The Mathematicians Podcast

The Gupta Empire reaches its scientific zenith as we meet one of the greatest mathematicians of Late Antiquity. Aryabhata (476–550 CE) helped transform astronomy and mathematics in India through a remarkable combination of elegant algorithms and practical computation. In this episode we explore his Aryabhatiya, from recursive square and cube root algorithms to the famous Kuttaka ("Pulveriser") met...

The Silk Road carried spices, gemstones, ideas... and, occasionally, trigonometry. In this episode of The Mathematicians Podcast, we follow the mysterious figure known as Yavanesvara, the "Lord of the Greeks," whose translation of Greek astronomical and astrological knowledge into Sanskrit helped spark a mathematical transformation in ancient India. Along the way, we explore merchant trade across...

Episode 42: Pingala – The Poet of Binary Why is a 2nd-century BCE Indian grammarian being featured on a mathematics podcast? Because centuries before the "Founding Fathers" of Western mathematics were born, Pingala was already encoding the universe. In this special rhythmic episode, I step out of the traditional lecture hall and into the world of spoken word. After a transformative experience at t...

In this special book club episode of 'The Mathematicians Podcast', I sit down with author, maths communicator, and museum learning consultant, Thomas K. Briggs. Join us for a glass of wine and a deep dive into Tom's book, 'The Mathematicians Library', a title so intriguing it was a must-have for the show. This 'Injectives' sub-series episode is a one-to-one conversation; today exploring the vast h...

In this episode of The Mathematicians Podcast, I am jumping ahead 800 years and travelling 5,000 km back to India to pick up the threads of a fascinating mathematical tradition. I’ll be introducing you to Umaswati, a pivotal figure from around the 2nd Century CE who helped systematise the teachings of Jainism, a religion where "Right Knowledge" and the study of the cosmos made maths a fundamental...

When is an approximation "good enough"? This week on The Mathematicians Podcast, host Benjamin Cornish opens the doors to his  gem and fossil shop to discuss why a polished piece of glass, or a clever mathematical shortcut, can sometimes be just as effective as the real thing. We are shifting our focus toward the sprawling, shifting history of Mesopotamia. Today, we tackle a double bill of Babylon...

Episode 52 of The Mathematicians Podcast, takes us deep into the world of ancient Indian mathematics with a focus on Apastamba and his contributions to the Sulvasutras. Following in the footsteps of Baudhayana, Apastamba codified and clarified Vedic ritual geometry, transforming abstract rules into practical, modular construction techniques. We explore his mathematical approach, the subtle differe...

In this episode a journey back to 800 BCE to explore the life and work of Baudhayana, one of the earliest known mathematicians from the Indian tradition. This episode also offers context on the Vedic tradition, the role of mathematics in ritual practices, and the broader connections between ethical, social, and technical knowledge. We discuss how mathematics was a practical, problem-solving craft...

How do you get a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across a river without turning the boat into a buffet? Welcome to the Season 1 Finale of The Mathematicians Podcast! Today, we go to the court of Charlemagne to meet Alcuin of York: clergyman, poet, teacher, and potentially history’s first queer mathematician. Alcuin arguably invented the genre of "Recreational Mathematics." In this episode, we open his...

Was Bede a mathematician? Well, he certainly made history count. Join Benjamin Cornish for a trip to Northumbria (which is definitely in England) to meet the "OG monk" who mastered the calendar. In this episode, we dip into "On the Reckoning of Time" to discover how one man calculated the date of Easter, argued with the tides, and dated the Garden of Eden to a Tuesday (or close enough). We also ex...

This week on The Mathematicians Podcast, join Benjamin Cornish as he shines a spotlight on Eutocius of Ascalon, the unsung hero who kept the flames of ancient mathematics burning! Born in 480 CE, Eutocius headed the prestigious Alexandrian school and dedicated his life to preserving and elucidating the monumental works of mathematical titans like Archimedes. We'll explore his crucial commentaries...

This week, we bridge the gap between Alexandria and Constantinople with Isidorus of Miletus, a mathematician and architect who preferred teaching to writing. We look into how he and his partner, Anthemius of Tralles, were commissioned to build the legendary Hagia Sophia in a mere five years, after a sports riot burned down half the city. Discover the architectural genius behind its "floating" dome...

