The Mathematicians Podcast

Episode 21 - Euclid - In His Element

This week: The big cheese. It's Euclid time. Come with me on a journey through his optics, astronomy and or course the elements - a week of exceptionally good maths.
 
The Music was:
"Danse Macabre - Finale"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 22 - Injectives - Mikhail Koroteev on Instructional Puzzles

This episode has been a real favourite of mine to record - I sit down with the co-creator of www.euclidea.xyz to ask all of my puzzling questions on how the game was developed, the inspiration behind the puzzles and the role of Euclidean geometry in today's world. 
 
Further reading for some of the referenced papers: 
https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.02562
https://www.cut-the-knot.org/triangle/TriangleFromBisectors.shtml
 
The music was:
"Danse Macabre - Finale"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 
 

Episode 23 - Aristarchus of Samos - Got The Measure of Things

This week we look at a man who looked at the moon whilst it looked at the sun and thought: "Gosh, that looks far away".
 
But how far away is the sun, really. Or the better question would be: "How far away are we?"
 
Let's find out as we measure the life and works of Aristarchus of Samos. The second greatest Samos-ian that we have covered so far.
 
The music was: 
"Danse Macabre - Finale"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 24 -Archimedes of Syracuse

In this week's episode we look at the life an works of the Great Archimedes. A man who was so much more than what we all think, and we all think quite highly of him. But let's look behind the claw, the screw and the lever and find out who was the mathematician behind the engineer.
 
You can also find my debut YouTube video about the Quadrature of the Parabola here: @Un-Applied-Maths
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG-SNPXWN-Q3YxLp_R
 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG-SNPXWN-Q3YxLp_RiDaAQ
 
The Music was: 
"Danse Macabre - Finale"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
 

Episode 25 - Philo of Byzantium -

Grab your ventriloquist dummies and your gimbles, as we catapult ourselves into a story about the worlds first mathematical engineer. If you thought Leonardo Da Vinci was pretty metal, well you're about to meet the 'wood and papyrus' version. It's Philo of Byzantium.
 
In an exciting new segment of the 'Episode Show Notes', may I present an unappealing list of hashtags for the Search Engine Optimisation:
#MathHistory #MathsHistory#AncientMath #AncientMaths#PhiloOfByzantium#GreekMathematics#HistoryOfMath #HistoryOfMaths#AncientScience#EngineeringHistory#ByzantineScience#MathematicalHeritage#SciencePodcast#MathPodcast #MathsPodcast#AncientEngineers#PhiloTheEngineer#MechanicsHistory#HellenisticScience#InventionHistory#MathAndMachines #MathsAndMachines#GreekInventors#MathematicsThroughTime#FromPhiloToPhysics
 
The music was:
"Danse Macabre - Finale"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 26 - Eratosthenes - A Prime Example

In this episode of The Mathematicians Podcast, host Benjamin Cornish paddles upstream—literally and figuratively—to explore the remarkable life and ideas of Eratosthenes of Cyrene, the polymath who measured the Earth with astonishing precision and devised one of the most famous algorithms in history: the Sieve of Eratosthenes.
In the show today
How Eratosthenes measured Earth’s circumference over 2,000 years ago
The ingenious method behind the Sieve of Eratosthenes and why it still matters in modern computing
His groundbreaking work in geography, including latitude, longitude, and early ideas of a spherical Earth
His role as chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria—aka the Google of the ancient world
From ancient geometry to prime numbers and historical timekeeping, this episode is a celebration of interdisciplinary thinking, curiosity, and mathematical creativity. Whether you're a teacher, student, or just a curious mind, you'll come away with a renewed appreciation for how math shapes our understanding of the world.
Plus: Learn how to get involved with Un-Natural Numbers, a new YouTube maths chat show supporting emerging voices in math communication.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfve_tIM3e9jh5b_kzIPICmRViIXIcBJ38DyQ5YwfBLzNMHKg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=108012955586926932884 
 
 
Oh no, a list of Keywords (for SEO):Eratosthenes, Sieve of Eratosthenes, measure Earth circumference, Library of Alexandria, prime numbers, ancient Greek mathematicians, history of mathematics, geography and maths, interdisciplinary STEM, maths communication, educational podcast, number theory, velocity problems, maths teaching podcast
Have a free list of Hashtags:#MathematicsPodcast #Eratosthenes #PrimeNumbers #MathsEducation #HistoryOfMaths #STEM #MathsInRealLife #MathsTeacher #LibraryOfAlexandria #GeographyAndMaths #EducationalPodcast #NumberTheory #UnNaturalNumbers

