Living Proof: the Isaac Newton Institute podcast
Episodes
Revealing the secrets of Sanskrit mathematics with Prof Clemency Montelle - Episode #74
24 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Send us Fan MailWe talk with Professor Clemency Montelle all about her work decoding the mathematics of ancient manuscripts. In a wide-ranging discuss...
#73 Building digital hearts
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textImagine if your doctor had a digital model of your heart, personalised to you and updated with your latest medical information. This isn...
#72 Céline Broeckaert and Frank Verstraete
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of Living Proof, we speak with Céline and Frank about their book: Why nobody understands quantum physics - and everyone...
#71 Moustapha Fall
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of the Living Proof podcast we're delighted to meet Moustapha Fall. Moustapha is the Center President of the Africa...
#70 Codina Cotar and some amazing mathematical art
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEarlier this year the the anomalous mathematical patterns sci-art competition attracted some jaw-dropping entries. The competition was h...
#69 Ekaterina Eremenko on Olga Ladyzhenskaya’s Life in Math
09 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of Living Proof, we speak with renowned filmmaker Ekaterina Eremenko about her film "Portrait of Olga Ladyzhenskaya...
#68 Hunting through higher dimensions with Zhouli Xu
02 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWelcome to the latest episode of Living Proof, our podcast produced in collaboration with Plus.maths.org– you can find all the content...
#67 The meaning is in the arrows with Adina Goldberg
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWelcome to the latest episode of Living Proof, our podcast produced in collaboration with Plus.maths.orgIn this podcast we hope to give ...
#66 A conversation with Sarah Hart
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWelcome to the latest episode of Living Proof, our podcast produced in collaboration with Plus.maths.orgIn this episode we spoke to Sara...
#64 Communicating mathematics with the INI and Hannah Fry
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWelcome to the latest episode of Living Proof, our podcast produced in collaboration with Plus.maths.orgIn this episode, we dive into th...
#65 Diving into maths with Emmy Noether
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textWelcome to the latest episode of Living Proof, our podcast produced in collaboration with Plus.maths.orgIn this episode, we talked to fa...
#63 Exploring anomalous diffusion: an interview with Aleks Mijatovic and Codina Cotar
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn the latest episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Aleks Mijatovic (Warwick, Alan Turing Institute) and Codina Cotar (UCL) about...
#62 Exploring Twistor Theory - an interview with Lionel Mason and Maciej Dunajski
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn the latest episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Professors Lionel Mason (Oxford) and Maciej Dunajski (Cambridge) of the Twist...
#61 Organising an INI Satellite Programme: an interview with Professors Mark Blyth and Sasha Korobkin
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn the latest episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Professors Mark Blyth and Sasha Korobkin, organisers of the INI Satellite Pro...
#60 Exploring 'Mathlib' and the digitisation of mathematics: an interview with Professor Kevin Buzzard
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn the latest episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Professor Kevin Buzzard of Imperial College London. Inspired by a lecture giv...
“Meet the… Simons Postdoctoral Fellows” mini series #12 Dr Luke Davis
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEstablished in 2021, the INI Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics scheme enables “exceptional early career researchers in the mathe...
#59 Meeting the three mathematics medalists from the STEM for Britain awards 2024
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel is joined by three guests: Daniel Gardham (Surrey), Katherine Benjamin (Oxford), and Francisc...
“Meet the… Simons Postdoctoral Fellows” mini series #11 Dr S. J. Kole
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textNow in its third year, the INI Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics scheme enables “exceptional early career researchers in the mat...
#58 Linking Cambridge with Africa: how to co-host an international research workshop
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFrom 8-12 January 2024, the "Equivariant methods in geometry" took place in INI's main seminar room in Cambridge, UK. So ...
#57 Cambridge Festival | Prof Ben Allanach previews his talk: "The Force Awakens: Quantum Collisions"
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this short episode, Dan Aspel speaks to Professor Ben Allanach (Cambridge, CERN) about his talk "The Force Awakens: Quantum Coll...
#56 Voices from Ukraine: Olena Domanska of the Solidarity for Mathematicians programme
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published 30/01/24 In February 2022, Olena Domanska and her family left their home in Ukraine. The ongoing Russian invasion has...
“Meet the… Simons Postdoctoral Fellows” mini series #10 Dr Samuel Stark
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published: 20/11/23 Thanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathema...
“Meet the… Simons Postdoctoral Fellows” mini series #9 Dr Zhao-He Watse Sybesma
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published: 10/10/23 Thanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathema...
