Breaking Math Podcast
Autumn Phaneuf
Breaking Math is a deep-dive science, technology, engineering, AI, and mathematics podcast that explores the world through the lens of logic, patterns, and critical thinking. Hosted by Autumn Phaneuf, an expert in industrial engineering, operations research and applied mathematics, and Gabriel Hesch, an electrical engineer (host from 2016-2024) with a passion for mathematical clarity, the show is dedicated to uncovering the mathematical structures behind science, engineering, technology, and the systems that shape our future.What began as a conversation about math as a pure and elegant discipline has evolved into a platform for bold, interdisciplinary dialogue. Each episode of Breaking Math takes listeners on an intellectual journey—whether it’s into the strange beauty of chaos theory, the ethical dilemmas of AI, the deep structures of biological evolution, or the thermodynamics of black holes. Along the way, Autumn and Gabriel interview leading thinkers and working scientists from across the spectrum: computer scientists, quantum physicists, chemists, philosophers, neuroscientists, and more.But this isn’t just a podcast about equations—it’s a show about how mathematics influences the way we think, create, build, and understand. Breaking Math pushes back against the idea that STEM belongs behind a paywall or an academic podium. It’s for the curious, the critical, the creative—for anyone who believes that ideas should be rigorous, accessible, and infused with wonder.If you've ever wondered: What’s the math behind machine learning? How do we quantify uncertainty in climate models? Can consciousness be described in AI? Why does beauty matter in an equation?Then you’re in the right place.At its heart, Breaking Math is about building bridges—between disciplines, between experts and the public, and between the abstract world of mathematics and the messy, magnificent reality we live in. With humor, clarity, and deep respect for complexity, Autumn and Gabriel invite you to rethink what math can be—and how it can help us shape a better future.Listen wherever you get your podcasts.Website: https://breakingmath.ioLinktree: https://linktr.ee/breakingmathmediaEmail: breakingmathpodcast@gmail.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 20, 2017 • 15min
Minisode 0.5: ___forNon___
Jonathan and Gabriel discuss ___forNon___ (blank for non-blank); a podcasting collective they've recently joined. Check out more at blankfornonblank.com.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
Jul 11, 2017 • 1h 5min
14: Artificial Thought (Neural Networks)
Go to www.brilliant.org/breakingmathpodcast to learn neural networks, everyday physics, computer science fundamentals, the joy of problem solving, and many related topics in science, technology, engineering, and math. Mathematics takes inspiration from all forms with which life interacts. Perhaps that is why, recently, mathematics has taken inspiration from that which itself perceives the world around it; the brain itself. What we’re talking about are neural networks. Neural networks have their origins around the time of automated computing, and with advances in hardware, have advanced in turn. So what is a neuron? How do multitudes of them contribute to structured thought? And what is in their future?--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
Jun 27, 2017 • 49min
13: Math and Prison Riots (Interview with Frank Salas)
Frank Salas is an statistical exception, but far from an irreplicable result. Busted on the streets of Albuquerque for selling crack cocaine at 17, an age where many of us are busy honing the skills that we've chosen to master, and promply incarcerated in one of the myriad concrete boxes that comprise the United States penal system. There, he struggled, as most would in his position, to better himself spiritually or ethically, once even participating in a prison riot. After two stints in solitary confinement, he did the unthinkable: he imagined a better world for himself. One where it was not all him versus the world. With newfound vigor, he discovered what was there all along: a passion for mathematics and the sciences. After nine years of hard time he graduated to a halfway house. From there, we attended classes at community college, honing his skills using his second lease on life. That took him on a trajectory which developed into him working on a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Michegan. We're talking, of course, about Frank Salas; a man who is living proof that condition and destiny are not forced to correlate, and who uses this proof as inspiration for many in the halway house that he once roamed. So who is he? What is his mission? And who is part of that mission? And what does this have to do with Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism?--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
Jun 13, 2017 • 53min
12: Math Factory (Algorithms)
In a universe where everything is representable by information, what does it mean to interact with that world? When you follow a series of steps to accomplish a goal, what you're doing is taking part in a mathematical tradition as old as math itself: algorithms. From time immemorial, we've accelerated the growth of this means of transformation, and whether we're modeling neurons, recognizing faces, designing trusses on a bridge, or coloring a map, we're involving ourselves heavily in a fantastic world, where everything is connected to everything else through a massive network of mathematical factories. So does it mean to do something? What does it mean for something to end? And what is time relative to these questions?--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
May 31, 2017 • 1h 2min
11: A Culture of Hacking (Hacker Culture)
The culture of mathematics is a strange topic. It is almost as important to the history of mathematics as the theorems that have come from it, yet it is rarely commented upon, and it is almost never taught in schools. One form of mathematical inquiry that has cropped up in the last two centuries has been the algorithm. While not exclusive to this time period, it has achieved a renaissance, and with the algorithm has come what has come to be known as "hacker culture". From Lord Byron to Richard Stallman, from scratches on paper to masses of wire, hacker culture has influenced the way in which we interact with conveniences that algorithms have endowed upon our society. So what are these advances? How have they been affected by the culture which birthed them? And what can we learn from this fragile yet pervasive relationship?--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
May 16, 2017 • 1h 17min
10: Cryptomath (Cryptography)
Language and communication is a huge part of what it means to be a person, and a large part of this importance is the ability to direct the flow of that information; this is a practice known as cryptography. There are as many ways to encrypt data as there are ways to use them, ranging from cryptoquips solvable by children in an afternoon to four kilobit RSA taking eons of time. So why are there so many forms of encryption? What can they be used for? And what are the differences in their methodology, if not philosophy?--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
May 2, 2017 • 52min
9: Humanity 2.0 (Transhumanism)
Humanity, since its inception, has been nebulously defined. Every technological advancement has changed what it means to be a person, and every person has changed what it means to advance. In this same vein, there is a concept called “transhumanism”, which refers to what it will mean to be a person. This can range from everything from genetic engineering, to artificial intelligence, to technology which is beyond our current physical understanding. So what does it mean to be a person? And is transhumanism compatible with our natural understanding, if it exists, of being?--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
May 1, 2017 • 16min
Minisode 0.4: Comin' Up Next
Jonathan and Gabriel talk about the next four episodes coming down the pike, including Humanity 2.0, which debuts Tuesday, April 2nd 2017.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
Apr 20, 2017 • 20min
Minisode 0.3: Lights, Camera, Action!
Jonathan and Gabriel discuss their recent news debut! You can find what they're talking about at news.unm.edu--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
Apr 18, 2017 • 58min
8: Evolution and Engineering (Genetic Algorithms)
Computation is a nascent science, and as such, looks towards the other sciences for inspiration. Whether it be physics, as in simulated annealing, or, as now is popular, biology, as in neural networks, computer science has shown repeatedly that it can learn great things from other sciences. Genetic algorithms are one such method that is inspired, of course, by biological evolution. So what are genetic algorithms used for? What have they taught us about the natural process of evolution? And how can we use them to improve our world?--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/breakingmathpodcast/support
