The Math Club

Join us for part two of our deep dive into the history of Fermat's Last Theorem.  In this episode, Pete and Noah focus on the fascinating story of Sophie Germain, a 19th century French mathematician who pursued a proof in the face of overwhelming obstacles.  Come learn about this impressive chapter in the saga of one of the most interesting problems in mathematical history. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

A few episodes back, our hosts talked about the great unsolved mathematical problems of our time, and Pete teased an interesting story about one such problem that was finally solved not too long ago.  In this first of a two-part episode, we dive into the fascinating  story of Fermat's Last Theorem...   from its inception, to Fermat's bold claim that he had a proof that he couldn't share, to the mathematical greats of yesteryear who took up the challenge to prove it.  Join us for a look into this intriguing conjecture, and its amazing history. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

In this episode, Pete and Noah are joined by Andy Looney, the creator of the card game Fluxx, to talk about Math Fluxx and his history designing games.  Whether you're a math person who loves a good game or a game person who loves to do math, we're sure you'll find Andy and his story to be interestingly enjoyable.  Game on!   Looney Labs Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

If you've ever seen a science fiction movie or TV show, then you've heard of the spacetime continuum.  But what is it, and is there math that describes it?  In this episode, Pete and Noah dive into the facts about spacetime, and its fascinating mathematical history. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

It's the holiday season, and Pete and Noah are getting into the festive spirit by looking at the math behind a favorite Hannukah game.  Join our hosts as they delve into the probabilities of the dreidel and uncover a counterintuitive truth about its fairness.  Whatever traditions you and your family look forward to at this time of year, we promise a lively and interesting time as we take this topic for a spin.  Seasons Greetings! • Robert Feinerman's paper, An Ancient Unfair Game Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

In our last episode, finding Primo, Pete explained a couple of tests that mathematicians use when trying to decide if very large numbers are prime. We thought it might be helpful to see the math written down, so we put together this video bonus. Finding Primo - full episode  

Have you heard the big news?  There's a new largest known prime number, and Noah wants to know how it was discovered.  In this episode, Pete explains the various tests used to determine the primality of insanely large numbers, and there's even a prime challenge for you to sink your teeth into. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

Are you ready to revisit the best of The Math Club?  Pete and Noah share a trip down memory lane with a pair of special guests.  But as they dive deeper into their past episodes, a nagging feeling grows harder to ignore..  Who are these mysterious guests, and what strange secret are they hiding from our hosts? Episodes we reference in our conversation: Tales from Decrypt Positive Thinking Discovery vs. Invention MathGPT Try out NotebookLM Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

The memory of a restaurant-choosing game from grad school inspires Pete and Noah to look at different voting systems, and the math behind how they work to select a winning candidate. From standard majority rules to ranked choice to plurality with elimination, join our hosts for a lively (and timely) conversation about how our voting system can be just as important as our vote. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

An unlikely string of coin flips leads to a conversation about a counterintuive puzzle that Pete found online.  Join in on the fun as Pete and Noah dissect this problem, and talk about multiple ways to approach understanding its solution. • Daniel Litt's Twitter post with the puzzle • Noah's Scratch simulation of the problem • Leave us a voice message • DM us on Twitter • Send us an email

Hey Math Club...  Pete and Noah need your help with a data mystery, so they put this mini-episode together.  If you think you have any info that can help shed some light, drop us a line... Leave us a voice message DM us on Twitter Send us an email

Unsolved.  From the origin of Stonehenge, to the identity of Jack the Ripper, to the location of all those missing dryer socks, the world is full of unsolved questions.  But what about math?  Join Pete and Noah as they discuss some of the great unsolved problems facing mathematicians today. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

Pete's efforts to help Noah prepare for an upcoming math competition lead to a conversation with Kristen Chandler, the executive director of MATHCOUNTS.  Join Pete and Noah as they learn about this fascinating organization that provides engaging math programs to middle school students around the country.  MATHCOUNTS website Email Kristen Chandler Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

A batch of almost perfect waffles leads Pete and Noah into an exploration of an interesting probability result.  Come find out how, whether you're eating breakfast or hiring a new employee, math is here to help you make the best choice. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