“Meet the… Simons Postdoctoral Fellows” mini series #8 Dr Paul Pruzina
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published: 09/10/23 Thanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathema...
#55 Marbles, pint glasses and the Kepler conjecture: an overview of the 2023 GeomPack programme, with organisers Simon Cox and Adil Mughal
08 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn the latest episode, Dan Aspel speaks to Simon Cox and Adil Mughal - organisers of the 2023 programme "GeomPack: Geometry and pac...
#54 Discussing "The Irrational Diary of Clara Valentine", an interview with Coralie Colmez
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode recorded: 17/07/23In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Coralie Colmez, author of the young adult novel "The...
#53 Disproving Ravenel's "telescope conjecture": an interview with Tomer Schlank and Jeremy Hahn
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode recorded: 07/07/23In this episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Marianne Freiberger are joined by Tomer Schlank (Hebrew Univers...
Thirty years of proof: celebrating Andrew Wiles on the anniversary of Fermat's Last Theorem
22 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThe 23rd of June 2023 marks exactly thirty years since Sir Andrew Wiles announced his historic first proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem. H...
#51 Celebrating the Newton Gateway's 10th anniversary, an interview with Clare Merritt
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThis year, and more specifically during the week of 20 March, the Newton Gateway to Mathematics will be celebrating its 10th anniversary...
#50 Why should we bother communicating INI research? An interview with Rachel Thomas and Marianne Freiberger
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this 50th (!) episode of Living Proof, Dan Aspel speaks to Rachel Thomas and Marianne Freiberger of Plus magazine. Plus works closely...
#49 How to make maths funny, an interview with Timandra Harkness
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #49 of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Maha Kaouri are joined by presenter, writer and comedian Timandra Harkness. The author of ...
Making data accessible: an interview with Hannah Thomas of Government Analysis Function
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published 15/02/23In episode #48 of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Maha Kaouri speak to Hannah Thomas of Government Analysis Functi...
“Meet the… Simons Postdoctoral Fellows” mini series #7 Dr Nicolas Boulle
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics is now in its second yea...
“Meet the… Simons Postdoctoral Fellows” mini series #6 Dr Patrick Sprenger
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textThanks to the generous support of the Simons Foundation, the INI-Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics are enabling “exceptio...
Voices from Ukraine: Yuriy Semenov of the Solidarity for Mathematicians programme
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textForced to leave Ukraine, and his work at the Institute of Hydromechanics at the National Academy of Sciences, due to the Russian invasio...
Voices from Ukraine: Nataliya Vaisfel'd of the Solidarity for Mathematicians programme
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textProfessor Nataliya Vaisfel’d was until recently Head of the Chair of methods of mathematical physics at Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National...
#45 Making maths fascinating, an interview with Ben Sparks and Katie Steckles
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published 20/09/22In episode #45 of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Christie Marr are thrilled to meet Ben Sparks and Katie Steckles...
#44 Travel, enthusiasm and history: an interview with Don and Silke Zagier
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published 31/08/22In episode #44 of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Christie Marr speak to both Don Zagier and Silke Zagier. Don is ...
#43 Communicating maths: a journalist’s perspective, an interview with Tom Whipple
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode published 06/07/22In episode #43 of Living Proof, Maha Kaouri and Christie Marr speak to Tom Whipple, Science Editor at The Time...
#42 Solving the "two-body problem", an interview with Prof Parimala Raman
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #42 of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Christie Marr speak to Prof Parimala Raman of Emory University. Parimala, the Kirk Disting...
#41 Discovering the "Gems of Hypolytos" - an interview with Prof Herbert Gangl
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel speaks to Prof Herbert Gangl to learn about his unique mathematical jewellery the "Gems of Hypolytos".
#40 Fluid mechanics, turbulence and more: an interview with Prof Rama Govindarajan
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel and Christie Marr speak to Prof Rama Govindarajan of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences in Bengaluru.
#39 Meeting one of Canada's most powerful women: an interview with Prof Anita Layton
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel and Plus magazine’s Dr Marianne Freiberger are joined by the irrepressible Prof Anita Layton of the University of Waterloo.
#38 Amsterdam to INI... by bicycle! An interview with Antoine Gagnebin
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel catches up with Antoine Gagnebin, an INI workshop participant who's made the exciting decision to travel from Amsterdam t...
#37 Teaching maths in Africa: an interview with Professor Franca Hoffmann
11 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textProfessor Hoffmann has spent much of the past decade working with the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, its Quantum Leap Afri...
