or a recently seen instance of public maths, and their opinions of the positives and negatives
  • Room p26: a maths communicator describes an aspect of, or approach to, maths communication they would like to consign to the bin, and justifies their choice
  • Stories from the front line: maths communicators sharing their best advice and learnings from their maths communication work, covering a variety of formats and audiences
  • Top Three: a maths communicator shares three great examples they’ve seen of a particular type of maths communication, such as books for a particular audience, YouTube channels or competition events
  • My Story: a maths communicator shares a summary of their career path and how they’ve found success
  • Zeeman Catastrophe: The story of when a piece of maths communication went terribly wrong, and what we learned from it