It's time for our second episode about the mathematics of Deal or No Deal.  At the end of Part 1, Noah asked Pete if The Banker follows certain set rules or patterns when deciding how much to offer contestants, and a challenge was born.  Is it possible to use data from past shows to devise an algorithm that can predict the offers?  Stay tuned as Pete takes Noah along on his mathematical journey in search of a model that works. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

The recent return of this classic game show prompts Pete and Noah to discuss the probability and statistics at work, to see if they can figure out what makes for a "good deal".  Join in as they dive into the mathematics behind the show.  They'll even present you with a challenge that could earn you a shout out on a future episode. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

It's The Math Club's second anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than by telling a bunch of math jokes?  Join us as we share our favorites, along with jokes from our listeners and a few special surprises along the way.  Knock knock.  Who's there?  The Math Club!  

How many dimensions does a sphere have?  If you said three (like Noah did), you may be surprised to hear that you overshot.  In this episode, Pete and Noah explore spatial dimensions, and use a literary classic to illustrate what it even means when mathematicians talk about spaces with more than three.

A family movie night reminds Pete of an ancient algorithm for calculating square roots, so it's back to The Math Club with pencils and paper in hand.  Join Pete and Noah as they investigate this algorithm to see just how accurate its results can be.   Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

Hey there, Math Club.  We're taking some time off to spend the holidays with our families, so this week we have a rerun of last year's holiday episode...  So Many Birds. Season's Greetings!  With the holidays on the horizon, a famous song leads Pete and Noah to talk about strategies for adding up long sequences of numbers.  Come join the fun, and learn how a young Carl Gauss may (or may not) have done it.  And if you're up for a challenge, we even "sum it up" with a special holiday puzzle for you to try. • Brian Hayes's article in American Scientist • Leave us a voice message • Email us • Follow us on Twitter

Hey there, Math Club.  We're taking some time off to spend the holidays with our families, so we have a rerun of one of our favorite episodes this week...  Tales from Decrypt. Today's match-up answers the age-old question of what happens when an unstoppable brain meets an unbreakable cipher.  In the red corner, weighing in at 2,193 digits….   Noah's deviously encrypted message!  And in the blue corner.... The Commissioner of Codebreaking….  The Foreman of Frequency Analysis….  Pete's decoding skills!  Only one will leave the ring victorious.  Who will it be?  Tune in and find out!  The match is about to begin...  DING DING DING! • Encrypted passage to decode • Leave us a voice message • Email us • Follow us on Twitter

In our last episode, Hip to be Square. Pete told us about two famous magic squares—the Sagrada Família magic square and the Dürer magic square—and he mentioned that it's worth seeing them side by side.  We thought it would be fun to put together this short video showing how they compare with one another.

Ever heard of a magic square? How about 17 quintillion magic squares? In this episode, Pete and Noah explore these fascinating mathematical objects to find out more about them.  Join in the fun as we look at examples of centuries-old magic squares, and investigate the fascinating connections they share with some modern day puzzles. The Sagrada Familía magic square The Durer magic square Our Rubik's Cube symmetry video Play Sudoku  Play KenKen   Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

In our last episode, Linear Thinking, Pete mentioned that one practical application of linear algebra is in the field of urban planning and traffic flow.  Here's a video bonus to illustrate how a linear system of equations can be created from traffic data.

Hey there Math Club.  We noticed after today's episode went out that somehow all of our music and sound effects were stripped out of it.  So, we fixed it and it is now reposted and available for download.  If you haven't listened yet, you may want to go and redownload it and get the new version.

