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.
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
James Grime
Ron Graham
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
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.
References
External links
2018 podcast debuts
Science podcasts
Recreational mathematics
Mathematics education
YouTube channels launched in 2011
Education-related YouTube channels
Science-related YouTube channels