Math Therapy

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Season 3 starts April 8th, and for the next 10 weeks Vanessa Vakharia, aka The Math Guru, will be exploring the relationship between math and the media with a diverse range of guests.   Subscribe now! Contact us : Vanessa Vakharia : Instagram , TikTok , Email Math Therapy: Text the Podcast More Math Therapy: Get the book : Corwin , Amazon Audiobook : Audi...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) We're back!!  Well, we'll be back for real April 8th when Season 3 of Math Therapy officially launches.   To get in the zone, today Vanessa is sharing a few short stories we received from some teachers who are determined to be part of the education solution after their own brushes with math trauma. If you have a story you want us to consider for...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) It’s a Math Therapy holiday miracle!!  After bawling her eyes out watching the groundbreaking Netflix Christmas movie Jingle Jangle and raving about it to literally everyone in earshot, Vanessa had the most festive chat in the history of the podcast with the film’s creators!  Writer/director David E. Talbert & producer Lyn Sisson-Talbert discuss repre...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) This season of Math Therapy might be over, but not before Vanessa meets her own personal mathematical hero, Canada’s very own Dr. John Mighton. Brace yourself for a season finale filled with joy, laughter, and tears (shockingly, NOT Vanessa’s) as Vanessa and Dr. Mighton dig deep into the way in which math, the most divisive subject of all, could actually...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) This week Vanessa goes out on a limb and does something she’s never done before on the pod: she talks to real, actual children (and their mom, of course)! Despite her rocky relationship with math growing up, Tamara Rebick chats with Vanessa about her determination to show her two daughters that math ability isn’t genetic, and that anyone - even MOMs, can...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Ever wonder what it would be like if your math teacher was like, the editor of TMZ and like, if your textbook was filled with juicy goss about all of those seemingly-boring-actually-scandalous mathematicians that plagued your high school existence? Today Vanessa talks to Sunil Singh about how different our relationship to math would be if we humanized mat...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) You’d think by 2020 we’d finally be done with the archaic views society has traditionally held on women and math ... um, not quite.  Today Vanessa chats with Feminist Book Club founder Renee Powers about the different ways that boys and girls perceive mathematical intelligence, why women get a bad rep when it comes to reading maps, and how feeling confide...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Have you ever had the feeling that you might have peaked too early? Meet Mike: a math-dropout-turned-software-cloud-architect. He chats with Vanessa about faking it til’ you make it, learning that it’s ok to admit you don’t know everything, and that #selflove can sometimes be way harder than #SOHCAHTOA. About Mike Mike is a big phony who is somehow able t...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Welcome to our most intense (and successful!) math therapy session yet!  Has your inability to fit into that mythical “math person” category haunted you for your entire life?  Today Vanessa talks to Tamica Marcano about how being labelled ADHD led to mega feelings of inadequacy, especially when it comes to math, and they discover what’s truly possible whe...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Ever dream of quitting your job and starting over again? Today Vanessa talks to Jill Waddell, a nutritionist who decided to finally face her fear of math to become a friggin POWER ENGINEER! AT 40!! Crazy, right?! From crying in the bathroom, to melting down in front of her husband, to doing everything in her power to keep her eye on the prize - this episo...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) What would you do if your high school math teacher told you that the only thing you were capable of doing was flipping burgers? Ummm ... become the king of the kitchen, of course! Today Vanessa talks to Miguel about how he went from killing it in the restaurant industry to a career 180 as a stats analyst rockstar with the Ontario government, all while bat...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Last week we brought you a discussion about the need for greater diversity in math education, and today we have a conversation about how to lift up marginalized voices if you are in a position of privilege.  Vanessa talks to Canadian thought leader Dr. Imogen Coe about what it’s like to advocate for equality in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and M...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) A couple months ago we had picked today as the launch date for Season 2, but we've been glued to the news as I'm sure you've been and we know that math is not exactly the topic on everyone's mind this week.  We considered delaying the launch, but we realized that an episode we had planned to release later in the season, a conversation...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Season 2 starts June 4th but today we're sharing some of the inspiring stories that listeners have sent us!  From math traumas to math triumphs, we were SO inspired by the courage in these submissions.  Follow Vanessa on all socials @themathguru for updates and get pumped for Season 2! Contact us : Vanessa Vakharia : Instagram , TikTok , Email Math T...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Not sure what to do with all the COVID-conspiracy theories flying around? Finding yourself arguing on social media while your blood pressure rises and your friend/follower count drops?!?!  Um, I FEEL YA.   So I called up my dear friend and legit science super-star, Dr. Samantha Yammine (aka Science Sam on Instagram and YouTube ), to break down exactly why...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) The last few weeks I have been freaking out about how, in a math-anxious society, the secret to understanding the spread of COVID and the importance of physical distancing is ... MATH?!  Like honestly, I'm a (self-described) math therapist and even I have been confused at times exactly what curve needs to be f*cking flattened. In this episode I break...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) While we're working on Season 2, we want to hear from you!  Send us your math stories/questions - the good, the bad, and the ugly :)  How do you feel about the term "math person"?  Do YOU have math trauma?!  Share your story with us and we'll pick some to play/read on our 1st ever mailbag episode!  Ways to share: Send your written stor...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Exciting news: Season 2 of Math Therapy is IN PRODUCTION!!!   We've got an incredible range of guests lined up and can't wait to share some new episodes with you.  In the meantime, here are some outtakes from Season 1 ... aka "us figuring out how to make a podcast" :)  Enjoy and stay tuned for a bigger and better Season 2! Contact us :...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) The first season of Math Therapy ends with a BANG - and a hashtag that all of us should probably start using immediately! Math tutor Johnny Cassels shares with Vanessa why labelling ourselves can hold us back, but how accountability can help us leave our comfort zones and do great things - math-related or not! A big part of this is the difference between...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Even though it ain’t 1942 anymore, the pesky rumour that girls suck at math is still alive and well! Vanessa chats with math tutor / math major Zainab Husain about the different ways that boys and girls perceive intelligence, and how feeling confident with math might actually be the secret to raising more female leaders in our world - which let’s be hones...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Yvonne Osondu is basically #goals. At the age of 52, she decided to learn how to ride a bike, and now she’s tackling the next thing on her bucket list: learning math ... ALL the way from grade 9 to grade 12 calculus. Yvonne chats with Vanessa about how she’s decided to prove to the world and herself that she is capable of ANYTHING - even math - despite be...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Do you freak out about ca$h money? Well it’s time to stop that sh*t and realize you know more about money AND math than you think! Vanessa chats with personal finance guru Bruce Sellery about the most common math-money myths, the super genius ways he teaches his daughter about the value of a dollar, and - MOST importantly - the most economical strategy wh...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) School can be hella traumatizing, but it’s especially bad if you fail math several times, have an undiagnosed learning disability, struggle with anxiety and depression, and come from a low-income, immigrant family ... a.k.a. Jenna Kabakulak’s entire school career. She and Vanessa discuss turning failures into successes, and dive deep into some big questio...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Have you ever wanted to therapize your therapist? Vanessa invites Kimberley McLeod, her former therapist, on the show to share her OWN math traumas. And guess what?! Even therapists need a little math therapy sometimes! Kimberley also digs into the connection she often sees in her young female clients between confidence, anxiety, and - you guessed it - MA...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Have you ever met someone so traumatized by their high school math experience that they legit blocked out a year of their life?! Vanessa chats with Liz Idowu, who now works as an admin assistant at Vanessa’s math tutoring studio and is determined to overcome her fear of numbers even though it’s been 20 years since she kissed math bye for good. About Liz C...