aboutlogic #17 | Why is mathematics so effective in science? José Pérez Escobar (UNED, Madrid) joins Deniz and Thorsten to explore Wittgenstein’s philosophy of applied mathematics, the role of rules vs. structures in math, and how models shape our understanding of reality.From neuroscience to physics, José explains why mathematical models often act as rules of description rather than mere representations of reality and how this perspective resolves Wittgenstein’s "rule-following paradox." The

Plus is based at the Maths Faculty at the University of Cambridge so we have lots of opportunities to talk to interesting mathematicians about their work and their working lives. This week we speak to Holly Krieger, who is a professor here in a podcast that we originally produced for the Maths Faculty.Holly works in the overlap of two areas of mathematics: number theory – which is famous for problems such as Fermat's Last Theorem – and complex dynamics, which gives rise to beautiful fractals

In this episode of "In the Interim…", Dr. Scott Berry challenges the widely held belief that any interim look at trial data obligates an alpha adjustment. By constructing a two-by-two matrix: interim data (positive/negative) and adaptive action (increase/decrease sample size), Scott demonstrates that the need for statistical correction depends on precisely what actions are prespecified. He emphasizes that the need for adjustment depends on the action and the data. Technical scenarios

We invited Mark Schultz-Wu on the podcast to talk about the history of lattice cryptography. When lattices are explained in plain english, they are actually quite simple! I don't think any of us have ever seen Deirdre so happy. If you're watching the video version, there's a section that's 6.1 minutes long with no cuts and consists just of Deirdre vigorously agreeing with what Mark is saying while smiling. What a time to be alive. Anyway, we are hosting another happy hour in Vegas between Bla...

Neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author Dr. Vivienne Ming joins Autumn and Noah to make the case that if we want better AI, we need to build better people first. We get into why AI tutors that hand students answers make learning worse, not better; what her research on "hybrid intelligence" reveals about the human traits — not the AI model — that predict elite human-AI collaboration; a wild experiment running Dungeons & Dragons with Claude and Gemini as dungeon masters to expose the gap between

Welcome to Voices of Mathematics, a podcast from the Mathematics Faculty at the University of Cambridge.From number theory and geometry to cosmology and quantum physics, join us to explore topics across pure and applied mathematics, mathematical statistics and theoretical physics. In this episode we talk to Hannah Fry, Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics (DAMTP). Hannah has just been awarded the Leelavati Prize at

HF, Cambridge's first Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics, has been awarded the Leelavati Prize at this year's International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). The Leelavati Prize is awarded every four years by the International Mathematical Union and Infosys for outstanding contributions for increasing public awareness of mathematics.We talked to H in the run-up to the ICM about how she feels about being awarded the prize, the role of mathematics in culture, and her favourite

Your support helps us keep these conversations going! If you’d like to contribute, you can buy us a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/aboutlogic How do interactive theorem provers like Lean and Agda change the way we teach and do mathematics? In this aboutlogic: premises episode, Deniz and Thorsten discuss the role of proof assistants in education, the differences between Lean and Agda, and how AI is transforming formal verification.

In this episode of "In the Interim…," Dr. Scott Berry interviews Tim Berry, co-founder of Blend360, detailing a career that demonstrates the practical application of statistical and analytical methods within large-scale business environments. Tim outlines his quick shift from earning a master’s at the University of Minnesota to industry positions, starting at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he built and tested retention models on millions of consumer records. He recounts his time at Rapp

aboutlogic #16 | How is mathematical language structured, and what can linguistics teach us about proofs, ambiguity, and storytelling in math? In this episode, Bernhard Fisseni and Bernhard Schröder (University of Duisburg-Essen) join Deniz and Thorsten to explore the frames, narratives, and pragmatic structures behind mathematical texts.

How can school leaders make a real difference in the quality oftheir school’sSTEM learning? Professor Kim Beswick joins us to talk about what strong STEM leadership looks like, and the role principals can play building a strong STEM learning culture in the school community. Kim also highlights the barriers schools often encounter, particularly in rural and disadvantaged communities, the influence of teacher expectations on student outcomes, and shares examples of how effective leadership can

Dr. Wall interviews Dawn Pagliaro-Newman, author of Dyscalculia Demystified. Learn why Dawn wrote this important book, what's inside, and what's next for educators interested in the math-related SLD.

Anthropic's Fable gets classified as a munitions export days after launch, and Jacob and Igor try to figure out who's really being punished and why. From there: SpaceX's suspiciously well-timed IPO, a "genius" financial deal with Anthropic, and Elon buying Cursor because Grok needs friends. They also cover Anthropic Core's pivot to expert-systems consulting, the backlash over silently nerfed guardrails, whether Chinese models are actually a safe alternative, and why the Pope's new AI

Welcome to Voices of Mathematics, the podcast from the Mathematics Faculty at the University of Cambridge. From number theory and geometry to cosmology and quantum physics, join us to explore topics across pure and applied mathematics, mathematical statistics and theoretical physics. In this episode we talk to Julian Sahasrabudhe, Professor of Combinatorics in the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS). Julian Sahasrabudhe and his collaborators have made headlines for a

We are continuing our conversations with mathematician colleagues at the University of Cambridge, part of the podcast we produce for the Maths Faculty here. Today we meet Julian Sahasrabudhe, Professor of Mathematics, and one of the invited speakers at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in July this year. The ICM is one of the biggest events in the mathematics world and is the host of several prizes, including the prestigious Fields Medal. Only mathematicians at the very forefront of

In this episode of "In the Interim...", Dr. Scott Berry investigates the practical meaning of fairness by connecting a controversial World Cup soccer ruling to foundational questions in clinical trial statistics. Scott scrutinizes FIFA’s unusual reversal of a red card suspension for US striker Folarin Balogun, referencing reports of US presidential influence, and draws explicit parallels between the enforcement of rules in international sport and the necessity for rigorously defined

What do kindergarten counting concepts have to do with high school algebra? More than most teachers realize. In this episode, Joanie and Curtis sit down with Erin Wahler-Cleveland, founder of Roots and Wings Math, to explore how deep understanding of early and elementary mathematics lays the groundwork for everything that comes later — and what teachers at every grade level can do to better support that understanding. Erin opens with a thought-provoking coordinate-plane framework that disting...

In this episode, Historian and author Marc Dunkelman to explain why the 19th-century fight over railroad power is the exact fight we're about to have over algorithms and AI. Drawing on his acclaimed book Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress — and How to Bring It Back (a Best Book of the Year in the Financial Times and The Economist), Marc unpacks the two competing tools America has always used against concentrated power — antitrust vs. regulation — and why our government's "endemic diffusion of

What if the safest AI models weren't built by adding guardrails after training, but by shaping what gets learned in the first place? Ethan Roland, senior alignment researcher at AE Studio and first author on an ICML 2026 spotlight paper, joins Jacob to talk about gradient routing, a technique that routes dangerous capabilities into isolated parts of a model's architecture where they can be locked or removed entirely. They get into the absorption effect, KYC-style access control frameworks,

Text us your thoughts!You’ve probably heard it before—claims about how the brain learns best or teaching moves justified by neuroscience.  These ideas have shaped classrooms, professional development, and even policy. But here’s the question we’re asking today: Have we gone too far? In this Hot Seat, we’re joined by two guests who will be arguing that math education over-relies on brain-based research—and that this reliance may actually be limiting how we think about teaching, learning, and students