x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Math! Science! History!

Gabrielle Birchak

Why do some scientific breakthroughs look different up close than they do in our textbooks? How did math quietly shape the modern world? Math! Science! History! explores the human side of discovery, including the rivalries, the failed attempts, the bold ideas, and the marginalized voices behind the equations and experiments that changed science, technology, and everyday life. Hosted by Gabrielle Birchak, who holds degrees in mathematics and journalism, the show connects codebreaking, astronomy,

science mathematics

All Episodes

12:13

FLASHCARDS! The Archive that Survives

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/03/06

How does knowledge survive when libraries burn, devices are seized, and archives come under threat? In this Flashcards Friday episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle Birchak takes a closer look at what it actually means to preserve knowledge in the present moment. Using three short flashcards, this episode explores redundancy, cloud storage, and practical threat modeling for scholars, journalists, and anyone responsible for research or records. From ancient libraries to modern reporting, this

en

18:31

When Knowledge Survives War: Adolphe Rome and...

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/03/03

What does it take to preserve knowledge when libraries burn, records disappear, and history itself is under threat? In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle Birchak takes a closer look at the life and work of Adolphe Rome, a meticulous Belgian historian of science whose devotion to ancient mathematics and astronomy reshaped how we understand figures like Ptolemy, Hypatia, and Theon of Alexandria. Spanning from the destruction of the Library of Alexandria to modern data-rescue movements,

en

22:47

Hidden Inventors: Black Women, Patents, and Lost Credit

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/02/24

In this episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle Birchak traces the paper trails behind Black women inventors whose ideas reshaped ordinary life, from laundry tools and home design to security systems and medical devices. You will hear how patents, assignments, licensing, and missing records shaped who got credit and who got paid, and why some inventions became household standards while their inventors stayed unfamiliar. This story is about engineering, documentation, and what happens when

en

11:49

FLASHCARDS! The Power of Self-Learning

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/02/20

Self-teaching is not only a way to collect knowledge. It is a life skill that builds self-reliance, career mobility, and mental flexibility over time. In this Flashcard Friday episode, Gabrielle explains why lifelong learning supports brain health and communication, how certificates can make your progress visible on LinkedIn, and why stepping outside your comfort zone sometimes means learning hard history, including the ways slavery shaped American systems. Call to action: Follow the show so you do

en

24:47

Benjamin Banneker: The African-American Astronomer...

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/02/17

Benjamin Banneker used math, astronomy, and publication to claim space in a country that tried to deny him authority. This episode follows his path from a Maryland farm to almanacs that carried his name across the young republic, and to the 1791 boundary survey work that helped set the lines of the new federal district. What You'll Learn 1. How Banneker became an astronomer without a formal scientific education and why an ephemeris inside an almanac mattered so much in the late 1700s. 2.

en

18:23

Victorian Thought Photography

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/02/10

A camera was not always needed to "capture" a thought. In the late Victorian era, a few experimenters pressed photographic plates to foreheads and claimed the developed marks were images of the mind. In this episode of Math! Science! History!, we trace the strange rise of "thought photography," why it sounded plausible in an age of new invisible forces, and what these experiments reveal about technology, interpretation, and scientific method. What Develops in the Dark What you'll learn in this

en

05:10

FLASHCARDS! Talking to Science Skeptics

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/02/06

What do you say when someone doesn't trust science? In this Flashcards Friday episode, I share practical, evidence-based ways to talk about science with skeptics, without attacking, shaming, or arguing past each other. This episode focuses on how evidence actually works, why people reject scientific claims, and how scientists and science communicators can lower defensiveness by explaining methods, uncertainty, and values clearly. If you care about public trust in science, this episode offers tools

en

09:54

FLASHCARDS! The Patience of the Sun Dagger

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/01/30

The Sun Dagger on Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon is a powerful reminder that understanding is built slowly. Long before textbooks and lab reports, careful observers tracked repeating patterns in light and season, and a community carried that knowledge forward. In today's Flashcards episode, we use the Sun Dagger as a practical thinking tool for modern life: watch first, listen second, explain last. It is a simple sequence that improves scientific judgment, reduces snap conclusions, and makes our

en

19:22

The Sun Dagger: How Ancient Puebloans Made Calendars...

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/01/27

More than a thousand years ago, the Ancestral Puebloans built a working solar calendar without clocks, written mathematics, or mechanical instruments. Etched into stone at Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon, the Sun Dagger used light and shadow to track solstices and equinoxes with remarkable precision. In this episode, we explore how the Sun Dagger worked, why its spiral design mattered, and what it reveals about community, long-term observation, and scientific thinking before modern technology. This is

en

09:53

FLASHCARDS! The Hidden Physics of Shoveling Snow

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/01/23

If you enjoy the hidden science behind everyday life, leave a review, subscribe to the podcast and share this episode with someone who is shoveling snow this winter. Shoveling snow looks simple, but it is one of the most punishing everyday tasks your body can perform. In this Flashcard Friday episode, we explore the physics hiding in plain sight every winter, from why lifting snow feels brutal to why wet snow seems impossibly heavy and why shovel design matters more than most people realize. This is

