# Numberphile

Numberphile is an educational YouTube channel featuring videos that explore topics from a variety of fields of mathematics. In the early days of the channel, each video focused on a specific number, but the channel has since expanded its scope, featuring videos on more advanced mathematical concepts such as Fermat's Last Theorem, the Riemann hypothesis and Kruskal's tree theorem. The videos are produced by Brady Haran, a former BBC video journalist and creator of Periodic Videos, Sixty Symbols, and several other YouTube channels. Videos on the channel feature several university professors, maths communicators and famous mathematicians.
In 2018, Haran released a spin-off audio podcast titled The Numberphile Podcast.

## YouTube channel

The Numberphile YouTube channel was started on 15 September 2011. Most videos consist of Haran interviewing an expert on a number, mathematical theorem or other mathematical concept. The expert usually draws out their explanation on a large piece of brown paper and attempts to make the concepts understandable to the average, non-mathematician viewer. It is supported by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) and Math for America. Haran also runs the "Numberphile2" channel, which includes extra footage and further detail than the main channel.

### Reception

Numberphile consistently rates among the top YouTube channels in math and education. The channel was nominated for a Shorty Award in Education in 2016. The New York Times said that, "at Numberphile, mathematicians discourse, enthusiastically and winningly, on numbers", and The Independent described the channel as "insanely popular". The Sunday Times said, "The mathematical stars of social media, such as James Grime and Matt Parker, entertain legions of fans with glorious videos demonstrating how powerful and playful maths can be."
New Scientist listed Numberphile as one of the top ten science channels on YouTube in 2019.
In 2024, Brady Haran was awarded the Christopher Zeeman Medal recognising excellence in the communication of mathematics for his work, including Numberphile.

### Contributors

The Numberphile channel has hosted a wide array of mathematicians, computer scientists, scientists and science writers, including:
* Federico Ardila
* Johnny Ball
* Alex Bellos
* Elwyn Berlekamp
* Andrew Booker
* Steven Bradlow
* Timothy Browning
* Brian Butterworth
* John Conway
* Ed Copeland
* Tom Crawford
* Zsuzsanna Dancso
* Persi Diaconis
* Marcus Du Sautoy
* Rob Eastaway
* Laurence Eaves
* David Eisenbud
* Edward Frenkel
* Hannah Fry
* Lisa Goldberg
* Ron Graham
* James Grime
* Edmund Harriss
* Gordon Hamilton
* Tim Harford
* Don Knuth
* Holly Krieger
* James Maynard
* Barry Mazur
* Steve Mould
* Colm Mulcahy
* Tony Padilla
* Simon Pampena
* Matt Parker
* Roger Penrose
* Carl Pomerance
* Ken Ribet
* Tom Scott
* Henry Segerman
* Carlo H. Séquin
* Jim Simons
* Simon Singh
* Neil Sloane
* Ben Sparks
* Katie Steckles
* Zvezdelina Stankova
* Clifford Stoll
* Terence Tao
* Tadashi Tokieda
* Mariel Vázquez
* Cédric Villani
* Zandra Vinegar
* Grant Sanderson
* Ayliean MacDonald
* Matt Henderson
* Sophie Maclean
* Simon Anthony
* Jared Duker Lichtman
* Isabel Vogt