Episode 27 - Chrysippus - A Good Proposition

What do ancient logic, Stoic philosophy, and paradoxes have in common? Chrysippus of Soli. In this episode, Ben Cornish explores how Chrysippus revolutionised logic and gave Stoicism its rational backbone. Discover his pioneering work in propositional logic, his take on fate and free will, and why his ideas still matter today.
#MathematicalLogic #PropositionalLogic #StoicMathematics #Chrysippus #FormalLogic #HistoryOfMaths #AncientMathematics #LogicalReasoning #PhilosophyOfMaths #MathematicsPodcast #TheMathematiciansPodcast

Episode 28 - Apollonius of Perga - What Goes around comes around

In this episode of The Mathematicians Podcast, Benjamin Cornish turns his attention to Apollonius of Perga—the ancient Greek mathematician whose work on conic sections shaped the way we understand curves, orbits, and even space travel.
We explore Apollonius' life, his lesser-known contributions beyond geometry, and the deep mathematical ideas that earned him the nickname "The Great Geometer." From the invention of the terms ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola, to the legendary Apollonius Problem—a deceptively simple tangency puzzle with lasting implications—we trace his influence through history and into the modern age.
Perfect for students, teachers, and lovers of mathematical storytelling, this episode offers technical depth, historical intrigue, and a few terrible puns on the side.
Keywords: Apollonius of Perga, conic sections, ancient Greek mathematics, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola, Apollonius problem, tangency geometry, history of mathematics, mathematical storytelling
Hashtags:#ApolloniusOfPerga#ConicSections#HistoryOfMathematics#GreekMathematics#Ellipse #Parabola #Hyperbola#GeometryPodcast#MathematicsEducation#AncientMathematics#TheMathematiciansPodcast#MathematicalStorytelling

Episode 29 - Perseus - In High Spirics

This week on The Mathematicians Podcast, Benjamin Cornish reflects on a tragic bagel incident, files an HR complaint, and somehow ends up discussing the mathematics of toroidal cross-sections. Join us as we explore the life and work of Perseus the quietly brilliant 2nd-century BCE mathematician who gave us spiric sections. We slice through geometry, history, and a bit too much cream cheese, uncovering how one man's fascination with intersecting bagels helped shape the maths behind modern physics, computer graphics, and breakfast regret.
 
#SpiricSections #MathsHistory #Torus #AncientMath #MathsPodcast #PerseusTheMathematician #TorusTalk #BagelMaths  #MathsIsEverywhere #HistoryOfMaths #NonConicCurves #MathsWithFlair #HellenisticGeometry #MathsPuns

Episode 30 - Dionysodorus of Amisus & Hypsicles of Alexandria

This week on The Mathematicians Podcast, Benjamin Cornish presents a double bill of underappreciated thinkers from the back shelves of Greek geometry: Dionysodorus of Amisus and Hypsicles of Alexandria in an episode that's part mathematical history, part cubic conundrum, part "wait, he also did astronomy?"
We begin with Dionysodorus, who solved the doubling of the cube problem the way most of us try to solve awkward social encounters: by introducing a few curves. Using a hyperbola and a parabola, he cracked a cubic equation long before Cardano showed up with his pen and existential dread. Along the way, we explore his contributions to sphere-cutting, tomb-building, and possibly very literal underground thinking.
Then it's on to Hypsicles, the man who gave us Book XIV of Euclid’s Elements, redefined the zodiacal calendar, and possibly invented the idea of π/6 symmetry just to impress his astrologer friends. We look at what he added to geometry, why ancient timekeeping is a cosmic mess, and how his legacy has been hiding in plain sight; like a leap day with good PR.
Come for the cubes. Stay for the calendar. And don’t forget to intersect your conics responsibly.
 
#TheMathematiciansPodcast#GreekMathematics#HistoryOfMaths#Dionysodorus#Hypsicles#DoublingTheCube#CubicEquation#AncientGeometry#ConicSections#EuclidsElements#MathsPodcast#MathematicalHistory#AstronomicalMaths#ZodiacMath#GeometricConstruction#AlgebraBeforeAlgebra#ClassicMathematicians#MathsEducation#CurvedThinking