In this episode, Pete and Noah tackle an “unsolvable math problem” that appeared in a recent Newsweek article (Spoiler: It's not that unsolvable). Join us as we apply linear algebra to this puzzle from start to Finnish. The Newsweek article   Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

In this episode, Pete and Noah explore the question, "Can AI do math?" Armed with several boxes of Chicken McNuggets, they put ChatGPT to the test, scrutinizing its mathematical prowess and giggling over how bad its attempts sometimes are. Join them as they investigate just how far the digital mind can go in mastering the realm of numbers. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

A somewhat traumatic memory about fifth grade timed multiplication tests inspires Pete and Noah to have a conversation with Dr. Juli Dixon, author of a brand new program for teaching math facts fluency without all of the anxiety.  Join us for our most factacular episode to date! Dr. Dixon's DNA Math website Find Dr. Dixon on Twitter The Fact Tactics Fluency Program book Request availability for Dr. Dixon Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

What do you get if you cross 11,520 isosceles triangles with the happiest place on Earth? The Epcot ball, of course, which is perhaps the most famous geodesic structure in the world. Join Pete and Noah as they investigate these incredibly sturdy mathematical objects… and make sure to wear your clam diggers! Picture of the geodesic dome at the Dalí Museum in Figueres, Spain Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

Pete is back, and Noah is eager to hear about his trip and record a new episode about an interesting bit of European math.  Join us for some zero-based counting, inspired by an elevator that Pete rode on his first day in Spain. Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

We've spoken with previous guests about classroom math instruction, as well as how to help students with learning disabilities in mathematics.  But what about the enormous middle ground of students who need extra help, but don't qualify for special education services?  In this episode we're joined by Jonathan Bleecker, owner of a Mathnasium learning center, for an engaging conversation about how math tutors help to fill in those gaps. Contact Livermore Mathnasium Mathnasium's website Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

In this episode, the search for a temporary co-host to sub for Pete turns into a conversation about mathematical substitutions.  Join Noah and (the other) Pete as they talk about this powerful strategy, and why being manipulative can be a good thing when you're doing math. Link to this episode's puzzle Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

With Pete away on vacation, Noah invites a panel of educators over for a lively conversation about mathematics instruction.  Join us as the panel discusses their early days in the classroom, how math education has changed over the past few decades, and what changes they'd like to see in the future.  Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

An idea for a new ice cream treat leads Pete and Noah to discuss the different conic sections that can be created by intersecting a cone with a plane at various angles.  Grab a flashlight and get ready to shine a (cone-shaped) light on these interesting geometric creations with us. Image of the four non-degenerate conic sections Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email

You've probably seen people arguing on social media about memes that say: “Only a true genius will get this one right”, followed by a simple looking expression to evaluate.  In this episode, a mathematical miscalculation inspires a conversation about math conventions, order of operations, and being careful before placing a delivery order.  And the best news is, you don't have to be a true genius to enjoy this episode! Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

In our last episode, Pete walked Noah through a calculation (using Newton's Law of Cooling) to predict what the temperature of a hot cup of water would be 10 minutes later.  Here's a video bonus to help follow along with the calculations they made.

After Pete spills a cup of hot coffee, he and Noah conduct an experiment to test Newton's Law of Cooling, a physical law that describes the rate at which warm objects cool down. Along the way, they discuss differential equations, exponential functions, and the proper way to sit after getting in a hot tub. This may be the hottest episode of the Math Club yet! Photo of our experiment setup Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

Have you ever engaged in some friendly smack-talk during a sporting event? In this episode, Pete and Noah are on the receiving end of a lot of teasing out on the softball field. After the game, they analyze this kind of interaction and use a clever thought experiment to shed light on an important issue of social equality. Karen Petri's video - Why attacks on sexism are not attacks on men Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

We all know people who describe themselves as “not a math person”.  For many of them it's not simply a preference, but a neurological condition.  In this episode, Pete and Noah speak with Dr. Anneke Schreuder about dyscalculia, the lesser-known mathematical counterpart to dyslexia.  Join us for an eye-opening conversation as we learn what it is and how it can be identified and treated. https://dyscalculiaservices.com/ Dyscalculia Headlines Free dyscalculia screener Become a dyscalculia tutor Leave us a voice message Find us on Twitter Send us an email  

The Beach Boys are famous for "getting around", but do you know that the number one gets around a lot, too?  In this episode, one takes center stage as Pete and Noah take a central look at some of the places, both exotic and familiar, that one gets around to. This is "one" episode you don't want to miss!