## The Numberphile Podcast

Haran started a podcast titled The Numberphile Podcast in 2018 as a sister project. The podcast focuses more heavily on the lives and personalities of the subjects of the videos.
| No. | Title | Run Time | Original release date |
| 1 | "The Hope Diamond – with 3Blue1Brown" | 1:03:20 | 4 November 2018 (2018-11-4) |
| 2 | "Fermat’s Last Theorem – with Ken Ribet" | 48:22 | 21 November 2018 (2018-11-21) |
| 3 | "Delicious Problems – with Hannah Fry" | 52:00 | 16 December 2018 (2018-12-16) |
| 4 | "The Klein Bottle Guy – with Cliff Stoll" | 59:08 | 8 January 2019 (2019-1-8) |
| 5 | "The Math Storyteller – with Simon Singh" | 1:11:36 | 11 February 2019 (2019-2-11) |
| 6 | "Parker Square – with Matt Parker" | 52:04 | 24 February 2019 (2019-2-24) |
| 7 | "A Proof in the Drawer – with David Eisenbud" | 1:15:20 | 7 April 2019 (2019-4-7) |
| 8 | "The Offensive Lineman – with John Urschel" | 36:43 | 14 May 2019 (2019-5-14) |
| 9 | "The Singing Banana – with James Grime" | 1:13:21 | 20 May 2019 (2019-5-20) |
| 10 | "The C-Word – talking Calculus with Steven Strogatz" | 51:17 | 17 June 2019 (2019-6-17) |
| 11 | "The Number Collector – with Neil Sloane" | 55:36 | 14 August 2019 (2019-8-14) |
| 12 | "Fame and Admiration – with Timothy Gowers" | 54:25 | 22 October 2019 (2019-10-22) |
| 13 | "The Badly Behaved Prime – with James Maynard" | 41:38 | 10 November 2019 (2019-11-10) |
| 14 | "Coffin Problems – with Edward Frenkel" | 1:21:39 | 3 December 2019 (2019-12-03) |
| 15 | "Champaign Mathematician – with Holly Krieger" | 40:00 | 13 December 2019 (2019-12-13) |
| 16 | "Gondor Calls for Aid – with Kit Yates" | 28:18 | 31 March 2020 (2020-3-31) |
| 17 | "Crystal Balls and Coronavirus – with Hannah Fry" | 44:55 | 10 April 2020 (2020-4-10) |
| 18 | "The Legendary John Conway (1937–2020)" | 38:01 | 13 April 2020 (2020-4-13) |
| 19 | "The Accidental Streamer – with 3Blue1Brown" | 33:05 | 19 April 2020 (2020-4-19) |
| 20 | "The Parker Quiz – with Matt Parker" | 55:34 | 21 May 2020 (2020-5-21) |
| 21 | "The Happy Twin – with Ben Sparks" | 1:02:21 | 27 May 2020 (2020-5-27) |
| 22 | "The Numeracy Ambassador – with Simon Pampena" | 1:00:15 | 1 July 2020 (2020-7-1) |
| 23 | "The Mathematical Showman – Ron Graham (1935–2020)" | 39:02 | 13 July 2020 (2020-7-13) |
| 24 | "The Third Cornet – with Katie Steckles" | 59:49 | 24 July 2020 (2020-7-24) |
| 25 | "Why Did the Mathematician Cross the Road? – with Roger Penrose" | 1:05:16 | 8 August 2020 (2020-8-8) |
| 26 | "The Importance of Numbers – with Tim Harford" | 47:29 | 12 September 2020 (2020-9-12) |
| 27 | "Nursery Rhymes and Numbers – with Alan Stewart" | 54:06 | 5 October 2020 (2020-10-5) |
| 28 | "Quiz Shows and Math Anxiety – with Bobby Seagull" | 1:24:26 | 23 October 2020 (2020-10-23) |
| 29 | "Club Automatic – with Alex Bellos" | 54:17 | 25 November 2020 (2020-11-25) |
| 30 | "Why Study Mathematics – with Vicky Neale" | 45:11 | 8 December 2020 (2020-12-08) |
| 31 | "Statistics and Saving Lives – with Jennifer Rogers" | 55:50 | 11 December 2020 (2020-12-11) |
| 32 | "Rockstar Epidemiologists – with Adam Kucharski" | 45:10 | 2 February 2021 (2021-02-02) |
| 33 | "The High Jumping Cosmologist – with Katie Mack" | 54:53 | 25 February 2021 (2021-02-25) |
| 34 | "Beauty in the Messiness – with Philip Moriarty" | 39:05 | 3 April 2021 (2021-04-03) |
| 35 | "The Naked Mathematician – with Tom Crawford" | 58:12 | 31 May 2021 (2021-05-31) |
| 36 | "A Chance at Immortality – with Marcus du Sautoy" | 51:29 | 26 July 2021 (2021-07-26) |
| 37 | "Making Sense of Infinity – with Asaf Karagila" | 53:27 | 28 August 2021 (2021-08-28) |
| 38 | "Google's 'DeepMind' does Mathematics" | 37:02 | 2 December 2021 (2021-12-2) |
| 39 | "The Little Star – with Zvezdelina Stankova" | 58:20 | 14 January 2022 (2022-01-14) |
| 40 | "An Infinite Debt – with Christopher Havens (Prisoner #349034)" | 49:50 | 13 February 2022 (2022-02-13) |
| 41 | "The First and Last Digits of Pi" | 42:26 | 14 March 2022 (2022-03-14) |
| 42 | "A Passion for Big Numbers (and Liverpool FC) – with Tony Padilla" | 50:41 | 18 April 2022 (2022-04-18) |
| 43 | "The Orchid Room and Cancer – with Hannah Fry" | 36:51 | 29 May 2022 (2022-05-29) |
| 44 | "An Educated Adult – with Tadashi Tokieda" | 1:13:45 | 11 July 2022 (2022-07-11) |
| 45 | "Finding a Path – with Tatiana Toro" | 43:39 | 13 December 2022 (2022-12-13) |
| 46 | "A Chain of Chance – with Michael Merrifield" | 1:06:17 | 18 January 2023 (2023-01-18) |
| 47 | "An A-Class Reject – with Ed Copeland" | 1:04:18 | 22 February 2023 (2023-02-22) |
| 48 | "Yes, I accept the Fields Medal – with James Maynard" | 27:59 | 3 August 2023 (2023-08-03) |
| 49 | "Finding Your Place – with Federico Ardila" | 54:57 | 23 August 2023 (2023-08-23) |
| 50 | "The Math of Movies – with Walt Hickey" | 51:24 | 12 October 2023 (2023-10-12) |
| 51 | "A Very Bad Estimator – with Donald Knuth" | 54:26 | 16 January 2024 (2024-01-16) |
| 52 | "The Hyper-Curious Billionaire – Jim Simons (1938-2024)" | 37:50 | 6 June 2024 (2024-06-06) |
| 53 | "Winnie the Math Whiz – with Danica McKellar" | 45:19 | 2 July 2024 (2024-07-02) |
| 54 | "The Secret Math Journal – with Ellen Eischen" | 53:45 | 30 July 2024 (2024-07-30) |