en

12:57

REPOST! Laura Bassi, the First Female Physics Professor

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/01/20

Before Isaac Newton's ideas reshaped Europe, his work struggled to gain traction in Italy. This episode revisits the remarkable life of Laura Bassi, the first woman in history to hold an academic chair, and the physicist who championed Newtonian physics against fierce intellectual and social resistance. In 1776, Laura Bassi achieved a historic milestone, becoming the first woman in the world to hold a chair of experimental physics and the highest-paid lecturer at the University of Bologna. Her

en

12:53

REPOST! Eponymy and the Sexagesimal Spiral

Math! Science! History! ·

2026/01/13

A viral multiplication spiral once attributed to Nikola Tesla opens the door to a much older mathematical story, one rooted in ancient Sumerian and Babylonian base-60 mathematics. In this episode, we explore how sexagesimal counting shaped everything from clocks and geometry to modern science, and how ideas are often misnamed after the most famous figure rather than the original innovator. Along the way, we unpack eponymy, the Matthew Effect, and why credit in science and math is rarely distributed

en

11:54

FLASHCARDS! Puzzle Brain

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/12/12

If you enjoyed today's Flashcard Friday deep dive, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with a fellow puzzle lover. And don't forget, this last Tuesday was the big Holiday Time-Travel Puzzle Episode, so keep grab your notebook and check it out for prizes and a gift card! You can listen to it here: https://mathsciencehistory.libsyn.com/its-the-math-science-history-holiday-puzzle-2025 Episode Overview Solving puzzles feels good, but why? In this Flashcard Friday episode,

en

21:37

Museum After Dark and The Man Who Lit up the Room

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/12/02

Step into a silent museum after closing hours, where moonlight washes over long corridors and the hum of unseen forces seems to guide your every step. In this immersive narrative puzzle episode, four historical artifacts awaken in the darkness to share their stories. Each object reveals a piece of a much larger scientific legacy, one that begins with ancient reverence for a thunderous waterfall and continues through centuries of experimentation, rivalry, and extraordinary imagination. By following

en

19:44

Carl Friedrich Gauss: The Genius Who Shaped Modern...

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/11/25

In this episode of Math! Science! History!, I explore the extraordinary life and legacy of Carl Friedrich Gauss, often called the Prince of Mathematics. From a childhood marked by brilliance to contributions that underpin GPS, machine learning, astronomy, electromagnetism, and modern geometry, Gauss reshaped the scientific world with humility and unwavering precision. You'll learn where the myths end, where the history begins, and why Gauss's work remains foundational in virtually every field

en

08:49

FLASHCARDS! Tryptophan, Mood, and Thanksgiving Science

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/11/21

If you enjoy learning how chemistry, math, and history shape everyday life, follow Math! Science! History! and share this episode with someone still blaming the turkey! Why does tryptophan always get accused of making everyone sleepy after Thanksgiving? Today's Flashcards Friday takes a closer look at the real science behind this famous amino acid , including how it works in the body, why carbohydrates change everything, and how tryptophan connects to your mood and even your sense of gratitude

en

21:14

REPOST: Pumpkin Spiced

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/11/18

I'm diving deep into the chemistry of flavor, the history of spices, and the math behind crafting the perfect pumpkin spice latte. So go grab your cup of pumpkin spice whatever, get cozy, and let's explore! To read the podcast's transcripts, visit me at www.MathScienceHistory.com. You can buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon at https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h Until next time, carpe diem! Show music by Lloyd Rodgers has no Copyright and no rights reserved. Other music by

en

08:38

FLASHCARDS! The Science of Spirits

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/10/31

Raise your glass, and your curiosity. In this Math! Science! History! Flashcard Friday, Gabrielle Birchak takes you into a haunted pub where chemistry and folklore share the same barstool. You'll uncover how distillation mirrors transformation, why vapor behaves like a ghost, and how the energy that fuels both whiskey and legend never truly disappears. This is science told by firelight, a story of matter, energy, and the invisible bonds that tie us to everything that changes form. Three

en

35:22

Haunted Machines: The Engineer Proximity Effect and...

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/10/28

In this Halloween-special episode of Math! Science! History!, your host Gabrielle Birchak explores the strange world where superstition meets science. We dive into why machines sometimes bow to the mere presence of an engineer (the "Engineer Proximity Effect") and how one of the greatest physicists of the 20th century, Wolfgang Pauli, became the subject of an odd legend: wherever he went, lab equipment failed (the "Pauli Effect"). Join us for a spooky, fun, and surprisingly rational journey into the

en

09:42

FLASHCARDS! Conserving Our Oceans

Math! Science! History! ·

2025/10/24

In this Flashcard Friday episode of Math! Science! History!, Gabrielle explores how everyday choices can make a real difference for our oceans. From reducing single-use plastics to supporting sustainable seafood and climate-friendly habits, this episode uncovers the math, science, and history behind ocean conservation, and the powerful impact of small changes. Plastic pollution isn’t just a problem for sea turtles and coral reefs, it’s a problem for us. Every year, about 11 million metric tons of

en

78 results

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter