A podcast about the big numbers, the hard sums, the mathematics that defines, runs, shapes, changes, begins, ends, every things our lives and the world around us. Hosted by Colm O'Regan. An award-winning radio broadcaster, comedian, novelist and it turns out lapsed engineer who is trying to feel useful again. Each episode sheds light on a tiny corner of a giant subject with entertaining guests and accessible talk.
Latest episodes
-
41 min
53 The High Seas with Olive Heffernan
The last episode - and a great way to go out. By taking the ultimate trip on the Z-axis and exploring the sea. We fuss so much about exploring outer space and going to Mars when a…
-
50 min
52 This Number Could Save Your Life One Day with Lewis Dartnell
The penultimate episode before an offical hiatus. (the last year was just me hiding and ghosting) .This is a cracker though. Lewis Dartnell author of The Knowledge - which tells ho…
-
49 min
51 Great xPectations with Paul McDonald.
This week I do some basic drills, some shuttling runs on the massive world of statistics in sport. Former accountant Paul McDonald has many hats, but he is now a sports stat specia…
-
55 min
50 Talking Ballots with Adrian Kavanagh
This week I’m joined by another returnee to the function Room, a lecturer at the Maynooth University Department of Geography and we’re talking about voting systems and the numbers…
-
51 min
49 The Hole Shebang - Black Holes with Dr John Regan
This week in the function room, the hole shebang. A bit about Black Holes with Dr John Regan. Royal Society - SFI University Research Fellow in the Department of Theoretical Physic…
-
48 min
48 Object Lesson
My guest is Katie Steckles, Mathematician, presenter and communicator. She has written seven books about mathematics, hosts the brilliant Mathemetical Objects podcast where she and…
-
59 min
47 Body to Body to Body with Dr Matt Kenzie
Matt Kenzie is one of the Science advisors on the hit Netflix show Three Body Problem.The show and the book is about what happens when aliens want to say hi. Aliens called the San…
-
60 min
46 Census Sensibility with Dr Jessica Coyne.
This week in the function room, Census Sensibility with . A glimpse into the work of Ireland's Central Statistic office, the CSO with Statistician Jess Coyne. Yes it's been a littl…
-
48 min
45 Empire of the Sum a history of the pocket calculator
Another episode title Im jealous of becuase I didn't pick it, it's the work of Keith Houston a writer and software engineer who has made a habit of writing about things that are th…
-
46 min
44 (Replay) Algorithm and Blues with Cathy O'Neill
My first replay! Given what we've been hearing about Google and their Gemini code disaster and bias and all sorts, time to revisit one of my favourite episodes, with Cathy O'Neil a…
-
37 min
43 Potential Energy - the Mathematics of Energy Modelling
This week my guest is Hannah Daly, Professor of Sustainable Energy at University College Cork. It's the third of a trilogy about energy - a sort of trilogy there was another episod…
-
58 min
42 That's So Derivative - Mathematics at the Movies with John Fardy
My guest is John Fardy, presenter of Newstalk's Radio (and GoLoud's) movie show ScreenTime. He has watched a lot of movies which means, statistically he's seen a lot of mathematics…
-
1 h 11
41 Re: Volts with David Roberts
A look at some of the stories behind the massive sums of an energy revolution. My guest is David Volts, energy journalist and writer of the Volts newsletter and host of the volts p…
-
45 min
40 H2 Oh! with Catherine Sheridan
Catherine Sheridan, an engineer and systems thinker who after 20 years working on water, roads, energy is focussed on a tiny powerful magic little molecule: Hydrogen.We talk 5th ye…
-
44 min
39 There's Been a Breakthrough with TJ Hegarty.
Function Room 39 There's Been a Breakthrough with TJ Hegarty. TJ Hegarty is the founder of Breakthrough Maths an online maths tutoring company based in Ireland. We talk about small…
-
40 min
38 The Auld Sthretch with Éibhear Ó hAnluain
13th December, on the day of the earliest sunset in Dublin, my guest is Eibhear OHanlon, who more than anyone else knows how to call it a day. He has been the curator of theauldsth…
-
1 h 00
37 This Goes All The Way to the Top with David Robert Grimes
This week we look at the maths of conspiracy theories with physicist, cancer researcher, science writer author of the Award-winning The Irrational Ape why flawed logic puts us all…
-
43 min
36 Murderous Math with Kjartan Poskitt
Kjartan (pronounced Jartan) Poskitt is a maths book phenomenon. Author of Murderous Maths a series of, funny books for children about maths, they've been published in 25 countries.…
-
60 min
35 Riemann Reason with Dr Alex Kontorovich
The mysterious world of the Riemann Hypothesis. This is about an unsolved problem relating to prime numbers.Bernhard Riemann was a German mathematician who lived in the 19th centur…
-
33 min
34 Sea Change with Joanna Donnelly
My guest is Joanna Donnelly meteorologist and author of From Malin Head to Mizen Head, a lovely book about the almost meditative experience that is Irish Sea Area Forecast. Hers is…