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PODCAST

The Mathematicians Podcast

Where we explore the historical figures that count. An in-depth look at the history of mathematics, in chronological order, looking at the people, the theories, the ideas - with as fewer gaps as possible. Each episode we focus in on a single character or contribution to the history of maths and explore why it is significant, and how it evolved.

science mathematics

All Episodes

30:55

Episode 50 - Alcuin of York - A wolf, a Goat and a...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/12/03

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 book Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes (Problems to Sharpen the Young), a collection of logic puzzles

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20:17

Episode 49 - Bede - Just in Time

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/11/26

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 explore why we use the AD/BC system and why you should never trust a Solstice. Keywords: Bede, History of

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21:35

Episode 48 - Eutocius of Ascalon - Show Your Workings

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/11/19

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 on "On the Sphere and Cylinder" and "Measurement of a Circle," unravelling fascinating insights into

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26:11

Episode 47 - Isidorus of Miletus - Build it, and they...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/11/12

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, a marvel of pendentives that has stood for centuries. Then, we follow the extraordinary journey of a

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15:15

Episode 46 - Anthemius of Tralles - On Burning Mirrors

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/11/05

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 light, and the secrets behind the magnificent Hagia Sophia. Keywords: Anthemius of Tralles, Byzantine

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19:14

Episode 45 - Simplicius - Keeping it Simplicius

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/10/29

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. Join us as we uncover Simplicius's crucial role as a pagan apologist, philosopher, astronomer, and

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53:17

Episode 44 - The Injectives with Hope Duncan - On...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/10/22

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 silly!) questions from Ben's school students, concepts like dividing by zero and the mass of the universe

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18:09

Episode 43 - John Philoponus - To infinity and stopping

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/10/15

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. Join us as we explore Philoponus's arguments against the Aristotelian view of an eternal cosmos, his

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25:18

Episode 42 - Boethius - A Fork in the Road

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/10/08

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 the future without pre-determining our choices. We'll explore Aristotle's Sea Battle paradox, Boethius's

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18:13

Episode 41 - Hypatia - Less than fairer

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/10/01

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 herself caught in the violent conflicts of the early Christian church. Join us as we examine the forces that

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28:34

Episode 40 - Pappus of Alexandria - Burn the Bridges

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/09/24

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. Pappus’s distinction between "plane," "solid," and the more expansive "linear" problems. Concepts like

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21:19

Episode 39 - Diophantus of Alexandria - A whole lot...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/09/17

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 (where only whole numbers dare to tread!), we explore how this ancient Greek genius sought to generalize

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27:46

Episode 38 - Ptolemy - Beneath the Sheets

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/09/10

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 and predictive mathematical model to prove it; a system of circles-on-circles that could accurately

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17:15

Episode 37 - Theon of Smyrna - A Number for a Name

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/09/03

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 Platonist. His monumental work: a comprehensive guide to Pythagorean and Platonic arithmetic, music

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25:14

Episode 36 - Nicomachus of Gerasa - That which...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/08/27

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 today. We’ll look at how his Introduction to Arithmetic became the medieval go-to textbook, how his

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17:38

Episode 35 - Menelaus of Alexandria - The straightest...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/08/20

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 navigation, GPS, and astronomy today. The music was: "Danse Macabre - Finale" Kevin MacLeod

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49:00

Episode 34 - Injectives with Dr Daffern - Religion...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/08/13

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 ancient Egypt and the philosophies of Greece to the shifting theological landscapes leading up to the

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44:00

Episode 33 - Injectives with Dr Daffern - Religion...

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/08/06

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 ancient Egypt and the philosophies of Greece to the shifting theological landscapes leading up to the

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13:46

Episode 32 - Hero of Alexandria - A Hero to us all

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/07/30

This week, Benjamin Cornish invites you to step into the steam-powered sandals of Hero of Alexandria—the ancient world’s most enthusiastic gadgeteer. Was he a mathematician? An engineer? A magician in a toga? Yes. Yes. And absolutely yes. From vending machines that accepted drachmas to the first recorded steam engine (that did absolutely nothing useful), Hero turned math into motion and geometry into gears. Join us as we unpack Hero’s life in the shadow of Archimedes, his flair for theatrical

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17:40

Episode 31 - Hipparchus - Going Supernova

The Mathematicians Podcast ·

2025/07/23

In this episode of The Mathematicians Podcast, Benjamin Cornish dives into the life and legacy of Hipparchus, the Greek thinker who gave us trigonometry, mapped the stars, and even invented tools to measure the heavens. From creating the first star catalog and predicting eclipses to introducing spherical projections and the chord table, Hipparchus wasn’t just stargazing, he was shaping the future of science. We’ll explore his inventions, his obsession with accuracy, and why Greenland is not as big

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