Happy birthday… to us!  The Math Club is one year old today, and Pete and Noah are celebrating with a fun-filled discussion of the birthday paradox. Come join the celebration - you might be surprised where it takes you!

How much do you think you spent on gas when you took your last road trip?  If you live in the United States, chances are that would make you think about your car's miles per gallon.  But in other parts of the world, fuel effieciency is measured not in MPG, but in gallons per hundred miles.  In this epsiode, Pete and Noah examine this fraction-flipping phenomenon, and weigh in on which version they like better.  So hop in the car and get ready to go for a ride with the Math Club.

If we gave you a bunch of positive whole numbers and asked what you get when you add them all up, you'd have a pretty easy time of it...  you are The Math Club, after all.  But what if we gave you an infinite series of positive whole numbers and asked you what you get when you add them all up?  In this episode, Pete and Noah talk about how mathematicians go about assigning a value in this seemingly impossible situation.  Join us and learn about divergent series, and be ready to be surprised by some of the results. • The Numberphile video • Leave us a voice message • Email us • Follow us on Twitter

If you ever took a geometry class, you probably had to do some mathematical proofs.  From the ancient Greeks to modern day mathematicians, proofs have played a vital role in advancing our understanding of the world around us.  In this episode, Pete and Noah talk about their own experiences with proofs and look at several different kinds of proof along the way.  Hop aboard the math train, and join us in an exploration of the fascinating world of mathematical proofs. 

This week Pete and Noah team up with Shane and Mealey from the Unprofessional Development podcast, a show that features guests from the world of education sharing their stories about teaching.  This joint episode finds the four hosts discussing teaching, math, teaching math, and spicy foods.   • Unprofessional Development Podcast • Follow @unprocast on Twitter

When you think about parts of a whole, you probably picture fractions that consist of a numerator and a denominator.  But that's not how all cultures throughout history worked with fractional parts.  In this episode, Pete and Noah visit ancient Egypt and discuss the completely different way their mathematicians showed parts of a whole.  Plus, there's a puzzle about camels! • Rhind Mathematical Papyrus

In September of 1990, Parade Magazine columnist Marilyn vos Savant answered a reader's question about a mathematical brain teaser, and received quite the backlash when most of the math community thought her solution was incorrect.  Just about three years later, two new friends (and future Math Club hosts) bonded over math for the first time, discussing and debating this exact same puzzle.  In this episode, Pete and Noah weave the two stories together into an interesting discussion about conditional probability, counterintuitive results, and being gracious when confronted with, what you believe is, someone else's error. Try our Scratch simulation Try our faster Scratch simulation Monty Hall interview about the problem

This episode is a special math adventure for younger listeners.  Pete and Noah are called into school to help with all of the mathy details around a class pizza party, and quickly discover that math is all around us all of the time.  Chock full of interesting characters and math challenges for listeners to solve, this story is sure to delight listeners from third grade on up.   Interactive website that goes with the story: https://bit.ly/mathclubjunior Leave us a voice message here: https://www.speakpipe.com/mathclubpodcast

In this episode, Noah comes to Pete for some help with a really big paint job.  After Pete explains just how big (and impossible) the job really is, they have a conversation about surfaces of revolution, and the seeming paradox of Gabriel's Horn.   Hyundai's 35 meter vuvuzela Leave us a voice message with your favorite math joke

Season's Greetings, Math Club!  With the holidays on the horizon, a famous song leads Pete and Noah to talk about strategies for adding up long sequences of numbers.  Come join the fun, and learn how a young Carl Gauss may (or may not) have done it.  And if you're up for a challenge, we even "sum it up" with a special holiday puzzle for you to try. • Brian Hayes's article in American Scientist • Submit your puzzle solution here - Google Form • Submit your puzzle solution here - Twitter

In our last episode, Pete explained to Noah that imaginary numbers aren't so imaginary after all. This time around, he shows Noah how all the other numbers kinda are. So, if you thought there was something less than real about the square root of negative one, wait 'til you hear about the square root of positive two! Buckle up, Math Club, it's time to let our imagination run wild!! 3Blue1Brown's video on visualizing quaternions