

A Problem Squared
Matt Parker, Bec Hill
Matt Parker and Bec Hill present: A Problem Squared. A podcast dedicated to solving problems of all kinds, such as, "What should I listen to right now?". A Podcast Squared. First one's free. You're welcome.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 11, 2024 • 55min
081 = Pi Prize and Square Stairs
Exploring Pi's repetitive patterns, designing symmetrical stairs, and upcoming book releases are just a few highlights in this intriguing podcast episode!

Feb 26, 2024 • 47min
080 = Naming Clichés and Squaring Birthdays
The podcast discusses naming children and turning ages squared into birthday celebrations. They explore unique naming trends and share ideas for square birthday bashes. The hosts also touch on challenges with problem posing and international work opportunities, with playful banter on name mispronunciations and odd/even numbers.

Feb 12, 2024 • 44min
079 = Driving Clockwise and Evolving Dragonflies
Is it faster to drive around Australia in an anticlockwise direction on the inside lane? What were dragonflies called before there were dragons? Another installment of Things Matt Needs Help With. The podcast has hit 2 million and they want ideas to celebrate.

Jan 29, 2024 • 50min
078 = Spinal Taps and Star Maps
Exploring adventures in LA, meeting Spinal Tap, and filming on 35mm. Calculating distances to visit stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alphabetically. Analyzing street names and distances in cities. Playful discussions on star patterns and metadata challenges. Humorous post-credits chat about creative names and gratitude.

Jan 15, 2024 • 47min
077 = Earth That Quakes and Quick Fire Takes
The podcast delves into the intriguing topic of earthquake statistics, exploring patterns and occurrences over the past 4,000 years. The hosts engage in comical banter about stolen tortilla chips and typos, along with humorous discussions on cold water swimming and celebratory head shaving. They also provide podcast recommendations, interact with fans, and correct calculations on using farts for lifting.

Jan 1, 2024 • 38min
076 = Human Pasta and Strada Romana
Calculations on the length of human spaghetti and if all roads truly lead to Rome. Playful banter about upcoming live event at Flappers Comedy Club. Exotic holiday snack flavors and a debate on airplane window bleed holes. Exploring oxygen masks science and the whimsical concept of spaghettification. Address formats in different countries and listener shoutouts for corrections and hot chocolate success.

Dec 18, 2023 • 43min
075 = Roman Recursion and Role-Play Immersion
In this episode…
🏺 What is the biggest roman numeral word?
🎲 How do I get my friends to play D&D?
🪵 A Christmas Stumpdate!
💼 And the business briefcase is OPEN.
If you'd like some extra listening over the next few weeks, have a listen to Bec on Dan Schreiber’s podcast ‘We Can Be Weirdos’ you can find the link here: https://tinyurl.com/mrymvb29
And if you'd like to see the Aunty Donna sketch showing how not to explain a table top game to a new player, look no further: http://tinyurl.com/574m6m98
To watch campaigns played by Questing Time follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/c/questingtime
For the Dragon Friends Podcast: https://thedragonfriends.com
And for the Harmontown Podcast: https://www.harmontown.com/category/podcasts/
IF you’ve got any LA based problems, please do send them in to the Problem Solving Page: https://tinyurl.com/2s2x7az4
We'll be announcing the venue for a Podcast of Unnecessary Detailonce a venue has been found.
And if you’d like to receive a belated, but signed Christmas card you can still sign up to Wizard Support on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/aproblemsquared/membership
(You’ll get a digital version too!)
As always, send us your general problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com
If you want more from A Problem Squared, you can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and of course, on Patreon.

7 snips
Dec 4, 2023 • 48min
074 = Chocolate Powder Fails and Consonant/Vowel Details
On this episode…
🍫 Can you prevent hot chocolate from clumping?
🖊 When is a vowel a vowel?
👾 We have some Discord news!
💼 And a small amount of Business, of Any Other nature.
The holidays have arrived early because, and APS DISCORD IS FINALLY HERE! Head on over using this link: https://discord.gg/pt4WsfhMCY
You too can make your computer talk! Here's a link to the Praat vowel software Matt was using at the start of today’s Dinglet: https://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/
If you’d like to see the Vowel Space video referenced by Matt follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdldD0-kEcc
And for more from linguist and phonetics expert Dr Geoff Lindsay (and with that voice, who wouldn't!) you can do that here: https://www.youtube.com/@DrGeoffLindsey
If you know anything about the Apollo 11 flight diagram depicted here: https://tinyurl.com/4wjwcu6c let us know!
As always, send us your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com
If you want more from A Problem Squared, you can find us on Twitter, Instagram, and of course, on Patreon.

Nov 20, 2023 • 49min
073 = Farting Thrust and Pocket Mistrust
In THIS episode…
💨 How low would gravity need to be for farts to lift you off the ground?
👖 Is there a solution to suboptimal trouser pockets?🔔 Ding ding ding!
📜 Business, fresh from the Any Other briefcase.
If you want to participate in a MathsJam near you, you can find your local event right here: https://www.mathsjam.com/
And if you are a child, or an adult who has children who are fans of the show, tell THEM to send in their problems for our kids only episode - coming soon!
Don’t forget to tag the problem with the word ‘Kidition’, it’ll help us find it!
If you want to commission a cool bum-bag to support a good cause, Bec mentions Second Stitch Melbourne in her dinglett.
You can find a link for them here: https://www.secondstitch.org.au/
Please do send us your problems and solutions to the website: www.aproblemsquared.com
If you want more from A Problem Squared, find us on Twitter, Instagram, and of course, Patreon.

Nov 6, 2023 • 57min
072 = The Perfect Paint Set and Rubik's Reset
In this episode...
🎨 What's the best hypothetical paint set?
🧊 Can a single turning pattern return a Rubik's cube to where it started?
🛰 And some Any Orbital Business!
If you want to weigh in on the Reasonable / Unreasonable debate, and watch Bec in her element painting a wardrobe, follow this link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyJwjphMesl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
And if you want to see more from the colour theorist, Peter Donahue, who consulted on Bec's problem, find him on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art.pete.repeat/?hl=en
For Martin Bellander's incredible colour graph, follow this link: https://blog.martinbellander.com/post/115411125748/the-colors-of-paintings-blue-is-the-new-orange
Please do send us your problems and solutions to the website: aproblemsquared.com.
If you want more from A Problem Squared, find us on Twitter, Instagram. and of course Patreon.


