During the month of Earth Day, it is justifiable and poignant that we while we honor Mother Earth, we also honor Eunice Newton Foote, the world's first female climate scientist. Foote perfectly exemplified how women contribute to more than just

Episode 71 - Catherine Macaulay and her Call for Educational Equality

26 days ago 9m 18s

As Women's History Month ends, I want to introduce you to Catherine Macaulay, an eighteenth-century British historian who called for equality in education. She believed that by providing education to young girls and women, we could let go of so

Episode 70: The Book Hypatia The Sum of Her Life

Aug 1st, 2023 9m 55s

Hypatia was one of the first female mathematicians that we know of. Her accomplishments were many. She was a valued Alexandrian teacher who taught mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. She was a government advisor and was respected by leader

Hipparchus-The Trigonometry of our Cosmos

Aug 23rd, 2022 15m 46s

Hipparchus was one of the first mathematicians who trigonometrically defined his astronomical observations through stereographic projection, which is incredibly awe-inspiring! To read the podcast's transcripts and to see a visual description

Archimedes and his Pi - Repost

Aug 2nd, 2022 12m 40s

In June 2022, Emma Haruka Iwao and her team at Google computed pi to 100 trillion digits! But this number 3.1415, first determined by Archimedes, only had three digits. Archimedes left a huge impression on the world of math! To read the podcas

Emilie du Chatelet and Her One True Love

Jul 12th, 2022 18m 46s

Many people think that Emilie du Chatelet's one true love was Voltaire, but it was not! Who (or what) did she love more?! To read the podcast's transcripts, visit me at www.MathScienceHistory.com. To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life o

Time Travel's Past

Jun 21st, 2022 18m 59s

Yes! Time Travel has a past! The history of time travel goes as far back as 400 BCE! Time travel stories empower us with insight into how we could have corrected the past or how we can change the future! Where would you like to travel to?! To r

Ancient Women in Science

May 31st, 2022 16m 38s

We have many female contemporaries of women in science today. Believe it or not, even in ancient history, Rome had a few exceptional female contemporaries in science as well! For more information on Hypatia, you can listen here: https://mathsc

Who Murdered Ferrari?!

May 17th, 2022 21m 17s

This is part three of my series about the diabolical world of math in Renaissance Italy! In my last episode, Tartaglia became a mathematical celebrity. In this episode, Tartaglia meets Ferrari, then Ferrari is found murdered! Who murdered Ferra

Was it for the math? Or the money? - Part 2

May 11th, 2022 15m 23s

In my last podcast, I note that in 1494 Fra Luca Pacioli published his book the Summa. In the conclusion of his book, Pacioli posited an impossible problem! This roused curiosity and diabolical activity! To read the podcast's transcripts, visit

This Accountant is Fire! - Part 1

May 11th, 2022 14m 44s

Taxes and magic. Yes, the two go together in this story about Fra Luca Pacioli, who wrote one of the first textbooks on accounting - and magic! To read the podcast's transcripts, visit me at www.MathScienceHistory.com. For more info on Lock Pap

Reposting Chaos Theory's Flap of a Butterfly's Wings

May 11th, 2022 11m 30s

Fifty years ago Dr. Edward Lorenz coined the term the Butterfly Effect and validated Poincaré's findings on Chaos Theory. To read the podcast's transcripts, visit me at www.MathScienceHistory.com. If you would like to hear an early-release, ad-

When Women Gather

May 11th, 2022 18m 3s

In eighteenth-century Europe, there was an increase in women entering the field of science, more so than in the seventeenth century. What inspired this incredible movement for women in STEM? To read the podcast's transcripts, visit me at www.Ma

It Didn't Belong to Pythagoras

May 11th, 2022 15m 49s

I have mentioned before that the Pythagorean Theorem was not Pythagoras's discovery. This podcast looks at the tangible proof of the theorem, and where it might have come from! To read the podcast's transcripts, visit me at www.MathScienceHisto

Galileo and the Inquisition Part 2

May 11th, 2022 12m 9s

When we last left off, Saint Thomas Aquinas was determined to join the Dominican order. However, it didn’t go well with the family, and his mother was not happy. What follows are the details of his effect on the Galileo Affair. To read the pod

What do Aristotle and St. Aquinas have to do with the Galileo Affair?

May 11th, 2022 15m 45s

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was born in 384 BCE. The Italian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225. Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564. Between the three of them, there is a story that spans almost 2000 years. That stor

Can Math be Patented?

May 11th, 2022 17m 49s

Is mathematics invented or discovered? And if it is invented, can it be patented? Has it ever been patented? To read about the history of patents, visit me at www.MathScienceHistory.com. To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, v

Sofya Kovalevskaya

May 11th, 2022 16m 11s

Gender disparity is still evident in STEM. But, how hard was it in the 19th century? Sofya Kovalevskaya's efforts to become a full professor show just how hard it was. To read about Kovalevskaya, visit me at www.MathScienceHistory.com. To buy

Pseudomathematics

May 6th, 2022 14m 24s

Many of us have heard about pseudoscience, which is a system of theories that are wrongly considered to be scientific. But have you ever heard of pseudomathematics? How about mathematical crankery? If you want to read more about pseudomathemati

Reposting Math Science History Introduction

1 Dec 23rd, 2021 11m 15s

Math is part of our genetic makeup, and history proves it to be true! From 30,000 years ago to today, math has guided us, inspired us, and fueled our scientific progress. For more information on the ancient Mesopotamian clay tablet, you can se

It's the 2021 Holiday Puzzle!

Dec 15th, 2021 15m 19s

It's that time of year! It's time for my Annual Holiday Puzzle! And it's my THIRD Annual Puzzle! (I can't believe the podcast is going on three years!) This year I am upping the ante! If you can solve the puzzles, and be the first person to ema

Zeno's Paradoxes

Nov 24th, 2021 15m 57s

Have you ever been in a moment in your life where you wished something would change, but it doesn't? Time passes by and nothing changes. In physics and mathematics, this is known as the Quantum Zeno Effect. If you want to read more about this e

It's a decimal, not a period.

Mar 30th, 2021 11m 58s

The history of the decimal is fairly new! Before the decimal, mathematicians just listed either values or fractions. And the best part about the decimal is that it's nothing like a period. If you want to read more about the history of math and

Plato and Archytas

Mar 11th, 2021 15m 26s

Agree to disagree. This was the foundation of two ancient philosophers and friends, Archytas and Plato. Plato was a philosophical mathematician, and Archytas was a mechanical engineer. But, the friendship was strong enough to save Plato's life.

The Crumplers

Feb 24th, 2021 19m 57s

This is my special tribute to Black History Month, to love, to African-American men and women, and to all of those who have worked tirelessly on the front lines fighting COVID. This story has remained hidden for over a century. It is one of the