University Professor’s Math Podcast Added to National Web Site

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Professor Chaim Goodman-Strauss will become the new chair of the mathematical sciences department in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences in July, but at the moment what he’s really excited about is a new development for his podcast, The Math Factor. Goodman-Strauss has produced the podcast for more than 3 years, posting it on his own Web site. This month, however, The Math Factor was accepted as a regular column on the Web site of the Mathematics Association of America. Goodman-Strauss is now sharing cyberspace with prominent math writers like Keith Devlin, David Bressoud and Ivars Peterson.

“I really feel honored and excited to be getting this kind of exposure for the podcast, an endorsement really, from the MAA,” said Goodman-Strauss. “The Math Factor is made for people of all ages who are engaged by mathematical thinking, who enjoy the stimulation of mathematical ideas. So many more of them will be able to find us on the MAA Web site.”

The Math Factor started in 2004 as a regular feature of Sunday Ozarks at Large on the University of Arkansas’ National Public Radio station, KUAF. In 2005, Goodman-Strauss began producing an extended version of the program as a podcast for his Web site. He said the response was excellent, from an audience that included high school students, college math majors and graduate students, computer programmers, people with technical backgrounds and teachers.

In each segment of The Math Factor, Goodman-Strauss and the program host, Kyle Kellams, discuss a specific mathematical issue or idea.

“I feel it is important that this is math journalism, or math entertainment, not exactly ‘math education,’ although I am always delighted when I can get some real math instruction onto the radio,” said Goodman-Strauss. He believes the rapport he has with Kellams helps make the program special.

 “Kyle’s last math class was high school geometry, but he is an excellent interviewer, very bright, and very curious. He does a wonderful job of representing the audience, asking the questions they would ask. Together we’ve covered subjects like cardinality, the basic definitions of group theory and Fermat's Little Theorem, we did a long series on game theory, and we are planning another series of segments introducing the theory of computation. Besides that, at a recent conference I recorded about 20 interviews with some really amazing people, real math ‘celebrities,’ and we’ll be incorporating those into The Math Factor and the podcasts as well.”

The podcasts can be found at the Mathematics Association of America Web site at http://www.maa.org or at Goodman-Strauss’s own site, http://mathfactor.uark.edu.

“I know from my own experience that there are people who are looking for a place that offers mathematical nourishment. I don’t consider myself much of a writer, but I enjoy talking about mathematical ideas and trying to make them clear to my non-mathematical friends. So having the format of the podcast is amazingly fortuitous. As far as I know, at this moment, The Math Factor is unique. I expect that will change, probably soon, and if this podcast can provide some inspiration, so much the better.”