Podcasts

Podcast Archive

Find all of our Podcasts from 2007 onwards

Podcast 10, June 2008: Maths in the MoviesMaths has long been a theme in the movies. This week, Plus talks to Madeleine Shepherd, organiser of the maths film festival at the recent Edinburgh science festival, about how maths has been presented in the movies over the years, with particular reference to three more recent films, Cube, Pi and Flatland. For more on maths in the movies read the Plus article Maths, madness and movies.
Podcast 11, June 2008: Catching wavesThe Fourier transform is a piece of maths that is, almost single-handedly, responsible for the digital revolution. Digital music and images would be impossible without it and it has applications in anything from medical imaging to landmine detection. We asked Chris Budd what the Fourier transform does, and how it does it. This podcast accompanies the Plus article Saving lives: The mathematics of tomography.
Plus Careers Podcast 2, June 2008: Exhibition CuratorThis podcast accompanies the career interview in issue 47 of Plus. Barry Phipps is the first interdisciplinary fellow with the Kettle's Yard gallery in Cambridge. His remit is to develop projects of an interdisciplinary nature, to find the common ground between things. This week, Plus talks to Barry about breaking down the barriers between artists and scientists and creating greater dialogue because, as Barry says, science and art are intrinsically related at the centre, and there is no stepping away from one to be another.
Podcast 9, May 2008: Cosmic ImageryFrom the complexity of the snowflake, to the London tube map and the spiralling Andromeda galaxy, imagery has always been a vitally important ingredient of science. This week, Plus talks to John Barrow, professor of mathematics at Cambridge University and author of the new book Cosmic Imagery, about the images that have changed science, and how we have viewed science, over the centuries.
Cosmic imagery - visual version

From the complexity of the snowflake, to the London tube map and the spiralling Andromeda galaxy, imagery has always been a vitally important ingredient of science. This week, Plus talks to John Barrow, professor of mathematics at Cambridge University and author of the new book Cosmic Imagery, about the images that have changed science, and how we have viewed science, over the centuries.
Podcast 8, April 2008: Codes and codebreaking - the Enigma machineThe Enigma machine was once considered unbreakable, and the cracking of the "unbreakable code" by the allies changed the course of World War 2. This week, Plus talks to Nadia Baker from the Enigma Project about the history of codes and code-breaking, why the Enigma machine was considered unbreakable, the mathematics behind codes, and how it was finally cracked. The Enigma Project travels all over the United Kingdom and abroad, visiting over 100 schools and organisations, reaching over 12,000 people of all ages every year.
Podcast 7, March 2008: Biostatistics - From cradle to graveBacon sandwiches, drinking while pregnant, obesity - health risks are a favourite with the media. But behind the simple numbers quoted in the headlines lies a huge and sophisticated body of statistical research. We talk to Professor Sheila Bird of the Biostatistics Unit in Cambridge about her work in public health and its impact on policy, and discuss bias in pharmaceutical studies, as recently highlighted by the controversy around antidepressants.
Podcast 6, January 2008: Interdisciplinary Maths, from life on Mars to cancer development We talk to four researchers from UCL's centre for mathematics and physics in the life sciences and experimental biology (COMPLEX) about the role of maths in such fields as astrobiology, cancer modelling and biology.
Plus Careers Podcast, December 2007: Mathematical Modelling ConsultantWe talk to Nira Chamberlain about his job as a modelling consultant involving aircraft carriers, telecommunication networks, staying slim and speaking French.
Podcast 4, November 2007: Leonard Euler and maths communicationWe talk to Professor Chris Budd about the greatest mathematician of all - Leonard Euler. We also talk about maths communication, maths in the food industry and the best mathematical pickup lines.
Podcast 3, October 2007: Women in mathematicsWe visit the European Women in Mathematics conference and talk to two leading mathematicians, Caroline Series and Cheryl Praeger.
Podcast 2, October 2007: The geometry of virusesReidun Twarock finds symmetry in viruses and tells us about the maths used to understand them.
Podcast 1, August 2007: Breaking the iceWe talk to Shahn Majid about a whole new geometry of space, find out about how mathematics is combatting climate change, as well as all the latest news from the world of maths.
  • Maths in a minute

    Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.