Join us on The Mathematicians Podcast as host Benjamin Cornish uncovers the whimsical and often mischievous side of Anthemius of Tralles, the Byzantine Greek architect and mathematician! From earthquake pranks on his neighbour Zeno to pioneering work in optics and conic sections, Anthemius proves that genius can be seriously fun. Discover the forgotten history of burning mirrors, the true shape of...

Welcome back to The Mathematicians Podcast! In this episode, host Benjamin Cornish takes us back to the 6th century CE to explore the life and legacy of Simplicius of Cilicia. A pivotal figure caught between two intellectual giants, Simplicius studied under both Aristotelian and Platonic traditions, becoming one of the last significant scholars of Plato's Academy before its closure by Justinian. J...

This week on The Mathematician's Podcast, we take a break from the philosophical and theological debates of the past to chat with an intellectual heavyweight of our own age! In another special "Injectives" episode, Ben is joined by Hope Duncan, a maths communicator and researcher at the University of Leeds whose particular interest is infinity. Join us as Hope tackles some fundamental (and some si...

Welcome back to The Mathematicians Podcast! This episode introduces our first "John" – John Philoponus, also known as John the Grammarian or John of Alexandria. This Christian theologian, philosopher, and arguably mathematician from 6th-century Egypt is primarily known for his religious doctrine, but we look into the fascinating overlap between mathematics and religion: the nature of infinity. Joi...

The Romans are here, in ROME! Discover the dramatic rise and fall of the Roman Empire, its lasting global impact, and the fascinating (and sometimes contentious) question of who inherited its crown. Then, meet Boethius, the last classical scholar, whose time on death row led to The Consolation of Philosophy. This episode unpacks his brilliant philosophy of causation, free will, and how god knows t...

This week we explore the brilliant, and tragically short, life of Hypatia of Alexandria. Born around 370 CE, she was a pioneering female mathematician and philosopher who led the last great school of mathematics in the ancient world.  Hypatia’s story is also a dramatic tale of political and religious upheaval. A respected pagan intellectual with influence in Alexandria's civic life, she found hers...

This week, Pappus of Alexandria, a pivotal figure in 4th-century mathematics. Often considered one of the last great Greco-Roman geometers, Pappus compiled the monumental Synagogue, a comprehensive collection that sought to revive classical Greek geometry. In this episode: A candid look at Pappus's personality and his notorious public critique of the female mathematician Pandrosion and her student...

This week, we're taking another trip to ancient Alexandria to meet Diophantus, often hailed as the "Father of Algebra."  Join us as we untangle the fuzzy biography of a mathematician whose life story is a riddle, and whose monumental work, the Arithmetica, started us working  towards systematic equation-solving. From the proto-symbols of syncopated algebra to the birth of Diophantine equations (wh...

Imagine writing a book so influential it becomes the undisputed authority on the nature of the universe for the next 14 centuries. Now, imagine its core premise is completely wrong. That's the legacy of Claudius Ptolemy. In this episode, we're exploring the ancient world's ultimate spreadsheet guy. Ptolemy didn't just guess that the Earth was the centre of the cosmos; he built a stunningly complex...

Join Benjamin Cornish as he uncovers the story of Theon of Smyrna (c. 70 CE), the ancient world's ultimate study-guide writer! He wasn't a revolutionary, but Theon's "Mathematical Matters Useful for Reading Plato" was a game-changer for anyone trying to decipher the mathematical underpinnings of Plato's philosophy. In this episode, we explore: Theon's life and philosophical context as a Middle Pla...

In this episode of The Mathematicians Podcast, Benjamin Cornish explores the life and works of Nicomachus of Gerasa—a philosopher, mystic, and mathematician whose obsession with numbers shaped centuries of thought. From perfect and amicable numbers to cosmic harmonies and the mystical side of arithmetic, Nicomachus blended maths with philosophy, music, and spirituality in ways that still resonate...

In this episode of The Mathematicians Podcast, Benjamin Cornish explores the life and work of Menelaus of Alexandria; the mathematician who transformed how we think about geometry on curved surfaces. From his treatise Sphaerica to the elegant power of Menelaus’s Theorem, discover how this quiet figure of ancient Alexandria helped shape spherical geometry, astronomy, and the trigonometry still used...

In this one-to-one edition of The Mathematicians Podcast, part of our Injectives subseries, host Benjamin Cornish sits down with philosopher, peace theorist, and long-time educator Dr Thomas Daffern to explore the deep and often surprising intersections between mathematics and religion. Together, they trace the parallel histories of mystical belief and mathematical thought, from the temples of anc...