#36 "You don't need anybody's permission to be a great mathematician", an interview with Dr Nira Chamberlain
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #36 of Living Proof, Dan Aspel and Christie Marr speak to Dr Nira Chamberlain, not only the “5th most influential black per...
"Meet the... Simons Postdoctoral Fellows" mini series #5 Dr Anagha Madhusudanan
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel speaks to Dr Anagha Madhusudanan, one of the first three recipients of the new Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics.
"Meet the... Simons Postdoctoral Fellows" mini series #4 Dr Antoine Remond-Tiedrez
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel speaks to Dr Antoine Remond-Tiedrez, one of the first five recipients of the new Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematic...
#35 Discussing the "Cluster algebras and representation theory" programme
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel speaks to the four organisers of the "Cluster algebras and representation theory" programme (September to December 2...
"Meet the... Simons Postdoctoral Fellows" mini series #3: Dr Aluna Rizzoli
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel speaks to Dr Aluna Rizzoli, one of the first three recipients of the new Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics.
"Meet the... Simons Postdoctoral Fellows" mini series #2: Dr Avi Mayorcas
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel speaks to Dr Avi Mayorcas, one of the first three recipients of the new Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics.
"Meet the... Simons Postdoctoral Fellows" mini series #1: Dr Emine Yildirim
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textDan Aspel speaks to Dr Emine Yildirim, one of the first three recipients of the new Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics.
#34 Welcoming Ulrike Tillmann: a brief interview with INI’s new Director
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textOn Friday 1 October 2021 Professor Ulrike Tillmann was appointed Director of the Isaac Newton Institute. In this short episode we catch ...
#33 Becoming Bethany Marsh, life as a transgender Professor of Mathematics
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textProfessor Bethany Marsh (Leeds) joins the podcast to talk about winning the Whitehead prize, her ongoing INI research programme, and the...
#32: Quanta, MoMath and communicating mathematics with Alex Kontorovic
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textProfessor Alex Kontorovic joins the podcast to talk about New York's award-winning MoMath, Quanta magazine, communicating mathemati...
#31 From rural Zimbabwe to international mathematics: an interview with Professor Anotida Madzvamuse
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textProfessor Anotida Madzvamuse (Sussex) joins Dan Aspel to talk about mathematical biology, a childhood spent farming in rural Zimbabwe, a...
#30 “Exit strategy”: Director David Abrahams looks back on his 2016-2021 tenure at INI
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #30 Dan Aspel speaks to outgoing INI Director David Abrahams about his five-year tenure at INI, a tremendous summer of sport,...
#29 All about Plus magazine, with Marianne Freiberger and Rachel Thomas
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #29 Dan Aspel speaks to Dr Marianne Freiberger and Rachel Thomas of Plus magazine about spreading a love of mathematics, and...
Cambridge Philosophical Society mini-series #3: Dr Jay Taylor
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn recent years, the generous support of the Cambridge Philosophical Society has allowed INI to further support the attendance of early ...
Cambridge Philosophical Society mini-series #2: Dr Elena Luca
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn recent years, the generous support of the Cambridge Philosophical Society has allowed INI to further support the attendance of early ...
Cambridge Philosophical Society mini-series #1: Dr Francisco Sahli
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn recent years, the generous support of the Cambridge Philosophical Society has allowed INI to further support the attendance of early ...
“Art of INI” mini-series #1: What can maths offer art and art offer maths?
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this first of an "Art of INI" miniseries, host Dan Aspel is joined by INI staff Barry Phipps (Curator of Art and Science) a...
#28 Twenty-seven years of progress: an interview with Professor Valerie Isham
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textValerie Isham joins Dan and Ciara to discuss nearly 30 years of involvement in INI actiivities, from 1993's "Epidemic Models&q...
#27 “An ecology of people telling it how it is”: an interview with Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode, David Spiegelhalter joins the podcast to talk about a frenetic six months of risk communication, and more.
#26 “Maths masterclass tutorials”: an announcement from Simon Singh
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textSimon Singh tells the podcast all about the new, free "Maths Masterclass Tutorials" initiative. Apply by 09 October 2020!
#25 “How to win at Pandemic”: an interview with Professor Julia Gog
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we speak to Professor Julia Gog (Cambridge) about modelling the COVID-19 pandemic, working with and alongside the UK gov...
#24 Mathematics goes virtual, with Professor Rebecca Hoyle
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we speak to Professor Rebecca Hoyle about the relevance of study groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the thinking b...
#23 The mathematical models of COVID-19 (part 2), with Dr Robin Thompson
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we speak to Dr Robin Thompson about how data is being used to inform the mathematical models behind the models of COVID-...
