Math Therapy

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) As you may know, Vanessa and producer David are in a band together, and they're currently writing songs for a new album. The path through writer’s block and their ups and downs as a collaborative team led to some unexpected debates about the creative process that share surprising parallels with the greater discussion around mathematical thinking. So...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Happy new year!  To get in the mindset for a great 2026, here's a motivating episode about one of last year's hottest topics in math ed: student engagement .  Why is it so hard to get students to really engage in the classroom?  What does engagement even mean?  What can we try differently this year? In this episode, Vanessa explores four reasons...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Five years ago, Vanessa fell head over heels in love with a Christmas movie.  The plot twist? This wasn't one of the countless Hallmark romcoms she actually consumes throughout the year - this was a movie about a little girl who literally saves Christmas with math! Back then she interviewed Producer Lyn Sisson-Talbert and Writer/Director David E. Tal...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Getting students to think is a hot topic - but what does it actually mean ?  When kids are asked to "show their thinking", can we really blame them for being like "WTF?!?!" Today on Math Therapy, Vanessa explores the surprising number of ways we can define & interpret "thinking", and shares 5 strategies to demystify it in...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Since our humble (and as you'll find out, quite disorganized) start in 2019, Math Therapy has come a long way ... and today we celebrate our 100th episode! Join host Vanessa Vakharia and producer David Kochberg (with a cameo from OG MT producer Sabina Wex) as they reminisce and argue about: The (mostly) true origin story of Math Therapy Where the “fi...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Today we follow-up last week's episode with unfiltered celeb moms Cat and Nat ( listen here ) by interviewing Nat's daughter Taylor!  Currently in Grade 11, she's a wealth of hard-earned wisdom, having taken her education into her own hands to overcome a system that literally told her not to bother even trying. This ep is overflowing with r...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) From the moment Vanessa met bestselling authors/podcasters Cat and Nat on Breakfast Television, where the 2 moms proudly professed to hate math ... she knew she had to have them on Math Therapy to dig deeper and find out why .  They are the definition of unfiltered, so they are a perfect fit! This interview may be uncomfortable for teachers to hear - hone...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) * call-out before we get into today's ep* - If you or a colleague/parent/student has a story about incorporating the absurd 6-7 phenomenon into actual learning, we need you!  Seriously, send us a brief text or a voicenote via Instagram DM or email .  We've heard some stories and want to do an episode about enhancing learning by reaching kids thr...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) This past weekend, hearts across North America shattered as the plucky underdog Toronto Blue Jays lost to the LA Dodgers in extra innings of the deciding Game 7 of the Major League Baseball World Series.  And if none of those words matter to you at all - then you and Vanessa have much in common! However, as a self-admitted bandwagon jumper, even though sh...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Most episodes, Vanessa is chatting with colleagues about the root causes of math anxiety/trauma and exploring how math education can change to avoid causing them. But as long as math remains a 4-letter word for some, we need some practical coping strategies!  So today, Vanessa details 5 ways you can flip anxious math moments into empowering ones - for tea...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Sometimes an interview fires us up so much here at Math Therapy HQ, that we end up debriefing and debating it long after the guest has signed off - at which point producer David says to host Vanessa "we should have recorded THAT too!" So today, we actually did!  We kept the mics rolling after interviewing last week's guest, Dr. Raj Shah, re...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) What is memory? Are different brains good at memorizing different things (like math vs music)? Is memorization even a good way to learn? Why don’t we teach math like we teach reading? Why do we love puzzles and escape rooms but hate math class? Is it possible to make math learning fun?? Will Vanessa ever learn how to explain how to text the podcast?!?! Ho...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Today's ep ended up in a different place than Vanessa expected when she first sat down to chat with Pam Harris, founder of Math Is Figureoutable. Their first real interaction was on the DebateMath Podcast; Pam insisted that learning algorithms/shortcuts can actually hold students back from true learning, while Vanessa advocated for kids to learn howe...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) We're trying something new this week!  Last week's ep with Mike Flynn dove into some very murky debate waters: do students need to know the "why" of what their learning in order to truly understand material, or is it fine for them to just memorize things as long as they get the answers?  (If you missed, scroll back in your feed or clic...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) When Mike Flynn started teaching, math was just one of many subjects he had to guide his students through.  The problem was, the way he was taught math made him hate it !   But when a new career opportunity gave him the chance at a much deeper understanding of the concepts and a reason "why" they mattered in the real world, Mike realized that he...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) If you follow Vanessa on Instagram, you know the rollercoaster she went on to record the audiobook version of Math Therapy ... well, the hard work / literal sweat & tears paid off because it is now out!  You can find it on Audible/Amazon right now, and if you have never used Audible you can likely get it for a free credit with their new trial offer. (...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Have you ever felt like it's impossible to win an argument with someone, or even simply see eye to eye on anything?  On today's episode, mathematician Eugenia Cheng joins Vanessa to challenge the black-and-white thinking that often defines our world - especially in math class. 3 Key Topics Discussed: Why seemingly silly questions like "is m...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Today we celebrate back to school week with ... the official launch of Math Therapy as a weekly podcast!   On today's episode, Vanessa catches you up on everything going on in Math Therapy-land, and shares 5 very simple and quick strategies that teachers can employ to make this year's classroom more empowering - both for students and themselves....

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) As long as Charizma Laughton can remember, her entire life was defined by a singular identity: she's bad at math , because she's not smart .  This self-image was rooted in deeply traumatic math class experiences that completely dismantled her self-confidence and made her feel like she was simply not capable of ... anything. BUT THEN: she and Van...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) First of all, big news: as of this fall, Math Therapy will be a weekly podcast!  This has long been a goal, so after 6 glorious 10-episode seasons and a bunch of bonus eps along the way, we'll be hitting your feed every single Thursday starting September. For now, we are back this month with 2 special interviews we recorded earlier in the year with s...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Given how much Vanessa talks about astrology on the podcast, what do you think her success rate was for guessing the star signs of all the guests last season?  Today's episode (guest "hosted" by producer David) reveals all ... and also drops some hints about what to expect from this podcast in the coming months! Show notes: Math Therapy the...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) If you're a fan of the podcast, you've often heard Vanessa mention our producer "David" in reference to him getting mad at her for yelling into the mic or hitting the mic or generally doing things that impact the quality of this AUDIO medium.  And if it isn't apparent, this is actually David typing, because I also handle publishin...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Having attended and presented at the annual NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) conference, Vanessa reached out to "famously nice guy" Kevin Dykema, the organization's President, to learn more about his journey to the top.  Along the way she was surprised to learn that even he battles imposter syndrome, and the way he's...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) HUGE news - Math Therapy is now a book!  Vanessa has taken everything she's learned in her career helping students overcome math trauma, and all the insights from the 6 seasons of this podcast, and formulated a 5-step process to bring math therapy into classrooms and help all students develop a better relationship with math. To celebrate, Math Therap...

Send us a text! (US messaging rates apply) Dan Finkel is an author/educator who believes that humans are wired to be curious from birth, and that play is the secret to maintaining that joy of learning throughout childhood.  On today’s season 6 finale, he and Vanessa discuss how teaching kids about math can be so much more fun than we think; it can mean playing board games, counting on their finger...