#22 The mathematical models of COVID-19 (part 1), with Dr Kit Yates
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we speak to Dr Kit Yates about the maths behind the models of COVID-19 that are being used to guide policy of the contro...
#21 Promoting mathematics via social media: an interview with Ollie Jones and Kamilla Rekvényi
03 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEarly career researchers Ollie Jones (Birmingham) and Kamilla Rekvényi (Imperial) join the podcast to discuss life at an INI workshop, ...
#19 Asking for “a lot of money and a lot of time”: an interview with Professor Liz Mansfield
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textProfessor Liz Mansfield, co-organiser of the "Geometry, compatibility and structure preservation in computational differential equa...
#20 “On the nature of mathematical joy”, with Professor Liz Mansfield
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textElizabeth Mansfield discusses the "seven levels of mathematical joy" based on her mathematical travels.
#18 Peer support and “the ability to develop agency”: an interview with Associate Professor Lesley Ward
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFeaturing Kirk Distinguished Visiting Fellow for the "Complex analysis" programme Associate Professor Lesley Ward.
#17 Running the numbers: an interview with Dr Tony Hill
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFeaturing mathematician and long-distance running enthusiast Dr Tony Hill.
#16 Life in “a harmonic universe”: an interview with Tamara Kokilashvili
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFeaturing Georgian-born pianist and mathematical enthusiast, Tamara Kokilashvili.
#15 Talking maths in public: an interview with Matt Parker
20 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFeaturing maths communicator, YouTuber, author and stand-up comic Matt Parker.
#14 “A Golden Age of maths communication”: an interview with Professor Chris Budd
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textFeaturing Professor Chris Budd (Bath), a participant in two INI programmes in 2019 and a wide selection of others of the past 27 years.
#13 When mathematicians and environmental scientists meet: an interview with Professor Paula Harrison and Dr Martine Barons
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textAn environmental sciences-themed discussion with Professor Paula Harrison (CEH) and Dr Martine Barons (Warwick).
#12 Investigating the Wiener-Hopf technique: an interview with Dr Anastasia Kisil
16 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode of the podcast, Dan Aspel speaks to Dr Anastasia Kisil (Cambridge), co-organiser of the "Bringing pure and applied ...
#11 Tour de France Special: an interview with Professor David Abrahams
26 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textAs the Tour de France 2019 enters its final stages, Dan Aspel sits down with lifelong cycling fan (and INI Director) Professor David Abr...
#10 “Bringing the changes we want in Africa”: an interview with Dr Bubacarr Bah
24 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #10 Dr Bubacarr Bah of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cape Town (https://aims.ac.za/) shares with us his ...
#09 “The beauty of results”: an interview with Professor Svitlana Mayboroda
24 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode #9 welcomes Professor Svitlana Mayboroda to the podcast. The Kirk Distinguished Visiting Fellow (https://www.newton.ac.uk/about/...
#08 Interdisciplinary excitement: an interview with Professor Xian Chen
17 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textEpisode #8 sees the podcast speak to Professor Xian Chen of the "Mathematical design of new materials" programme. A brief chat...
#07 The realities of academic life: an interview with Professor Irene Fonseca
17 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #7 we speak to Professor Irene Fonseca, Director of Carnegie Mellon's Center for Nonlinear Analysis and Kirk Distinguish...
#06 Mathematikum: an interview with Professor Martin Buhmann
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #6 we welcome Professor Martin Buhmann (Giessen) of the "Approximation, sampling and compression in data science" p...
#05 Exploring sundials: an interview with Dr Frank King
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #5 we speak to Dr Frank King (Churchill College) about his recent book "Sundials: Cutting Time", the challenges and...
#04 What can an early career researcher contribute? An interview with interview with Henri Elad Altman
26 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textPodcast #4 sees INI catch up with Henri Elad Altman, a PHD student engaged in the SRQ programme. In our short chat we cover the day-to-d...
#03 A male dominated environment: an interview with Susanne Hilger
26 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn episode #3 we chat with PHD student Susanne Hilger about life as a more junior Participant in an INI programme and the issues raised ...
#02 A mother of three in a academia: an interview with Professor Patricia Goncalvez
26 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this episode we speak to Professor Patricia Goncalvez about the direction her career has taken so far, the challenges in obtaining en...
#01 Directing the INI: an interview with Professor David Abrahams
26 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Send us a textIn this inaugural podcast, INI Director David Abrahams speaks about his role at the Institute, reflects on his first two-and-a-half year...